God Is Our Refuge And Strength!
The number of times in which I have gone to the 46th chapter of the book of Psalm within my Bible are innumerable. It has served as an encouragement and anchored me in my faith in God during the turbulent times of my life.
In this post I will give verse by verse commentary on the first three verses of this Psalm, but I highly recommend that you read the entire chapter. You will be strengthened by reading this passage of scripture in whatever difficulty you are facing if you truly take what is written to heart.
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 (Psalm 46:1-3)
Verse 1: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
God is our refuge and strength – In times of trouble, we all seek refuge and strength from someone or something. The wise seek refuge in God when experiencing trouble and therefore inherit strength.
The Hebrew word for God in this verse is Elohim which means “supreme one” or “mighty one.” God is all-able to be our refuge because he is supreme and above all created beings and things. He is all-powerful and mighty beyond measure, so we are strengthened when our confidence is in his might and not our own.
A very present help in trouble – Our circumstances during times of trouble tempt us to falsely believe that God is distant or indifferent to our plight, but that is untrue. Consider Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
God is often near, but we fail to recognize his presence because he is not present in the manner, we would like him to be. He always delivers us, but we struggle to accept his timing due to the intensity of our trials.
We also wrestle with how he sometimes delivers. For example, there are times in which his way of bringing his children out can be to bring them home (Heaven) and so we mourn for those who are no longer physically in our presence, but as Psalm 34:18 mentions, God is near to the brokenhearted and so he is present with us, even in times of grief.
Verse 2: Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea.
Therefore we will not fear – We will not fear because as forementioned our God is supreme, mighty, and present as we encounter trouble.
Though the earth gives way – Imagine the horror of this if it were to occur. Examples can include landslides, earthquakes, and sinkholes. Dread would be automatic for anyone who experiences the ground giving way underneath their feet. Still, the writers of this Psalm (the sons/descendants of Korah, who were Levites and from the family of Kohath) inform us that fear is not an option in this circumstance when we consider our God.
Though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea – It’s hard to picture in our minds the concept of not just one mountain, but mountains (plural) not just falling into the sea near the seashore, but rather being tossed into the heart of the sea far from land. This is more frightening than the earth giving way and yet we are told this too is no reason to fear, because God can help us in this scenario also.
Verse 3: Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
Though its waters roar and foam – Great roar and foam are sometimes created by natural waves crashing on sandy beaches or against sea cliffs. However, this occurrence would be magnified to an unfathomable level if as mentioned previously, the mountains were thrown into the sea. And yet, if this were to occur, we would not fear because this would not make our God unable to see us through such an experience.
Though the mountains tremble at its swelling – The ground shaking with such force as to make the mountains tremble is not sufficient to give us an excuse to fear, for our God can preserve us in an experience as awful as this.
Selah – Though no scholar can say with absolute certainty what the word Selah means, there is a general belief, based on where the word occurs throughout the scriptures, that it calls for a moment of pause and reflection on what has been previously stated. If this is true, it has been perfectly placed at the end of verse 3. Considering this, I invite you to pause and reflect on these three verses as you navigate the trouble you are currently experiencing.
