Psalm 46
God Our Refuge
Where do you feel most secure? Where is the place that you feel free? That setting where your anxieties are diminished and dulled? That area where your energy levels are topped up?
The Bible actually invites us to ask a slightly different question. It would be, “With whom do you feel most safe?”
This Psalm is a confident declaration that it is with God, and we might add ‘in Christ’, which is where we will dwell in peace and joy.
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.’11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Sadly, at differing points throughout history, the people of God have been prone to ‘lucky-charm theology’. You’ve seen people who carry around an object with they believe will protect them, like a four leaved clover or rabbits foot. The idea is that if this object is on you, nothing can harm you. Israel were guilty of something similar to this a number of times, convinced that because they had the Temple, nothing could ever happen to them. But in this mindset, they missed the reality that truly protected them. They were so close to the truth, yet far distant from the Truth.
But that is not the mentality on display here. Right from the opening, the faith and confidence of the Psalmist is on the true source of shalom. It is God.
The world is ever shifting and changing. Empires rise up and are then raised to the ground. Celebrities get their 15 minutes of fame and are forgotten shortly afterwards. That PowerPoint presentation you lost sleep about is now hidden away in a folder on a computer that hasn’t been touch for years. The sand dunes down at the beach in Montrose will ultimately crumble before the rhythmic pounding of the waves.
The earth will give way. And everything tethered to it.
But God never will. And all those united to him.
In a world of impermanence, our God is the eternally unchanging One.
In a world where there is uncertainty even about tomorrow, God is our ever-present help.
Jesus promised he would never leave nor forsake us. He is always with us by his Spirit. The Spirit who is our advocate, counsellor and comforter. He dwells with us. And it is the Spirit who makes us glad and establishes our peace.
In the midst of this divine city picture in this Psalm is a river which flows through. Rivers are so important as they are a source of life. The water nourishes the land and parches the thirst of the people. And in the heart of the City of God is the living water that satisfies weary souls. The river makes glad this heavenly city. Revelation 22.1-2 picks up this theme where the source of this water of life is from the throne of God and the Lamb. For this river is the Spirit, who is sent by the Father and the Son, to rejuvenate the people of God (see also John 7.37-39).
The new and true temple is the people of God in Christ. And as God dwelt in the Temple of Jerusalem, so he now dwells with us by his Spirit. This is our confidence as a church. Not any buildings we might own now or in the future. But the Temple God is constructing with living stones (1 Peter 2.4-5). We are the living stones and the river of living water is flowing through our veins. What God is building will not decay in the passage of time and it will not fall before its foes. For the living God is right in its midst. Our midst.
v10 is relatively well known, but often its taken in a slightly wrong direction. It can be read as a call to silent meditation. And that’s not an unhelpful practice for Christians. In fact, more of us would benefit from it. But the context points to this being a call to something else.
It is a call to surrender.
Literally, it means to “leave off”. This comes in a section about God’s power against the rebellious nations. God is the one who quelled the force of Pharaoh and Egypt. God is the one who warded off the Amalekites in the wilderness. God is the one who overcame the Philistines time and again. God Almighty always defeats all the mighty of the world. In v8, we are asked to behold this power of God who makes impotent the nations of the world.
Therefore, all are commanded to cease their rebellion against God and instead come into his city. For it is impervious to attack but open to the humble.
And when we are there, we need fear nothing because the LORD Almighty rules and reigns right at its very heart.
Glory be to God the Father, our great Refuge and Strength.
Glory be to God the Son, our Rock and our Redeemer.
Glory be to God the Spirit, our ever-present Help and Comfort in times of trouble.
Ever three and ever One.