Ps. 46.5 (not God, but the presence of God)

“God / is in its midst / - it will not slip; - God / will help it / at the break of dawn.” Although clear from the previous verse, we see here how, literarily, the psalmist shows that the ‘city of God’ stands in total contrast to the destruction flowing over the earth. Whereas the mountains were described as “slipping into the seas”, this city “will not slip”. Likewise, in the immediately following verse, rather than mountains, kingdoms are described as “slipping” in contrast to this ‘kingdom’-city. That which undergirds its stability is not simply God, but the presence of God “in its midst”; the ‘house of God’ (the Temple) is what lifts this city above the encroaching waters of chaos. As we have seen in other psalms, it is the ‘house of God’ to which the righteous prays and from that house that ‘help’ comes. Here, God ‘helps’ the city, referring us back to vs. 1 (a ‘very present help’). Again, it is not merely that God has chosen this city or that he cares for it—he ‘dwells there’. The earth, beset by chaos, represents the state of creation without the presence of God; it devolves, sinks and slips into chaos. The image of ‘melting’ is important as the entire earth begins to lose its own internal integrity (and, seems to be at war with itself). However, the earth presenced by God “will not slip”. It partakes of God’s own ‘forever’ and becomes and not simply stable, but joyous (in contrast to the terror and fear outside).  The final phrase “at the break of dawn” is likely to refer to the “ever present help” that God’s presence is to the city; it is, in a sense, an immediate, always-already and sure help. It seems as if this phrase complements, or deepens, the stark and terse “it will not slip”. There is no room for doubt. The statement is made in total conviction (as was the phrase “we will not fear” vs. 2).