At Easter time my neighborhood hides those multicolored plastic Easter “eggs” on our village green for the little ones. Each plastic egg has a little sugary treat inside. The toddlers get first crack at racing out onto the lawn to “find” those eggs lying openly in the grass in plain sight. As I have been spelunking into biblical Hebrew more recently, I love racing out onto the lawn of Scripture and finding Easter eggs tucked away in there that aren’t quite so apparent in our English translations! These finds, as I rely upon the Spirit, spur on my desire to encounter this endlessly fascinating God in His character and nature. As I’ve been in the Psalms, this one has been especially enlightening:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1 ESV
This familiar phrase “very present help” has resonated with me over the years, conveying how God is always with us in times of trouble. So precious! After all, He is Immanuel, God with us. Its comforting assurance resonates with that familiar line from Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
Though the Hebrew word translated as “present” does mean God’s faithfully abiding nearness, the Spirit discovered to my heart additional nuances of meaning that reveal even more who God is in times of trouble. It’s an open door to enter into the Lord’s heart about just how available He makes Himself to us. “Present” is māṣā’ (maw-tsaw’ מָצָא), a popular word showing up 456 times in the Hebrew Bible. 359 times it’s translated as “find” in the classic King James Version. Now, I’m about to wax nerdy about this verb because it surprised me just how eagerly God makes Himself present to us.
Māṣā’ is in the Niphal form, the passive of Qal, a verb of simple action (e.g., he loved). Niphal sometimes expresses a reflexive action (e.g., he loved himself), but since God is not finding Himself it’s passive voice (e.g., he was loved). For our examination of māṣā’, a comparison with the commonplace word for see, rā’â (raw-aw’ רָאָה), might help us make better sense of Niphal. The Qal for rā’â is how we’re used to thinking of see (e.g., he saw). “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw [rā’â Qal] the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up…” (Isa 6:1). Now, passive Niphal for rā’â requires some bending for it to make good sense in English. “Then the LORD appeared [rā’â Niphal] to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’” (Gen 12:7). See how “appeared” in our translation is active voice (like Qal)? In other words, the LORD made Himself seen to Abram.
So here’s where this Hebrew grammar messes with our heads. In English we don’t use “find” where the thing found is actively making itself found. Rather, we expect that somebody or the search party is out doing the finding. So what’s going on with māṣā’ Niphal here in Psalm 46 is similar to rā’â Niphal above: God makes Himself found. Keil and Delitzsch, eminent Hebrew expositors, elaborated on the meaning of māṣā’ in Psalm 46:1: “to those who then seek Him He reveals Himself and verifies His word beyond all measure” (emphasis added).
Here’s another example I found helpful to grasp the gist of this tricky Niphal with māṣā’. Take a gander at this passage:
“I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ to a nation which did not call on My name” (Isa 65:1 LSB emphasis added).
“I permitted Myself to be sought” is another instance of māṣā’ Niphal (NASB also translates it this way). Others translate it, “I let Myself be found” (AMP, EHV, ISV, LEB, NLV, OJB) and NET even says, “I appeared.” All these nuances are packed into the tight space of this little word. So “a very present help” is more than being present; God actively makes Himself found to help! Someone can be present but not necessarily seek you out to connect with you. Not so with God. He loves you and yearns for you to be with Him.
Furthermore, “very present” is perhaps better conveyed as “He abundantly makes Himself found.” It’s great to know that God makes Himself found, but even better is this “very”! The word for “very” is the ubiquitous mᵊ’ōḏ (meh-ode’ מְאֹד), which in this verse others translate as very, always, great, greatly, and most surely. Alec Moyer’s literal translation of the Psalms says “exceedingly to be found,” which I think hits the nail right on the head. God abundantly makes Himself found to us! That’s great news!
A father playing hide and seek with his very young children may purposefully make himself conspicuous so they’re sure to find him. That’s how God is, but exceedingly so. Remember those Easter eggs placed in plain sight out on the lawn ready for toddlers to run out and find them? God is like these Easter eggs abundantly strewn all over the village green. He wants to make Himself found to us that much! We just need to get out onto the green and open our eyes.
Now, the context of Psalm 46 is times of trouble. The psalm is filled with imagery of mountains shaking, waters roaring and foaming, nations roaring, kingdoms shaking, and bows and chariots warring. It’s in trials when we’re at our wits end. It’s in trials where we’ve depleted all our natural resources of strength and patience. That’s when we’re more likely to seek Him. But what’s cool is that God is always abundantly making Himself found to us! It’s not only in times of trouble. That says a lot about our own hearts. Like that old country western song, we’re looking for love in all the wrong places. Trials make course corrections to seek Love in the right place. And there He’s been waiting all along to make Himself abundantly found to you and me. “I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’” (Isa 45:19 NKJV). It’s impossible to seek God and end up empty handed. It’s a joy for us to discover Him.
Now this may raise a paradox in your mind. So often we and the psalmists cry out, “O Lord, how long?” God seems far away. Might it be that God doesn’t always answer us according to our understanding? We asked for this to happen but got God instead. The apostle Paul discovered that. When he prayed three times for the “thorn in the flesh” (whatever that was) to be removed, God made Himself found like this: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2Co 12:9). Paul’s “How long, O Lord?” got transfigured by a new vision of the presence of Jesus right there inside of his trials. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10).
The Lord makes Himself found in unexpected ways. Asaph was bemoaning the prosperity of the world around him, thoroughly disillusioned, until he stepped onto the village green—“until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end” (Ps 73:17). When Asaph ran into the yard, Yahweh made Himself found in an unexpected way! Asaph’s “How long, O Lord?” all changed and he could say, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (73:25-26).
What trials have you been facing? Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Run out onto the yard; God’s been right there all along and desires to make Himself exceedingly abundantly found to you. Don’t let the longevity of the trial paint a different picture in your mind of who He is. Run for refuge in His word and you will see your trial with new eyes as God reveals Himself to you. “I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain.’” Let Him transfigure your “How long, O Lord?” into “How strong You are, O Lord!”
Glory Unveiled: Discovering Jesus 