Ps. 46.1 (judgment, deliverance and the unity of liturgy)

“God / is our refuge / and protection – a very present help / in times of trouble.” As is the case with many psalms, this opening verse operates as a type of summary, and introduction, to the entire psalm. The image of God as ‘refuge’ is one we are very familiar with and have spent a great deal of time reflecting on. What we have seen is that God’s protection is not merely his being a ‘safe harbor’ but, rather, that he is a refuge because he engages in dual movement of judgment and deliverance; he judges that which is the reason for their need for safety (i.e, the enemy) and delivers his people. God as refuge is not, in other words, merely protection. Even more, his judgment is always preliminary to his goal of blessing. When God judges/delivers he does so with a greater objective in mind: to place his people once again within a realm of fruitful blessing. One of the best descriptions of this is the Exodus: judgment upon Egypt, deliverance of Israel—with the objective of worship of God in the holy land. ‘Freedom’ was not the goal; liturgical praise of God was. We can detect this dynamic in the opening verse: the first half focuses on God as a ‘place’ (he, in a sense, passively receives and guards his people) whereas the second half focuses on God’s movement (here, he actively ‘helps’ in times of trouble). God both draws in and empowers. The same dynamic will emerge in this psalm with an admixture of devastating judgment and powerful deliverance. Importantly, however, as we will see, the power behind this dynamic is the liturgical center of Jerusalem. The stability of God (his power as refuge) emerges from and leads back to this “city of God” where “its streams cause rejoicing”. Perhaps we could even say this—that the primal motivation of judgment and deliverance emerges from a disruption in the liturgical praise offered to God; and that it is with this goal of reunification of praise that judgment and deliverance must be contemplated (much as the division after the ‘garden of Eden’).