My God Has a NAME

Thursday, December 5, 2013

I love you, O LORD my strength,
O LORD my stronghold, my crag, and my haven. 
My God, my rock in whom I put my trust,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge;
you are worthy of praise.  

Psalms 18:1-2

I really do start out intending to read all the Scriptures of the day; most days I hardly make it out of the Psalms before something grabs me and I have to tell you about it.  Here I am….again!

In the first two verses of Psalms 18 God is called by eight different names!  So this is my potpourri of impressions when I hear His names.  It’s a bit of a doxology of praise from my heart to His; you’ll have to draw your own conclusions today:

·        

My strength –the laptop computer I use can only store so much stuff – so I have an external hard drive that’s like a mega-closet for all the files I want to save, but don’t use very often.  I could store 20 of my computer’s stuff on that hard drive.  That’s my God’s strength…so far above what I can imagine, and all I need for today and forever.  God, you are my strength!

·        My stronghold – is a place where no matter what assaults may come in life, I am secure; the arm of my God is not shortened!  God, you are my stronghold!

·        My crag – is like a strategically-placed field stronghold…In times of sudden spiritual attack when Satan tries to “blindside” me, I am placed in the cleft of the rock, and covered there with His hand.  God, you are my crag!

·        My haven – is the place of green pastures, still waters.  God, you are my haven!

·        My rock – is the anchor point of everything.  In a shifting world where one day you can be hero and the next zero, and what was true yesterday is today’s irrelevance, you can always count on Jesus the bedrock Truth!

·        My shield – helps me walk upright.  You cannot stop all the weapons of an enemy, but God as my shield will fend-off Satan’s darts before they pierce my unprotected heart.  God, you are my impenetrable shield!

·        My horn of salvation – A horn is a symbol of strength and vitality.  God as “horn of my salvation” gives me evidence and assurance that the trust I placed in Jesus Christ to hold me up for eternity will never fail!  God, you are my salvation!

·        My refuge – is the one place I can go no matter what is happening, and there I am at peace. 

∞  I sit in my study tapping on the keyboard, and this room has a view of my back yard…peaceful, serene and green even in winter.  But it is not my refuge. 

∞  I have a life and soul mate to whom I can pour out my troubles, and I am safe and happy with her.  But she is not my refuge.

∞  I have a church and family and friends with whom I can share the joys and rocky parts of life’s road.  But they are not my refuge.

Everything in the universe can fail me – most of all I can fail myself; there is only One true refuge – Christ, the hope of glory!  God, you are my refuge!

My God has a NAME!  

Refuge, Horn, Shield, Rock, Haven, Crag, Stronghold and Strength!  And so many more.  

No wonder the Psalmist cried out:  YOU ARE WORTHY OF PRAISE!