Psalm 46
God Is Our Fortress
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
The psalmist here can’t help but celebrate the safety and comfort they have found in the God of Jacob - in Yahweh. The assurance in the first verse alone carries hope through the rest of the song. Though the face of the earth may change, though mountains may slip into the sea! In Scripture, mountains are images of security and permanence. The psalmist lends the idea used by our Lord when he suggests that ‘faith the size of a mustard seed’ can cause mountains to move, and even thrown into the sea (Matt 17:20). Nothing is so permanent that cannot be overcome! Nothing is so unmovable for the Unmoved Mover of the universe! The next image called upon is water: in Scripture, water is associated with the powerful force of chaos and destruction, capable of causing even the permanent mountains to tremble and quake. Recall however, that this whole image was prefaced with the affirmation: Therefore we will not fear…
Selah. Some commentators say this term means quiet interlude. Like a notation for a musician to ‘fill here’ with some contemplative riff. Other commentators suggest it is associated with lifting up or exalting - where the audience would take the opportunity to praise Yahweh. Whatever it means, it is used here to pause the idea of chaotic waters causing the world-as-we-know-it to fall apart.
When we return to the text, we have found the psalmist still talking about water - however this water is under sovereign control. A calm stream whose waters make glad the city of God; Zion. The place where God’s people reside with Him. Despite the chaotic happenings of the world, despite the uproarious nations and the tottering kingdoms: this place will not be moved. Where God is, there is our true stronghold.
For the Jew of the time, a stronghold and a refuge invoked thoughts of mountains and caves. We are in the midst of our Easter celebration, and it is during this time that we remember a period in limbo. Where the maker of heaven and earth, God the Son, laid dormant in a cave. A refuge of sorts - however, this tomb was not a refuge of safety but of apparent defeat; a refuge of death. Jesus our Lord suffered the consequences of our sinfulness and encountered death for us in that cave. But the permanence of death, like the permanence of the mountain in this Psalm, was challenged. Tomorrow we celebrate the undoing of death, God’s overcoming and subduing death once and for all. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah.
The final stanza is an invitation to rejoice. To rejoice in the completed work of God, and to rest:
Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth (v. 10, NASB).
Lord I pray that would be our enduring response during this unprecedented time as we await and celebrate Resurrection Sunday.