Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the LORD,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Psalm 46 is a song of hope and trust in the midst of great turmoil and tribulation. It is divided into three sections, each section ending with a Selah, or a call to meditation. The first section underscores the stability that our God is in the midst of natural disasters and overwhelming situations. The second section describes our God’s habitation as an unshakeable city, pitted against the nations of the earth, which rage and melt into ruin. The third section is an invitation to understand what our God has done, finding in His strength and sovereignty, our own hope and rest.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The psalmist begins with the affirmation that God is our only foundation. He is our refuge, our hiding place, our strong tower, our fortress. When the earth shakes, and the mountains crumble, and the waters roar and foam, there is not much from our vantage point that looks stable, or safe. Our eyes are beholding utter chaos and destruction, literally watching our world fall apart. With earthly eyes, it looks as if everything is coming to an end. But the psalmist knows where his, and our, hope is found. It is in the strength of God. He knows this from experience too. He knows his God from previous encounters with this divine strength. The fact that the affirmation comes first, testifies to this. His belief in the strength and might of our God is so solid, that he is able to say, “therefore, we will not fear”. The earth has not yet given away, or the mountains been moved. The psalmist anticipates with such trust what God is going to do. He has likely known this from an early age. His parents would have told him the stories of their grandparents crossing the Red Sea, or gathering manna in the wilderness. He would have grown up hearing the tales of the battles with Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, king of the Amorites, and would have known the power of God to conquer, and to sustain. He knows his God, and has experienced Him in both the stories of his community, and of his family, and also likely in the drama of his own life. His knowledge of God is firm, his trust in His goodness, so implicit, that the psalmist doesn’t care what might happen, the universe could explode, and God would be our refuge and strength. No matter the trouble, no matter the trial, He is a very present help. His help is not delayed, it is immediate. He doesn’t know how God will help him, that is not his concern. He only knows, and firmly trusts that He will. He knows this because He has, and has promised faithfulness to the those who trust in Him.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. The City of God, as Augustine has so brilliantly laid out for us, is His people. We are the city of God. We are the holy habitation of the Most High. This is made clear in the next verse: God is in her midst. Who are Gods people, if not His body? Who are we if not His temple? The Church will not be moved. And when morning dawns, God will grant her aid. The psalmist pits this unshakable kingdom, this immovable city against the nations of men. “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.” These cities of men, the City of Man shakes. The city of Man will crumble. But, the LORD of hosts is with us. He is the God of our fathers, and He is our fortress. Because He is the walls of this City, they can never be moved, they can never be shaken. They are forever. Heaven and Earth may pass away, but the Word of the Lord will stand forever. God is in our midst. He is with us. We shall not be moved.
Come, behold the works of the Lord. We are called, again, to consider what our God has done. Recall to mind, the psalmist directs us, the glorious victories our God has brought us. Remember how he brought peace to our people, how He defeated the bow and spear and chariot. The nations of men rise up against our God, but He is strong, and mighty, and desolates their armies. These are things the psalmist experienced. They are deeds near enough in living memory to be able to be beheld. He is able to say to those who sing this psalm, “Look! Don’t you remember what God did?” The psalmist then ends the song with the words of his Lord, “Be still, and know that I am God.” After seeing all that He has done, God commands that we recognize that it was He who did it. He declares that He will have final victory over the nations, and in the earth. He will be exalted, for it is only right that He is. His enemies will not stand forever. They will bow the knee.
We are called to Know that He is God. How do we do this? There are three different ways we receive confirmation that God is who He says He is. First, we know from stories and histories. We know what He has done. We were taught it from an early age. We read it in His Word. Our parents and grandparents share the tales of Gods victory. The trust is implicit, because we know His promises to be true. Not only have we read the stores, and heard the tales, but we have experienced them in our own life. God has proved Himself over and over again, to the point where the first words out of our mouths in trials are “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Afterwards, come what may. But this implicit trust is learned, and honed by experience. But the Word is not only full of stories. It is full of all the riches of God’s Truth. And by His Spirit, we are taught His character, His nature, His creation, and the full economy of His redemption. We come to know who He is, how He works, and what He has done for us. Secondly, we know that God is who He says He is because we belong to His unshakeable City. We are members of the Kingdom that will not fall. We live in the fortress, the holy habitation which will not be moved. The Church is this City. And the gates of Hell will not prevail against her. We are the holy temple of God, collectively. As the body of Christ we know Him in our midst. We see Christ in our fellow members in the pew. We collectively experience His faithfulness to us. We collectively are made glad by the river of life whose streams run through our habitation. We collectively see every day that the Lord of Hosts is with us. Thirdly, we experience His sovereign hand in our lives. We can look back and see how God has directed our paths, and has been faithful to us in all things. He has preserved us through conflict, trials, and doubt. He has made it clear that He is here, whether or not we believe it.
We stand in the towers of the fortress of Jacob, peering over the edge, and we see the armies of our enemies laying siege against our walls. We stand in the towers, and still we run about, worried and anxious. We fear the armies and doubt the strength of the walls because we forget that they are there at all. Often they occupy only a distant thought, or a warm feeling. We think that God is nice in Sunday school, but when it comes to real life, flannel grams don’t hold much water. We stand in the towers of the fortress of our God, running around, blind to the safety and security of our position. God in His faithfulness, and mercy, and Fatherly love, lays a gentle hand on our over-heated shoulder, and bids us be still.
“Child,” He says, “be still. Know that I am God. Remember the walls on which you stand. Remember my faithfulness to your ancestors, the stories in the book I have given you. Remember the city in which you dwell, in which all your brothers and sisters live safely and in my presence. Remember that I will not forsake you. Remember how I caught you when you fell, and restored you when you were sick, and clothed you when you were naked. Fear not, my son. Know that I am God. I will be exalted over these enemies that rage against us. I will be exalted over the earth which melts. I am with you. I am your peace. Behold, the morning dawns. Be still, know that I am God.”
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the LORD,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Psalm 46 is a song of hope and trust in the midst of great turmoil and tribulation. It is divided into three sections, each section ending with a Selah, or a call to meditation. The first section underscores the stability that our God is in the midst of natural disasters and overwhelming situations. The second section describes our God’s habitation as an unshakeable city, pitted against the nations of the earth, which rage and melt into ruin. The third section is an invitation to understand what our God has done, finding in His strength and sovereignty, our own hope and rest.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The psalmist begins with the affirmation that God is our only foundation. He is our refuge, our hiding place, our strong tower, our fortress. When the earth shakes, and the mountains crumble, and the waters roar and foam, there is not much from our vantage point that looks stable, or safe. Our eyes are beholding utter chaos and destruction, literally watching our world fall apart. With earthly eyes, it looks as if everything is coming to an end. But the psalmist knows where his, and our, hope is found. It is in the strength of God. He knows this from experience too. He knows his God from previous encounters with this divine strength. The fact that the affirmation comes first, testifies to this. His belief in the strength and might of our God is so solid, that he is able to say, “therefore, we will not fear”. The earth has not yet given away, or the mountains been moved. The psalmist anticipates with such trust what God is going to do. He has likely known this from an early age. His parents would have told him the stories of their grandparents crossing the Red Sea, or gathering manna in the wilderness. He would have grown up hearing the tales of the battles with Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, king of the Amorites, and would have known the power of God to conquer, and to sustain. He knows his God, and has experienced Him in both the stories of his community, and of his family, and also likely in the drama of his own life. His knowledge of God is firm, his trust in His goodness, so implicit, that the psalmist doesn’t care what might happen, the universe could explode, and God would be our refuge and strength. No matter the trouble, no matter the trial, He is a very present help. His help is not delayed, it is immediate. He doesn’t know how God will help him, that is not his concern. He only knows, and firmly trusts that He will. He knows this because He has, and has promised faithfulness to the those who trust in Him.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. The City of God, as Augustine has so brilliantly laid out for us, is His people. We are the city of God. We are the holy habitation of the Most High. This is made clear in the next verse: God is in her midst. Who are Gods people, if not His body? Who are we if not His temple? The Church will not be moved. And when morning dawns, God will grant her aid. The psalmist pits this unshakable kingdom, this immovable city against the nations of men. “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.” These cities of men, the City of Man shakes. The city of Man will crumble. But, the LORD of hosts is with us. He is the God of our fathers, and He is our fortress. Because He is the walls of this City, they can never be moved, they can never be shaken. They are forever. Heaven and Earth may pass away, but the Word of the Lord will stand forever. God is in our midst. He is with us. We shall not be moved.
Come, behold the works of the Lord. We are called, again, to consider what our God has done. Recall to mind, the psalmist directs us, the glorious victories our God has brought us. Remember how he brought peace to our people, how He defeated the bow and spear and chariot. The nations of men rise up against our God, but He is strong, and mighty, and desolates their armies. These are things the psalmist experienced. They are deeds near enough in living memory to be able to be beheld. He is able to say to those who sing this psalm, “Look! Don’t you remember what God did?” The psalmist then ends the song with the words of his Lord, “Be still, and know that I am God.” After seeing all that He has done, God commands that we recognize that it was He who did it. He declares that He will have final victory over the nations, and in the earth. He will be exalted, for it is only right that He is. His enemies will not stand forever. They will bow the knee.
We are called to Know that He is God. How do we do this? There are three different ways we receive confirmation that God is who He says He is. First, we know from stories and histories. We know what He has done. We were taught it from an early age. We read it in His Word. Our parents and grandparents share the tales of Gods victory. The trust is implicit, because we know His promises to be true. Not only have we read the stores, and heard the tales, but we have experienced them in our own life. God has proved Himself over and over again, to the point where the first words out of our mouths in trials are “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Afterwards, come what may. But this implicit trust is learned, and honed by experience. But the Word is not only full of stories. It is full of all the riches of God’s Truth. And by His Spirit, we are taught His character, His nature, His creation, and the full economy of His redemption. We come to know who He is, how He works, and what He has done for us. Secondly, we know that God is who He says He is because we belong to His unshakeable City. We are members of the Kingdom that will not fall. We live in the fortress, the holy habitation which will not be moved. The Church is this City. And the gates of Hell will not prevail against her. We are the holy temple of God, collectively. As the body of Christ we know Him in our midst. We see Christ in our fellow members in the pew. We collectively experience His faithfulness to us. We collectively are made glad by the river of life whose streams run through our habitation. We collectively see every day that the Lord of Hosts is with us. Thirdly, we experience His sovereign hand in our lives. We can look back and see how God has directed our paths, and has been faithful to us in all things. He has preserved us through conflict, trials, and doubt. He has made it clear that He is here, whether or not we believe it.
We stand in the towers of the fortress of Jacob, peering over the edge, and we see the armies of our enemies laying siege against our walls. We stand in the towers, and still we run about, worried and anxious. We fear the armies and doubt the strength of the walls because we forget that they are there at all. Often they occupy only a distant thought, or a warm feeling. We think that God is nice in Sunday school, but when it comes to real life, flannel grams don’t hold much water. We stand in the towers of the fortress of our God, running around, blind to the safety and security of our position. God in His faithfulness, and mercy, and Fatherly love, lays a gentle hand on our over-heated shoulder, and bids us be still.
“Child,” He says, “be still. Know that I am God. Remember the walls on which you stand. Remember my faithfulness to your ancestors, the stories in the book I have given you. Remember the city in which you dwell, in which all your brothers and sisters live safely and in my presence. Remember that I will not forsake you. Remember how I caught you when you fell, and restored you when you were sick, and clothed you when you were naked. Fear not, my son. Know that I am God. I will be exalted over these enemies that rage against us. I will be exalted over the earth which melts. I am with you. I am your peace. Behold, the morning dawns. Be still, know that I am God.”
posted by joe at
9:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home