Considering God (Psalm 46)
No one knows when this psalm was written, so the background to it cannot be identified with precision. The psalm, however, gives enough details about the trouble for us to appreciate some of the circumstances that the people faced. In verse 8, we are told that God was the One who had brought desolations on the earth. The psalmist urges the people to consider those desolations as ‘the works or the Lord’.
The trouble
The desolations were not confined to one area or country. From the psalmist’s perspective, they were happening everywhere. To his mind, they were a global phenomenon. Verse 6 says that kingdoms were tottering. Moreover the nations were in uproar. Yet the powerful voice of the Lord in providence reduced their complaints to being like ice when it melts in the hot sun. Is there not something very frightening when God speaks in this way?
In addition to the phenomenon being global, it was also powerful. The most obvious expression of human power is military power. The psalmist refers to them in verse 9: ‘He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.’ It is possible to read that verse and regard it as saying that God brings peace, but it is more likely that it means that God shows the weakness of creaturely power. When he speaks, the powers of earth give way. Instead of fighting one another, they realise that now they are dealing with a power against which they have no power.
The divine purpose
God’s purpose is stated in verse 10: ‘Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!’ Often we use this verse as a source of comfort to God’s people when they are anxious. We read it as if the psalmist was giving a message from God to his people as they experienced deep troubles. It may be that is what was intended. This would mean that we are called to think of who God is and so quieten our souls by meditating upon him, his attributes and his aims that he has for us. And doing so is something that would bless us and cheer our hearts.
Yet it is possible to regard verse 10 as being addressed to the nations who are raging in verse 6. Such rage is never the correct response to his actions in his providence. This rage may be expressed in different ways. The one thing that marks the rage is that it does not try to see God’s purpose in what is happening. So God tells them what his purpose is, which is that he intends to be exalted in the earth. His purpose is for people to recognize his total sovereignty.
What if it gets worse?
The psalmist mentions this possibility in verses 2 and 3: ‘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.’ He had been through a very difficult time, but he recognised that things could get worse, much worse. Indeed, he describes the prospect of the entire earth shaking. After all, he does not know the future. Neither do we.
What can we do?
The advice of the psalmist is that we should think about God and his city. Why does the psalmist mention God’s city? I think the answer to that question is that from the psalmist’s perspective God acts primarily in two places – on the earth and in his city. When he acts in judgment on the earth, what is he doing in his city?
The city
Where and what is his city? The psalmist is not referring to Jerusalem because it did not have a river that divided into streams. Since that is the case, we must ask if the Bible speaks of another city. And it does. For example, Psalm 87 speaks about the inhabitants of the city of God. Its name is Zion, but its inhabitants come from all over the world. There is no hint in the psalm that the inhabitants leave their geographical locations in order to become members of the heavenly Zion. Rather, where they are is a good place to become a heavenly citizen. We join the city when we embrace the gospel and believe in Jesus.
Another question that may come to mind is what happens when members of this city die? The answer to this question is given in Hebrews 11:16 where the author speaks about believers from long ago and says about them: ‘But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.’ This new kind of city is also like a country, but it is also found away from the earth. There is a heavenly section to the city as well as an earthly one, and the residents of the heavenly section are those who once lived on earth, but who have moved to live in heaven. We are to think of that detail when troubles come.
As mentioned earlier, the city has a river, and this feature is also mentioned of the city in Revelation 21 and 22 which tells us that the source of the river is God, and that the Spirit flows from the Father and the Son throughout the city. This happens now in both sections of the city as well as in its future state. The streams of this river flow whatever is happening in the world, and they bring the joy of heaven to the citizens even in times of great trouble.
The most amazing feature of this city is that the Lord lives there, it is his dwelling-place. This is the case in both sections of the city now, and it will be the case in the city once the eternal state comes. Because he is in the city now, the city has a permanent future. And until that future comes, God will bless the inhabitants every day.
Thinking about God
Twice in the psalm we are told that ‘The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.’ In the Bible, names had real meanings of significance. Here we have two divine names. What do they tell us about God? The Lord of hosts includes a reference to angels, and they are described as his army. But they are with us, and in the context of the psalm, mainly for protection. They are an invisible army, but a very real one.
The other title is God of Jacob. Mentioning Jacob is a reminder that God identifies with the unworthy and the failures. Jacob, whether it is a reference to the patriarch as an individual or to the nation as a whole, did not deserve God's gracious care of them. Yet, as with the title ‘Lord of hosts’, we are told that the God of Jacob defends his people from danger – he is the fortress, the shared fortress, the secure fortress, the secret fortress, that the enemy, whatever it is, cannot see.
The psalmist also mentions at the start of the psalm that ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.’ Often the introducing verse tells us what the rest of the psalm is about. We can see from the psalm how God is the One who can and does protect his people in times of unusual things taking place.
Applications
It is inevitable that we will have degrees of fear in our current situation. A pestilence stalks the land. The way to deal with fear is not to rely on our own inner resources. Instead, we have to think about God and his city.
What is the activity of faith? Obviously it includes faith in Jesus, the Saviour. Yet we also have faith in each person of the Trinity regarding how each of them works in our lives, including times of great trouble. We are in one such period, and we should bear in mind that from heaven the Father and the Son are sending the streams of the Spirit to every corner of their city.
What future do people have is the real question? We have seen how easy it is for the present to disappear. What we need to have is residency in the heavenly city!