“Your Name Is A Shelter Like No Other”
Scripture references: Psalm 18, Exodus 2:10, Exodus 15, John 16:33
Introduction:
“Your name is a strong and mighty tower
Your name is a shelter like no other
Your name, let the nations sing it louder
‘Cause nothing has the power to save
But your name” – ‘Your Name’ by Paul Baloche
I find myself drawn to songs and songwriters who use imagery in their lyrics. In the case of the lyrics above…the name of the Lord is described as ‘a strong and mighty tower’…’a shelter’. His name alone has the power to save. Often, an image can be more powerful, more impactful than a formal dictionary definition. Hebrew literature and poetry is loaded with imagery, so naturally this shows up in Scripture quite frequently. Many examples of this appear in the Psalms. King David and other Psalmists were particularly skilled in their use of imagery.
Let’s look at an example and see where it takes us…
Devotional:
to the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
18 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies. -Psalm 18:1-3 ESV
It’s easy to see where Paul Baloche (writer of the song, ‘Your Name’) gets his inspiration for the song lyrics in our introduction above. Baloche describes the name of the Lord as ‘a strong and mighty tower’, ‘a shelter’. David in Psalm 18 describes the Lord as ‘my fortress’, ‘my rock, in whom I take refuge’. Just as Baloche ascribes salvation to the Lord: ‘nothing has the power to save, but your name’, David also ascribes his salvation to the Lord: ‘the horn of my salvation’, ‘I am saved from my enemies’.
As I read further into Psalm 18, I find myself asking that question that I always like to ask myself as I study Scripture… “Where have I heard this before?” Here’s where an alarm bell initially went off for me…
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters. -Psalm 18:15-16 ESV
It was this phrase: ‘he drew me out of many waters’ that prompted me to open my concordance and look at some cross-references. As it turns out, this verb ‘to draw’ or ‘draw out’, in Hebrew is the word māšâ (pronounced maw-shaw’)1. This word appears only 3 times. Once here in Psalm 18:16, earlier in 2 Samuel 22:17, which is the original story where David presents this same exact song…and amazingly enough, in Exodus 2:10…
When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” -Exodus 2:10 ESV
ESV Footnote: Moses sounds like the Hebrew for draw out
Now the alarm bells in my head are really going off! Much of the imagery and language David uses in his Song of deliverance in Psalm 18 and 2 Samuel 22 is also used in the Song of Moses from Exodus 15…right after the Lord delivered Israel from the Egyptians through the sea! See some of the parallels and similarities below:
| Exodus 15 (Song of Moses) | Psalm 18/2 Sam 22 (Song of David) |
| The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; | I love you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation… |
| At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. | Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. |
| “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? | For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? |
These are just a few of the similarities between these two songs. It is an amazing exercise to read these side-by-side! The Faithlife Study Bible Commentary also points out this connection…
Psalm 18:7-19. This theophany, in which the Psalmist describes Yahweh acting to deliver, resembles several passages in Exodus. The smoke and clouds surrounding Yahweh recall the description of His appearance at mount Sinai in Exodus 19:16-19. This passage also reflects Moses’ song after crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-18).1
This commentary on Psalm 18 also goes on to note…
This section also shares some imagery of Canaanite poetry. In ancient Near Eastern mythology, the storm god Baal defeated the gods of the sea, chaos (Yam) and death (Mot). Here, Yahweh comes to save the psalmist from death (Ps 18:4) and draws him out of the water (v. 16). Yahweh is the true God of the skies, and He defeats chaos and death to save the psalmist.2
The gods of Egypt and the gods of Canaan are nothing. Moses and David experienced the Lord’s deliverance and salvation first-hand. So much so, that they cannot help but praise Him in song!
Moses: “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?”
David: “For who is god, but the Lord?”
He is our strength, our shelter and our salvation. These songs from Moses and David point ahead to the fulfillment and ultimate salvation that comes by the work of Jesus. When we feel overwhelmed…like the world is closing in on us…like the afflictions we face are too difficult to bear…let us look back on these Scriptures for comfort and assurance. Let us look to the assurance that Jesus himself gives us…
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33 ESV
With that, may we praise him in the midst of tribulation and be reminded of the thousands upon thousands of reasons we have to give praise to the Lord, our redeemer who ‘drew us out of many waters’.
Sean Wagner