Be My Strong Fortress… Psalm 71

One of the Psalms that Denise and I regularly pray as a part of Morning Prayer is Psalm 71. And today’s Psalter reading for the Tuesday of Holy Week is Psalm 71:1-14.

“In you, O Lord, 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, a strong fortress to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.” (71:1-3)

In the past, I have preached and taught on the subject of the Whole Armor of God. For twenty-six years I got to know first hand the “armor” required by a military member before “going into battle”. I got to know personally, Chemical Warfare Protective Gear, Gas Masks, Body Armor, Helmets, etc. etc. But this psalm takes my heart in a slightly different direction.

All the protective gear in the world is of no value unless you have a safe place to live. Even with Chemical Warfare Protective Gear on, you were very limited to what you could actually accomplish and you couldn’t live forever in the contaminated environment. So too it is with us spiritually. All of the spiritual armor in the world won’t do you any good unless you have a safe place, a sanctuary to return to.

The above picture is of a small castle keep near Doolin, Ireland. It appears to be a place of safety and security with walls kept up and all the appropriate protection in place. Now I am not certain how long a smallish castle keep like that would hold up under attack, but at least for a time, the folks inside could rely on their stores of supplies and water while keeping the attackers at bay. Now the castle keep pictured below is a different story!

The walls are fallen into ruin and the keep itself wouldn’t even protect you from the rain. I wonder at what point it fell into ruin. Was ruined by an attack from an enemy army? Or was it allowed to decay after years of neglect? Either way, what was once a strong fortress is now an uninhabited ruin.

Our spiritual life is much like the castle keep. The Lord does promise to protect and keep us, but we have a part to play in that protection. Just like a military member has to maintain their protective gear and keep it in working order in case it is ever needed, we have to take care of our spiritual armor and keep it ready for use. And just like the castle owner needs to keep the fortress up so that it can protect the people, so too do we need to keep up our spiritual disciplines so that we have what God has given us to protect and strengthen us.

During his ministry Jesus often went off to lonely places, while it was still dark, to pray. And there were times when he spent all night with God in prayer. In the wilderness temptations, he was prepared to do battle with Satan when the time came. God was indeed his protection, his rock of refuge, his strong fortress. Jesus knew that he had to both rely on the strength of God during times of struggle and he also had to work alongside of God to keep his fortress secure and maintained. The way Jesus did that was to nurture his spiritual relationship with God through daily prayer and study.

The regular praying of this psalm by Denise and me during Morning Prayer reminds me of two things. The first is that God is indeed my refuge and strength. I am not my strength and I certainly can’t do this alone. The second is that I need to be reminded, and indeed I am reminded each time we pray this psalm, that my trust HAS to be in God. In verse twelve, the psalmist cries out, “O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!” Yet despite the cries of frustration and fear, the psalmist also remembers that God is indeed his strong refuge, his hope and trust from his youth. (71:5, 7)

As we walk with Jesus this holy week, may we look to him for our strength and hope. I pray that this strength and hope will continue long after Holy Week is over. Dear reader, I invite you to embrace these words from the psalmist: “I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more.” (71:14) Why? Because God promises to be our rock of refuge, our strong fortress!