The Lord My Refuge and Strength
Bob Yandian
“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 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.
8. Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has 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.” Psalm 46 1-11
God is a “Present Help in Trouble”
This psalm was written by Hezekiah after the Lord delivered his city of Jerusalem out of the hand of the Assyrian army. You will notice in verse one that the Hebrews put their trust in God. They declared him to be their refuge and strength. What was the strength of their adversary, the Assyrian army? It was their training, their equipment, their leaders. Since you know the outcome of this particular confrontation, you can easily see whose refuge and strength was dependable.
It says also in that first verse that God is a present help “in trouble.” This is important to understand. When you get born-again, you are not magically removed from all of life’s challenges and difficulties. Rather, you’re given the equipment to face those problems and be victorious – through God who is your help IN trouble.
Your strength is perfected in trouble when you pull out the sword of the Spirit, when you use the shield of faith, when you practice to become adept with all the weapons of your warfare. Would God have given us weapons if there were no battles to fight? Not only did he give us the supernaturally powerful weapons, He Himself promised to be our present help in the midst of the trouble. Glory!
Fear Opens the Door to Defeat
Verse two goes on to say, “Therefore will not we fear.” With odds like that, why be afraid? Fear only opens the way for defeat; fear cannot help you succeed at all.
Here is a perfect opportunity for the inhabitants of Jerusalem to become afraid – really afraid. They are sitting on the walls of the city, looking out over the vast Assyrian army, listening to the threats of Rabshakeh. But they didn’t say a word. That’s a powerful action to disarm fear. Simply refuse to speak it out with your mouth.
“Therefore will not we fear, THOUGH the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea…” Literally, the Hebrew says, “Though the land be destroyed.” If you listen to the reports in the world today, you will hear destruction on every hand. Wars, bombings, enemies on every hand. But is your faith in natural military strength, or is it in the assurance that God is always our present help in trouble? Jesus said in the midst of war and rumors of wars, see that you be not troubled.
Now “mountains being carried into the sea” is a reference to the size of the Assyrian army. Jerusalem is located in a plain, ringed by mountain ranges on all sides. But the army was so vast, it engulfed the mountains like the tide of the ocean had come in, filling all the land so just the peaks of the mountains rose above the vast ocean of soldiers.
This parallel between the Assyrian army and the sea is mentioned in Isaiah 8:7, “Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them the waters of the River, strong and mighty-the king of Assyria and all his glory; he will go up over all his channels and go over all his banks.” This army is so powerful, it is so large, that it cannot be contained in its own country, but has overflowed into the countries around it. It looks like a flood, like a dam bursting with water tumbling out everywhere, as we read in verse 3 of our text. There were so many horses that the land literally shook with the force of their movement across the mountains into Jerusalem’s valley.
But in the midst of this trouble, God is present, and Hezekiah tells himself and his people not to fear. You think you have problems and deserve to wallow in self-pity? How would you like to be looking over the wall and see armies coming at you like a flash flood, like a dam bursting open and allowing water to come swirling out to cover everything in its path!
Selah
At the end of verse 3 of Psalm 46 we have the word “Selah”. Remember that this is a song Hezekiah wrote, but only the words are preserved for us today. When singers came to “selah”, it meant they should be silent while the musicians continued to play. This gave the singers and the congregation time to stop and reflect over the passage that was just completed. Then a new thought would be introduced.
So let’s do that. Let’s stop and summarize the first portion of Psalm 46 (verses 1-3). It can be summed up like this: No matter what difficulty you are facing, put your trust in the Lord. Keep your mouth from speaking doubt, fear, and unbelief. Recognize that the Lord is present and able to help.
Overcome the Oceans of the Enemy Attack
Now in verse four, we begin to discuss the answer to the problems. The verse talks about a river. Did you ever stop to compare an ocean with a river? The devil tries to convince us that our problems are as a mighty ocean, and all we have are “rivers of living water” that well up from our inner beings. Put trust in that river.
No ocean can withstand the power of that river. Turn to the Holy Spirit who dwells in you depend on that river of wisdom and strength to overcome the oceans of enemy attack. By praying in tongues, allowing the Holy Spirit to control your tongue, you can speak out the answer to your problems. You can activate that river of life to turn back the tide of the enemy’s ocean.
In verse five we see the result of God coming on the scene. The Hebrew literally says she shall not be taken captive. Don’t give in to the taunts of the enemy who would tempt you to walk out and give up without a fight. Depend on the strength of the rivers of life within you. Learn to pray in the spirit, activate that river, and you will not be taken captive by the lies of the enemy.
When does God rescue you? The end of verse five says,”… at the break of dawn …” That means very soon. It doesn’t mean immediately. God is always on time, but many believers are tempted to give up because they don’t see the situation improve immediately when they swing into action against the enemy.
God Does Not Use Natural Weapons
Now in verse six we have a reference to all the other cities that trusted in false gods yet fell to the armies of Rabshakeh. There is only one true living God, and putting your trust in Him is not a futile effort. “The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved.” Literally, they were taken captive. But the Lord fought back. And He didn’t use natural weapons.
You realize that it would take a supernatural weapon to slay 185,000 soldiers in one night. Verse 6 tells us what that weapon was: “…He uttered His voice, the earth melted …” In Revelation 19:15 we read about this weapon being used at the battle of Armageddon, “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations …” Isn’t it good to have a weapon like that on your side of the battle?
Hezekiah continues in Psalm 46 by referring to God as “the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob.” In the Hebrew, it reads Jehovah of armies. He’s the One Who is the head of all the hosts of the angels. He’s the same One who defended Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As faithful as He was to them, He is to us right now.
The next verse, verse 8, can seem to contradict the character of God when it refers to the desolation he made in the earth. But God so highly prizes his people, He will go to any length to defend and save them. After all, he sent His only Son. He will make the earth desolate if that is what it takes to protect His people.
In verse 9 we read what He did – He made this war cease; He stopped the Assyrian army in its tracks so the city of Jerusalem could be spared. The weapons and chariots of this army were like toys in the hands of a protective God. He smashed them, broke them in two to defend His precious possession.
That phrase here in verse 9, “… in the end of the earth …”, shows just how important God’s people are to Him. It doesn’t matter where you live – God knows your address and is watching over you to protect you against the flood of enemy attack. Put your trust in Him to take care of you.
Be Still
Verse ten tells us to rest in the Lord. “Be still” is the Hebrew word “rapha.” Do you remember one of God’s redemptive names is Jehovah Rapha? He is the Lord that heals you. So what this verse literally means is “be healed and know that I am God.”
Did you know there is healing in being still? Enter into rest, put your trust in God, take the victory that He has already provided. There is a healing in this rest, this freedom from self-effort. Just stand still and see the deliverance of the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:17).
The second part of verse ten tells us the more people try to come against God, the more God gets exalted. He is exalted among the heathen when his miracles are reported, and his fame spreads to all the earth.
The final verse in Psalm 46, verse eleven, repeats a previous verse. Hezekiah is emphasizing the character of the mighty one who defends us. God is the Jehovah of armies, or the captain of all the soldiers. He commands them into perfect array against the enemy. And he’s never lost a single battle!
The “God of Jacob” refers to the first member of the Godhead which is God the Father. Notice we have Jesus on our side, the Commander and Chief. And we have God the Father on our side also. But they are not just “on our side.” Colossians 3:3 tells us that we are “… hid with Christ in God.”
Not only are we in Christ, but Christ then is in God. With that as our refuge, who can possibly overcome you? You put your trust in Him and He fights for you. Paul told us in Romans 8:39 that nothing could separate us from the love of Christ. If God be for us, who can successfully come against us and overtake us?
