It is common for almost everyone to have times of difficulty in which life seems to bring one storm after another over which we have no power. Sometimes, these are events relating to personal and home life. Other times, it may be in national life or church life. For many, the most challenging storm is at the end of life when the physical discomfort and emotional stress are almost too much to bear. This psalm has been read in Christian homes when young men have gone off to war, and as a last assurance of faith, its words have comforted both those who leave and those who are left behind. In crisis times, God’s people need the comfort that only He can give, and the Holy Spirit moved the psalmist to put into a few brief verses words of profound comfort.
The first three verses confess fearless trust in God, even though creation seems to be coming apart. This challenge of confidence is a statement of faith that we have nothing to fear because God is with us. When the very worst that can happen happens, “God is our refuge and strength.” Our refuge assures us of external protection. Our strength is the needed inner power that comes from God. From these words, Martin Luther expressed his thoughts in his hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” The sufficiency of God is enough to take us through these dark times. In the face of utter destruction, there is quiet confidence.
The following verses are a comforting declaration of God’s presence and deliverance in hard times. The secret of the writer’s confidence is that the Lord is on His throne, and He will remember His own. As a river running through a city is the source of water needed to meet personal and public needs, God is in His dwelling place. He is the Source of all that is required to sustain life. His word is a total supply of truth to refresh and nourish our souls. The Holy Spirit Himself within us is a springing well of water to give us help, hope, and health in our spirits in dark days and dark valleys.
The Lord Himself will be the “help of the city of God” when the morning dawns (“right early”). After the tribulation has wracked the earth with wars, pestilence, and political and natural disasters that will destroy billions of people, the Lord Himself will save the remnant of Israel. Righteousness and peace will come when our Lord Jesus Christ reigns. When our Lord the King is on His throne, and all that will be seen of man’s day is wreckage, the Prince of Peace will establish world peace with the rod of His authority. The security of God will be established without any help or interference from men. Israel will say of Him, “He is our Deliverer.” God will help them, and they will say with confidence, “The Lord of hosts is with us.”
“The high and lofty One that inhabits eternity,” “the Lord of hosts,” is the God of unworthy sinners like us. He is near to all who call upon Him and is our Refuge today as He was in the past to Israel and will be in the future. When there are difficulties and storms in our lives over which we have no control or power, the Lord our Refuge is with us through them all the way. God is our eternal refuge and can provide needed strength in any circumstance.
As the writer of this psalm makes a call to see the effects of God’s triumph over all nations, this psalm ends with an affirmation of the supremacy of God. The writer’s confidence is vindicated. The Lord will bring peace on earth. He is our Peace. He makes wars cease. “Be still and know that I am God.” It is most appropriate for us to have quietness and confidence. In reverence, we honor Him. His power and majesty humble us. Yet, we have the privilege to speak to Him. Whenever we do, we must say His name in respect and reverence as we exalt His name together.
“Be still and know that I am God,” is His voice to the world in that day to come, as He calls all nations to cease striving. He is the Lord of hosts and the God of Jacob. How much more important to us today in times of difficulties is it when we can say, like Thomas, “My Lord, and my God.” He is our refuge, and it is wise for us to consider all that means as we say to ourselves, “Selah.”