There’s a surprising picture of hope in Psalm 46, but to see it you have to read each section of the psalm together: God is present with his people under water, and even there he makes it so that they can be still and breathe. He speaks, and they’re calmed:

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10)

Let me try to explain why I think God is under water in Psalm 46. You can be the judge as to whether or not this reading makes sense of the text.

The Flood

The psalm opens with a confession:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

But what’s the problem? What sort of refuge is he? Verses 2–3 describe the sea overtaking the mountains, the land shaking and breaking into deep waters, as if creation is coming undone.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. (Psalm 46:2–3)

Like the flood in Genesis and like Jonah the prophet, as you read the psalm, you’re submerged in the problem. You sink down into the sea along with the mountains.

The River

Now, the transition to verses 4–7 is critical. How you read these verses makes all the difference. I think we should read verses 4–7 together with verses 1–3, but note how different they sound:

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:4–7)

In contrast to verses 2–3, this seems like a picture of peace, garden-like, at least in part. Let me explain why I think this is the same watery chaos scene.

Connecting the Waters

First, a note on the structure of this psalm: Verse 7 forms a bookend with verse 1. Both verses speak of God as a place of safety:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (v. 1) … The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress (v. 7).

The same thought will occur at the end of the psalm, too: “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” The way this thought appears at the beginning (v. 1), middle (v. 7), and end of the psalm (v. 11) shows you that the author intends you to read each section together.

Second, the sections we are having trouble holding together — verses 2–3 and verses 4–7 — are about the same thing. They’re both about water. The transition is seamless:

… waters roar and foam (v. 3) … there is a river (v. 4) …

Both passages describe aspects of the same scene so why do they feel so different? Why is it that verses 2–3 are chaotic and verse 4–5 seem calm? The difference is God’s presence in verses 4-5.

The river in verse 4 runs through the city of God (v. 4). God is there, and so even beneath the flood of verses 2–3 there’s joy: “There is a river whose streams makes glad the city of God.” Cities are by nature on land, and verses 2–3 made clear that the land is beneath the water, but God is there and “he will help her when morning dawns” (v. 5).

Third, those last words of verse 5 make clear that the city of God is in danger. It’s night. Verse 5 adds to the problem of verses 2–3: Not only does the flood cover the land (and the city), there’s darkness. Suddenly, we really are back at Genesis 1:2: “Darkness was over the face of the deep waters.”

Fourth, verse 6 speaks of the nations raging, the kingdoms tottering, and the “earth melting,” carrying forward the idea of the earth giving way from verse 2.

Fifth, in reality, both sections (2–3 and 4–7) are a mix of God’s presence and overwhelming chaos. Sure, creation breaks in verses 2–3, but all those words about rising water are prefaced with “we will not fear though the earth give way.” How can one be fearless in such circumstances? Because God is our refuge, a very present help in trouble (vv. 1–2a). It’s the same in verses 4–7: God’s in the midst of the dark waters, and he’ll help when morning dawns.

For these reasons, I think we are intended to envision the garden-like city of God in verses 4–5 beneath the flood waters of verses 2–3. God, his people, and his city are under water. This is why we need a refuge, and this is exactly what he is. Even under water, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (v. 7).

How can these things be?

The idea is not so strange. That’s why the final section of the psalm invites you to consider “the works of the LORD.”

Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. (Psalm 46:8–9)

Scripture bears witness: His presence is unassailable. He led Noah through flood waters. He walked with Israel through the Red Sea. From the depths of Sheol, Jonah cried out, and God was there:

The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head. To the roots of the mountains I went down, to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God. (Jonah 2:5–6).

Breath under Water

In the closing lines of the psalm, God himself speaks to his people under water:

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10)

He will be exalted and so will you. You don’t have to thrash. You won’t stay under water forever. Yes, the water is high. No, you cannot breathe on your own, but you can be still. He is God, even under water. He will give us life, and breath, and everything.

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:11)

Not just a military fortress: He speaks; we inhale.