In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!
Be to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.
I have been as a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all the day.
Comment: What does David mean by…?
- Rock. He combines it with a) …of refuge and b)…my fortress, and it is not a concept used much these days. We might say that God is the bunker to which I flee in threatening times; or I just read an article or found a passage in the Bible which just answered my query and need of the moment. But to a fleeing soldier racing from rapidly fired arrows or thrown javelins to be able to get from the open field and hide behind a huge rock meant a lot!
- Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. Is this hyperbole? Is it possible for an unborn baby to pick up feelings and have the ability to react to attitudes and parental discussions? Certainly family and particularly a pregnant woman’s habits and diet can affect a baby markedly! At the very least David means that all his conscious life he has sought to follow God’s way.
- Portent. One of the synonyms is ‘warning’ and another ‘omen’. With the following lines he indicates that his life has been a good witness to ‘godly living’ and his meaning is that his very existence, words and actions, have been a warning for those who ignore God, a portent to change their ways. ‘My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.‘
Prayer: Thank you for being my Rock, my Security!
As I read it! 