“I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:1–2)
As finite creatures, we use language that has limits when it comes to portraying God’s attributes. But these limits do not make human speech worthless as an instrument of speaking truth about God. Since God made us in His image (Gen1:26-27). He has made us able to communicate in true and meaningful ways when we talk about Him.
Traditionally, theologians have said that human language about God is analogical language. To speak analogically is to use the same word to describe two different things, and yet the word is not used in exactly the same way for each thing under discussion. For example, we can speak of “good students” and “good dogs,” meaning that both students and dogs can be obedient. However, the obedience of students and the obedience of dogs, though similar, is of a different order. Both may obey commands, but we look for students to (eventually) obey as the result of sound moral reasoning and not merely out of a basic system of rewards and punishment.
When David refers to God as a “rock” in Psalm 18:2, he is speaking analogically. He is saying that like a rock, the Lord is firm and unshakable. God is like a rock in that way, but He is not literally a stone or a formation of minerals.
Analogical speech about God has its limits, but it is fully adequate to tell us truth about the face of the Lord. As we hear God referred to as a rock, a light, a shepherd, and a host of other metaphors, we should think carefully on how the Lord is like such things. That will enrich our view of God and our prayers and worship.
– TableTalk Magazine, 25th January 2017