Rock Solid
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Social
Psalm 71:1-6
Psalm 71:1-6
I was almost 11 years old when I went on my first Boy Scout camping trip. There was a skill award that could be earned on a campout, and several of us were new, so we wanted to try to earn that skill award. One requirement to earn it was a hike into our campsite that had to be a minimum of a mile or something like that. The hike into where we were planning to stay wasn’t that long, so we had to take a round about way to get there. It was a cold night, and I was all outfitted for the trip. I had my boy scout flashlight, my boy scout hat and knife. I had my new hiking boots that my parents had gotten me, and I was all layered up so thick that I could hardly move. My boy scout backpack was stuffed as full as I could get it with all of the stuff I would need for the 2 nights out camping. Did I mention it was really cold?
As we were taking our hike in to camp, we had to cross this little stream, and it was kind of mucky near the edges of the stream. The ground was mostly frozen, but right next to the stream, it was mud. I tried to take a big step across the stream, but my feet both ended up getting stuck in the mud and I couldn’t take a step further. As all of the other scouts watched, I stood there kind of helpless. My toes were on ground that was frozen solid, but my heels were stuck in the mud. As I tried unsuccessfully to lean forward with about a 40 pound backpack on my back (remember, I was only 10,) I very slowly began to lean further and further back, until the weight on my back pulled me completely to the ground. Or should I say, into the stream of freezing cold water. It took a few minutes for the others to organize enough to be able to get me back to my feet and back on solid ground. Looking back on it, I think the reason they took so long is because they were caught between that place of hysterical laughter and utter horror at my circumstances. I was thankful for their grasp, though, because without their help, I don’t think I ever would have been able to get up. The solid ground in this case was my refuge.
In the Old Testament days, when Israel was first established, there were cities that were designated as cities of refuge. These were places where someone could go who had accidentally done something that resulted in the death of another person. When someone died at the hands of another, there was provision that the next of kin to the one who had been killed was to take the life of the one responsible. However, if the accused could reach one of these cities of refuge, they could be spared until guilt or innocence could be determined. In the city of refuge, they were safe.
Today when we think of refuge or the word refugee, we think of war torn places like Ukraine or famine stricken lands, where people have had to flee from the homes and all that they know to seek refuge in other places where their lives can be spared. We have a difficult time understanding the depth of the desperation that these people experience. We can try to put ourselves in their place, while at the same time we hope that none of us ever have to experience situations like that.
Yet, I have been in situations in my spiritual journey where I have felt the attacks of the enemy so clearly and powerfully that I have needed to find a refuge from the struggles and challenges that I face. I may not have ever been in a place where my life was in danger from the attacks of an enemy, but there have been plenty of times when I could do nothing to help myself out of situations - most of which I got myself into. I have made some decisions that led to me feeling abandoned and alone and that I had no hope - until I turned to my refuge and my rock, Jesus.
I don’t think that my experiences in that way are unique to me. I would guess that we all have experienced times like this. The ground begins to give way beneath us, sometimes due to decisions that we have made that compromised our spiritual footing. Sometimes it happens because we put ourselves in compromising situations thinking we have the strength to overcome when we find out that we don’t. Sometimes it is because we have neglected the spiritual disciplines - our bible is far too neglected, or we are not spending the time we need in prayer. Perhaps we are neglecting to gather together in worship with God’s people, or we are allowing something to get in the way of our relationship with God. Spometimes it is because we experience a grief so deep that we find ourselves in utter despair.
There are all kinds of distractions and excuses that would pull us away from what we know we ought to be doing in order to remain firmly on Solid Ground. Sometimes it is the result of attacks from the enemy of our soul. Satan hates you - and he wants nothing more than to keep you from establishing your footing on the solid rock of Jesus! He’ll pull out all of the stops in order to defeat you!
Well, what does the Psalmist have to say to us this morning when we find ourselves in situations where our footing is not what it ought to be? As we continue our Summer in the Psalms this morning, let’s turn to Psalm 71. Remember, these Psalms were written to be used in times of worship as God’s people gathered. Sometimes they were written as individual Psalms, but they capture a universal truth for all people of God.
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.
2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.
5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.
6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.
This is another of those Psalms where we cannot be certain who the author is, but we do know some things about the author. This psalm is said to be the lament of an elderly man looking back on God’s presence in his life and asking God to rescue him from his enemies. That elderly man is likely King David in his final years, as that would certainly fit. Whoever it is, he is someone who has trusted in God as his rock and refuge from birth clear thorugh his life.
He vividly portrays that God has been with him as his helper - his refuge - his rock and fortress throughout his life. There is comfort in knowing that God had been with him through all of the highs and lows of his life all the way through. But he apparently now finds himself in need of deliverance once again. In verse 4, he says that he is trapped in the grasp of evil and cruel people. Although we don’t know the exact circumstances, we can relate to how the Psalmist is feeling. We have all felt what it is like to be in the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. Honestly, sometimes that just feels like life today. So much of what we do and what we are able to do is under the control of others who are evil and often cruel.
Corruption seems to be the norm for many of those that we have put into places of power. It’s possible, of course, that the old maxim that “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is more the case. Maybe those with power were not corrupt until they got the power. We, of course, see this play out in the realm of politics, but the quote was originally sent to an Anglican bishop by Lord Acton, who was a historian who recognized that this absolute power in the politics of the church was just as dangerous. The next line, which is not often quoted is “great men are almost always bad men.” That is a sad commentary on the state of humanity as a historian in the late 19th Century saw it.
Perhaps there is more subtlety to the corruption today, but I think we all would agree that the statement still holds true. Sadly, the church has done more to prove this statement true than to refute it. And wile we cannot change the way the culture percieves the church, we are part of the church, which is supposed to be the body of Christ. We have a responsibility to make sure that in our little part in the church that we have a higher standard.
In the midst of the struggles and challenges that we face as a church and that we face individually, we know that no matter what may come, we can rely on our God and Savior. We can trust Him to deliver us from teh grasp of the evil and the cruel. We know this because we have seen how He has worked in the past, and we can trust that He will remain faithful. Because of that, the Psalmist says, “I will ever praise you.” He is forever and ever worthy of all of our praise!