A Very Present Help

    Depressing Deism

    There exists a theological system, or point of view, called Deism that was popular in the 1600s and 1700s, and which continues to have adherents to this day. If you’re not familiar with Deism, in simple terms it is the idea that God created the universe like a huge clock, wound it up, and then walked away, leaving it to run on its own.

    In Deism, once the world was created, powered up, and running, there was no further direct involvement on God’s part. Thus, there is no divine intervention, no miracles, no incarnation (Jesus), and no supernatural revelation (the Bible). In Deism, God is knowable only through observation of the natural world, and through one’s own reason and intellect.

    While it is true that “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork,”1 the idea that God created all that is and then abandoned it to function on its own is not only depressing, it is the antitheses of the reality we know from the God of the Bible.

    Psalm 46

    God is our refuge and strength,
        a very present help in trouble.
    Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
        though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
    though its waters roar and foam,
        though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

    – Psalm 46:1-3, ESV

    The opening lines to the Psalm above are likely familiar to most of us. I can recall a children’s song from decades past that is based on Psalm 46:1-3. Indeed, to this day, I cannot read these verses without hearing that song in my head.

    One key element I want you to grasp from these opening verses of Psalm 46, and never let go of, is the reality that God is not merely present. God is very present. It is no mistake that מְאֹֽד׃ is used in Psalm 46:1. It is the same term used to describe God looking at the finished creation and seeing not that it was good, but that it was very good.2 It is the same word used to describe Cain’s anger when God favored Abel’s offering over his own.3 He was very angry, angry enough to kill. That is the level of emphasis Psalm 46:1 is placing on the extent of God’s presence when we are in peril.

    This is the verse from which the German theologian, Martin Luther, penned the song, “A mighty fortress is our God; a bulwark never failing.”4 We need no fortress of stone to shield us. Our well-being will be sustained because of who God is. He is our both our refuge and our strength. Luther knew this to be true, and that is why Psalm 46 is inscribed on his grave marker.

    Because of this truth, that God is our refuge, strength, and very present help, we have no fear. This statement is followed by four daunting examples of instances in which we might believe we have good reason to fear.

    • though the earth gives way
    • though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea
    • though its waters roar and foam
    • though the mountains tremble at its swelling

    When such things happen, it will cause the hearts of many to despair and melt, but not you, Christ-follower. God is your refuge and strength, your very present help in trouble.

    And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
    – Luke 21:25-26, ESV

    The psalmist gives us the unnerving list of thoughs; though the earth gives way, though the mountains crumble into the sea, though the waters roar and foam, though the mountains shake with swelling…and then he says, “Selah,”5 meaning, “pause just a moment and think about these things!” How utterly terrifying it would be to stand on unstable ground while witnessing these things, but not for you. God is your refuge, strength, and very present help in times of trouble.

    Psalm 46 Applied

    As I was preparing this blog posting, I ran across an account from a missionary family who was serving in China during the Chinese Civil War between Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong. There was a thriving church of around one thousand nationalists that was threatened by the uprising Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist party.

    The people of the church attempted to shuttle the missionary family out of China but they were too late. The bombing had destroyed roads, railways, and bridges. There was no escaping. The shelling had begun in their city, and it continued for more than a day. The home next to the missionary family was destroyed by the bombing, and the entire family was killed.

    Within the missionary home, walls were falling, windows shattering, as the family of four huddled in a corner with a bed mattress over them, serving as a makeshift shield. The father described the screaming of his daughters who would go temporarily deaf from the blasting of the shells around them.

    When the shelling subsided, the father put his daughters in bed, the youngest at age six, unconscious from stress and sheer exhaustion. As he lay her in bed, he found a crumpled piece of paper in her hand. On this paper, it was written in crayon, “God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in time of trouble.”

    He is your very present help in trouble as well.

    The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
    – Psalm 46:7, ESV

    1. Psalm 19:1, ESV
    2. Genesis 1:31
    3. Genesis 4:5
    4. https://hymnary.org/text/a_mighty_fortress_is_our_god_a_bulwark
    5. Whenever you see “Selah” in the Psalms, it is a prompting for the reader to pause and ponder, almost as if saying, “What do you think about that?”.

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      Damon J. Gray

      Author, Speaker, Dir. of Comm. @ Inspire Christian Writers, Former pastor/Campus Minister, Long-View Living in a Short-View World, Rep'd by Bob Hostetler - @bobhoss - The Steve Laube Agency

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