If the Mountains Fell Into the Sea
“Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,” (Psalm 46:2, ESV).
When you think about this verse, does your imagination create a movie-like scenario of mountains toppling over into the ocean? You could picture the Rockies, or the Himalayas, or Everest … but can you see the destruction of ecosystems and livelihoods that would come with such a catastrophe?
If mountains fell into the sea, it would change life as we know it. They would no longer be the immovable, omnipresent pieces of landscape that we always took for granted because at any second they could disappear and cause destruction.
So how does this verse apply to our lives today?
It’s easy to not be afraid of the mountains falling into the sea because that hasn’t ever happened and we don’t expect it to happen anytime soon.
But the key to this verse is that it’s not about the literal mountains falling, but the feeling of having the rug pulled out from under us. Think of how people felt after the Titanic sank — that unsinkable ship turned out to be sinkable, and no one knew what to believe anymore.
People who lose their homes to natural disasters have had a mountain fall, especially when that home was where they planned to live for the rest of their lives.
Think of a 5 year old child who loses their mother. All their life, mom has been there, and she was supposed to always be there no matter what. And now she’s gone.
What is a child supposed to make of that? How could they possibly understand? That’s what a mountain falling into the heart of the sea feels like.
It doesn’t have to just be a personal loss either. For instance, the gender binary was a mountain. It used to be a given — children grew up knowing that they were either boys or girls and that’s just the way things were. Now, that mountain is falling.
The rug isn’t only being pulled out from underneath children, but parents too, who have to explain to their kids why they can’t just decide to change genders, and how to act when someone in their class at school or in their neighborhood decides to change their name and go by different pronouns.
This change in the culture is a mountain falling into the sea on a larger scale.
So what do we do? Where is the hope in all of this, since there will always be mountains falling?
The verse says “we will not fear” but it doesn’t give us the reason why we won’t fear. For that, we need to look at the previous verse.
Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (ESV). God is the reason why we won’t fear, even when things seem hopeless, even when we’re hurting, and even when the rug gets pulled out from under us.
Not only can we take refuge in God, but He gives us strength when it’s time to fight our battles. In fact, the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” was based off of Psalm 46, and the Gospel message shines through in the verse:
“Though devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us, We tremble not, we fear no ill; They shall not overpower us. This world’s prince may still Scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none, He’s judged; The deed is done; One little word can fell him” (Lutheran Service Book).
The deed is done, and death is defeated. God promises to be our refuge as we face the trials of this world, but He is also where we draw our strength from as we proclaim Christ’s victory over death.
The earth will give way, and the mountains will fall, but the most important battle has already been won for us, and that is why we will not fear.
