STABLE, SECURE AND SUPPORTIVE – THAT IS GOD OUR ROCK, FOREVER
DID YOU HAVE A ROCK?
Years ago there used to be this fad – pet rocks. How many remember this craze? A quote from “Nostalgia Central” might jog your memories (if you are of my generation!)
[[“The Pet Rock was probably the biggest toy fluke of the 20th century. Can you imagine people today buying a rock decorated with animal features?
Created in 1975 by an advertising executive called Gary Dahl – he brought the small smooth rocks from a Mexican beach and packaged them in a tiny box with air holes. The true genius was inside; a rock nestled on a bed of straw with a tiny book explaining how to train, play with and even house-train your pet rock.
Though initially just plain rocks, they were eventually sold with faces painted on, often sold as a group of pebbles, symbolising a small family or a ‘rock’ band. By Christmas 1975, two and a half tons of rocks had been sold and 75% of all daily newspapers in America had run Pet Rock stories.
A million rocks sold for $3.95 each in just a few months, and Gary Dahl – who decided from the beginning to make at least one dollar from every rock – had become an instant millionaire.
Copycat rocks flooded the market, including one cleverly marketed as “the Original Pet Rock,” and dozens of quick-buck entrepreneurs joined the action selling such ancillary fun as “Pet Rock Obedience Lessons” and “Pet Rock Burial-at-Sea Services.”]]
And people have rocks. They like to decorate their yards with a few rocks; some have them for letterbox supports and garden features. Some have them as borders for gardens or decorative arrangements around swimming pools. People and organisations mark places out as memorials or plaques using rocks; in my country, mainly of granite or basalt with a plaque attached. The rock’s smaller cousin, “stones” form driveways, implants in and against walls and arrangements at the bottom of fish tanks.
These rocks are as big as the individual, or smaller, moved by hand or machine.
You still hear the expression, “You are my rock,” which means “You are my support.”
USEFULNESS
When a storm comes and you are caught unawares and you are in the open with no trees of any height but there are rocks, what do you look for? You try to find shelter on the lee side of the rock or rocky embrace where you get as close to the rock as you can, or dare I say, a cave in a rock or a good overhang. On one occasion I was in a tropical rainforest with a friend photographing fungi when we were caught in a downpour. This was granite country with very large boulders and one of them cut under, with enough room for us to shelter free from the rain. That was a relief.
What use would be a rock lower than you?
If you thought about the usefulness of rocks, then in what way could they be useful? I mean large rocks? How are these large rocks considered? What is it that draws people to the rock idea? Because a rock can be much larger than we are, people can be captivated by them. They can provide:
Shelter
Security
Stability
Shade
Safety/Security if hiding
Support in isolation
Solace as in comfort and retreat
Summary ? Shelter from the elements; security to stay in place; stability when you don’t want something moving; safety in a gale; a feeling of support because of the size; and a solace to be among something bigger.
HYMNS THAT TAKE UP THE ROCK THEME
A number of hymns have been written with the Rock theme, most of then centred on Christ the Rock. These have come from personal experience and from the truth of Scripture. Here are a few of many:
Rock of Ages
Let me Fly to the Rock
The Rock That is Higher Than I
Beneath the Cross of Jesus
My Hope is Built on Nothing Less (On Christ the solid Rock I stand)
I did find one unfamiliar to me - Translated from the Danish. Author: N. F. S. Grundtvig (1854)
“Built on the Rock the Church shall stand
even when steeples are falling.
Crumbled have spires in ev'ry land;
bells still are chiming and calling,
calling the young and old to rest,
but above all the soul distressed,
longing for rest everlasting.”
These hymn writers are expressing the biblical basis for the Rock. Sometimes the rock may be a picture but mostly in Scripture the Rock is Jehovah or the Lord Jesus Christ. There are so many of these throughout Scripture that we could gather dozens but I wanted to choose just a few of the hymns about the Rock.
THE ROCK – THE VANTAGE POINT
Those who walk tracks and trails know how good it is to finally reach the top of a summit or rise, and spread out before the walker, is the panorama of the countryside. For perspective, the vantage points of rocks are good. In my area there are walks through rainforest that rise to some peaks and one I have enjoyed is Glacier Rock. However in the world there are much better rocks with vantage points and overviews. You climb such places to reconnoitre your position. In Christ, our Rock, we have the full vantage point for our journey. We have the best perspective on the world today. He is our Rock, and therefore our vantage point for every aspect of life. We can ascend that Rock and live in the heavenlies. In Christ and His word we have the scene laid out before us of the map of this world and can see where it is going and what lies ahead.
[A]. CHRIST IS THE ROCK FOR LIFE’S FOUNDATION:
{{Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared with a wise man WHO BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON THE ROCK and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house, and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.”}}
This is the only stability we can have through life. People are tossed around by every type of storm, and their sandy foundations have no security or meaning. People invest in expensive houses on unsure foundations and life’s storms – inflation, interest rates, job loss, health crisis – undermine their life’s work. Only when built on the rock is there stability. Lives built on the Lord Jesus Christ last forever for that is the eternal foundation. Repent and be saved, for things are going to get worse in this world as we near the end of the Church age.
[B]. CHRIST IS THE ROCK FOR HIS OWN BRIDE:
{{Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and UPON THIS ROCK I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.”}}
The Pearl of Greatest Price, the Church, The Bride, the Household of God, the Joy of His Soul – the Lord is building His Church upon Himself for He can be the only foundation for His own Bride. We don’t have time today to look into the matter of petros and petra, the pebble and the immovable Rock. Peter is not the Rock. There is no way the great Church of God can be built on a fallible man. It is built on, and established in God Himself.
[C]. CHRIST IS THE ROCK OF STUMBLING:
{{Romans 9:33 “just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENCE, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”}}
We have a clear cut division and a clearly drawn line in this verse. The bible is black and white not grey/gray. Psalm 1 sets out the two ways, the way of life and the way of death. There are only two groups of people. There is no such thing as “many paths lead to God”. There is only one, only ONE WAY. The early Christians were known as “the people of the way”. Liberal Theology has muddied the waters and has tried to destroy the “I am THE WAY” the truth and life in Christ. There used to be a chorus we learnt at Sunday School – [[“One door and only one, and yet its sides are two. Inside and outside; on which side are you? One door and only one, and yet its sides are two. I’m on the inside; on which side are you?”]]
Peter, led by the Holy Spirit, also took up this theme:- {{1Peter 2:6-8 For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe, but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner stone,” and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENCE,” for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.”}}
People stumble at the word of Christ and at preaching of the gospel message because they are offended at the gospel. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin and exposes sin and people hate that, but instead of turning to the Lord for salvation, they stumble and take offence and continue along in their journey to hell.
[D]. CHRIST IS THE ROCK WHO WAS CLEFT:
{{Exodus 33:20-23 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” Then the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock, and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”}}
The cleft of the rock protected Moses. How we need that cleft Rock – for our salvation, and for our comfort. Snuggle up close in the cleft of the Rock. You will be in the very presence of the Lord and can you grasp the enormous concept of being covered by the Lord’s hand. Absolutely nothing can place a finger on us while we are hidden in Christ. Remain in the cleft of the Rock and see the Lord’s glory.
Another aspect is that of the cleft Rock being Christ. The work of Calvary when He became sin for us, when He was smitten, and His side was cleaved for us all, is all about the Rock on the cross who died for us. Can we ever appreciate properly the depth of the cross, the enormity of our sin and disgrace, and the suffering of the Saviour?
[E]. CHRIST IS OUR ROCK OF SPIRITUAL LIVING WATER:
{{1Corinthians 10:2-4 “and all were baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were DRINKING FROM A SPIRITUAL ROCK which followed them, AND THE ROCK WAS CHRIST.”}}
This is the fountain of living water, the well where one will never thirst again, the very same truth the woman of Samaria found. God has provided everything for you. Is that not the fullest of blessings? Spiritual food and drink for eternity. Of course the reference is from {{Exodus 17:6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and YOU SHALL STRIKE THE ROCK, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink,” and Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”}}
The question is, “Are you drinking from that well, and dwelling in the Lord’s presence? Have you taken the fact and truth and constantly make it yours, or do you play around in the shallow, dirty water of the world’s values and morals? There is a delightful song that meant much to me going back to the youth camp days of my earlier life and I will quote a bit from it:-
“Beulah Land” written by C Austin Miles in 1911. (The format in Sermon Central double spaces the lines of poems and hymns, and deletes stanza breaks, and sorry about that). I will give the first stanza and chorus -
Far away the noise of strife upon my ear is falling.
Then I know the sins of earth beset on every hand;
Doubt and fear and things of earth in vain to me are calling.
None of these shall move me from Beulah land.
(CHORUS)
I’m living on the mountain, underneath a cloudless sky,?
I’m drinking at the fountain that never shall run dry;?
O yes, I’m feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply,?
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.
[F]. CHRIST IS THE ROCK OF DELIVERANCE AND REFUGE:
{{2Samuel 22:1-4 David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul, and he said, “THE LORD IS MY ROCK and my fortress and my deliverer, MY GOD, MY ROCK, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my Saviour. You save me from violence. I call upon the LORD who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”}}
This passage has come from David’s personal experience. David knew over and over again, the deliverance and preservation of the Lord. He repeated this theme many times in the Psalms. Maybe you have not known the refuge of the Lord when in trouble. Maybe you can recall times when He has kept you and rescued you. Maybe these verses are still waiting for you to experience them.
I can personally testify to the faithfulness of the Lord in my life when passing though such difficult times. All I can say is this. THE LORD IS MY ROCK! He is my shelter and strong defence. The Rock stops enemies in their tracks! The Lord is worthy to be praised. Trust in Him today – fully and without reserve. He is faithful in the fullest.
[G]. CHRIST IS THE ROCK OF DIVINE JUDGMENT:
{{Daniel 2:34-35 “You continued looking until A STONE WAS CUT OUT WITHOUT HANDS and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Dan 2:35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found, but the stone that struck the statue became A GREAT MOUNTAIN and filled the whole earth.”}}
Nebuchadnezzar had a vision that was interpreted by Daniel. The dream was of the world kingdoms and then this STONE crashed into the image and became a mountain filling the whole earth.
This is prophetic. The world’s kingdoms will exist until Christ smashes them at the Second Coming and then His own kingdom is set up on earth for 1000 years. (In prophecy a mountain means a kingdom) (The stone cut out without hands means the virgin birth). Messiah crushes the armies of the world at Armageddon. He will be the One who crushes the world kingdoms when He returns to establish His Millennial kingdom. It will be a terrible time leading up to that, but all who believe in the Saviour will have no part in the Tribulation judgment.
LET US ENJOY MORE OF THE ROCK
I want to share some lovely passages with you from the Old Testament that testify to the unfailing Rock who is our Lord Jesus Christ.
*** {{Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, MY ROCK and my Redeemer.”}} Rock and Redeemer go together and so it should be. Jesus is both for us and for Israel. It carries a personal responsibility for us.
*** {{Psalm 18:2 “THE LORD IS MY ROCK and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”}} David was delivered many times from his enemies and every time he knew the Lord was his unmovable Rock. Shelter in our Rock!
*** {{2Samuel 22:47 “The LORD lives, and blessed be MY ROCK, and exalted be God, THE ROCK OF MY SALVATION.”}} “Rock” is a great image for it is always large and secure. It won’t change and is always stable.
*** {{2Samuel 22:32 “For who is God, besides the LORD and WHO IS A ROCK, besides our God?”}} Again has the sense of being a constant, always there and dependable. It speaks of reliability.
*** {{1Samuel 2:2 “There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You, NOR IS THERE ANY ROCK LIKE OUR GOD.”}} Samuel knew that no one was like the Lord. No nation had a God of trustworthiness or comfort. It is all found in the Rock of Ages.
*** {{Deuteronomy 32:3-4 “For I proclaim the name of the LORD. Ascribe greatness to our God! THE ROCK! His work is perfect for all His ways are just, a God of faithfulness and without injustice. Righteous and upright is He.”}} Looking at the Christian application in this, Matthew Henry says of the rock, “This is the first time God is called so in Scripture. The expression denotes that the Divine power, faithfulness, and love, as revealed in Christ and the gospel, form a foundation which cannot be changed or moved, on which we may build our hopes of happiness.”
*** {{Isaiah 44:8 “Do not tremble and do not be afraid. Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or IS THERE ANY OTHER ROCK? I know of none.”}} Isaiah was well aware of the Psalms of David about the Rock and the question he asks is rhetorical for it was more of an affirmation. He answers his own question – There is none!
As we bring this to an end, there is a warning, for Israel is an example for us. Listen to what God lamented over the nation – {{Deuteronomy 32:13-18 (God speaking of Israel) “He made him ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the produce of the field, and He made him suck honey from the rock, and oil from the flinty rock, but Jeshurun grew fat and kicked — You are grown fat, thick, and sleek — Then he forsook God who made him, and SCORNED THE ROCK OF HIS SALVATION. YOU NEGLECTED THE ROCK who begot you, and forgot the God who gave you birth.”}} When Israel established itself and turned from God into disobedience and idolatry, they turned to wickedness. They scorned the Lord (the Rock) and neglected their God. Those who start out on a Christian pathway can do the same thing.”}}
Christ is the ROCK of SHELTER, SECURITY, STABILITY, SHADE, SAFETY, SUPPORT, SOLACE
{{Isaiah 32:1-2 “Behold, a king will reign righteously and princes will rule justly, and each will be like a refuge from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry country, like THE SHADE OF A HUGE ROCK in a parched land.”}} This verse speaks of the time when Jesus reigns from Jerusalem as King over the earth and the simile means everything that the Rock provides full relief and comfort at all times.
Introduce and speak on the final hymn – Beneath the Cross of Jesus.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
