Where or with whom do you feel safest? Is it at home, with friends, or with your parents? We’ll revisit this question later.
In this article, I will discuss Psalm 46. This is one of my favourite Psalms, if not my favourite, because of the message and comfort it holds. There’s also this group on Spotify called the ‘Sons of Korah’ who I think portray the meaning and tone of this Psalm really well, which is also why it’s one of my favourites.
For some context, this Psalm was written as a song by a group of people called the Sons of Korah, not to be confused with the group on Spotify, which is still active, unlike the original writers of this Psalm. I won’t go into much about them, but take that into account when looking at Psalm 46.
To break down this Psalm, I have a few main points: God is our protector, God is our sustainer, and God is our comforter. Let’s start with the first point.
God is our protector. Let’s start by reading the passage.
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song.
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 the 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
Now, something I think is interesting to notice in this Psalm is what is said first, ‘God is our refuge and strength’. Now some of the other Psalms in the bible tend to start withPsalmsies from the writer, for example, Psalm 10, which says,
“W,hy, Lord, d,o you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”
Or Psalm 22, which says,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
But this Psalm doesn’t do that, the writer doesn’t cry out to God, it doesn’t list suffering or evil things in this world, rather it starts with God being our refuge and strength. But why? Why start in this specific way? It’s not because one Psalm is better than the other or that there is one way to start, but because they have different messages, and in this case, Psalm 46’s message in verse 1 is to know first and foremost that God is our protector, our strength, our refuge. That’s why it is the very first thing written in this Psalm, because it is so important to remember.
And so, when we look at verse 2, we know that because we have God as our protector, there is ‘therefore’ no need to fear whatever comes our way. Whether it’s mountains falling into the sea or it’sntains quaking as seen in the passage, or even assessment tasks, what to do once you have finished school, or what other people think of you, we don’t need to fear, for we have God, the creator of the seas, of the mountains, of everything. We don’and to fear because God is our protector.
Point number 2: God is our sustainer.
Look with me at verse 4
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Highest dwells.
What do you imagine when you think of a river? Now, when I think of a river, I can see that the river is flowing and that it is full of life. Rivers have fish, plants and all sorts of life. Not only do rivers have life, but they also give life and sustain life. If we look back to that image from before, you will notice that around the river isn’t some desert, rather it is lush and green because the river has given water and nutrients to the soil and plants. Rivers sustain.
But when we continue to verse 5, it says that ‘God is within her’. God is the river, the river that gives and sustains life. And this has been seen even since the beginning of time. Genesis 2:7 says,
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
You see, God is the one who gives life, and He also maintains it. And we can be reassured of this if we look to the latter part of verse 5, that this river will not fall. God will not fail. He has never failed. We know this because of what He has done.
John 7:38-39 says: (This is Jesus talking)
38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
39 By this, He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.
Whoever believes in Jesus will receive this living water, the Spirit of God. The spirit that sustains our life leads us on the right path, which will never leave us. This is an assurance we can hold onto, that God, the creator of everything, sustains us, loves us and will never stop, never change. God sustains.
So, now onto point number 3: God is our comforter.
Have a look with me at verse 6.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
He lifts his voice, the earth melts.
This verse is also very similar to verses 8 and 9.
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.
Now these 3 verses remind me of a story in the New Testament when Jesus is out on the water. Most of you guys will know the story where Jesus calms the storm. There are huge waves around the boat, and the disciples are all afraid. Maybe an image like this can sum it up. But right, Jesus comes out and instantly turns this huge storm that these fishermen are worrying about into nothing. The waves, the wind, and the storm stop.
And the same idea is seen in these 3 verses. Terrible things happen in this corrupt world; nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall, and there are many wars. But just like the storm, we don’t need to worry about these things because God is in control. God makes wars cease, breaks the bow, shatters the spear, and burns the shields. Bad, evil things do happen, but God is always there. You see, God comforts us.
On one of the nights at Growing Leaders camp, we do a bushwalk through one of the tracks near the site. And towards the end of the bushwalk, we take a seat at a rock, and we all turn our lights off and become silent. It’s at this point that Mr Noble will ask if anyone knows what the end of Psalm 46 says. Usually, no one answers, so Mr Noble quotes verse 10,
“Be still, and know that I am God”
And I think that this is a great illustration of this verse. Out in the dark, all you hear is the insects and animals around you. And you can just admire all that God has made, all that He has done.
I find this really hard to do because our lives are so busy and our minds are always thinking about all that we have to do. Always thinking about that next assessment, or that new game you want to play or what to do this weekend. But we need to make time to be still, to trust that God has it all sorted, to thank God for all that He has done. To be comforted by God.
So, let’s think about the question from the start. Where is it that you feel the safest, and who do you feel the safest around? Well, verse 11 says this,
“The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
You see, the God of everything is with us and dwells within us. He is our stronghold, our fortress, the one we should rely on. God is the one we should feel safest around because He protects, He sustains, and He comforts.
