God our refuge; a place where we can flee and be safe from danger.

v1: God is ever-present, always with His people.

v2-3: The peril of natural disturbances. We face some trials simply because we are alive. But God is eternal, these other things are not. We must learn to cling to God, 2 Cor 4.18, and understand the eternal perspective.

v4: The river of God (Jer 2.13), of Christ (Zech 13.1), of the Holy Spirit (John 4.14; 7.37-39). Just as Ezekiel went deeper into the river (Ezek 47.1-12), so we need to know God more. In particular, He brings gladness.

v5: The place of God's presence, the holy place of the tabernacle. If God is there, there is safety. In the same way the disciples were perfectly safe in a boat in a storm, because Jesus was there.

v6: There are natural disturbances, but also political disturbances. But God remains and we must not be shaken.

v7: The Lord Almighty, or 'the Lord of Hosts', used 60 times in Isaiah, 80 times in Jeremiah, 90 times in the minor prophets. The title was often used when the people were in great need, for the Lord has His army, or host, which He has instructed to protect His own.

v8-9: God at work, changing things. We see the evidence of His work.

v10: The command to us corporately rather than individually; to meditate on the very person of God, not just what He has done (Job 37.14). The promise is that He will be exalted, even amongst those who do not know Him.

v11: In all His varied works, God is with us; therefore we will not fear.