O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer 

If I had to pick only one book of the Bible to keep for the rest of my life, I would likely pick the Psalms. I love them. Every single one of them is a favourite for one reason or another. One thing I love about the Psalms is that they put words to the human experience and give us freedom to admit how we are feeling in a way that is God-honouring and not self-indulging. The Psalms build a vocabulary for the Church to pray and praise, lament and long, rejoice and repent.

The Psalms do not pretend that life is always easy. Truly, there are days when the circumstances of life are unsettling. Go ahead and try to imagine some unsettling circumstances. Anything come to mind? Ahem. Whether your mind immediately goes to the obvious of a global crisis, or your mind is like mine and has more chronic concerns that irresistibly draw your thoughts, there are always details to life that could unsettle us. And when I spend too long entertaining those unhelpful thoughts, I tend to feel pretty off-balance. Pretty shaky.                                                                                     

What phrases might we use in those shaky days?

“My whole world is falling apart.”
“Things will never be the same.”
“Can’t wait until I can get back up on my own two feet again.”

Here is what the Psalmist says: 

“I will not be greatly shaken.” 

And then he must have had a gospel moment because he says more strongly to himself, 

“I will not be shaken.”

Because here’s the thing: We are often shaken. We are often even REALLY shaken. But we aren’t GREATLY shaken. Or permanently shaken. Or eternally shaken. In the same way that we are pressed but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, persecuted but not abandoned (2 Corinthians 4:8), we can be ‘shaken’ and yet ‘not shaken’ all at the same time. The Psalmist tells us how we can speak that truth to ourselves. We are not expected to muscle up the non-shaken-ness in our own capability or strength or wisdom. We have only one assurance that we will not be shaken in shaky circumstances, and that is the assurance of the constancy and stability of the LORD our God. 

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress;

I shall not be greatly shaken. 

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress;

I shall not be shaken. Psalm 62:2, 6 

He is our Rock and our Redeemer! He is our salvation, not only in these shaky circumstances but, more importantly, from our own sin and shame and ruined life! 

So, sing this song and praise the Rock of our salvation! Get this song so stuck in your head that your mind is continually set on the Lord Jesus Christ, and let those all-consuming thoughts of shaky circumstances be put in subjection to his loving rule and reign.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpELMk4-3n8