7
dispensational changes since their immortal phrases were sung
and penned, but human experience and need, and Divine mercy
and provision remain unchanged. Let us turn, then, to Psalm 46
:
` God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble' (Psa.
46:1).
` The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our Refuge' (Psa.
46:7, 11).
The land and people of Israel were not strangers to war, and
this Psalm probably refers to the siege under Sennacherib. It
does not celebrate `a victorious campaign, but a successful
defence' (The Companion Bible).
` In the whole of Israel's history, there is only one event, of which we can
here think, the destruction of Sennacherib's army before the gates of
Jerusalem Isa. 37:36 ... after the exodus from Egypt, there was no occasion
more appropriate than this for bringing vividly out the leading idea in this
Psalm' (Hengstenberg).
The blessed refrain, `God ... is with us', is but an echo of the
Immanuel (`God with us') that we find in Isaiah 8.10; and just as
Hezekiah prayed that through the deliverance of Jerusalem the
kingdoms of the earth `may know that Thou art the LORD, even
Thou only' (Isa. 37:20), so in this Psalm we read: `Know that I
am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in
the earth' (Psa. 46:10).
We note first of all in this Psalm that the exultant reference to
God as Refuge comes three times - in verse 1, verse 7, and in
verse 11. Further, it should be noted that the reference to the
earth being `removed' and the waters `roaring' in verses 2 and 3