Rock of Ages

 Proverbs 18:10 (KJV) ¹⁰ The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Here is this verse dissected and defined:

 The name of the Lord:

Elohim:            The God who creates.  Used 2,700 times in the Old Testament and 32                          times in Genesis 1.       

                        El    El means God the Almighty

Eloah:              is the living God who is to be worshiped. (Deut. 32:15, 17)

 Jehovah:          the God who covenants.  Usually translated LORD in capital letters. Jehovah is said to occur approximately 11,600 times in the Old Testament.  The name combines the three tenses of the verb "to be." As Jehovah, God reveals Himself as the One who was and is and is to be.

Jehovah Jireh:             "the Lord who provides"; Jehovah Ropheka, "the Lord who leads";

Jehovah Nissi:             "the Lord our banner";

Jehovah Mekkaddishkem:      "the Lord who sanctifies";

Jehovah Shalom:         "the Lord our peace";

Jehovah Sabbaoth:      "the Lord of hosts";

Jehovah Tsidkenu:      "the Lord our righteousness";

Jehovah Shammah:     "the Lord who is there";

Jehovah Elyon:            "the Lord most high";

Jehovah Roi:               "the Lord who is our shepherd."

 Jah:                             The title occurs 49 times, was first used by Moses when he celebrated Israel's triumph over pharaoh at the Red Sea. In the  celebration Moses sang the first song in Scripture (Exodus 15:2). Jah signifies that God is the eternal One who inhabits eternity.

Adonai:                       is the name of the God who controls. It conveys the idea of His                absolute lordship and occurs in Scripture about 300 times. Almost always appearing in the plural and possessive form, Adonai is the God of ownership or mastery, the One who claims the unrestricted      obedience of all.

…is a strong tower:     The strong tower was the place of greatest protection in Bible time                                      structures.  Strong means the act of protecting, defense, shelter from evil.

…the righteous:           The righteous, in Scripture, denotes the servants of God, the saints.

 …runneth into it:         Run, rush speedily.

 …and are safe:            Free from danger of any kind; as safe from enemies; safe from                                            disease; safe from storms; safe from the malice of foes.

 In northern Somerset, England, there is a rocky gorge known as Burrington Combe. It is here where Augustus Toplady lived and ministered. While he was walking down toward the Combe one day, a violent thunderstorm sent him hurrying for shelter. In all the great gorge cut between towering cliffs, there seemed to be no hiding place. Then he saw a cleft in the rocky limestone near the gorge. He hurried toward it and found he could just stand upright within its shelter. He took refuge there as the rain came down in torrents and the thunder pealed. Even as he stood there, these words welled up in his soul:

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy riven side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Cleanse me from its guilt and pow'r.

Not the labor of my hands

Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone;

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Savior, or I die.

 While I draw this fleeting breath,

When my eyes shall close in death,

When I rise to worlds unknown,

And behold Thee on Thy throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee.