PSALM 46
1 “God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling.
Selah
4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted,
7 The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD,
Who made desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the 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 refuge.
Selah
Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength,”
The word “refuge” here is the Hebrew word “machaseh” (makh-as-eh) which means “shelter”. Literally a place of refuge and shelter and figuratively a place of trust and hope creating an image of a stronghold or impenetrable fortress and emphasizes God’s protection.
Cross references:
Psalm 61:3-4 “For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your Tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.”
Psalm 91:2 “I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’”
The word “strength” is the Hebrew word “oz” (oze) which means strength in applications such asforce, security, majesty, loud boldness, might, power, and it emphasizes God’s power to protect and save.
Cross references:
Psalm 21:1 The king shall have joy in your strength, O LORD; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!”
Psalm 29:11 The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace”
“a very present help in trouble.”
The word “present” is the Hebrew word “matsa” (maw-tsaw) which means to come forth; appear or exist, to deliver, to be enough, get a hold of; light upon.
The word “trouble” is the Hebrew word “tsarah” (tsaw-raw) meaning adversary, affliction, anguish, distress, tribulation, trouble
This first verse tells us that God is a PLACE of protection; an impenetrable fortress and a powerful, mighty and majestic strength to protect and save us. And in Him we have a PLACE of trust, hope, joy, and peace. In our times of affliction, distress, and tribulation, God will always be found, accessible, available, and sufficient to deliver us
Psalm 46:2-3 “Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.”
The use of natural disasters here are symbolic of forces of chaos in our life circumstances. Earthquakes resemble the shaking, shifting, and changing of life situations and establishments. Stormy waters signify noise, rage, and darkness, unpredictability in what is to come. Unstable mountains denote dependable foundations falling apart, those things we depend on to maintain our state of living where we are. But God’s power over chaos was demonstrated at creation:
Genesis 1:2-3 “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light;’ and there was light.”
This scripture depicts a material substance with no boundary, order, or definition; unformed and unfilled. And the Spirit of God, the very breath of God hovered OVER the cosmic waters of chaos and by His Word and by His Spirit He began to bring order to chaos.
The word “therefore” links this verse to the first verse by saying, “as a result of what we know of God, we will not fear.” What do we know of God? Going back to verse 1, we know that He is our impenetrable fortress, covering us with His entire being. He is our protection and strength. He is our salvation. He is always with us, available, and accessible. He is also our place of hope, joy, peace, and trust. And because of that, we will not fear.
Do you know that we cannot be in a place of hope, joy, peace, and trust AND be in a place of fear at the same time? Fear is not an emotion. Fear is a spirit that tells you that you are not accepted and not loved by God. 2 Timothy 1:7says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Faith expresses itself through love. Fear is expressed through rejection. Faith represents our future while fear represents the destruction of our future but both faith and fear demand to be fulfilled. As a work of the Holy Spirit, faith will always overpower fear which is a mere work of the created and fallen being.
What we meditate on or think about every day occupies our mind and it is either fear or faith that is being projected into our tomorrow, but also yesterday’s projected fear or faith is here today. What we think about we empower. What we focus on we call forth. Think about Job: “What I feared greatly has come upon me.” Dwelling on the what ifs of any circumstance does not exhibit trust in God. Think of the Israelites in the wilderness. How many times did they tell God, “You brought us out into the wilderness to die!” only to be met by another miraculous provision and yet still, when they got to the Promised Land, they feared to go in because of the giants that occupied the land. Their land, the land that God gave to them. Hebrews 4 tells us that because they had not mixed the word that they heard with FAITH they would fail to enter into His rest, and that entire generation except for 2 people died in the wilderness. The next generation inherited the promise.
To get to the promised land, they had to go through the wilderness, and God said he would be with them, but in their journey through the wilderness they didn’t learn to trust Him. Sometimes our journey through a wilderness is an opportunity to strengthen our trust in God. If He said He would be with us and we would make it out, then we need to keep our focus on that promise.
“Therefore we will not fear” – because of what we know of God, we can choose not to partner with fear. Fear is not our only option. Mark 11:22 holds the remedy for fear. It simply says, “Have faith in God.”
Psalm 46:4 “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.”
This verse is a contrast of the chaotic waters of verses 2-3 and symbolize God’s blessing, renewal, healing, and life.
Ezekiel 47:7-9, 12talks of a river that flows from the temple giving life and renewing the land it flows through. It is a river of life that heals the waters of the Dead Sea and turns the wilderness into a lush orchard.
Revelation 22:1-2 talks of a river of life that flows straight from the throne of God to us. We are the city of God. We are the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
2 Corinthians 6:16 says “For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be My people.’”
God is a river of life that flows through us and makes us “glad” or joyful. This river is meant to flow through us and outward, bringing life to everything we touch. Every place we go, our presence should have an impact because this river of life with joy and gladness flows out of us.
Cross references:
John 4:14 “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 7:38 “Jesus stood crying out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
No matter what chaos is going on around us, we have this river of life flowing within and out of us that makes us joyful and brings life and healing to the chaos around us. In whatever tumultuous situation we might find ourselves, we need to remember that we carry light, we carry the solution, we carry the power and the presence of the Most High God. We are there to bring hope and joy to people who don’t yet know God. The Spirit of the Living God dwells within us, we can stand up in the boat and say to the storm, “Peace, be still.”
El Elyon – Most High God.
There is no higher than most high. This name signifies God as Ruler and Judge and emphasizes God’s supremacy over the earth.
Cross references:
Genesis 14:19-20 “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Psalm 47:2-3 “For the LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.”
God is Possessor of heaven and earth, delivers our enemies into our hand, and subdues peoples and nations under our feet. God does this for us. We don’t do it, He does it. For us. When we hand Him the battle.
Psalm 46:5 “God is in the midst of her (the city), she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.”
Just at the break of dawn means as night turns to morning, as darkness turns to light, as chaos is brought into order
The word “midst” is the Hebrew word “qereb” (ker’-reb) which means the nearest part that is the center. Whatever the situation, whatever the circumstance, wherever we find ourselves, God is in the midst of it. He is not outside of it watching from a distance, he is at the very center of it with us.
Cross references:
Deuteronomy 23:14 “For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you;”
Ezekiel 43:7 “And He said to me, ‘son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever.’”
Joel 2:27 “Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.”
Zephaniah 3:15 “The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your, midst; You shall see disaster no more.”
Zechariah 2:5 “For I, says the LORD, will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.”
All of this reinforces what we know of God from the first verse, that God is our impenetrable fortress. God is a powerful force of strength and majesty. God is an immovable shield of protection. God is our deliverer and our defender. God is always with, in, and for us, we face nothing alone.
Psalm 46:6-7 “The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”
This verse is reinforcing God’s supremacy and power over the forces of chaos even by His voice.
Psalm 29:3-9 contains 7 declarations about the voice of the LORD:
“The VOICE of the LORD is over the waters.”
“The VOICE of the LORD is powerful.”
“The VOICE of the LORD is full of majesty.”
“The VOICE of the LORD breaks the cedars.”
“The VOICE of the LORD divides the flames of fire.”
“The VOICE of the LROD shakes the wilderness.”
“The VOICE of the LORD makes the deer give birth.”
Psalm 29:11 says, “The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.” Again – God is our strength and our place of peace
Psalm 46:8 “Come behold the works of the LORD, who has made desolations in the earth.”
The word “behold” means to gaze at, to mentally perceive, to contemplate with pleasure, to have a vision of, to prophesy. As we examine the works of the LORD, we become less aware of what surrounds us from the outside and more aware of what we carry on the inside. As we focus our attention on the things we have already seen God do, the testimonies we’ve seen and heard and read about, we begin to see what He wants to do in the place where we are, and we can prophesy into it.
When we behold the works of the Lord, we are reinforcing Faith over Fear in what we are projecting into our future. What we are calling forth in our circumstances is determined by what we are beholding. Studying the Word of God changes our thinking and perception. Changed thinking and perception produces a change in what we project or expect or foresee. I know from studying the Bible that God sent ravens to bring Elijah food during a famine. It was enough to sustain him for a 40-day trip. I know Jesus took 5 loaves and 2 fishes and fed over 5 thousand people. And He did it more than once. I know that God took out an army against Joshua with a hailstorm. I know that Moses struck the rock and water gushed forth. I know that God can sustain the flow of oil for as many jars as I’ve got to be filled. If I pair the testimonies of the Bible with testimonies of my own life and those around me my faith couldn’t help but be stirred and strengthened. Every testimony carries within it the prophesy of Jesus. In other words, what He’s done before, He can do again.
Psalm 46:9 “He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire.”
This verse presents a picture of a battlefield with broken weapons and burned wagons scattered all over to imply that the victory is complete. And it’s in our favor.
Cross references:
Colossians 2:15 “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”
This is the imagery we should be focusing on in our minds when we are in a war, externally or internally. We should be seeing and projecting the destruction of the enemy and our victory in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
The kingdom of darkness seeks to exalt itself and tries to use us as its stepladder. We read about the fall of Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12-14 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’”
There cannot be another “like” the Most High, He is the ONLY uncreated being, with no beginning and no end. To prove that no other could be equal to Him, He re-affirmed Himself as the Most High through His Son Jesus.
Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him (Jesus) and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Perhaps this is not just an exhortation for us, but it is simultaneously a declaration to our spiritual enemies. Once we let go, recognize and behold all that God is, break partnership with Fear, and grab hold of faith, God then comes in and says to our enemy, “LET GO! I AM GOD, YOU ARE NOT. I WILL BE EXALTED. YOU WILL BE BROUGHT LOW.”
God has already done it all. He has already defeated the entire kingdom of darkness by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus has been crowned with the Victor’s crown. We are just here to enforce what He’s already accomplished. We recognize all that God is for us. We behold Him (our gaze is constantly on Him). We stand firm in our faith. We put our trust in Him.
Psalm 46:11 “The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”
We seal it up with a repeat of verse 7 just to settle it within us that God is both the Commander of Heavenly Armies that fights for us, defends us, and delivers us; He is at the same time our place of protection, our impenetrable fortress, our place of hope, joy, peace, and trust.
I would like to leave you with a picture that this depicts for me. This scripture reminded me of a vision I had a few years ago. I was sitting on the edge of a high mountain and all I could see when I looked out was a misty fog. I had no idea what was out there. Next to me sat a giant lion. He was so big my head didn’t even come up to what would be his elbow. He sat next to me with His front feet firmly planted in the ground, chest puffed out, at attention, very attuned to what was unseen. Then He lifted His paw, set it down on the other side of me, and gently scooted me under Him. I was tucked up next to His belly and barricaded in by His two front paws. I knew one thing. Nothing could get to me as long as I was here. He covered me with His entire being. He was so big and so mighty and so powerful I couldn’t imagine anything even coming near Him. Just the sound of His roar would make the rocks shatter. And He stood ready to devour anything that dared to even come close. He is my impenetrable fortress. My mighty shield. My Savior and my Deliverer. He is my source of joy, my place of rest, my solid rock. And if He says I am safe with Him, then I trust Him.
