The River of Abundance and psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling.Selah
4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
This is the New Kings James translation.
This psalm while certainly communal is as much pointed to the individual as it is communal.
The turbulence out there and maybe right there can be felt both individually and communally.
The river of gladness mentioned in this psalm can be coursed despite and even within the turbulence.
The idea is the waters of the Lord are always flowing and freely flowing and are findable and available despites the surrounding troubles.
The river will still be flowing even if the turbulence about increases and this is somewhat mystical but also personally experienced and representative of the closeness of the Lord to the individual in that those angelically guiding pathways can still be found.
The general abundance out there cannot be taken for granted either and it is the Lord that brings that about, and most people are also tapping into a general abundance as part of any experience of a personal abundance as this river of abundance courses through..
The city of God mentioned in this psalm can be first viewed as communal but it is also viewed as even a one to one visitation of the Lord to the individual soul
When Jesus met the woman at the well in the Gospels, he first asks her to draw water for him and then when he reveals information about her that could not have been known in the normal course of things, she realizes who he is.
Then he speaks of the eternal waters that he can provide her..
This meeting although personal and involving just this woman and Jesus, is representative of the city of God which is found first in the living relationship with the Lord that is personal.
The city of God in this psalm could be interpreted more so as being wheever that personal encounter with the Lord is found, and that could be in a relatively deserted area anywhere.
For example, the city of God does include angels but angels did help people in the Bible in remote places and how and where this angelic help was found still characterizes as the city of God in that moment, even though this encounter with angels may have been far from an actual city.
The troubles mentioned in this psalm are comprehensive and just about global and all encompassing but the solution matches the largess of the trouble.
Verse 5 mentions help at the break of dawn,that critical moment representing the changover from night to day, representing the unfurling of maybe a new beginning and new hopeds that somehow the Lord can bring you back on course.with a help that is creatively and individually designed for you and for where you are at now, yet someone bringing in the largess of all that is out there and retrofiting it to your situation and concerns.
You can say this verse points to several aspects and possible qualities about this help.
First is that you cannot position yourself to where you do not need this help.
Climbing the mountain ranges from east to west, getting to this pinnacle whether it be financial, relational, or otherwise, does not alleviate the need for help or preclude that moment where to step forward you do need the help..
Although events might never get as cataclysmic like as described in this psalm, there is always the threat that is may get to that.
Joseph, a central figure in the book of Genesis did reach from his former troubles into the pinnacle as second in command in Egypt, the flagship nation at that time and period of history..
However, even from there, it was only through the helpful hand of the Lord that he was able to reunite with his brothers and his father Jacob and he was reliant on that personal favor of the Lord upon him within the chaos of world wide famine.
Joseph was for that time and place as the expression goes on top of the world but that did not negate his continued need for the helping hand of the Lord which had always been there for him and that extending hand of help was still needed by him.
There is a comprehensive aspect to the help that you can never get elsewhere, in that you can get world wide answers to your prayers and you can go to realms in the world of prayer that you could never reach otherwise.
Second, this verse 5 on the help of the Lord at the break of dawn points to the greatness of this help, how it can be super help.and has a superlative nature at times that paints a picture that could never have been painted otherwise.
The break of dawn is a comprehensive, super event that no matter how far technology advances, is not going to be something that mankind can duplicate within the advancing know how and technology that is being achieved. My actions cannot commence something as great as the break of dawn. .
Nothing can match the depth and breadth of the Lord's help which is entwined with the depth and breadth of the Lord's love for the individual and it is wise to cite the Lord's great love as you pray..
Third, this verse points to the reason why relatively simple prayer can be so effective globally and potentially on grander scales.
The person praying has no on hand ability to bring out some gigantic result but the prayer, relatively minute, and clearly simple can bring about results that match the greatest known wonders of nature.
Fourth, this psalm points to the need to have a readiness to the possibility of supernatural interventions from the Lord first hand.
At times they might be called miracles but more so they might be wonders, and there is faith involved but it is only a partial faith as seeing is believing and like the break of dawn can be seen, these miracles and wonders can be clearly observed.
Fifth, this help will bring you back on course and bring you closer to the Lord, and not leave you in the distance. The help is designed in such a way that it will also bring you closer to the Lord within the additional gifts of everything else that is happening along this river of help, such as varied gifts that do bring personal gladness and personal abundance.
The help is, designed in infinite ways, for any given individual it might have great variability, and it will have the tone, effect and intention of bringing you closer to the Lord and more in tune with that relationship of closeness.
This is a central theme of this psalm, that despite the possibility of tremendous setbacks and difficulties out there, the Lord still has designs that include abundance and designs that will always be an avenue or course along those living waters of abundance and gladness.
Yes there is faith involved in this flow along the course of the river of gladness as it says in Romans 1.17 that we go from faith to faith but this is real and the faith is only proportional rather than an absolute faith as there are concrete demonstrations that are maybe seen as unbelievable on one hand, but quite believable on the other hand in that it is actually happening and actually there.
If I see 3 feet of snow in front of me, I can believe that it snowed 3 feet.
When it says in verse 5 just at the break of dawn this is indicative also that the Lord always is in control of the timing, that is quite specific and in this way the help can take on the tone of a rescue, a just in time, 11th hour coming through for you.
A lot of times we pray and also give the suggested answer to the prayer which is okay but there is still the need to step back, be still as it says in this psalm and take hold of the answer. If the Lord is going to meet us just at the break of dawn, then he is controlling the timing of the answer and of course the answer itself.
This doesn't diminish the importance of the prayer, but from this psalm it is good to remember that just at the break of dawn means that there is always going to be timing to an answer and at times the timing might be immediate if it serves that overall purpose fo the answer and while there is such a thing as persistent prayer and hunkering down wiht prayer and keep on knocking on that door, that door sometimes opens on the first knock as it is the Lord's perogative to answer immediately.
But whatever the timing is, of the answer and the help as it comes through, it is not us as the prayer people that control the timing.
.The presence of the Lord reveals through the community, but it is also important in interpreting this psalm to see and read it as also pointing to the one person, that one person who is visited maybe by angels, that one person to whom the call is made from and to the city of God and like that woman who unexpectedly encountered Jesus at the well who was discoursing with Jesus unrehearsed, of her own volition, with no enterouge or intermediaries present, we as individuals are invited to other encounters with the Lord in these times., The city of God can be present to that one encounter with the Lord one individual called to these manifest graces, of help, hope, love, grace and ultimate salvation and to that ever flowing river of abundant graces kept alive for you always..
A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling.Selah
4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
This is the New Kings James translation.
This psalm while certainly communal is as much pointed to the individual as it is communal.
The turbulence out there and maybe right there can be felt both individually and communally.
The river of gladness mentioned in this psalm can be coursed despite and even within the turbulence.
The idea is the waters of the Lord are always flowing and freely flowing and are findable and available despites the surrounding troubles.
The river will still be flowing even if the turbulence about increases and this is somewhat mystical but also personally experienced and representative of the closeness of the Lord to the individual in that those angelically guiding pathways can still be found.
The general abundance out there cannot be taken for granted either and it is the Lord that brings that about, and most people are also tapping into a general abundance as part of any experience of a personal abundance as this river of abundance courses through..
The city of God mentioned in this psalm can be first viewed as communal but it is also viewed as even a one to one visitation of the Lord to the individual soul
When Jesus met the woman at the well in the Gospels, he first asks her to draw water for him and then when he reveals information about her that could not have been known in the normal course of things, she realizes who he is.
Then he speaks of the eternal waters that he can provide her..
This meeting although personal and involving just this woman and Jesus, is representative of the city of God which is found first in the living relationship with the Lord that is personal.
The city of God in this psalm could be interpreted more so as being wheever that personal encounter with the Lord is found, and that could be in a relatively deserted area anywhere.
For example, the city of God does include angels but angels did help people in the Bible in remote places and how and where this angelic help was found still characterizes as the city of God in that moment, even though this encounter with angels may have been far from an actual city.
The troubles mentioned in this psalm are comprehensive and just about global and all encompassing but the solution matches the largess of the trouble.
Verse 5 mentions help at the break of dawn,that critical moment representing the changover from night to day, representing the unfurling of maybe a new beginning and new hopeds that somehow the Lord can bring you back on course.with a help that is creatively and individually designed for you and for where you are at now, yet someone bringing in the largess of all that is out there and retrofiting it to your situation and concerns.
You can say this verse points to several aspects and possible qualities about this help.
First is that you cannot position yourself to where you do not need this help.
Climbing the mountain ranges from east to west, getting to this pinnacle whether it be financial, relational, or otherwise, does not alleviate the need for help or preclude that moment where to step forward you do need the help..
Although events might never get as cataclysmic like as described in this psalm, there is always the threat that is may get to that.
Joseph, a central figure in the book of Genesis did reach from his former troubles into the pinnacle as second in command in Egypt, the flagship nation at that time and period of history..
However, even from there, it was only through the helpful hand of the Lord that he was able to reunite with his brothers and his father Jacob and he was reliant on that personal favor of the Lord upon him within the chaos of world wide famine.
Joseph was for that time and place as the expression goes on top of the world but that did not negate his continued need for the helping hand of the Lord which had always been there for him and that extending hand of help was still needed by him.
There is a comprehensive aspect to the help that you can never get elsewhere, in that you can get world wide answers to your prayers and you can go to realms in the world of prayer that you could never reach otherwise.
Second, this verse 5 on the help of the Lord at the break of dawn points to the greatness of this help, how it can be super help.and has a superlative nature at times that paints a picture that could never have been painted otherwise.
The break of dawn is a comprehensive, super event that no matter how far technology advances, is not going to be something that mankind can duplicate within the advancing know how and technology that is being achieved. My actions cannot commence something as great as the break of dawn. .
Nothing can match the depth and breadth of the Lord's help which is entwined with the depth and breadth of the Lord's love for the individual and it is wise to cite the Lord's great love as you pray..
Third, this verse points to the reason why relatively simple prayer can be so effective globally and potentially on grander scales.
The person praying has no on hand ability to bring out some gigantic result but the prayer, relatively minute, and clearly simple can bring about results that match the greatest known wonders of nature.
Fourth, this psalm points to the need to have a readiness to the possibility of supernatural interventions from the Lord first hand.
At times they might be called miracles but more so they might be wonders, and there is faith involved but it is only a partial faith as seeing is believing and like the break of dawn can be seen, these miracles and wonders can be clearly observed.
Fifth, this help will bring you back on course and bring you closer to the Lord, and not leave you in the distance. The help is designed in such a way that it will also bring you closer to the Lord within the additional gifts of everything else that is happening along this river of help, such as varied gifts that do bring personal gladness and personal abundance.
The help is, designed in infinite ways, for any given individual it might have great variability, and it will have the tone, effect and intention of bringing you closer to the Lord and more in tune with that relationship of closeness.
This is a central theme of this psalm, that despite the possibility of tremendous setbacks and difficulties out there, the Lord still has designs that include abundance and designs that will always be an avenue or course along those living waters of abundance and gladness.
Yes there is faith involved in this flow along the course of the river of gladness as it says in Romans 1.17 that we go from faith to faith but this is real and the faith is only proportional rather than an absolute faith as there are concrete demonstrations that are maybe seen as unbelievable on one hand, but quite believable on the other hand in that it is actually happening and actually there.
If I see 3 feet of snow in front of me, I can believe that it snowed 3 feet.
When it says in verse 5 just at the break of dawn this is indicative also that the Lord always is in control of the timing, that is quite specific and in this way the help can take on the tone of a rescue, a just in time, 11th hour coming through for you.
A lot of times we pray and also give the suggested answer to the prayer which is okay but there is still the need to step back, be still as it says in this psalm and take hold of the answer. If the Lord is going to meet us just at the break of dawn, then he is controlling the timing of the answer and of course the answer itself.
This doesn't diminish the importance of the prayer, but from this psalm it is good to remember that just at the break of dawn means that there is always going to be timing to an answer and at times the timing might be immediate if it serves that overall purpose fo the answer and while there is such a thing as persistent prayer and hunkering down wiht prayer and keep on knocking on that door, that door sometimes opens on the first knock as it is the Lord's perogative to answer immediately.
But whatever the timing is, of the answer and the help as it comes through, it is not us as the prayer people that control the timing.
.The presence of the Lord reveals through the community, but it is also important in interpreting this psalm to see and read it as also pointing to the one person, that one person who is visited maybe by angels, that one person to whom the call is made from and to the city of God and like that woman who unexpectedly encountered Jesus at the well who was discoursing with Jesus unrehearsed, of her own volition, with no enterouge or intermediaries present, we as individuals are invited to other encounters with the Lord in these times., The city of God can be present to that one encounter with the Lord one individual called to these manifest graces, of help, hope, love, grace and ultimate salvation and to that ever flowing river of abundant graces kept alive for you always..
Source...