They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support. - Psalm 18v18
Psalm 18 is a psalm of great comfort. The psalmist digs down deep and continues to find reasons why he should trust the Lord instead of being overwhelmed by his circumstances. Here, in the middle of the psalm, we find a wonderful little expression of confidence.
Though somewhat archaic to our 21st century ears I like the way the KJV ends this verse – ‘…but the Lord was my stay.’ When I read this I immediately thought of a collar stay. In case the word is too archaic a collar stay in that little slab of plastic that keep a collar on a dress shirt from getting soft and keeps it in shape. It is a stiffener or a support. This English use of the word, actually originally meant a ‘strong rope used to hold a ship in place.’
I really like that picture. The Hebrew word here is well served by that definition. When we face opposition the Lord is indeed our stay. He is the one Who holds us in place and gives us strength. He will not let our ship be dragged away by the storms that come.
Praise God that He is my stay. He is the only one who is able to keep me in place. How exciting to have that stay.
2 comments:
Beautiful thoughts. I'm facing a battle of peace while I await surgery in a couple of weeks to remove cancer. This psalm has been a strong comfort to me all my adult life, and once again I find myself depending on its beautiful picture of God's deliverance as true and real.
I am so glad these simple thoughts gave you comfort as you face your cancer surgery. When I wrote that our daughter-in-law was facing a stem cell transplant for leukaemia so I can certainly understand your feelings. I pray that the surgery will go well and the Lord will indeed be your stay in the days to comes.
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