Psalm 46:1-5
The Nature of God's Might

For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.
God is our refuge and strength,
      a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we won't be afraid, though the earth changes,
      though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;
      though its waters roar and are troubled,
      though the mountains tremble with their swelling.

Selah.

There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad,
      the holy place of the tents of the Most High.
God is in her midst. She shall not be moved.
      God will help her at dawn.
The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved.
      He lifted his voice, and the earth melted.
Yahweh of Armies is with us.
      The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah.

World English Bible

This psalm speaks in wonderfully inspiring terms about the immense power of God, and our certainty in God's might, no matter what happens to us. It is widely accepted that this psalm was the inspiration for Martin Luther's hymn text:

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.

The psalmist describes with certainty that nothing we might experience is beyond the power of God, even to the destruction of the earth. He paints a desperate picture of mountains being thrown into the sea, which in literal terms would describe a horrific earthquake. Keep in mind that the ancient Hebrew mindset saw mountains as representing good (think of God on the top of Mount Sinai with Moses), and the dangerous, mysterious oceans as representing evil. So the psalmist gives us a picture of not only a geological disaster but a spiritual catastrophe, where it appears that the good is consumed by evil. Even at what we think is the worst, God is far more powerful and able to save us and care for us.

The second stanza to the psalm gives more purpose to God's might, with a more complete description. Certainly we rejoice that God is so powerful, but we are so much more grateful that God chooses to bless us with that unlimited power. The psalmist describes God's blessings as a feature that Jerusalem lacked—a life-giving stream flowing through the center of the city of God. God's power protects and overcomes, and God's power sustains and nurtures.

God acts quickly, too, surrounding us with mercy. We don't fully understand the Hebrew metaphor about the sunrise, but we think the equivalent in our vernacular is that God acts faster than the speed of light. What a reassurance to us when we are waiting on God to answer our prayers! We can be certain that our waiting is for our best interest, not because God is delayed or that our request takes God so long to do.

We are limited and weak. We are confined and disrupted by the circumstances around us. We often fall to forces that are opposed to our wills, whether affecting our health, our welfare, our desires and wishes, or even our existence. Not so with God! This psalm assures us of God's limitless power, and God's loving grace that is always eager to protect, to sustain, and to nurture the people of God.