Meditations for Difficult Days [6] God is with Us

GOD IS WITH US

Psalm 46:1-6 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 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 break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts."

Psalm 46:7 (&11) "The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

 

Why the capital letters?

In our daily travels though the unflappable Psalm 46 we have arrived at the verse which is twice repeated - verse 7 and verse 11 are the same. These words lie at the heart of this psalm, so let's read them over again:

"The LORD Almighty is with us; 

the God of Jacob is our fortress." 

Eagle-eyed readers will notice that "Lord" is in capital letters, "LORD." If you check out other references to God in the Psalms you will find "Lords" (Psalm 44:23 for example) and as well as "LORDS." The printers haven't made a typo, it's deliberate. "Lord" is the translation of a word which means "Sovereign God" but "LORD" is the translation of Yahweh or Jehovah. LORD/Yahweh/Jehovah was the name given to God's people to use, their personal name for God - you could almost say nick-name if we be not misunderstood. Gentiles could not call God LORD, only God's covenant people could do that.

In New Testament terms, LORD might be like our "Father," a title of familial endearment which no-one without the Spirit of sonship is permitted to use  - or would know how to use.  

Many people, in a tight spot, might suddenly cry out to the "Lord" or  "God" they have known exists (from the evdience of creation around them) but have refused to worship, hoping he will come to their aid. Some readers may remember Michael Buerk's 999 TV series where he interviewed people who had survived a serious accident. More than once they admitted they had called out to God in their distress.

The psalmist says in verse 7, by using the capitals LORD, "The LORD, the God who we know is with us."

May I ask you a question? Is the God of heaven and earth Lord or LORD to you? Do you know him or is he a distant power you might call upon in a moment of emeregency? Every reader of this blog can move from Lord to LORD, for John says, "All who receive him, to those who believe in his name [the name of Jesus], God gives the right to become children of God." (John 1:12) In just a moment of sincere prayer and repentance you can move from adressing God as  Lord to knowing him as Father, LORD.

Wouldn't it be amazing if through this present crisis, some people, even many people, turned to living faith in Jesus Christ and came to know the God who exists as their Father in heaven, though Jesus Christ his Son.

Returning to verse 7, the Psalmist is convinced that no matter what lies ahead of us, the LORD, with whom we have a realtionship, is going to be with us. So we need not fear.

At least in the UK, we are bracing ourselves for the worst part of the Coronavirus pandemic. Our local newspaper ran the following front cover title this week "Prepared by Scared." But we need not fear, the one we know, the LORD is with us. And not just the LORD but the LORD Almighty. Almighty is more than Mighty. Almighty is "God can do ANYTHING!" (See Jeremiah 32:27 and Luke 1:37, "With God nothing is imposisble.")

The God of (even) Jacob

Hebrew poetry often runs in couplets, where the second line is saying something like the first line but expanding upon it, and adding some more truth to it. That is happening here in this little verse 7:

"The LORD Almighty is with us;

 the God of Jacob is our fortress."

God is more than with us, he is also all around us like a walled fortress protecting us from all harm. Now Jacob, the father of the Twelve sons who made up the tribes of Israel, may not be the finest example in the Old Testament. His very name means "deceiver" for he deceived (with the help of a scheming mother,) his brother Esau out of his birthright. And yet throughout his life God was with him, loving him, correcting him, leading him, providing for him.

That's the point of the second line of verse 7. God is with us, and is protecting us  - even though we are sinful Jacobs, even though we're not the people we should be.

One of Satan's big tricks when we are passing through troubles is to whisper in our ear (as Job's so-called comforters did) "You're in this mess because of Sin A,  Sin B or Sin C." The very name Satan means "accuser." But thank God, because of reigning and abounding grace, there is no straight line between our sin and our troubles.

"The God of Jacob is our fortress" is a reminder that the God who was with the scheming Jacob will be with his sinful - but always repenting - people.

Summing it all up

No-one reading Psalm 46:7's "The LORD Almighty is with us" with New Testament eyes can fail to see a faint echo of what was to come. The LORD Almighty one day came to earth to be with us. The Second Person of the Godhead took on frail flesh, lived our life, carried our sorrows, died in our place, rose triumphantly from the dead and even today, right now rules on high for our benefit.

By His Spirit Jesus is with us. The Son of God who, through his  incarnation, his coming down into our messy world, understands every twist and turn of the human condition  - but without sin. This one, this Emmanuel, is with us, and is our fortress. 

"The LORD Almighty is with us;

 the God of Jacob is our fortress."

A SONG FOR THE DAY

 Psalm 46:7 naturally points to Jesus Christ our Emanuel, God with us, worthy of our worship.

Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne.
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless king
through all eternity.

Crown him the Lord of life,

who triumphed o'er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
for those he came to save;
his glories now we sing
who died and rose on high,
who died eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die.

Crown him the Lord of love;

behold his hands and side,
rich wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified;
no angels in the sky
can fully bear that sight,
but downward bends their burning eye
at mysteries so bright.

Crown him the Lord of years,

the potentate of time,
creator of the rolling spheres,
ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
for thou hast died for me;
thy praise shall never, never fail
throughout eternity.

Hear it sung here

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY 

Dear Father in heaven,

We thank you that by the Spirit of adoption, we have become your children, with you our Father in heaven. If the Old Testament saints could call you by their special name LORD, Yahweh, we can call you - even more wondrously - by our family name, Father.

In the midst of the present global storm, and in the midst of our own personal storms teach us to remember that Christ Almighty, Emanuel, is with us every moment of every day. Teach us to run to him, our refuge, every day and every moment of every day.

We worship you in Jesus Name,

Amen