God is our Refuge and Strength!

Today we are looking at “God is our refuge and strength” and reading Psalm 46 for reference.

Eerdmans Bible Handbook gives this background to Psalm 46;

This Psalm may have been written following Sennacherib’s attack on Jerusalem (found in 2 Chronicles 32, about 701 B.C.), some natural disaster, or in anticipation of the events heralding Messiah’s coming. ¹ 

Halley’s Bible Handbook tells us that Psalm 46 is Zion’s Battle Song.

It is the basis of Luther’s famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” Song of the Reformation. ²

Let’s look closer at this wonderful Psalm!

Psalm 46 NIV

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.

1 God is our refuge and strength,
   an ever-present help in trouble.

Robert J. Morgan, in an article in ‘From This Verse,’ tells this story:

Robert Bruce of Scotland was running for his life, fleeing persecutors. He ducked into a small cave, and a spider immediately appeared and spun a web over the opening. Bruce’s pursuers fanned across the landscape, knowing he was near. Two of them approached the cave, and one of the men started to go in. The other one stopped him saying, saying, “He could never have gotten in there without breaking that spider’s web.”

Bruce breathed this prayer, “O God, I thank Thee that in the tiny bowels of a spider you can place for me a shelter.” (pg. 384 Nelsons, Feb.14th article)

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.

The Abingdon Bible Commentary gives this thought to these first three verses:

‘The pictures of the convulsions of nature are the conceptions largely inherited by the prophets and sketched by them to picture the terrible, final catastrophe which will precede the new era. The pictures are of volcano, earthquake and flood…. But in such a time Israel need not fear. God is our shelter and strength. The destructive waters cannot shake Him nor those whom He protects.’³

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 break of day.

Abingdon goes on to state: ‘In graphic contrast to the seething, destructive waters of chaos the psalmist pictures other waters not destructive but productive, not terror-inspiring but peace-bringing.’ ⁴

These verses parallel Revelations 22:1-5 NIV:

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

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.

 Nelson’s Book of Stories quotes Billy Graham:

“One of the most comforting truths in all the Bible to me as I travel from one part of the world to another,” evangelist Billy Graham once said, “is to know that God has stationed His heavenly guards to protect, guide, and lead me through life’s dangerous way. I cannot see these beings with my physical eyes, but I sense they are present every day.” ⁵

 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 [or chariots] with fire.

Wycliffe Bible Commentary tells us: ‘The outcome of the apocalyptic battle is triumph and the end of warfare. The beautiful phrase, “Be still, and know that I am God,” carries the idea of refraining from vain strivings and lack of confidence.’ ⁶

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.

Someone once asked evangelist Dwight Moody how he managed to remain so intimate in his relationship with Christ. He replied, “I have come to Him as the best friend I have ever found, and I can trust Him in that relationship. I have believed He is Savior; I have believed He is God; I have believed His atonement on the cross is mine, and I have come to Him and submitted myself on my knees, surrendered everything to Him, and gotten up and stood by His side as my friend, and there isn’t any problem in my life, there isn’t any uncertainty in my work but I turn and speak to Him naturally as to someone in the same room, and I have done it these years because I can trust Jesus.” ⁷

 The Bible Knowledge Commentary puts this ending on these verses:

‘Also to saints of all ages, the call for a silent trust in God’s saving power, in anticipation of universal peace, has been a source of comfort and strength.’ ⁸

Vance Havner, in his book, ‘Fourscore’, said, ‘I thank God for the Unseen Hand, sometimes urging me onward, sometimes holding me back; sometimes with a caress of approval, sometimes with a stroke of reproof; sometimes correcting, sometimes comforting. My times are in His hand.’ ⁹

Psalm 23:1-6 NIV
A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley, [or the valley of the shadow of death] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

The prayer at end of Ken Gire’s book, ‘At Peace in the Storm’,

‘God of all power, as I face the raging waters today, I place my trust in you. Send your Spirit to open my eyes so that I might recognize your sure and certain rescue. Let my ears hear the soothing sound of your voice, even as the floodwaters rise. I put my trust in you, in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.’ ¹⁰

Now we will celebrate the ability to trust in God and know His refuge and strength as we participate in Communion.

Artwork Credits: Our Refuge and Strength by Morgain Weistling