The Rock of My Salvation

I'm going to continue here this morning, part four in our series concerning Christ being the only foundation. We've already dealt with three parts showing clearly that Christ is the foundation of your individual Christian life and the church that you build your life or your house upon. And we're going to continue with that next week. Some very important messages on foundations, Christ himself being this foundation. What does that look like? But I just want to stop for a second. We've already said Christ, that foundation, not foundation is one rock, one stone. The entire foundation is one stone. So I want to stop here this week for a moment. I want to stop you. Let's go and look at this stone, not as a foundation, but let's look at it very closely. My message, the rock of my salvation, reading in Psalm 62. I want you to turn in your Bible. I hope you have a Bible. If you don't tell us, we'll get you a Bible. But Psalm 62, and I want to read it here. As we look at the rock of my salvation, and we know that is the Lord Jesus Christ. What is your rock? What is your rock here this morning? What are you building your life on? If I asked you, what does your entire walk, sanity rely upon? What are you trusting to? What is it that's keeping you up? I wonder what you'd say here this morning. I want to tell you, Christ is my rock, that I'm absolutely persuaded of. Psalm 62, verse 1. To the chief musician, to Jedithon, a Psalm of David, truly my soul waiteth upon God. From him cometh my salvation. He only, only, underline that word, he only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved. How long will you imagine mischief against me, a man? You shall be slain, all of you, as a bowing wall, and shall yet be as a tottering fence. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency. They delight in lies. They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah, that means stop and consider this. My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. And God is my salvation and my glory, the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times. Ye people, pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah, stop and consider it. Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie. To be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. Trust not in oppression and become not vain in robbery. If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. God has spoken once, twice, have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy, for thou renderest to every man according to his work. Let's give thanks, and as we do, just praise and thank him that Christ is your salvation. We love you, Lord Jesus. We know that we've only got one anchor for this soul. We've only got one defense. We've only got one rock to stand on, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. We love you, Jesus. You're the lover of our soul. We love you because you first loved us. We are here because you died and bled for us. My God, when we consider the miracles in this room, nor God of individuals delivered, nor God from idolatry, from, Lord God, the deadness of religion, from drugs, from drink, from suicide, we've already heard it in the prayers, nor God in the testimonies this morning, that you have done wonders in our lives, O God, that you're a mighty savior, that you're a deliverer, that you're a healer, O God, nor God, you're a wonderful savior. You are all of our salvation. My God, we need no other rock in this world. We need no other defense or security, nor God, though we lose everything else, yet we have this Lord Jesus Christ, and we love you. Now, nor God, I pray for the power of God to be here this morning. You said the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to all them that believe, and Father, we pray for that gift of faith. We pray for that work of your Holy Spirit, that individuals will come to believe in Jesus as their only salvation, as their all in all, as their everything, O God. Blessed be your name this morning, in Jesus' name. Amen. My message is we've been dealing, and we've looked at how Christ said the story about two men. One built his house upon a rock. The other built his house upon sand. When the storm comes, the one built on a rock stands. When the storm comes, the one built on sand, it crumbles at that point. What warnings for your life? You better be sure what you're building on. You may go through the next week, but the storm's going to come and test. My message here this morning, we're just going to stop and consider Christ as the rock, not just as a foundation, but being our everything. He is our rock. It says here in Psalm 62, verse 2, He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. There's a personal testimony, not a theology, not a theory, not religion. David writing this Psalm is saying, my rock, my salvation, my defense. It's a personal testimony. You know what he's saying? I've experienced this. This is what I'm enjoying now. It's not a theory that I'm trying to attain onto. I have this salvation, and he's a person. He himself is my rock. He is my salvation. He is my defense. Listen to what he says. I shall not be greatly moved. Again, he repeats this almost the same in verse 6. I wonder if you can note the difference. He says in verse 6, He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. This beautiful Psalm that we have just read, this is where I get my message, the rock of my salvation. Notice the words, the rock of my salvation. When you have this, you have salvation. Look at how this Psalm begins, and we often miss out on these terms at the beginning of the Psalm. Remember, Psalms are songs. They are written. Most of the Psalms are written either by King David or Moses. They can be broken down into that. Most of the Psalms are written by one shepherd boy who lived his days walking with God. But look at this first one, what it says. Two. Look who it's written to or handed over to, to the chief musician, to Jethunun, a Psalm of David. So look at it. It's written by King David, who was a shepherd boy, but this is in his latter days. He's gone through many things in life. He has saw many things come and go. Here he is near the end of his life, at the end of his best days. The best has gone before. Now he looks to an eternity. His days are numbered. He doesn't move quite as fast as he used to. He doesn't have the youthfulness he did. He can't fight just as well as he used to. But I His faith is pristine in this Psalm. There's no diminution of this man's faith, of his vision. He writes this Psalm. Who does he give it to? The chief musician, to Jethunun. This man, Jethunun, I want you to consider him before we go into the Psalm. He served under David and Solomon. He was a man gifted in music. This is about a thousand years before Jesus Christ. And here you have this man, Jethunun. He's mentioned 16 times in our Bible. I wonder if you've ever considered him, or what you know about him, or whether you've studied him, or whether you've searched into his life, or been impressed with his life. You ought to be. He is a dynamic character in the Bible. Jethunun mentioned 16 times, and 10 of those times is in the books of Chronicles. He was one of the three leading worship leaders, we could say. He was a Levite. He was a man of God. He wore linen in worship unto God. And he served alongside a man called Asphath and Heman. And his other name is actually Ethan, just like your name. But here it is, Jeduthun. I wonder if Shona would have got her tongue around that just quite as easily. But this Jeduthun is a remarkable man. When you go to Chronicles, he comes up time, and time, and time again. Every list of instruments, suddenly Jethunun is there playing that instrument. He is right in the heart of worship, and praise, and singing, and instrumental ministry unto God. He is always there. He's a bit like Obed-Edom. Have you studied Obed-Edom? Have you heard about Obed-Edom? You ought to have. Oh boy, if I preach on Obed-Edom, you're going to be fascinated. These are classic men in the house of God. Study Obed-Edom. Study Jeduthun. And you know what? They crop up everywhere. They're on that instrument. They're on this instrument. Then they're over there singing. Then they're over here on the door greeting everyone, keeping out anyone who shouldn't be in, and making sure whoever needs to be here gets in. These are remarkable characters in the house of God. Do you know you couldn't have the house of God function correctly without men like these? And so David writes a psalm specifically to this man, Jeduthun. Know what he's saying? I want you to play it upon your instrument the way you play it. You see, David wrote this, had the words, had the message, and he said, I know the man who needs to be singing this or leading the worship. I know this man. He's one of the three great leaders of worship in the house of God. I know he's going to have the right singers, the right song. He's going to have everything just right in this, the harmony, the beauty. You know, it's a good thing to have that. We don't need it to sing unto God. If you sound like a crow, sing away, sing away. That's okay. But you know what? It's beautiful in the house of God when we desired a minister unto him. David writes and then sends three psalms to this man. Here he has Psalm 62, then there's Psalm 39, and again Psalm 77. These three psalms, he said, it's for this man. I want him to be entrusted with these psalms to bring into the house of God. You know, songs are used to teach you things. So as we sing, we should be learning. The Holy Spirit can be speaking to us. Truth is in songs. You know, the most powerful part of a song isn't the music. If you're all caught up in music, tapping your foot, tapping your toe, and you think that's good worship, I get a sense of God being here. You're actually deceived. You're duped. Do you know the most powerful thing about a song is the words of it, the truth conveyed by it. So if you don't realize that music works, and I love worship, I could stay here all day and we just worship and sing and praise God. I assure you, it would be no effort for me. I love worship in the house of God. I don't understand people who get 15 minutes into a sermon and look at their watch. I don't understand them. You know that, don't you? I don't understand people who worship in God and they get bored. They go, are we still here? I don't understand you. It's a bit like if I go to a disco, I stand there and go, what are they doing? Why are the boogie and away the night? In a dark room going, isn't this great? No, you're crazy. Well, they come in here and go, man, these people are crazy. Yeah. You see the nature is different. The character is different. That isn't my world. I want to live in the presence of God under the preaching of God's word. Jaduthin was entrusted with this psalm. Listen to what it says about him in Chronicles, Chronicles 25 and verse one concerning this man who should prophesy with harps, harps coming up again with psalteries and with symbols. Then in chapter 25 and three, Jaduthin who prophesied, notice that, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to give praise unto the Lord. So here he is in the house of God ministering, singing praise, singing songs, but he's prophesying. In other words, the Holy Spirit's on him. There is an unction on him. You know, you can have unction on you when you sing to be led of the Holy Spirit of God. Oh, I'm just playing an instrument. I'm just singing. Well, where's the unction? You can prophesy. In other words, the Spirit of God can be upon you, leading you, moving you, bringing forth a the Lord. In 2 Chronicles 35, it said about Jaduthin, the king's seer. In other words, it calls him a prophet. He's a prophet with a harp leading worship. And here's David writing psalms to him saying, I want you to be in charge of this psalm. I want you to bring it to the house of God. I want you to minister under the anointing of the power of the Holy Spirit. And this man, Jaduthin, I hope you don't forget his name after this. He is a remarkable man. Go and study him. Jaduthin actually raised up six children in the house of God. And it says they stood on the doors and they watched over the doors and they played on the instruments and they were involved in worship. This man raised up six sons in the house of God. Some of you men need to raise up six sons in this house. Just take out a whole row say, this is for my son. I'm going to raise up six sons. They're going to worship God. They're going to love God. Don't tell me that you can't lead children into this. I heard a man once said, well, my young child, my young boy, I don't know whether he's going to follow God yet. I just have to wait for him to grow up, make his own decision. That is a negligent attitude. That is a dangerous attitude in a house of God. Your child won't be in that house of God. I want to assure you, you're not even fighting for that child. You're leaving it up to him. The devil will come after your child. Be assured of as we go into this, I've got three points for you, but I want you to realize in this message, the rock of my salvation, right at the heart of this song, it's got one singular, mighty truth. You know what it is? The rock of my salvation. There is right in the midst of this Psalm a message about who the rock is, what he does, and why this rock is so wonderful. King David, who wrote this Psalm, he is praising God. He is worshiping God concerning his rock or his salvation. You find time and time again in the Psalms that this rock comes up and is mentioned. It's not a small issue. It's a massive issue. Listen to what it says in Psalm 18 in verse two. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I will trust. He is my buckler and the horn of my salvation and my high tower. Notice all those my's. My, my, my. What is Christ to you? Is he a mere theology? Is he a mere message of others? Or is he your Christ? Is he your rock? It says again in Psalm 18, 31, for who is God? Save the Lord. Or who is the rock? Save our God. Or in verse 46, the Lord liveth and blessed be my rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It says in Psalm 28, verse one, unto thee will I cry, O Lord, my rock, be not silent to me. It says in Psalm 31, verse two, bow down, now thine ear to me, deliver me speedily. Be thou my strong rock for an house of defense to save me. For thou art my rock, my fortress. Therefore, for thy name's sake, lead me and guide me. It says in Psalm 40, verse two, he brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the married clay. And he set my feet upon a rock and he established my goings. It says in Psalm 61, verse two, from the end of the earth, I will cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. It says in Psalm 71, verse three, be thou my strong habitation where unto I may continually resort. Thou has given commandment to save me for this reason, for thou art my rock and my fortress. Psalm 89, 26, he shall cry unto me, thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Psalm 92, 15, to show that the Lord is upright. He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him. Psalm 94, 22, but the Lord is my defense and my God is the rock of my refuge. Psalm 95, verse one, O come, let us sing unto the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise. Who to? To the rock of our salvation. And I could continue through the word of God. From Genesis to Revelation, only one person is the rock of salvation. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Every book of the Bible presents him as the only rock amidst the storm, the only defense in trouble, the only deliver in the time of your needs. I've got three points here that I want to preach from Psalm 62 concerning the rock of my salvation. I'm going to make this personal because it is personal. Number one, the rock of salvation. I want you to see in this Psalm, the rock of salvation. You can't have salvation without a rock. If you don't have this rock, you don't have salvation. Some of you guys could get free of drink and drugs, of crime, of cursing, of wife-beating, could get free of that but not have Christ as your rock. But I want to tell you, if you get Christ as your rock, you will get free of all of those things. There's no doubt about it. It says in verse 2, he only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved. I want you to see so clearly in this first point, the rock of salvation, that this person is, who is called a rock, is salvation. The rock, hear me so clearly, the rock represents salvation. If you're on the rock, you have salvation. If you don't have a rock, you have no salvation. If you don't have Christ as your rock, you do not have salvation. We already heard here in the testimony from Eileen, she prayed to the statue, prayed for the dead, prayed through Mary, was devout at mass, but she never had Christ as her rock. Religion coming out of her ears, raised devoutly, upright and moral, but she did not have Jesus Christ as her one and rock. You see, she didn't have salvation. To them in Catholicism, they're taught salvation. Nobody has assurance of salvation. Nobody has it. You've got to wait till you die and hope someone will pray you through purgatory or hope by some great fluke and chance, but no one can say they have salvation or assurance of salvation. I want to tell you, this rock is my rock and he is salvation unto me. My rock I'm standing on, I have salvation. If you have Christ, you have salvation. If you have Jesus, you are standing on a mighty, enormous rock this morning. Is Jesus your savior? Oh, you might feel very weak. Lord, will I stand against the temptation? Oh Lord, here comes a storm. Will I be able to stand? Oh, here come enemies. How will I stand? Is Jesus your savior? Then you may have forgotten here this morning, but I'm here to remind you, thank God, and the word of God's reminding all of us. You are standing on an almighty, enormous, stupendous rock that I can't even begin to explain this morning. And so he says, he only, notice that word only, he only. Oh, is he one of many answers, many salvations? No. Do you have all the techniques to keep you moral? Absolutely not. He is my only rock. He only is my rock and my salvation. Who is this Christ who is both a rock and my salvation? Not only a rock. Imagine having a rock and not having salvation. Or imagine having salvation, but no rock to stand on. This word salvation that is used here, it's used again in verse seven. In God is my salvation and my glory. The word salvation used here in the Hebrew is the Hebrew word yeshi, salvation, yeshi. It is a Hebrew word and it is the root word of Yeshua. What is Yeshua? It's the name of God, Jesus. Jesus is Yeshua or Joshua. In the Old Testament, Yeshua is Joshua. God, Jehovah is my salvation. Over into the New Testament, the name Jesus is savior. So when we say Jesus, we're saying savior, save me. You're my savior. You know what we're actually saying? We're saying what the psalmist says in God is my salvation and my glory. God is, this person is my salvation. What is salvation? It is to be rescued. The word means someone has rescued you. They have delivered you. They have saved you. They have suddenly plucked you up out of a place of danger and put you in a place of safety. That's salvation. Imagine if you're still in danger's way. I'm saying I'm saved. You don't look saved. You're not acting saved. Look at all the dangers around you. But when he lifts you up and puts your feet on the rock, I'm saved. See this rock is safety. It is security. It is Christ himself that I am building on. It is the state of not being any longer in grave danger and of not having been moved into a place of great safety. Are you, have you been moved into a place of safety? Can you look back and say, I was in great danger two weeks ago, one month ago, one year ago, 10 years ago, but I suddenly got moved to a place of great safety where I know I'm safe. I know I'm secure. I know I can breathe at last. I can go. It's going to be well with my soul. Can you say that? Because I'll tell you what, there's only one place like that. It's on the rock. It's on the rock. It's so vital that you're on the rock this morning. But it usually refers to the state of believers being safe from the righteous wrath and the indignation of a holy God against an unsaved person. I've been saved. I am safe from the wrath of God. I'm safe from the judgment that's going to come to sinners. I've been moved into a place where I go, I'm saved. Saved from what? Saved from sin. Saved from hell. Saved from the devil. Saved from myself. Saved from this world. Saved from enemies that would want to destroy me. I have literally been brought into a place of safety. What is that? It's the rock who is my salvation. Jesus is the rock of my salvation. What is the source of this salvation? It is God. Where do you find it? On the rock. In order to save you, he puts you on the rock. You can't be standing on sinking sand and say you're saved. You can't be. There's a lot of people are building on shamrocks. All other ground shamrock. Apart from this rock, every other single rock is a sham rock. Do you hear me this morning? If it's not Christ, it's a shamrock. It's a joke. It's a lie. It's deception. You may build on something saying this keeps me moral. It'll fail you. If it doesn't in this lifetime, it will on the day you die. Because there's only one rock will actually bring true genuine salvation to you. You may say how do you know this rock is Christ? Let me show you. I'm going to prove it to you. You see this rock isn't a normal rock. It's a smitten rock. Note that very carefully. How does this rock save you? How do you know you can stay in this rock? How do you know this rock has an answer for you? It's a smitten rock. It's not a beautiful rock. It is a smitten rock. It's a damaged rock. Let me explain here for a moment. It says in Exodus 17 about Israel who are brought out of Egypt. Two to three million people are brought out of the land. They walk out into the wilderness. They're going to spend the next 40 years walking in the wilderness. See out in that wilderness there's no water. There's no rivers. There's no wells generally along that way. They can keep moving every single day. For 40 years you need to provide water for two to three million people every single day. You in Ireland, you can survive, you think, on drinking very little water, but you'd die if you didn't. But out in a hot desert, think how much water you actually need to take. You know what the Bible shows us? When they were out in that wilderness and the heat began to beat down on them, and they began to get thirsty and they cried out, why have you brought us out here? We're going to die. We're starving. Who's going to feed us? Who's going to look after us? We're going to die out in the wilderness here. Do you know what Moses did? He went to the Lord. He prayed to the Lord and the Lord spoke onto him. I want you to smite the rock. He had us smite the rock. You know what God done? He brought water out of that rock to satisfy the thirst of the people. Listen to Psalm 78 verse 16. He brought the stream also out of the rock and caused waters to run down like rivers. Verse twenty, behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Can he provide the flesh for his people? Verse thirty-five, and they remembered that God was their rock, and that the high God their Redeemer. Do you know what they discovered? This rock in the wilderness was their God. Do you hear me? He smote the rock, water comes out of the rock, it's a physical rock, and yet there in the wilderness, the entire people, two to three million, began to realize our God is a rock. As this rock poured out, rocks don't pour out water, I want to tell you, but this particular rock, it gushed out water. Not only that, it provided bread, and then it provided meat for them to eat in due season. It's providing for them, it's feeding them, it's keeping them alive. Listen to what else it says in the New Testament concerning this rock in 1 Corinthians 10 and 2, and all of them, Israel, were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock. Do you see that? This is the New Testament, and said the entire nation, millions of people in the wilderness, they're being satisfied, provided for, who's providing? The rock, but it's a spiritual rock. And then listen to the next part, that followed them, and that rock was Christ. The rock in the wilderness was Jesus Christ, and it followed them for 40 years, gushing out water. It's not just talking about a physical rock, that initial rock he struck stayed where it was, but there's a spiritual rock. They didn't see a rock floating, that didn't happen, but there is a God in their midst, everywhere they stop, a rock gushed out water to satisfy their thirst. Do you know where Christ was struck? At the cross. See at the cross when he hung there for you, for a sinner, and he was hung up naked, he was innocent, God's only son. God so loved you, that he gave his only son, and as he hung on the cross, taken by the hands of evil men, crucified, judged, condemned, he was whipped, a thorn of crowns, a crown of thorns placed on his head, he was pierced, they pierced his side, they whipped him, they marred him, they pulled his beard and his hair. As he hung there, you know what, this rock was smitten. You know why? So he could make provision. That rock had to be smitten, that the waters would gush out and satisfy your thirst. You know what, this rock had to be smitten at the cross. He had to be crushed, he had to be marred, he had to be afflicted. All of your sins, you think you're saying, well he just forgives me. No he doesn't. All of your sin got laid upon him. He suffered for your sins. He suffered the consequence of your sins. He felt the wrath and indignation of God. He didn't just disqualify your sins or remove them. Someone had to suffer for your sins and die in your place. This rock that you stand on, you're rejoicing all through the Lord's table this morning. You're singing and shouting in this meeting. You know what, you're standing there going, I'm so safe, I'm so secure, I'm so happy in Christ. Do you realize this rock was smitten? This rock you stand on this morning, he was smitten, he was crushed, he was forsaken. You go, oh God, please don't let me feel forsaken this morning. He was forsaken of his father. My God, my God, why have thou forsaken me? You're bearing the load and the weight of the sin of humanity. My sin was laid upon him. You know this rock, he's a rock of salvation. But you better understand, he is a smitten rock. This rock that we're talking about, where are you standing today? Do you go back to Calvary? How do you find this rock? Go to the cross. Do you want a rock that will never fail you? They'll provide for you. They'll gush out water. They'll satisfy your hunger. They'll meet your need in every trial, every year, every week of your life. Do you want that? Do you want to experience the power of this rock of his fullness? Go to the cross where he was smitten. That's where you find this rock. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Put faith in him and he'll save you. What is salvation? Gonna lift you up and set your feet upon a rock. I'm gonna lift you up out of the out of your life and I'm gonna give you a new beginning in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the first point I want you to see about this rock in Psalm 62. The rock of salvation. This rock is salvation. This rock is salvation. You have salvation in this rock. Number two, the rock of strength. Look at verse 7. It says, in God is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength. Do you see that this same rock that is a rock of salvation is called the rock of strength and my refuge is in God. The word strength that is used here is another Hebrew word. It describes a place or it means a place of safety. The word strength here means protection, a stronghold, a fortress, a fortified place, a defense place, a place of such strength that no enemy can break in upon it. While you're there in that place, you better want to stand on this rock because this rock is not only salvation for you. It is strength. What I mean strength. It's not only salvation. I am saved. I'm saved from my sin. I'm saved from myself. I'm saved from this world. Oh, it's more than that. It is a great strength unto you. When you stand on this rock, when you know your feet are on the Lord Jesus Christ and you say, he is my rock. I stand upon him alone. It means that you're so utterly defended. You know, people, they want all the blessings, but they want to live a different life. I want to do it my way. I want to live my life. I can come and go as I please. Then you cannot experience the fullness of these blessings. Look what it says in verse 8 just after this. Trust in him at all times ye people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. He's not only a rock. He's not only salvation. He is strength. He is a refuge. He keeps repeating this. This rock is a place of refuge. It's a place of strong defense. And so he says, when you're on this rock, trust him at all times. Are you tempted here this morning to despair? To get scared? Are you scared of something in your life? I'm not sure I'm going to manage. I'm not standing well here. Don't you know how defense this rock is? It is the most secure place on the face of the planet. I could be in the midst of war, and I'm the most protected of any man. You think, I won't go to Israel. I might get bombed. You could die on this road out here. I want to tell you, you don't realize how safe, how settled it is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a place of safety. And I want you to know that in salvation, there is strength. There is might. There's nothing fragile. We preached about falling from grace numbers of times. But don't get it wrong. If you think that's the normal condition, the natural proneness, I'm just scared of losing my salvation. I'm scared of falling away. That is a wrong attitude. I want to tell you, do you honestly think God wants you wandering around, always scared you can't keep this, always scared you might lose it? That is absolutely wrong. When you're on this rock, there is a security. It's not of you. It's in the rock. Do you look at yourself and go, am I strong enough? Am I able enough? Are you looking to the rock and saying, He is the rock of my salvation. He is my refuge. He is my deliverer. I'm trusting you in temptations are or when troubles come or when dogs come or fiery arrows are fired at me. He says in verse one, truly my soul waited upon God and from him cometh my salvation. When you look at the rock that is in this salvation, it is an extraordinary thing. It is a place of great safety. You may say this man doesn't have any troubles. You're so, so mistaken. I want to tell you, David on this rock was surrounded by troubles. Listen to what it says in verse three here. He goes on to say, how long will you imagine mischief against a man? He's talking to his enemies. You shall be slain. All of you as a bowing wall shall ye be. And as a tottering fence, he had many enemies around him, but he's, do you know what he's saying? You're like a wall bulging about to fall. You're filled with pride and arrogancy. David was surrounded by troubles and enemies, people who hated him and wanted to destroy him. All of this is around him. He had people rising up, trying to steal his entire kingdom. Absalom, his son in his latter days, some people say this psalm was written then when Absalom, his own son, rebelled against him. And David had to leave the city with all of his armies and ascend up the hill. But this was actually written then. What an extraordinary thing you have here. David is surrounded by troubles. They're trying to steal his kingdom. Do you know what he says in verse one? Truly my soul waiteth upon God. Truly my soul waiteth upon God. The word waiteth there literally means to be still, to be absolutely silent, to be quiet, to be calm. How could you have all hell letting rip around you? Enemies wanting to take everything from you, the devil at your door, thoughts coming to your mind, fears rising up. And yet what does he say in verse one? He's speaking himself. He says truly my soul waiteth upon God. From him cometh my salvation. You know he's speaking his soul and he says my soul will be still. It will be silent. Remember there's a singing psalm. There's a rejoicing psalm. This is a happy psalm. You should be shouting in this psalm. But inwardly he's saying, you my soul, you've got lots of troubles around you. But he speaks to his soul and says be silent, be quiet, be at rest. You know David when he leaves Jerusalem, when Absalom comes in, he's utterly at peace. He's a mature man nearing the end of his days. They're saying what about this David? What about the ark? Leave the ark. What about this? Leave that. You know what? If the Lord wants me to come back, I'll be back. But let's just walk. He's a man standing on a rock. You know what? The rock of strength. Look at David at his hour of darkness when everything's against him. I see a man not only standing on a rock of salvation but a rock of strength. He is an unmovable rock. It's dynamic. Did you notice what I said about the two verses mentioned in the rock? What was the difference? Look at the end of verse 2. It says, I shall not be moved greatly. Do you see that? That's verse 2. When he begins this psalm, I shall not be moved greatly. Why? Because I am on the rock. God is my rock. That's why I'm not going to be moved greatly. Oh I might be moved. I might be knocked around but I won't be moved greatly, drastically to another area. I will not be moved greatly. Look at verse 6, how he finishes. As he goes through the psalm, faith arises. He says, I shall not be moved. Do you know something that happened in him? Going from, I won't be moved greatly. No, I won't be moved. You know why? God is my rock of salvation. He is the rock of all that I am. There's one castle. You know when everyone passes through from America or other countries and they want to see castles, they're intrigued by castles. I say there's only one castle impresses me that I've seen in all the countries I've been in and I've been in a lot of countries and seen a lot of castles. There's only one impresses me and that's Edinburgh Castle. You know why? In that great city you go up, it's built into a massive rock. Literally that castle comes up out of just a massive hill of a rock. For me it's the most impressive. Do you know that is one of the very few castles in all of Europe that was besieged so many times. I dare say the only castle that was never conquered in all of Europe. Besieged many times, attacked many times and yet it stood against great armies advancing upon it. The English couldn't conquer it. It stood strong. You know why? It is built upon a rock. It says in Isaiah 26 and 4, turn ye to the Lord forever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. The word strength there is rock. It's the exact same word for rock. It says in our God turn to him sinner. Turn to this God this morning. You know why? Because in him is everlasting strength. It is no beginning, no end. He'll never fail. There is strength. There is power. There is salvation in this rock. It is everlasting. Saints this is a no-brainer. Do you want to build on drugs and drink and religion and your good efforts, money, job, a relationship, relationships? You want to build on all those things? They're gone. You know that. You can actually see. It doesn't even get five minutes down the road and you go you lost any joy in it. But there's a rock. It is everlasting. You can look out into the horizon. You can look out into eternity. You can look out into eons. I mean beyond a thousand years, beyond 10,000 years, beyond millions of years. In fact, there's no time. There's utterly no time and you go into all eternity. He is my rock. Who is like your rock this morning? Who is like my rock? Third and finally, let me finish. The rock of Shirley's. I had to keep my S's. The rock of salvation. The rock of strength. Thirdly, the rock of Shirley's. What do I mean Shirley's? Shirley goodness and mercy. That's the Shirley I mean. Listen to what it says in this psalm here concerning the word Shirley. There's several Shirley's here. You see in this psalm you won't have noticed but the word only appears six times in this psalm. In fact, many bible teachers call it the only psalm. It's the psalm marked by only. So David when he wrote this, he was emphasizing a point. This word is very important in this psalm. The word in the Hebrew only appears in verse one, two, four, five and six and again in verse nine. In verse one, it is written as truly. In verse nine, it's written as surely. That's where I get my point. The rock of Shirley's because there's six of them here and then the other four times it is written the word only and so you go through the psalm. You have these words. What does this word only mean or this word surely or truly? It is a word to emphasize or underline a statement in this psalm or to contrast it with everything else in this world. It's insistent repetition gives the psalm that sound of earnestness, clarity, of exactness. In other words, everything depends upon God himself. Everything is about this rock. Everything revolves around this one thing of God. You know the word alone has changed our world. In the reformation that took place in Germany and Scotland and other nations in the 16th century, do you remember what they emphasized? The word only or the word alone. They talked about the five solas that they depended on. Scripture alone. Do you remember that? Christ alone, faith alone, grace alone, God's glory alone. I think they should have added the spirit alone because a lot of people are in the flesh in the church. We need to get back to the Holy Spirit being in control of the church, not man-made churches. Spirit alone as well as faith alone. And so an entire generation got shook up when these godly men like Martin Luther, John Knox rose up out of nowhere and began to say faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, Scripture alone, glory alone. They emphasized one word. That's what this psalm does. It emphasizes this word only, only, only. Listen to how it's used in verse one. Truly or only my soul waiteth upon God. Listen to that as we close this message here. Christ your rock, your salvation. He's your security, your safety, your strength. He's your everything. But do you know what? In these surelys, you've got King David standing on the rock, teaching them, preaching to them, holding forth the rock. Do you know what he's saying? I commend to you my rock. Would you listen to a man like King David? Would you listen to this man at the end of his days? He's gone through Goliath. He went through Bathsheba. He failed, didn't he? Still standing on the rock, isn't he? Isn't he? Not to me. You aren't responding very well this morning. Not to me. He's still standing after Bathsheba. He's still standing after all the betrayals. He's still going through all the ups and downs. Do you know where he is? He's still on the rock here this morning. In this first one, it says, truly my soul waiteth upon God. He is saying only waiting upon God. My soul, my emotion, who I am. I am waiting. I am silent. I am peaceful before God. I don't have anything else. What brings your peace? Is it meditative music? Is it going for a walk? What is it that silences your soul and says it's all going to be well? Is it God? Is it this rock? Is he the source where you stand and say only he brings peace to my soul? He is my rock. He is my salvation. First truth, he only is my rock and my salvation. Look at that word only. Only. It's exclusive. It excludes everything else. Christ only is my salvation. The person, do you know him? Do you know him? Are you trying to have salvation merely through knowledge of things? The third one is in verse four. The only, they, sorry, they only consult to cast him down. It's taken all of his enemies together. The best that the enemies can do, they try to cast me down. I'm still standing on the rock, you know. My enemies join together. They do everything. I'm still standing on the rock. Only my enemies. Saints of God, you need to look at every trial, every temptation, every trouble. You need to condense it all down. What you think is overwhelming, you need to gather it all together and call it only. It's only. Bring it right down to that and then look at it in the light of Christ the rock. Verse five, my soul wait thou only upon God. Verse six, he only is my rock and my salvation. I shall not be moved. We see in verse nine, surely men of low degree are vanity. He again looks at everything around him, not only his enemies and his troubles, but then he surveys the entire world of men's opinions and ideas. Surely men of low degree are vanity. You know, there's some people, they're muckers, they're wreckers, they're eejits. You call them what they are. See, Jordan's smiling. He knows. You think, man, we're in the cutting edge of things here in this city. Men of low degree, we boast and be a man of low degree. You know what he says? Surely men of low degree are vanity. Do you see the assurance of standing on this rock? You look at enemies, say they won't triumph over me. You look at men of low degree and say it's all vanity. Do you see the perspective of standing on a rock? You see everything clearly when you've got your feet on the rock. He's my salvation. He is my strength. And then you have lots of surely. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all my days. I want to tell you. He goes through this and says, men of high degree, they're a lie. You think being rich, being successful, you'd be satisfied. That is a lie. When you stand on this rock, you see everything clearly. The only thing that matters is this rock. He goes through point after point after point. If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. It's not simple to be rich. It's simple to set your heart upon them and think something of them. God has spoken once, twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God and unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy. This is my finishing thought as we close. Unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy. It's the word hesed, which is the R word for grace, grace, unmerited favor. Unto you, Lord, belongeth mercy for thou renderest every man according to his work. Do you see what he's just said in closing this psalm? The end of all this is mercy belongs to God. Grace belongs to God. And your life being filled with the grace of God, what does that look like? You render to every man according to his work. You go, that doesn't sound, I'm not sure I'd want what I deserve. Would that be grace? Do you know what he's saying to the psalmist here? I'm going to put everything right in your life. You look at life and say, it's not fair. Stand on this rock. I promise you at the end, everything gets put right. Everything. You're there hurting here this morning. Your heart's hurting because you go, it's not fair. What about this? What about that? Stand on the rock. Your complete perspective changes as he is your salvation, your strength. And only surely as you stand on the rock, that's why a real Christian grounded in Christ who knows Jesus Christ. They're so dogmatic, not in a bad sense, but they're clear. They know what evil is. They know what righteousness is. They know who overcomes. And they say, you know what? Looks pretty rough at the minute, but after the storm clears and the day break comes, I'm going to be fine standing on the rock. You know why? He's the smitten rock. He is my salvation. He didn't just give me salvation. He is my salvation. I'm not just trying to believe something. I believe in him. I trust in him. And you know what? He'll bring me and carry me through the storm. And so I stand here going, that's vanity. That's lies. That's deception. That will fail you. The only thing that will never, ever fail you. The only person I wish I could say, I'd never fail you. I'm sorry. I can't do that. I'll try. I wouldn't want to, if I fail you, I'll come and say, please forgive me. So sorry. I wouldn't have done that. But I commend to you a person that cannot fail you. That will not fail you. There's no darkness in him. No shadow of change in his mind. It's impossible for him to fail. There's no doubts about this rock. It's a sure rock. And if you're going to build your life in anything, you better build it in this rock because it's an everlasting rock that's going to endure through long ages. Please stand with me. Lord Jesus, we love you. We bless you. We praise you. Let's just love him here this morning. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Are you glad you're saved this morning? Are you standing on the rock? Are you solid on this rock? If you're building your life on sand, oh, how dangerous this day. I don't care if it's morality. I don't care if it's enjoyment or busyness or work or some other thing. You are building on sinking sand. It will crumble under your feet. But there is an everlasting rock that came out of eternity that's going back into eternity. This rock can never fail. It can never falter. It will protect you in every storm. Just make sure you're standing on this rock and whatever gets thrown at you, whatever you face, whatever comes your direction, I promise you after the smoke clears, you will still be standing, not because of yourself, but because you're on the rock of ages. You are heading the cleft of the rock. You are literally upon a rock that's utterly unmovable. And I assure you, you can mature, you can grow, you can even go deeper in Christ going, I won't be moved much to go on. I'm not going to be moved from my position in the Lord Jesus Christ. We love you, Lord Jesus. Thank you for salvation this morning. We give you glory. We give you praise. This room is filled with testimonies of salvation. Even these weeks of you delivering, Lord God, young men out of drugs, we praise you. We adore you. You're a mighty God. And Lord God, we're asking for miracles where the rock of salvation would save men from sin, from idolatry, from atheism, from emptiness. And Lord God, set their feet upon a rock this morning. We love you. Fill us with joy this morning. Let the peace of God guard our minds. Let righteousness surround us, that we would literally be clothed in the perfect righteousness of our Lord and our Savior in Jesus' mighty name.