Psalm 18:46b  
“Praise be to my cliff!” 
        We saw, in verse 2 that the word translated “rock” has more than one meaning; in this instance it means cliff. There are times when God is that solid rock that we may stand upon when the world around is quaking and unreliable. We may stand safely on a rock when the waves of the sea beat against it or a river flows around it, and a rock may also be a comfort when navigating across boggy terrain. In all of these situations we can be exposed, and the rock remains beneath us. Praise God for that! Here, in verse 46, the rock is a cliff, a towering edifice or crag that cannot be easily scaled by our enemies. Incidentally, the same word for rock crops up on several occasions in Moses’ song in Deuteronomy 32. This Rock offers safety and security and, in David’s experience, caves of protection too. Here is all-round refuge, a sanctuary against the elements and against the foe. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” writes the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:31. If you are suffering right now from trouble, from sickness, from depression, from spiritual attack, from the uncertainty of life’s many experiences, know this, our God is your cliff, you may run to Him, climb up to Him and take complete refuge in Him. He will never, never, never let us go and we are absolutely safe, whatever the circumstances. Praise be to the cliff!

“Exalted be God my Saviour!”  The emphasis here is on a God who saves, who is the embodiment of personal deliverance. For David, that salvation took many forms; salvation from the pagan nations, salvation from King Saul, salvation from treacherous friends and jealous family members. He was saved from God’s wrath and saved from mens’ violent opposition, saved from the lion and the bear and saved from illness and death. Saved from a Philistine giant and saved from the consequences of his own foolishness. Above all we are reminded in Psalm 51 that David was saved, by God, from the wickedness of his own heart. 
We have a God who saves – exalted be His name! As we journey through life with Him we increasingly realise that He has been there for us at every turn, that He has guarded us from outside threats, sometimes when we were not even aware of them. But this exalted God has also saved us within, from personal calamity, from weakness and failure and most of all from our sin. Mary’s song, in Luke1 starts, “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” The name “Jesus” reminds us that God saves us from our sins; His entire purpose on earth is to save fallen mankind from destruction, from judgement and wrath, from hell and damnation and from eternal banishment. The only way to approach Him is humbly, with gratitude and thanksgiving; where would we be if God did not save? May his name be elevated across the world!

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