Our Refuge-Giving God
Psalm 46, RBF Online, 03/22/2020
I’m sure at least parts of this Psalm are familiar to you. God is our refuge and strength. Be still and know that I am God. These are phrases often heard in conversation, on coffee mugs, t-shirts, etc. I found it interesting, though, when I read through this Psalm with my kids and asked for their observations, my 7 year old said, “it’s very violent.”
And she’s right. Not many children’s story Bibles depict God spraying fire down on chariots or snapping the bows and spears of enemy warriors. So what is happening in the midst of this confusion? How can a Psalm both be violent and comforting?
In this Psalm we are going to see three truths about God which have direct implications for our lives. The first one is in verses 1-3.
God is Present, so you need not fear. v1-3
- One of the most central questions in my life has been this: can I trust God?
- How does the Psalmist answer? God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
- First, he pictures God as our refuge. As a shelter, a place of hiding and protection. I often think as a storm rolls through, be it a summer thunderstorm or winter snowstorm, thank God for a house with sealed walls.
- When you face the storms of life, what sort of shelter do you have? What are you counting on?
- Second, he calls him our strength. This is interesting because a shelter protects you from something, but strength typically is necessary to get through a hard time or situation.
- For those who trust in God, he is both of these things. He protects, he provides shelter. But for those things he chooses not to protect us from, he gives the strength to persevere and keep on walking.
- What sort of troubles or problems assail you? Are you concerned about the Coronavirus, your 401(k), or your marriage? Where are you looking for your help and your hope?
There is someone standing ready to help. God is a very present help in trouble. That idea of “very present” implies that he is well proved, trusted, tried, readily available. Do you know God in this way? As one who is actually right there with you?
- Verse 2 begins with the word Therefore. In light of the fact that God is very present, that he provides strength and protection, we will not fear.
- The truth about God being there for his people is important all the time. It becomes life and death when life goes awry.
- Take a moment to think about this imagery. What should be more reliable than the earth or more stable than the mountains?
- I recently read Tara Westover’s memoir, Educated. In this book, the mountain on which Westover was raised figures almost as a character in its own right. For people who grow up in proximity to mountains, especially a particular mountain, there is a certain degree to which that mountain shapes your existence. It changes how you drive, where you walk, where you live. It’s an important piece of the world as you know and understand it. Even here in the Midwest we can feel that way about the soil, the earth beneath our feet.
- Yet in this metaphor these things, earth and mountains, are slipping away. They are being shaken and moved from their places. Those things once thought to be fixed are being removed.
- To the ancient mind the sea was a place of danger and chaos. Shipwreck, sharks, a place where storms can come suddenly with no source of help- even today the ocean can be a very dangerous place.
- So with the seas swallowing the mountains, we seem to have those places or objects which we can count being consumed by the place of danger. Cosmos is descending into chaos. Order is melting into madness. Its waters foam...the mountains tremble at its swelling.
- Yet in all this, the people of God need not fear. Why? Because God is our refuge. He is our strength. He is present, no matter what the trouble or troubles which assail us. And if God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
Before we move onto the next section, we need to address a word which will pop up two more times in this Psalm. It’s the word Selah. It occurs 74 times in the Bible, all but three of those occurrences coming in the Psalms. It’s almost certainly a musical marker, but its precise significance is not known. Many scholars postulate that it indicated a pause, perhaps to give the hearer time to reflect. I think, whether that was the intended use originally or not, that this is certainly a useful way for us to use that word. It’s a helpful marker to say, pause, reflect, meditate on what you’ve just read.
So, soak in this truth: if you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, God is with you. He will protect you, strengthen you, help you. You need not be afraid.
God gives Life, so you can have joy. V4-7
- The first thing we should probably notice in this second movement of the Psalm, is that while water played a menacing role in the first movement, the river here stands in stark contrast. This river is the source of life and joy.
- The next thing we need to do is ask a couple of questions, what is this city of God? And what is this gladness giving river?
- Certainly the original readers of this Psalm would have heard City of God and habitation of the Most High and thought of Jerusalem, Mount Zion.
- The puzzling thing when we realize this, though, is that Jerusalem has no river. A free-flowing river would be a marvelous resource to have for your city, especially in times of siege. Yet if the city is Jerusalem, and Jerusalem has no river, how do we account for this image?
- It would seem that God is painting himself as the one who is the river. The river of life, giving gladness and stability to Jerusalem is the Most High God himself.
- Verse 5, we read that God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. God himself is the one providing strength and protection to the city.
- The idea of moved here parallels the ideas of gives way in v2, and totters in v6
- So long as God is in the midst of his people, they have no reason to fear.
- That condition-so long as he is in their midst-was actually bad news for those of the Jewish people who assumed that God was primarily concerned with their ethnicity.
- God’s presence departs the temple in Ezekiel 10 due to the unfaithfulness of the people.
- Where does God’s presence now reside on earth? John 2:19; 4:21, 23-24
- Those who trust in Christ as their only hope for salvation, whose hope is in God, receive the gift of his Holy Spirit: John 7:37-39
- If you have the Spirit, God’s presence dwells with you to comfort you, point you to Christ, and to give you joy. The rivers make glad the city of God.
- And this is a gladness impervious to the tottering of the nations, is God intimidated by the questions of the people, by their raging? He utters his voice, they melt.
- What defines life for you this morning? If you’re looking somewhere besides Jesus, you are missing out on the rivers of living water which are yours for the drinking.
- The Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob-the God of the people of Israel, the God of all. The ruler over all things. He is the one offering you this life. Ponder this: He has offered you life. Jesus came that you might have life, and have it abundantly.
God is God, so be still. V8-11
- Here’s the violence: we are welcomed to come behold the bloody conquest of the Lord.
- This is the Prince of Peace, as Isaiah calls him, coming in on his charger and devastating his enemies. In the words of OT scholar Derek Kidner, “Although the outcome is peace, the process is judgment.”
- Do you realize as a believer that one of the reasons we can have peace in this world is that we know one day the world will be peaceful? Not by human might or effort, but by an Almighty and Righteous judge laying down the law.
- It’s in this context that we get v10, be still, and know that I am God. The context indicates that God is actually speaking to the nations-quit fighting against the Sovereign! Quit rebelling against the king, you fools! The Christian Standard Bible translates it, stop your fighting.
- But we can still take this as a source of comfort and peace, even if God isn’t saying here to turn the relaxing music list on on Spotify.
- We can take comfort, that one day he will be seen as who he is. He will be exalted among the nations. He will be exalted in all the earth. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. Jesus is Lord.
Do you realize that this same truth can give us comfort in the midst of any circumstance that seems troubling or could cause us anxiety? The same God who controls the nations, who steers the hearts of rulers like a small stream, who knows the hairs on your head: this same God controls stock markets and viruses, he handles health care systems and grocery stores. He does not always do things the way we might advise him. But he acts in accord with his own inscrutable wisdom, a wisdom bent on doing good to all those who trust in him.
God is Present, so you need not be afraid. God gives Life, so you can have joy. God is God. So be still.
- When you face the storms of life, what sort of shelter do you have? What are you counting on?
- Second, he calls him our strength. This is interesting because a shelter protects you from something, but strength typically is necessary to get through a hard time or situation.
- For those who trust in God, he is both of these things. He protects, he provides shelter. But for those things he chooses not to protect us from, he gives the strength to persevere and keep on walking.
- What sort of troubles or problems assail you? Are you concerned about the Coronavirus, your 401(k), or your marriage? Where are you looking for your help and your hope?
There is someone standing ready to help. God is a very present help in trouble. That idea of “very present” implies that he is well proved, trusted, tried, readily available. Do you know God in this way? As one who is actually right there with you?
- Verse 2 begins with the word Therefore. In light of the fact that God is very present, that he provides strength and protection, we will not fear.
- The truth about God being there for his people is important all the time. It becomes life and death when life goes awry.
- Take a moment to think about this imagery. What should be more reliable than the earth or more stable than the mountains?
- I recently read Tara Westover’s memoir, Educated. In this book, the mountain on which Westover was raised figures almost as a character in its own right. For people who grow up in proximity to mountains, especially a particular mountain, there is a certain degree to which that mountain shapes your existence. It changes how you drive, where you walk, where you live. It’s an important piece of the world as you know and understand it. Even here in the Midwest we can feel that way about the soil, the earth beneath our feet.
- Yet in this metaphor these things, earth and mountains, are slipping away. They are being shaken and moved from their places. Those things once thought to be fixed are being removed.
- To the ancient mind the sea was a place of danger and chaos. Shipwreck, sharks, a place where storms can come suddenly with no source of help- even today the ocean can be a very dangerous place.
- So with the seas swallowing the mountains, we seem to have those places or objects which we can count being consumed by the place of danger. Cosmos is descending into chaos. Order is melting into madness. Its waters foam...the mountains tremble at its swelling.
- Yet in all this, the people of God need not fear. Why? Because God is our refuge. He is our strength. He is present, no matter what the trouble or troubles which assail us. And if God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
Before we move onto the next section, we need to address a word which will pop up two more times in this Psalm. It’s the word Selah. It occurs 74 times in the Bible, all but three of those occurrences coming in the Psalms. It’s almost certainly a musical marker, but its precise significance is not known. Many scholars postulate that it indicated a pause, perhaps to give the hearer time to reflect. I think, whether that was the intended use originally or not, that this is certainly a useful way for us to use that word. It’s a helpful marker to say, pause, reflect, meditate on what you’ve just read.
So, soak in this truth: if you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, God is with you. He will protect you, strengthen you, help you. You need not be afraid.
God gives Life, so you can have joy. V4-7
- The first thing we should probably notice in this second movement of the Psalm, is that while water played a menacing role in the first movement, the river here stands in stark contrast. This river is the source of life and joy.
- The next thing we need to do is ask a couple of questions, what is this city of God? And what is this gladness giving river?
- Certainly the original readers of this Psalm would have heard City of God and habitation of the Most High and thought of Jerusalem, Mount Zion.
- The puzzling thing when we realize this, though, is that Jerusalem has no river. A free-flowing river would be a marvelous resource to have for your city, especially in times of siege. Yet if the city is Jerusalem, and Jerusalem has no river, how do we account for this image?
- It would seem that God is painting himself as the one who is the river. The river of life, giving gladness and stability to Jerusalem is the Most High God himself.
- Verse 5, we read that God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. God himself is the one providing strength and protection to the city.
- The idea of moved here parallels the ideas of gives way in v2, and totters in v6
- So long as God is in the midst of his people, they have no reason to fear.
- That condition-so long as he is in their midst-was actually bad news for those of the Jewish people who assumed that God was primarily concerned with their ethnicity.
- God’s presence departs the temple in Ezekiel 10 due to the unfaithfulness of the people.
- Where does God’s presence now reside on earth? John 2:19; 4:21, 23-24
- Those who trust in Christ as their only hope for salvation, whose hope is in God, receive the gift of his Holy Spirit: John 7:37-39
- If you have the Spirit, God’s presence dwells with you to comfort you, point you to Christ, and to give you joy. The rivers make glad the city of God.
- And this is a gladness impervious to the tottering of the nations, is God intimidated by the questions of the people, by their raging? He utters his voice, they melt.
- What defines life for you this morning? If you’re looking somewhere besides Jesus, you are missing out on the rivers of living water which are yours for the drinking.
- The Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob-the God of the people of Israel, the God of all. The ruler over all things. He is the one offering you this life. Ponder this: He has offered you life. Jesus came that you might have life, and have it abundantly.
God is God, so be still. V8-11
- Here’s the violence: we are welcomed to come behold the bloody conquest of the Lord.
- This is the Prince of Peace, as Isaiah calls him, coming in on his charger and devastating his enemies. In the words of OT scholar Derek Kidner, “Although the outcome is peace, the process is judgment.”
- Do you realize as a believer that one of the reasons we can have peace in this world is that we know one day the world will be peaceful? Not by human might or effort, but by an Almighty and Righteous judge laying down the law.
- It’s in this context that we get v10, be still, and know that I am God. The context indicates that God is actually speaking to the nations-quit fighting against the Sovereign! Quit rebelling against the king, you fools! The Christian Standard Bible translates it, stop your fighting.
- But we can still take this as a source of comfort and peace, even if God isn’t saying here to turn the relaxing music list on on Spotify.
- We can take comfort, that one day he will be seen as who he is. He will be exalted among the nations. He will be exalted in all the earth. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. Jesus is Lord.
Do you realize that this same truth can give us comfort in the midst of any circumstance that seems troubling or could cause us anxiety? The same God who controls the nations, who steers the hearts of rulers like a small stream, who knows the hairs on your head: this same God controls stock markets and viruses, he handles health care systems and grocery stores. He does not always do things the way we might advise him. But he acts in accord with his own inscrutable wisdom, a wisdom bent on doing good to all those who trust in him.
God is Present, so you need not be afraid. God gives Life, so you can have joy. God is God. So be still.