“Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee” (Hymn).

“My soul, wait thou in silence for God only; for my expectation is from Him. He is my rock and my salvation” (Ps. 62: 5-6).

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I call unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Ps. 61: 1-2).

In times of quiet and peace men drift along in a calm self-assurance; they forget their need of God. Yet the need of God is lying somewhere in the heart of every man. It is like a sunken object at the bottom of the sea, held down by weeds and debris when the ocean is calm. But the storm comes that stirs the sea to Its depths; then the buried thing is released and comes to the surface. So it is when the sea of our life is shaken to its depths. The hidden need of God rises to the surface. We discover that without His wisdom and help we are undone. In the midst of the raging sea we look for “the Rock that is higher than I,” “an everlasting rock”—the rock which is the love and power of God.

Our ordinary confidences in life often rest on very shallow things—things which at best provide no enduring security. Our health has always been good, and we see no reason why it should not continue good. We have a reasonable income, a good education—all we need for a comfortable life. So we go on from day to day in a sort of peace. But the foundations of this peace are not very deep. They are rather like the sand on which the man in Christ’s parable built his house. “The rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell” (Matt. 7: 27). If you would build for yourself a house of life that will stand firm and weather life’s storms, see to it that your house rests on that everlasting Rock—the Lord Jehovah.

That Rock is the only sure refuge against the temptations and ills of human experience. In the cleft of that Rock, and there alone, can we find shelter and safety amidst the storms and tempests of life.