- Make firm and Help
Psalm 46:5
God is in the midst of her;
She shall not be moved:
God shall help her, and that right early.
God is in the midst of her: “her” = the city of God, Jerusalem, Zion, Israel, the people of God, understood through NT revelation to be the Church, the called believers in Christ throughout the world. God is in the midst of the church, the people of God wherever and whenever they gather in His name. Because of the presence and power of God in and among the Church He can make the promises He makes: the people of God shall not be moved, and God shall help his people. This is a promise for the church as a whole and also for the separate geographical assemblies of the church and also for the individuals that are members of the invisible body of Christ.
All the forces of Death and Hell and of the Devil may be warring against one or several of us in the Church; we are easily overwhelmed and overpowered and about to be crushed. But we will not be moved, we will not be shaken, we will not be driven away, we will not give in, because God is with us. God Himself and God Alone is always stronger than any huge army of Evil Foes: they can harm us none. “Standing on the Promises of God” is an immovable position.
God shall definitely and decisively help the church and the members of it. This help will also be timely, even in the early morning of the day if necessary; whenever Help comes, it will not be late. “Help” is for any time of trouble and any kind of need. The people of God can count on the Lord to come and help at the time and place of greatest need.
The specific occasion for the recording of Psalm 46 may well be the deliverance for King Hezekiah from the Assyrian army siege under Sennacherib, where the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers and the siege of Jerusalem was lifted. (See the story in 2 Kings 18-19). Whether this is the occasion for the Psalm or not, the picture is an apt one for the promises of God to: 1) be in our midst and 2) help with such an awesome display of power. This is the kind of God who serves us, and in whom we trust.