Psalm 71:1-6

Psalm 71:1-6 (NRSV)

¹ In you, O Lord, I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

² In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

incline your ear to me and save me.

³ Be to me a rock of refuge,

a strong fortress, to save me,

for you are my rock and my fortress. 

⁴ Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.

⁵ For you, O Lord, are my hope,

my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

⁶ Upon you I have leaned from my birth;

it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.

My praise is continually of you.

       Psalm 71 comes from early in the history of Israel, during the time when Israel and Judah had separated. The writer offers a lament. This means he is in trouble and is asking the Lord for help. The psalm does not tell us why, but the writer is in trouble from some enemies. These enemies are ruthless who use their power against him. They plot against him. They accuse him and seek his harm. He describes them variously as the wicked (the unrighteous), unjust and cruel (ruthless) people who would use their power (hand) against him (v. 4). They conspire against him (v. 10). They accuse him and seek to hurt him (v. 13). In summary, they try to do him harm (v. 24). The danger is of such magnitude that he cannot merely avoid them or parry their attacks by himself. He must rely upon his strong, protective God who has been with him all his long life. We learn later in this psalm that he is an old man. The older we become, the more vulnerable we become. The psalm reminds us that old age is not for sissies. He wants to sing the praises of God in his old age. These enemies are making that difficult. His prayer is simple. He wants the Lord to be his refuge and strong fortress. He recalls that the Lord was clearly the one whom he could trust while young. He wants to trust or rely on and hope in the sense of eagerly expecting help. The focus of his trust and hope is the Lord, and he wants to have this in his old age as well. He prays that God will not abandon him. His central idea is that the purpose of human life is to offer praise to God and that if one dies, that praise will cease. If praise for God is to continue, God must keep people alive and in good health. The psalm has several refrains that are like repetitions. It has thematic similarity to Psalm 70, which has led some to think the two were originally one, due to the lack of a superscription here.

We do not like to think of life this way. Most of us think we are such nice people that no one would be our enemy. Yet, enemies are out there. They may be so intentionally. Something about us rubs them the wrong way. They may be unknowing enemies, simply looking out for themselves in a way that becomes a challenge for us. The same is true with the church. We in the church need to consider that we have enemies. Some are intentional. The persecuted church throughout the world does not need that reminder. The enemies the church faces in our land are usually subtler than that. Some people within the church may unknowingly become enemies of the mission of the church. At the same time, we also need to consider that we can be our greatest enemy. 

Psalm 71: 1-4, where confidence and trust are the theme, coming out of much experience.  An elderly person is not safe from malicious enemies. He may also have been wealthy, and musically gifted.  We find a note of trust, finding refuge in God by going to the temple; he prays that God would protect him from his adversaries. These verses use a variety of synonymous words to express the rich complex of ways with which the psalm-writer prays to God to deliver him from his enemies. Verses 1-3 with slight variations are also in Psalm 31: 1-3.  ¹ In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. ² In your righteousness deliver me [natzal, meaning, "pull me out of"] and rescue me [palat meaning, "bring me out so I can escape."]. Incline your ear to me and save me [yasha', a high-frequency word in the Hebrew Bible which means to save, to rescue, to deliver, to help; the names "Joshua" and "Jesus" are cognates of yasha']. ³ Be to me a rock of refuge, [variously understood as "sheltering rock" (Tanakh and NJB) or "rock of safety" (NLT), a reference to the temple, where he may be praying for healing.] a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress (metsudah). The conceptual world of the writer intimately relates the accumulated terms for rock-fortress and for rescue, in that a rock-fortress is a good place for escape/hiding and/or for protection against attacks by one's foes. The psalm-writer metaphorically uses synonyms for rock-fortress to describe God as his formidable protective strength against those who would harm him. Masada is a high, defensible rock plateau just west of the Dead Sea in Israel. It had been fortified even before several hundred Jews fled there by A.D. 70, coming from Jerusalem and environs after the Romans had brutally crushed a rebellion and destroyed the temple. The rebels held out against the Roman siege for three more years. “Masada” is closely akin to the Hebrew word metsudah, which is the second of the two words translated “fortress” in the NRSV of Psalm 71:3. When David was fleeing for his life from King Saul, “[he] remained in the strongholds [closely related to metsudah] in the wilderness … Saul sought him every day, but the LORD did not give him into his hand.” (I Samuel 23:14). David uses the word metsudah in II Samuel 22:2-3a (and its parallel Psalm 18:2a): “The LORD is my rock, my fortress [emphasis added], and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge. …” ⁴ Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.

Psalm 71: 5-9 shows how he has trusted and hoped in the Lord since his youth.  With the wisdom that comes to some in their later years, he realizes that the Lord has been with him from the very beginning of his life. He has depended on the Lord and has not yet been disappointed. 

⁵ For you, O Lord, are my hope. He has hope in the sense of “to wait expectantly for or to wait with eager anticipation.” The psalm-writer eagerly and confidently anticipates that God will act in his behalf against the threats of his enemies. In addition, my trust, [the noun mibtah has a relationship with the verb batah, which means to feel secure/safe, to rely on someone to the extent that one is not unduly concerned with one's present circumstances.] O Lord, from my youth, I have trusted. ⁶ Upon you, I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you. He has learned that he can count on the Lord from an early age. 

We all have concerns for personal security.

Crime is a concern for many of us. Around the year 2000, I was pastor of a United Methodist Church in Dearborn County, Indiana. One Sunday, after I preached, Suzanne and I entered our home to discover that someone had stolen my computer and everything else related to the computer. We called the police. They had some leads, but nothing materialized. In those days, we had no cloud back up. Fortunately, I had most of the important material backed up on disks. Still, as you can imagine the violation one feels is strong. The same type of feelings arose when we were present at a meeting at St. Luke’s UMC on 86^th street in Indianapolis. When we came back to their parking lot, we found the window of the SUV smashed. They had stolen money and cards.  

Whenever a terrorist strike hits, many of us wonder how secure we really are. We ponder what we would do in the situation. Could we survive, where others did not? 

In the financial situation America faces, we ponder the security of our retirement or other investments. Our banks and pension systems want us to have “strong” passwords to enhance security. This shift has annoyed me at times, but I get it. The web page, “The Top 500 Worst Passwords of All Time” is helpful if you want to know what passwords to avoid.

For years, we have trusted government to provide us with political security, law enforcement to provide us with community security, our medical system to provide us with health security, and our financial system -- including online banking -- to provide us with economic security. Nevertheless, we are learning every day that there can be breakdowns in these systems.

This world is an insecure place. We have legitimate reason to have some anxiousness and even fear over the security of our little part of the world.  

Yet, beneath the insecure world in which we live, it would seem wise to find something or someone reliable. If we do, it will not come from this world. Such a reliable basis for your life wants you to “break in” and gain access to the security and deliverance it can provide.

There is a scene in Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring when the party of adventurers known by that name is desperate to take refuge from their enemies in an ancient fortress. Dwarves built the fortress, known as the Mines of Moria, centuries earlier, with the assistance of elves. The way forward is through an intricately crafted door in the side of a mountain, known as The Door of Durin. A magic spell of the Elves keeps the door sealed. An inscription on it reads, "Speak friend and enter." The wizard Gandalf deploys all his magical arts to try to discern the password and open the door, to save him and his friends. All his efforts are futile. Just when their cause seems lost, the hobbit, Merry Brandybuck, walks up to the door and speaks the Elvish word mellon, which means "friend." The door swings open, saving the Fellowship. Gandalf was overthinking it. Sometimes the true password is the simplest one.

At times, we all need a strong fortress. Oh, I know, we are strong and independent. Many of us do not want anyone to think that deep inside, we feel our weakness and vulnerability. We need a refuge. The loss of a loved, a divorce, changes in a job, or leaving the familiarity of a long-time home and moving to a new place, can make us feel our vulnerability to a sometimes-dangerous world.  

We need a rock of refuge, a mighty fortress, a bulwark that never fails. A basic issue in infancy is learning to trust. The issue never leaves us. We long to place our trust in something that is reliable. Yes, we need a refuge. Such a fortress needs to travel with us, enabling us to face the dangers of this life.

I invite you to reflect upon a favorite hymn of mine for a few moments. The hymn is an old one. It still speaks powerfully to me. I hope I can make it live for you as well.

Martin Luther felt the need for such a place of refuge when he took his stand against the Roman Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation. In 1529, he wrote a hymn that began, 

"A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; 

our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing."

 

These English words are powerful, but the original German is even better. 

First, let us consider the German words Feste Burg. Historian Michael Streich points out that Luther compares God not only to a fortress, but also to a stronghold -- what he calls a "Feste Burg." The word feste points to a strong and completely secure tower, and by using this word, Luther stresses the power of God over the invading forces. This is why the hymn's second verse ends with the triumphant prediction, "And [Christ] must win the battle." "A Mighty Fortress" moves us past the password to something much more secure -- to a completely unbreakable stronghold created by God.

The word burg refers to a fortified town. When invaders approached, the surrounding population fled to the safety of the walls that sometimes were layers of walls within walls.[1] In his hymn, Luther is saying that God is like the most powerful of all Burgs, one in which nothing can breach the walls. 

If you enjoy traveling, it is quite possible that you have visited a castle or fortress. The fortifications are impressive, especially those of the largest fortresses around the world. I understand that some are impressive: Chittorgarh Fort and Mehrangarh Fort, India; Malbork Castle, Poland; Mukachevo Castle, Ukraine; Citadel of Aleppo, Syria; Edinburgh Castle, Scotland; Königstein Fortress, Germany; and Alamut Castle, Iran. If you have visited Israel, it is likely you have taken the tram to the top of Masada. It was among the powerful moments for me, as the guide shared the story of what happened to the Jews who thought they found a secure fortress from Roman armies, only to discover that the Romans would build a ramp to the top of Masada with Jewish labor. They refused to kill their fellow Jews to stop the massive building project. In the end, the men killed their families, and then killed themselves, rather than be prisoners of the Roman army. 

When we need a place of refuge, God offers us a Mighty Fortress, a Feste Burg. No enemy can break into this stronghold. Within the refuge of God's fortress, we will "never be put to shame," because our value is based on our relationship with God, not on our earthly achievements and success (v. 1). Inside this fortified town, the Lord, who desires to have an eternal relationship with us, delivers, rescues, and saves us. (v. 2).

Second, let us consider the flood of mortal ills. Let us be clear that life in the Feste Burg is not free of struggles. Martin Luther put it this way:

our helper he amid the flood 

of mortal ills prevailing.

 

As long as we live, this world will bring us a "flood of mortal ills." We will still experience personal attacks, betrayals, failures, illnesses, and the difficulties that come with advancing age. Nevertheless, God acts as a helper amid the "flood of mortal ills," one who supports us and shields us from complete annihilation. Inside the Mighty Fortress, we discover that

"neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

 

That is real security.

Third, let us consider that "God rules the world." Psalm 71 continues with the words, "Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel" (v. 4). 

The writer of the psalm is turning to God for help, and asking God to rescue him from the cold grip of wicked, unjust and cruel people. In short, "The psalmist trusts that God -- not the wicked -- rules the world."[2]

What a bold statement of faith: God rules the world. I have my struggles with this affirmation of faith. Sometimes, I have my doubts. Yet, the psalmist is saying that God the Creator is really in charge of the grand sweep of human history, despite the evil, unfair and heartless acts that people commit every day and television brings into our homes. God can be trusted to work divine purposes out, despite the selfish and sinful decisions that people make. As Luther put it:

 

2. Did we in our own strength confide, 

 our striving would be losing, 

 were not the right man on our side, 

 the man of God's own choosing. 

 Dost ask who that may be? 

 Christ Jesus, it is he; 

 Lord Sabaoth, his name, 

 from age to age the same, 

 and he must win the battle. 

 

 3. And though this world, with devils filled, 

 should threaten to undo us, 

 we will not fear, for God hath willed 

 his truth to triumph through us. 

 The Prince of Darkness grim, 

 we tremble not for him; 

 his rage we can endure, 

 for lo, his doom is sure; 

 one little word shall fell him. 

 

 4. That word above all earthly powers, 

 no thanks to them, abideth; 

 the Spirit and the gifts are ours, 

 thru him who with us sideth. 

 Let goods and kindred go, 

 this mortal life also; 

 the body they may kill; 

 God's truth abideth still; 

 his kingdom is forever.

 

To trust God in this way is to concentrate on living according to God's priorities. As the members of British indie folk band Mumford & Sons sing in the song "Awake My Soul":

In these bodies we will live,

in these bodies we will die

And where you invest your love,

you invest your life. 

(Mumford and Sons, Awake My Soul)

 

Yes, strong password protection is important for our financial security. However, have we learned how to invest our love? Psalm 71 invites us to do this, saying, "For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth" (v. 5). Further, he says:

"Upon you I have leaned from my birth, 

it was you who took me from my mother's womb. 

My praise is continually of you" (v. 6). 

 

If neighbors assessed our spiritual investment strategies, would they see signs that we have been leaning on God and offering praise?

There is an old story about a chaplain in the German army during World War II. (Hitler’s armies did include chaplains, but they had no rank. They were like Red Cross workers, embedded in military units but not part of them. Not all of them were sympathetic to Nazi ideology.) In 1944, this particular chaplain, a Lutheran minister, was billeted in a private home in Budapest. The home belonged to two Jewish physicians, father and son, who so far had managed to avoid being sent to a concentration camp. They were grave, dignified men. They had no choice about providing the room to the German chaplain: the occupying authorities had commanded it. The Nazis discouraged contact between hosts and guests. Even so, the two Jewish doctors knocked on the chaplain’s door one day. They asked him if he needed anything. He asked for a small chest for storage, and they said they could provide it. The older one of the pair suddenly blurted out: “Pastor, you will protect us, won’t you?” The chaplain stammered something about being a relief worker: they had nothing to fear from him. But that seemed so inadequate. What could he say that would reassure them? Suddenly he was moved to say: “Shema Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai echad.” (“Hear, O Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is one.”) The two were overwhelmed. Their relief was palpable. In gratitude, they silently pressed the chaplain’s hand and left. It was such a little thing for the chaplain to do. Those were mere words. Yet, what powerful words they are! To a person of no faith, they are mere empty syllables. Yet to a believer who knows the One who is a rock and a fortress, they say all that needs to be said.

Where you invest your love, says the song, you invest your life. So often, we make our investments elsewhere. Psalm 71 challenges us to put our total trust in God, rather than in the people or institutions of this world. It invites us to depend on the Lord for security, recognizing that everything in this world has an element of insecurity. When we put our faith in God, we discover that God is a rock of refuge and a strong fortress. We find that God is strong and willing to help us, as God guides us through the grand sweep of our lives.

Invest your love in God and in the plans God has for the world. There you will find security, eternally.

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[1] Historian Streich

[2] Biblical scholar J. Clinton McCann, Jr.