The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
    Exalted be God my Savior! —Psalm 18:46

We start out every week with an inspirational lesson from the beloved Psalms. For centuries, these ancient poems of King David and others have been the foundation for Jewish and Christian worship. Enjoy!

There are many names for God in the Bible. Some are more commonly known, such as “Lord,” “God,” and “Lord of Hosts.” Then there are the names that are more descriptive of God, such as “king,” “my shepherd,” “father,” and others. These monikers often describe ways in which God acts in our life or history.

Often the name we use in referring to God says more about us than about God. Let me explain. If I call God “father,” I am referring to myself as His child. If I call Him “my shepherd,” I see myself as a sheep in His flock.

Every word we use to describe God also describes us and our relationship to Him. I thought about this while reading Psalm 18, and these beautiful words, “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!” Based on what I was just saying about descriptions of God, what does it mean when we refer to Him as our “Rock”? What does it say about our relationship to Him?

This is not the only verse in the Bible that refers to God in this way. For example, “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

God Is Our Rock

A rock is solid. It’s dependable. It doesn’t change. And all these are true of God. But I think there’s something more to this name. Later in that same passage in Deuteronomy, referring to the idol-worshipers, Moses wrote: “For their rock is not like our Rock” (Deuteronomy 32:31).

As I said, every description of God is actually a description of our relationship to Him. When we say God is our Rock, what we mean is that God’s truth is eternal, unbreakable, and unchanging. He is not just something we believe in. He is the foundation of all that we believe in.

Those who oppose biblical faith also have a “rock.” But “their rock is not like our rock.” They also have beliefs that they are committed to and hold to be true. But their rock is not like ours.

In Psalm 18, when David says, “Praise be to my Rock,” what he’s really saying is this: Praise be to my personal God, who is dependable, strong, unchanging, and the foundation for all that I am.

Your turn: Do you praise God with different names? Do these names make you think about your relationship to God in different ways? Spend some time thinking and praying about how God is your Rock.