Psalm 46

The background to biblical stories often gives us insights into the Biblical passage itself.

In 701 BC, Assyria was the superpower of its day in the region and Sennacherib went up against Jerusalem to destroy Judah.

Jerusalem is a city built on a hill and looks difficult to capture but it had one big problem. Its water supply.

Jerusalem’s water supply came from the Gihon Spring located in the Kidron Valley and the inhabitants of Jerusalem had constructed aqueducts to bring in more water and cisterns to store it.

But during a siege the besiegers could cut off the city’s water supply.

The whole city was terrified as Assyria was well known for its blood thirsty conquests.

So King Hezekiah and his whole court as well as the people turn to God for help

Sennacherib mocked the God of Israel when he said this

Don’t you realize that I and the other kings of Assyria before me have never yet failed to conquer a nation we attacked?

The gods of those nations weren’t able to do a thing to save their lands! Name just one time when anyone, anywhere, was able to resist us successfully. What makes you think your God can do any better?

Sennacherib issues a direct challenge to the wrong God this time.

In years past he mocked false gods of other nations but this time he mocked The God of Abrham, Isaac and Jacob

And this was God’s reply.

35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.

36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.

37 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat.

(1 Kings 19.35-37)

God miraculously saved Jerusalem and as a result this Psalm was written

Psalm 46 wasn’t written by a scholar in the comfort of his ivory tower but by a person who had experienced the horrors of an Assyrian siege.

In today’s parlance it could well have been written by a Ukrainian Christian who had experienced the terror of the bombing of his city by the Russians.

The Psalm can be broken up into three parts

1. The Psalm opens with these words

1 God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Hezekiah in 701 BC brought his problems to God and God answered him.

It is hard for us to imagine how terrifying the Assyrians were.

Their savage reputation preceded them

But Hezekiah found that God was his fortress in times of trial.

On Remembrance Sunday I was preaching in the Holy Trinity Brussels and I talked about General Dobbie who defended Malta in World War 2.

This time of Malta’s history is known as the Miracle of Malta because historians cannot understand why the Italians and Germans did not take Malta

General Dobbie wrote a book called "A very present help” based on the words of Psalm 46.1 describing his time in Malta

He says in his book “I found that God was to me a Resource and Helper to Whom I could always turn: He was in fact “ a very present help in trouble”

(p10 of A very Present Help by Lt General Sir William Dobbie)

Here was a Christian general being bombed daily in Malta putting his trust in God

If Dobbie could do that so, can we.

God is in control however large the waves crashing around us feel.

2. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God the Holy place where the Most High dwells

As Christians we are called to live in the presence of God

To bring Him our problems and in Him we find peace

3. And finally we need to “be still and know that I am God” says the Lord in Psalm 46.10

God is in control however the high waves crashing around us feel

Story: Luther

Martin Luther had a rough time after he posted his 95 theses on the Wittenberg Church door.

He was often on the run from his enemies who wanted to kill him.

It is recorded that when Martin Luther had his darkest moments he would say to his friends

Come let us sing the 46th Psalm and let them do their worst

And his famous hymn “Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott”

(A Mighty Fortress is our God) is based on Psalm 46.

For Luther found strength in Psalm 46.

But there is a bit more to the background to Psalm 46.