Ps.46:4 – There is a river whose streams make the city of God happy,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
Recently our minds have all been on war. We have seen nightly images of bombed cities and human tragedy as we see the Russian army attack Ukrainian cities. It’s really hard to watch. You see the normal day to day routines of ordinary shopkeepers and school children interrupted by missiles and bombs. These scenes are a constant reminder of the dangerous world we live in and the fragility of our lives. In today’s verse we see our source of joy as well as security. In this Psalm David describes the various tumults going on in the world while at the same time “there is a River” that engulfs God’s city with peace and joy. Here is how the Cornerstone Commentary describes this verse.
“In this verse it is not the waters that are roaring against God’s people; it is the nations that are in such an uproar. The nations are threatening to destroy Jerusalem itself, the capital city. But in the face of such national upheaval, the city is full of joy. This joy flows throughout the city like a figurative multi-branched river, evoking the multi-branched river that supplied the Garden of Eden with all that it needed. There is joy because the city is secure in spite of the threats. The city is secure, but not ultimately because of its many towers and fortified walls, which it certainly has. The city is secure because God is present there. The divine presence is the ultimate fortress. The ‘LORD of Heaven’s Armies’ is present as the Divine Warrior. He will be there at the break of day, the earliest time for battle, to protect the city from attack. He need only raise his thunderous voice, and the would-be attackers will melt away. There is flowing joy in spite of national upheaval, because ‘the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress’.”
We may not live in Kiev with the sound of bombs filling the air but there is the smell of war and danger among us in this strange time. The Lord is here in His city in the middle of all the tumult. There is a river, it makes us glad and comforts us in the worst of times. God is with us if the kingdoms totter or the mountains slip into the sea. THERE IS A RIVER.
