“God IS our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in time of trouble.” –
The Psalmist knew from His Word and from personal experience what He was like and to Him, he testifies and reminds us, in time of trouble. “Trouble,” speaks of a tight, narrow place. We might call it in between “a rock and a hard place.,” He testifies, there is no one but Him in whom we must and is worthy for us to turn to! He is available and able to help! He refers to Him as his Strength, Refuge, a present tense God in his time of pressure! He testifies to, “The God who “IS.”
“A very present help” – The word “help” here means aid, assistance. The word “trouble” would cover all that can come upon us which would give us anxiety or sorrow. The word rendered “present” – נמצא nimetsâ’ – means rather, “is found,” or “has been found;” that is, he has “proved” himself to be a help in trouble. The word “present,” as if he were near to us, or close by us, does not accurately express the idea, which is rather, that “he has been found” to be such, or that he has always “proved” himself to be such a help, and that, therefore, we may now confide in him. The word “very,” or “exceedingly,” is added to qualify the whole proposition, as if this were “emphatically true.” It was true in the most eminent sense that God had always been found to be such a helper, and, “therefore,” there was nothing to fear in the present distress. Psalm 46:2.” – {Albert Barnes notes on the Whole Bible.}. He is trustworthy, having “proved” Himself to be! He has been “found to be” Indeed He “Is” Ever -Present, “Is” Personal.” He”Is” Pre-Eminent over any and all trouble!
And note He is “OUR.” Here is Hope, His power and presence, strength and refuge and help is sufficient for all His! Think on that! He is neither drained of strength to help, nor weary from the Psalmist and countless others knowing Him and receiving from Him in time of trouble. Centuries of people could testify to His endless reservoir of gracious, tender, powerful provision. His reservoir is untouched in it’s volume, it never diminishes or runs dry. It is endless resource for He is endless! He has strength, refuge, and help for you too, in your time of trouble. “THE GOD WHO IS…!”
He is not “a” god” that has been concocted in the minds of perverted people and fashioned in their minds and with their hands to bow before as the golden calf , but He is “THE” God” who has revealed Himself in His creation. “The heavens declare the Glory of God and proclaim the Glory of God and testify to His handiwork”{Psalm 19:1} “In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth” {Gen 1:1}. He has revealed Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. ” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of ]the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”- {John 1:1-18}. He has revealed Himself in His Word {Luke 24:27}. He is “THE ONE TRUE AND LIVING GOD”- {John 17:3}.
He is above all so called “gods” He is Sovereign KING.
“To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
As for the idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To prepare an idol that will not totter.
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
“To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.- {Isaiah 40:18-28}
Think back and REMEMBER to how He helped before. Praise Him, for HE IS Present now. Don’t confuse His delays as His denials of love for you. It was not till Moses was at the Red Sea and obeyed Him that he experienced and would testify to “THE GOD WHO IS…” a Very present help in time of need. Could God not have opened the Red Sea, so when they got there it was already opened? He could have but HE Chose not to. His time, His way, to reveal Himself. It was in the fiery furnace that the three Hebrew youths testified to Him. He could deliver but if not they would not bow down and it was in the flames when someone else saw HIM. In times of Trouble, “the GOD who IS,” is revealing Himself and testifying to you and through you to others. Daniel in the lion’s den. Could God not have kept him from being thrown in there. He could have but He chose not to. He was going to testify through his circumstances to the king Their allegiance to God landed them in the flames! Hebrews 11 show us again and again of those who had experienced “THE GOD WHO IS,” a very Present help in time of trouble. Some had the dead raised and returned to them. Why did He not just keep them from dying? He chose to. He was displaying Himself to countless others, of the power of His deliverance. Others in that chapter He delivered, into His presence. Why? He chose to! He testified to others, that the “world was not worthy” of them. God IS… Present… God IS in Control… God IS all powerful… God IS dealing personally with His people. God IS… Testifying of Himself, to the individual and through the individuals. Abraham looked at his body and that of Sarah, and it appeared the promise to have a child would not be fulfilled as they both were so old, “BUT GOD…” “THE GOD who IS…” keeps His Promises and fulfills them in His time, His Way. Abraham and Sarah, both had taken it into their own hands and tried to force the promise coming through and it ended up to the detriment of them and others.,. But in Romans 4 it says that Abraham had not wavered in unbelief after considering their later years, but grew in faith giving glory to God. He had come to the conclusion that “the God who IS,”... IS ABLE.. IS FAITHFUL… and He was not disappointed. The God who IS, Fulfills all His promises.
Where you are now, the pressures and troubles you find yourself in, The demonic whispers, “Where IS God…?” You can speak the truth to yourself, “GOD IS…” present and a very Present Help in time of need. Your “Red Sea” may be the beginning of a new TESTIMONY to “the GOD who IS!” He is working it all together for good.
“The GOD who IS,”... knows your name. calls you His friend, is training you in the ways of faith in His faithful Love. It’s not easy, for we are not easy! We cling, battle scratch and scream at times to get out of circumstances , seek to have others rescue us, like David who went into the camp of the Philistines and pretended he was mad. His pressures caused him to run away. “But God…” loved him and Psalm 34:4, 6 say,”… He delivered me from ALL my fears…. In my desperation I Prayed, and the LORD LISTENED, and saved me from out of ALL my troubles!” His failure was not fatal. For GOD IS… GREATER than our sin, failings, more GRACIOUS than our comprehension, and He loves us and desires us to know Him, when we find ourselves- again, ” in between a rock and a hard place!” Know and Rest in “THE GOD WHO IS…”– Present and for you! He is always present!
“He who began a good work IN YOU will complete it….”
GOD IS “OUR,” … VERY PRESENT HELP IN TIME OF TROUBLE…
Focus on Him. Recall His faithfulness. Testify to Other of “THE GOD WHO IS…” Faithful. Trust Him in this new place, No “rock or hard place” is so severe, so heart breaking, so mind boggling, that HE is NOT EVER PRESENT with you, for you and Working His will out with an eternal goal in mind!
“GOD IS…” your PRESENT TENSE help in this time of trouble!
He is “THE GOD WHO IS “…. Knowable
In your troubles, He chooses to reveal Himself to you and through you.