Kettledrums And Violins
"I will be exalted among the nations...," Ps. 46:10.

I'm surprised Ps. 46 doesn't come with a warning label: "Caution! This psalm
may cause emotional whiplash." This psalm by the Sons of Korah abruptly
shifts between peaceful descriptions of God's care and violent images of mass
destruction.

See for yourself. As you read the lower case verses, imagine soothing violin
music. For the uppercase verses imagine thundering kettledrums.
"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
THOUGH THE EARTH GIVE WAY
AND THE MOUNTAINS FALL
INTO THE HEART OF THE SEA,...

There is a river whose streams
make glad the city of God,...
God is within her,
she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
NATIONS ARE IN UPROAR,
KINGDOMS FALL;
HE LIFTS HIS VOICE,
THE EARTH MELTS," Ps. 46:1-2, 4-6.

Christians like myself who haven't experienced extreme turmoil and disaster,
tend to focus on the "violin" portions. We skim over the references of
quaking mountains (v. 3) and shattering spears (v. 9), in order to get to the
peaceful verses, in particular verse 10: "Be still, and know that I am God."

Who hears the kettledrums? Christians who have been through the wringer. I
learned this from an African missionary couple. When they read Ps. 46, they
hear God's promise to be with His people even in the midst of--

• civil war and guerrilla atrocities;
• religious persecution;
• refugee camps; and
• famine, disease and mounting death tolls.

My African friends also treasure "Be still, and know that I am God." But the
difference is that they know the rest of the verse.

Is there more to that verse? Yes! Ps. 46:10 in its entirety declares: "Be
still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be
exalted in the earth."

Is this a violin verse or a kettledrum verse? Both. It unites the two
seemingly dissonant tones of Ps. 46. We discover that a verse that some of
us cling to as a silent haven from life's little bumps, is actually a global
mission promise of epic proportions. Although Satan, in his war against the
advance of God's kingdom, will fire salvos of pandemonium and calamity at us,
we need not shriek, we need not whimper, we need not sound retreat.

We need only hear the Lord's soothing peace and thundering victory in His
promise:
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I WILL be exalted among the nations,
I WILL be exalted in the earth."

1. Have you lived in relative peace, or have you experienced upheavals?
2. Which phrases in Ps. 46 do you skim over? Which do you focus on?
3. How does the impact of Ps. 46:10 change when you take into account the entire verse?
4. Compare Ps. 46:10 to Zech. 2:10-13.
5. Luther's hymn "A Mighty Fortress" is based on Ps. 46. If you sing it this coming Reformation Day, ponder the lyrics from a mission perspective.