God who is a Stronghold
Psa
9:9
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble
We
have seen previously the Lord who is a shield (Meditation 3) and the
Lord who is a refuge (Meditation 11) and now we consider an extension
of this, to God who is a stronghold. We saw that a shield is something
you hold out between you and an enemy for protection, but a refuge
is something you run into so that the strength of the refuge protects
you. A stronghold is a development of the idea of a refuge. Indeed
it is something you run into for protection, but the picture is a
much stronger one.
When
David escaped from Gath, he fled to the Cave of Adullam (1 Sam 22:1)
where he was joined by his family. This place was then referred to
as a stronghold (v.4,5). A stronghold is a fortified place with
strong defences. That is the difference between a refuge and a stronghold.
A refuge is simply a general term for a place of retreat and safety,
while a stronghold is a particular type of refuge, a strongly defended
refuge. David frequently retreated to this particular place for safety
and security (1 Sam 24:22, 2 Sam 5:17 , 23:14). In Psa 144:2 David
piles on this imagery: “He is my loving
God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in
whom I take refuge”. There fortress and stronghold are
really one and the same thing, a strongly defended place of complete
security. A refuge is somewhere you go to peace and protection, but
a fortress or stronghold is somewhere you go to specifically withstand
the enemy who comes to attack.
Thus
it is that David speaks of going to the stronghold “in times of trouble”.
The trouble he refers to is his enemy (v.3,6), other nations (v.5)
who may be described as ‘the wicked' (v.5). He has seen the Lord dealing
with them (v.3-6). So many of the things about the Lord come together
in this Psalm. The Lord who is enthroned (v.7,11 and Meditation 2),
the Lord who judges (v.8 and Meditation 12), and the God who delivers
(v.3-6 implied and Meditation 4). In all these ways the Lord
acts as a stronghold, a place of strong defence. Because He is The
King who is reigning, enthroned, because He is the Judge who stands
against and judges against unrighteousness and because He comes to
deliver, He is a stronghold, a place of strong security. When David
is in trouble, when nations rise against him, when enemies come and
oppose him unrighteously, he knows that when he runs to the Lord,
the Lord WILL stand against unrighteousness, He will deal with the
enemy, and so David can feel entirely secure. There is no way that
the enemy can come and get him when he's with the Lord.
It's
not merely that the Lord is a refuge, as good as that is, but the
Lord is a stronghold, a strong place of defence that will not be breached
and so there is utter security with him. To get a sense of the strength
that is conveyed with the picture of a stronghold we need to go to
countries that have castles and see the incredibly high and thick
walls that were utterly impossible to scale or breach. This is a stronghold,
a place that is impregnable and which cannot be breached. It is a
picture of total and utter security. There no stronghold like the
Lord. Because He is who He is, with all His might, power and authority
no enemy can get through Him to us when we are ‘in Him'. This is the
sense of security the Lord wants us to have. We are secure, not because
of anything we do, not because of our activities, but simply because
we are ‘in Him' and He is utterly impregnable! Is that the sense
we have when troubles come on us? We run to the Lord, we call on Him
and He draws near, and then comes the sense that all these troubles
mean nothing because He surrounds us, He is our stronghold.
Response:
Pause up and thank that Lord that you are "in Him"
(as the New Testament often puts it) and you are therefore completely
secure.