Psalm 46 River of Gladness

I grew up with 2 rivers close by; Slate River and the larger Kaministiquia River and I have great memories of spending time on both of them. Water and rivers keep coming up in the Bible in all kinds of ways and places. Water’s often connected to life and cleansing and punishment, sometimes all these themes together in the same story; think of the flood. Most of the important events in Israel’s history are shaped by water and point to important changes in Israel’s relationship with God. The Belgic Confession reminds us that one of the ways God reveals himself to us is through creation. Water often points us to God and what kind of God He is; so this summer we’ll be looking at rivers in the Bible.

Psalm 46 is best known for verse 10, “Be still and know that I am God.” This verse is a good reminder for many of us who have a tendency to get way too busy; so busy we sometimes put God second or third in our lives. One of the best things about this COVID time is that life has slowed down a bit and many of us have gotten to spend more time together as families. Yet there’s so much more to this psalm then a call to “be still,” that we miss if we only read the first part of verse 10.

The psalm starts off by reminding us who God is, “our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” You have to suspect with a beginning like this that this had to have been written during a time when things aren’t going so well and the people are worried and afraid. Verses 2 and 3 strikes fear in our hearts, “the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its water roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” I’m picturing a tsunami, a giant wave that shakes mountains; this is end of the world, flood over all the earth kind of pictures; this is huge landslide into the sea kind of imagery where the very ground under our feet can’t be relied on. Everything’s chaotic and everyone’s wondering, “Who can we turn too, who can protect us, keep us safe?”

Question: who or what do you turn to when you’re afraid?

As I listen to the news and to politicians, I hear fear: the economy’s going south, oil prices may not recover for years, the COVID keeps hanging around. Students and young adults are worried about finding work and what school is going to look like next fall, seniors are worried about their health and what happens if they do get sick. Everything seems to be coming together into a perfect storm of events to devastate our province, country and world. Everything’s going wrong, the world’s upside down, things are never going to be as good again as they are now and it appears no real help is coming. I hear a lot of fear and worry from many people, perhaps not as much in our beautiful area, but even here, there are threads of fear and worry that creep into our hearts and minds.

Then come these words of hope, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her; she will not fall; God will help her at the break of day.” Life may not be going the way we had prayed for or hoped, and yet the city of God, Jerusalem is filled with gladness due to a river whose streams make glad the city of God! According to the psalmist, the reason why we don’t fear, why when everything’s a mess and filled with chaos and the world can’t seem to get their act together, when injustice, violence and fear is all too normal, we still live with confidence and hope because there’s a river flowing through the city bringing life and hope.

If you know the geography of Jerusalem, you know that there’s no river flowing in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is located on top of a small mountain and while there are a few springs in the city that fill a number of pools, there is no river, so what is the psalmist talking about here, what is this river that the writer is talking about? The psalms are poetry creating word pictures and this is a picture of God’s grace and the life-giving influence of worship and service flowing out of the temple of God. The poet echoes Ezekiel 47 where Ezekiel sees a river flowing from the temple through Jerusalem; the river is lined on both sides by trees full of fruit. The river flows down the mountain into the Dead Sea, a sea so salty that nothing’s able to live in it, and where the river flows into the Dead Sea and “swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.”

God’s river of blessing pours into Jerusalem and then streams branch off of it to flow into every neighbourhood, every nook and cranny of the city, to reach all God’s people to help them worship Him and live out their worship in service to God and each other. While the entire world shakes, God’s city stands firm and secure on a solid foundation. There’s nothing to fear. God is within her, she’s not going to fall because He’s our fortress, He’s our security!

Question: when has God’s presence given you a sense of safety and hope?

God’s not content to stay in His city, God’s on the move, His river flows out from the city and into the world bringing life, bringing an end to war, to bring His peace and rule into the world that is broken and tired of rulers who are focused on their own agendas rather than protecting and providing for their people. “Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.” This is why God sends Jesus; to be the king of peace and establish the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

The world has been in rebellion against God ever since sin entered into the world, bringing chaos and we’re part of it. Now God is righteous and just and our rebellion means death, but God is also a merciful God and He never gives up on us. He sends Jesus, who is both fully God and human to enter into the battle against Satan. Jesus takes our sin on Himself and becomes sin for us, going to the cross because the punishment for sin is death. God is also merciful, so Jesus takes our place so that we can experience peace with God, forgiveness, and new life. Jesus defeats sin and death on the cross and rises from the grave as a sign of his victory, giving us his Spirit so we can serve Him and build His kingdom here on earth until He returns and establishes His kingdom of peace over all creation.

God’s voice breaks into the peace, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” We’re able to be still because God steps in to protect us, to take away the threats that take our attention away from God, so that we can refocus our lives and hearts back on God again. Psalm 46 is about God’s protection and power, and it’s His protection and power that allow us the opportunities to “be still and know that God is God.” It’s not our power and strength that makes us feel safe enough to just be with God, it’s all God.

When we read, “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth,” we hear the echo forward to Paul’s confession in Philippians 2, ^“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus is bringing peace and hope, and he calls us to be his messengers, inviting others to join us in trusting him and letting go of the fears that many of us carry inside us. We bring hope through acts of service as part of our worship through loving and serving our community; letting God’s blessings flow through us into the community we belong to. We carry hope with us and can show others how to let go of their fear and worry by inviting them to join us as followers of Jesus, the King of Peace.