A Strong Tower

"Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy" (Psa.61:3). From the early times of the Judges when force and violence prevailed, towers were common among the inhabitants of Palestine (Israel) as strongholds for defence. Here they could take refuge from their foes and find themselves in safety. Owing to the disturbed state of the country, towers were built in the cities, in the forests, and in the deserts. Many of these towers were spacious enough to hold hundreds of people. They would hasten in, shut the door, climb the stairs to the roof, and standing within the battlements, look down upon their enemies below, to defy and mock them.

The Scriptures frequently make reference to this figure. "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe" (is set aloft—margin) (Prov.18:10). "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name" (Psa.91:14). "I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving" (Psa.69:29‑30). "He poureth contempt upon princes,…yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction" (Psa.107:40‑41). "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;…my high tower… So shall I be saved from mine enemies" (Psa.18:2‑3).

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." We honour Him by our obedience and faith when we take refuge in Him as our strong tower. By invoking His name, calling upon Him everywhere, and trusting Him at all times, we learn to set the Lord always before us, and we get to know Him whom to know is life eternal. We are safe and confident if we abide under the shadow of the Almighty. We thus cast our burden upon the Lord, our fears disappear, and we enter into the peace which passes all understanding. All around us enemies may seek to oppose, to hinder, or to injure us, but God will set us aloft and compass us about with songs of deliverance.

This does not mean we shall never be involved in trouble, but we shall always be set up above it, lifted into the atmosphere of heaven. The outward circumstances will not incessantly be removed but we shall be enabled to rise above them, being changed and fitted as overcomers for the great inheritance that the grace of God has prepared for us in His heavenly kingdom. He wants us to keep His favour, His guidance, and His presence. He longs for us to know His sympathy, interest and Fatherly care. Our domestic, business, or religious problems; our cares, longings and joys; everything that concerns us becomes His concern. "He careth for you." "The Father himself loveth you."

There is a strong tower, the secret place of the most High, where the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity dwells with those of a contrite and humble spirit. He forgives, restores, refreshes, and gives more grace. He quickens our mortal body by his Spirit that dwells in us. He knows our frame, our temperament, and every detail of our circumstances. He makes all allowances for what we seek to do, weighs all our motives, and never misunderstands us as others often do, or as we sometimes misunderstand ourselves. He asks to leave it all in faith to Him, and He will bring forth our righteousness as the light and our judgment as the noonday.

The Forest Gate Bible Monthly