WHEN ALL AROUND MY SOUL GIVES WAY

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

WHEN ALL AROUND MY SOUL GIVES WAY

Ps 61:1-4

61 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.

2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

4 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

           There is a particular verse in an old hymn that seems appropriate for this morning. Our world is proving to be unreliable as a place of peace and safety. It is marked by difficulty, violence, and uncertainty. God seems to be occupied and unavailable to us and we cry out for a place that is solid and firm underfoot. That is when I remember the song On Christ the Solid Rock I stand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

           The Hebrew word for “rock” in our text is tsuwr and it indicates an overhanging cliff under which we may hide ourselves. Oh, how we often need a hiding place! The word “higher” is ruwm and it means “to be high actively or to raise up.” This rock is like a big brother who doesn’t seem so menacing until he stands up in our defense.

           The covering of God’s wings is a frequent picture of the protection He has provided for His people. We see it both in the Old Testament and in the New.

Ps 57:1

57 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

Matt 23:37

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Dear Lord, many are the difficulties that plague my mind. The illnesses of loved ones and friends and the uncertainties of the future cause me to doubt my own strength. Let me hide myself in Thy pavilion and nestle under the shelter of Thy wings. AMEN