My Rock and My Fortress (Psalm 31:1-5)

¹ In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
² Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
⁴ Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

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What strikes me is verse 3. It stands out among the others because instead of praying that the Lord be a refuge, rock and fortress, it expresses confidence that this is in fact what the Lord is.  David is pleading with the Lord to deliver him in verses 1-2.  And then in verse 3 states that what he is praying for, the Lord has already granted.  What’s going on?

Perhaps there is a head/heart dichotomy at work in David – as it is frequently in all of us.  David knows in his mind that the Lord is a rock and fortress, that He is utterly reliable.  He has seen this time and again in His life and so knows in His mind that He can trust the Lord.

But David’s heart is afraid.  What he knows in his mind is on shaky ground in his heart.  And so he is praying that the Lord show himself to be rock and refuge in his life now, in the struggle that he faces.

Does this sound familiar?  We know the Lord’s forgiveness in our minds, but sometimes still feel guilty.  We know that the Lord has promised to work all things for good, yet we worry about the future.  We know that the Lord has promised to provide for all of our needs, yet we are anxious about having enough.  What we know in our minds hasn’t taken firm enough root in our hearts.

So my prayer today is that the utterly reliable promises of the Lord, the truths of which I am well aware, would be solidly at work in my heart that I would trust that the Lord is truly my rock, refuge and fortress today and always.

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