Rock of Salvation

Psalms 71:1-13

1 In You, O LORD, I put my trust;
Let me never be put to shame.
2 Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;
Incline Your ear to me, and save me.

3 Be my strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.

4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.
6 By You I have been upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother's womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.

7 I have become as a wonder to many,
But You are my strong refuge.
8 Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
And with Your glory all the day.

9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

10 For my enemies speak against me;
And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,
11 Saying, "God has forsaken him;
Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him."

12 O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!

13 Let them be confounded and consumed
Who are adversaries of my life;
Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
Who seek my hurt.

A song based on the Rock of our salvation, this is trust in the faithfulness of God who never changes or is moved from His absolute righteousness.  Like the psalmist, we exercise our gift of faith to hold to Him with trust that should not waiver.  We know that there is no shame in knowing and trusting the God who delivers us, even as our opponents seek to shame and slander us, or even pursue our very lives as happens across the world each day.  Martyrdom is witnessing to God’s faithfulness, and suffering the ultimate attack on our lives in His name and for His sake.  Then the shaming attempts and attacks will end as we enter into glory before the presence of our Deliverer.  Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.  God is our strength and refuge to protect us, and we can turn to Him continually and confidently.  He truly is our Rock as foundation and Fortress to protect and keep our souls.  Hymns have been written about these things, but it began with Psalms like this one, and even earlier when Moses led God’s chosen people through the Red Sea out of bondage.  We can sing of His praise forever as we follow the example of the psalmist here to be delivered from the unrighteous and wicked who reject God and His Son’s deliverance.  God is our hope in all times, but especially felt in times of trouble.  He upholds His chosen people by His mighty hand from the moment we enter into this world, and that grace will lead us home.  That is our foundation of grace on which we stand firmly.  Even if we are harassed and oppressed to the point where the world shakes their head at us, we can rest in assurance that He has us firmly in His hands.  This is why we praise Him in good times and even more in the bad.  We know that He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), even till old age, no matter what the mockers say to the contrary.  The world sees us suffer and says we have no Deliverer, that we have been forsaken as when our Lord hung on a cursed tree for us (Matthew 27:43).  God is not far from us, and He helps us through those times, whether to further life here or with Him in Paradise (Luke 23:43).  The enemies of the Lord ultimately are confused and consumed by God’s wrath of justice, finding only dishonor and reproach which they intended for us as God’s people.  We stand firm upon our Rock of Deliverance like the psalmist, on the Savior who does not change and is never moved!