Here are assorted notes on Psalm 71.
·
In 71:3 there are two Hebrew words for “rock”. References to God as a “Rock” always catch my
attention because of the likely connection to Deut. 32, The Song of Moses. In that Song the primary description of God
is that He is a Rock, in the sense of being strong, faithful and a refuge. This was a Song the people were supposed to
learn as it spoke of Israel’s future spiritual wanderings and of God’s ultimate
faithfulness to His promise to Abraham.
o
By my strong refuge. “Strong” is Heb. tsuwr, a rock or cliff, as
in Deut. 32:4,13b,15,18,30,31,37. In
Psa. 71:3 and 7 it is used with two different terms for “refuge”. In v3 it is the refuge of your home, a
habitation; in v7 it is more of an emergency shelter when away from home (e.g.
Job 24:8). It is used of the rock from
which God brought water (Psa. 78:15,20).
When you read that Psalm and the story it tells (v15-22) you see that it
is the rock that brought forth water the first time in the wilderness. In fact, the first use of this term in the OT
is in Ex. 17:6 where God instructs Moses to strike the rock. This term is used of God in connection with
Him being Israel’s redeemer, later in Psalm 78 (v35) and also in the familiar
prayer of Ps. 19:14 (O LORD, my strength/rock and my Redeemer). Let me also call attention to Ps. 73:26, in
the famous words of Asaph: My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength
of my heart and my portion forever. Do
you see how precious it is for us to know that God is our rock, our strong
fortress? Praise Him!
o You
are my rock and my fortress. “Rock”
is Heb. cela, again referring to a cliff or a craig, as in Deut. 32:13a. “Tsuwr” might see God as a strong place for
us to stand, on a cliff high above the troubles of the valley; “cela” might be
more of a crack in the rock where we can be hidden by God. It is interesting that the first use of this
word is in Num. 20:8,10,11, referring to the rock that Moses struck, and which
brought forth water the second time in the wilderness.
We hope you find this worthy of meditation and
thanks to God, our Rock!
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