Psalm 46

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Introduction

God Is Our Fortress

46 TO THE CHOIRMASTER. OF THE SONS OF KORAH. ACCORDING TO ALAMOTH. A SONG.

1  God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

2  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

3  though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

4  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

5  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

6  The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

7  The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

8  Come, behold the works of the LORD,

how he has brought desolations on the earth.

9  He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the chariots with fire.

10  “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 of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Given our current earthly circumstances surrounding the Coronavirus, not only the risk to our physical health, but also the potential economic and governmental fallout from it, I wanted to continue looking at the Book of Psalms, specifically, Psalm 46, because as our circumstances become increasingly volatile, my desire is that we would continue to hold fast to our Lord, to take refuge in him.
This was actually Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther’s, favorite psalm. And It was this psalm that inspired his his famous hymn, ‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God’, while he was on his way to the Diet of Worms in 1521. There, the Reformer was asked to recant his writings against the Roman Catholic church and its teachings, however, even under extreme pressure he refused to do so, and famously said, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason … I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.”
While known as being as bold as a lion, it wasn’t because of his own strength or power. There was a reason he loved psalm 46, and there was a reason it inspired him to write ‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God’. And there’s a reason it became so valuable to those a part of the Protestant Reformation. It was because of the great comfort that Psalm 46 gives to God’s people.
In the darkest of times Martin Luther would say, “Come, let us sing the 46th Psalm, let them do their worst.” He said of this psalm, “We sing this Psalm to the praise of God, because God is with us, and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends his church and his word, against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of hell, against the implacable hatred of the devil, and against all the assaults of the world, the flesh and sin” that this psalm “is a fine consolatory Psalm, wherein God’s marvelous working is praised, as he protects his little flock of believers, and preserves them through such great necessities of war and persecution, that it might seem as if the world was going to wreck.”

God is our refuge

1  God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

This psalm is intended to remind us to look to God for our refuge and our strength, to remind us that he is our very present help in times of trouble. As Christians we should not rely upon created things, armies or our own strength, but upon God, for he alone is our refuge and our strength. He is the one we run to when we’re in danger, the one who is strong when we are weak, and God is near to us when we need help.

Though the earth be turned upside down

2  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

‘Though the earth be removed’ could be rendered ‘Though the earth be turned upside down’, and ‘mountains’ here in v. 2 communicates the idea of stability, mountains are immovable. Yet even when what seems most stable or secure in this life is turned upside down, and the mountains of this life are seemingly thrown into the heart of the sea, God will still be our refuge and our strength, a very present help in our trouble.
The mountains, here, represent the most stable of governments and political institutions, but even when those things seem to be upended God remains our refuge, he remains our strength and our ever present help in these times of trouble. In fact, it’s because God is our refuge and our strength, that we will not fear. God’s protection is the grounds for our peace.
And even,

3  though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

The imagery here is of turbulent waters causing the mountains to tremble as it swells. Like that of kingdoms and governments trembling at the commotions of their people. It’s like that of cities and nations in turmoil, and the people are stricken with fear. And though these uncertain and frightful things persist God’s people do not fear.

The river and a holy habitation

Then in verses 4-5,

4  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

5  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

The imagery here is of Zion, the city of Jerusalem, and the hill upon which the temple of God stood. Now, there is no river that flows through Jerusalem but the imagery is intended for us to recall places like the Garden of Eden, where a large river flowed out of Eden into four other rivers, or the river of the water of life in the new heavenly city of Jerusalem that was as “bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city;” (Revelation 22:1-2)

Jerusalem, a type of the true church

And then there in verse 5, “God is in the midst of her; [and] she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” Jerusalem, that heavenly city, like a bride prepared for her husband, represents God’s people, it represents his church. Even the old Jerusalem was a type of the true church throughout all the ages. These are the people who will not be moved, this is the church of which the gates of Hell will not prevail, so the psalmist says, “God will help her [even] when morning dawns.” In other words, even when the danger is at its greatest, when her enemies are preparing their assault, God will be her help. God will be our help and he will be our refuge.

The nations rage against the Lord of hosts

And even though,

6  The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

So often the nations attacked against Jerusalem, and so often have the nations persecuted the church with a rage so fierce so as to overwhelm us, but the psalmist reminds us that though the nations rage, and despite their commotion, when our Lord utters his voice the earth melts, all of creation is filled with fear. The nations that rage do not stand a chance against him. And because they don’t stand a chance against him, they don’t stand a chance against us, for,

7  The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

When the psalmist calls God the Lord of hosts he means to remind us that our God is the God of angelic armies. That he is a God of war, unmatched by any earthly kingdom. That he is the God of Jacob, the God over the entirety of Israel, a fortress where they can find safety. Where they are hemmed in by walls of impenetrable strength and protected by angelic armies without number.

Behold the works of the Lord

Then in verses 8-9,

8  Come, behold the works of the LORD,

how he has brought desolations on the earth.

9  He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the chariots with fire.

The psalmist is painting for us a picture of God to embolden our faith, to strengthen our faith. To help us to see clearly the invincible power of our Lord, so he begs us to ‘Come, behold (see) the works of the Lord’. How “he has brought desolations upon the earth” that “he makes wars cease to the end of the earth; [that] he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; [and] burns the chariots with fire.”
Now, the psalmist is giving us an image of an ancient custom where the arms and armor of a defeated enemy was collected into a heap and set on fire. It signified complete and utter victory. This was even practiced later in the Roman empire, and symbolized by their mythical goddess of peace, Irene (Eirene), where she’s sometimes portrayed holding an olive branch of peace in one hand and a torch in the other, and the torch to set fire to a heap of armor. The enemies of God stand no chance against his plans and his purposes.

Be still, and know that I am God

And finally in verses 10-11 we read,

10  “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 of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

In other words, understand that if God will not be defeated, then nor will we, so be still, stop, and understand that he is God, remember who he is. The entire psalm is dedicated to reminding us of who God is, of his goodness toward his people and of his great power against our enemies, that nothing will stop him from being exalted among all nations, and therefore nothing will stop him from taking special care of his people. For he is a fortress that cannot be breached, and it’s this reality that ought to give us a steadfast assurance in this life, no matter whether our world is turned upside down or not. And realizing that it is not our own strength, wisdom, plans, or other people, that will give us this assurance, but only God, who does not fail. We should never rely ultimately upon governments, and worldly institutions for our peace, for all of those things will fail. Instead put your hope in the Lord of hosts. And if you do not know him, run to him, believe on his Son, Jesus of Nazareth, that you might be delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, that you might find refuge in his heavenly Jerusalem.

Prayer

Lord, we are finite and feeble, our faith is often weak, but we take great comfort that though we are weak we trust in an invincible savior. We take great comfort knowing that our lives are hidden in Christ, that you are our great fortress of refuge, that you are our very present help in trouble.
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