The word for strength' here means a stronghold or fortified place, which serves as an asylum or refuge. There may be some mingling of an allusion to the fugitive's taking hold of the horns of the altar, and so being safe from the vengeance of his pursuers. If we may take this double metaphor as implied in the text, it vividly illustrates theessence of the faith which brings us into peace with God. That faith is the flight of the soul to God, and, in another aspect, it is the clinging of the soul to Him. How much more these two metaphors tell of the real nature of faith than many a theological treatise! They speak of the urgency of the peril from which it seeks deliverance. A fugitive with the hot breath of the avenger of blood panting behind him, and almost feeling the spear-point in his back, would not let the grass grow under his feet. They speak of the energetic clutch of faith, as that of the man gripping the horns of the altar. They suggest that faith is something much mere vital than intellectual assent or credence, namely, an act of the whole man realising his need and casting himself on God.
And they set in clear light what is the connection between faith and salvation. It is not the hand that grasps the alter that secures safety, but the altar itself. it is not the flight to the fortress, but the massive walls themselves, which keeps those who hunt after the fugitive at bay. It is not my. faith, but the God on whom my faith fastens, that brings peace to my conscience.
