Blessed Be My Rock - The One Year Book of Psalms

Psalm 18:37-50

37I chased my enemies and caught them;

I did not stop until they were conquered.

38I struck them down so they could not get up;

they fell beneath my feet.

39You have armed me with strength for the battle;

you have subdued my enemies under my feet.

40You made them turn and run;

I have destroyed all who hated me.

41They called for help, but no one came to rescue them.

They cried to the LORD, but he refused to answer them.

42I ground them as fine as dust carried by the wind.

I swept them into the gutter like dirt.

43You gave me victory over my accusers.

You appointed me as the ruler over nations;

people I don’t even know now serve me.

44As soon as they hear of me, they submit;

foreigners cringe before me.

45They all lose their courage

and come trembling from their strongholds.

46The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock!

May the God of my salvation be exalted!

47He is the God who pays back those who harm me;

he subdues the nations under me

48and rescues me from my enemies.

You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies;

you save me from violent opponents.

49For this, O LORD, I will praise you among the nations;

I will sing joyfully to your name.

50You give great victories to your king;

you show unfailing love to your anointed,

to David and all his descendants forever.

Rocks are cold, hard, and lifeless. So why on earth does David say, “The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock!” (verse 46)? It’s a strange image. We would think that David would pick some other object to convey the living power of the Lord.

But David knew rocks a lot better than we do. No doubt in the wilderness he found that rocks could protect him from the scorching sun, from the driving sand and wind storms, and from enemies who outnumbered him. David also knew that a rock could serve as a strong, unmoving foundation for anything that was meant to be permanent. Sands constantly shifted, but rocks stood firm. Rocks could be depended on. No wonder David thought of God as a rock.

But our question still stands: Why would David declare that the Lord lives and then portray him as a rock?

Maybe the answer is that David was trying to show that the Lord possesses all the strengths of a rock, yet he also lives. In other words, instead of the two concepts being synonymous, they are meant to complement each other.

So the Lord is a living rock. He offers strength and certainty for his people, and he acts on our behalf. As you face today’s challenges, count on God as your living rock.

O safe to the Rock that is higher than I,

My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;

So sinful, so weary, thine, thine would I be;

Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in thee.

WILLIAM O. CUSHING

Bible Networking

For other instances where the Lord is referred to as a rock, look up Deuteronomy 32:4 and Isaiah 32:2.

Notable Quotable

“Where the desert touches an oasis, life is continuously under attack from the wind-driven infiltrating sand . . . but set a rock in the sand. After brief rains, life springs up on its leeward side and in time becomes a garden. The boulder has stayed the drift.”

GEORGE ADAM SMITH