The name of the Lord is a strong tower
Proverbs 18:10 Who do you run to when you’re under attack?
Image created by Dall-E 3
”The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.“
Proverbs 18:10 NASB1995
Who do you run to when you’re under attack?
In Proverbs 18:10, Solomon provides the best possible answer — God. It’s not that invoking His name magically makes every bad thing disappear; instead Solomon is noting that the name of the Lord states all that He is and stands for. יְהוָה — Yᵊhōvâ — is the Lord and He is a strong tower.
In all of Proverbs, this is the only verse where יְהוָה is found, signifying God’s attributes including the power to protect those who believe and call to Him. His name is representative of His love, mercy, strength, and righteousness. 19th Century theologian Charles Bridges said of this verse:
“Within these walls, which of us needs to worry that the sharpest arrow can harm us? We realize our security from external trouble as we exercise our faith. We are safe from God’s avenging justice, from the curse of the law, from sin, from condemnation, from the second death.”1
God invites the righteous to find refuge in His name. In the Old Testament Book of Joel, the prophet says “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be delivered” (Joel 2:32), and that truth is repeated in Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13. Those believers who run with humility to God in times of trouble to find refuge with Him are His righteous ones — they are those who run into the strong tower of the Lord.
The righteous aren’t just walking slowly to the Lord; they are running. I’ll finish this short devotional with a quote from Charles Spurgeon, who said in explanation:
“This running appears to me to imply, that they have nothing to carry. A man who has a load, the heavier the load may be, the more will he be impeded in his flight. But the righteous run, like racers in the games, who have thrown off everything, their sins they leave to mercy, and their righteousness to the moles and bats.” 2
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father, I thank You that I am protected by the righteous of my Savior Jesus Christ. He is my strong tower of refuge, I run to Him and I am safe. In His holy name I pray, AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
Bridges, Charles "Proverbs" (The Crossway Classic Commentaries) (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2001 edition of 1846 original)
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)
Love Spurgeons comment