Psalm 46

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,
though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
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.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

• Psalm 46:1-11

Type of Psalm

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s goodness to Israel:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This psalm encourages us to hope and trust in God, and his power, and providence, and gracious presence with his church in the worst of times, and directs us to give him the glory of what he has done for us and what he will do: probably it was penned upon occasion of David’s victories over the neighbouring nations (2 Sa. 8), and the rest which God gave him from all his enemies round about. We are here taught, I. To take comfort in God when things look very black and threatening, ver.1-5. II. To mention, to his praise, the great things he had wrought for his church against its enemies, ver. 6-9. III. To assure ourselves that God who has glorified his own name will glorify it yet again, and to comfort ourselves with that, ver. 10, 11. We may, in singing it, apply it either to our spiritual enemies, and be more than conquerors over them, or to the public enemies of Christ’s kingdom in the world and their threatening insults, endeavouring to preserve a holy security and serenity of mind when they seem most formidable. It is said of Luther that, when he heard any discouraging news, he would say, Come let us sing the forty-sixth psalm.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm46:10 : “The word holy means ‘to separate.’ The ancestry of the term can be traced back to an ancient word which means ‘to cut.’ To be holy, then, is to be a cut above the norm, superior, extraordinary … The Holy One dwells on a different level from the rest of us. What frightens us does not frighten him. What troubles us does not trouble him.
“I’m more a landlubber than a sailor, but I’ve puttered around in a bass boat enough to know the secret for finding land in a storm … You don’t aim at another boat. You certainly don’t stare at the waves. You set your sights on an object unaffected by the wind-a light on the shore-and go straight toward it …
“When you set your sights on our God, you focus on one ‘a cut above’ any storm life may bring … You find peace.”

• Max Lucado, The Great House of God

My Thoughts

I know a lady who recites Psalm 46:1 to start her prayers in a public setting, and I daresay privately.  We can rely on God in our times of trouble.

I had to look up seismic activity in Israel and while they have not had a major seismic event in 2024, they are on a fault line and are prone to get seismic activity.  So, the Sons of Korah were speaking from experience, probably, of mountains sliding into the sea, or at least rockslides, and the ground quaking.

But while verse three speaks of the waters foaming, the rivers bring much needed water to God’s Holy City.  God is our fortress.  God provides both sustenance and strength and protection from the natural troubles of life.  While kingdoms may come and go, those who trust in God are safe in His arms.

And then we come to the verse that says it all.  Be still and know that God is God.  In times of trouble we pace, we worry, we wonder where deliverance comes from.  Let’s be still and let God be God in our lives.

A beautiful way of expressing faith.

Psalm 47

Clap your hands, all you nations;
    shout to God with cries of joy.
For the Lord Most High is awesome,
    the great King over all the earth.
He subdued nations under us,
    peoples under our feet.
He chose our inheritance for us,
    the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
    the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
    sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth;
    sing to him a psalm of praise.
God reigns over the nations;
    God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble
    as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
    he is greatly exalted.

• Psalm 47:1-9

Type of Psalm

Psalms of praise: Exactly as stated.  God is being praised.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“The scope of this psalm is to stir us up to praise God, to stir up all people to do so; and, I. We are directed in what manner to do it, publicly, cheerfully, and intelligently, ver. 1, 6, 7. II. We are furnished with matter for praise. 1. God’s majesty, ver. 2. 2. His sovereign and universal dominion, ver. 2, 7-9. 3. The great things he had done, and will do, for his people, ver. 3-5. Many suppose that this psalm was penned upon occasion of the bringing up of the ark to Mount Zion which ver. 5 seems to refer to (‘God has gone up with a shout’);–but it looks further, to the ascension of Christ into the heavenly Zion, after he had finished his undertaking on earth, and to the setting up of his kingdom in the world, to which the heathen should become willing subjects. In singing this psalm we are to give honour to the exalted Redeemer, to rejoice in his exaltation, and to celebrate his praises, confessing that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 47:1 : ”Someone once asked Mother Teresa what the job description was for anyone who might wish to work alongside her in the grimy streets and narrow alleys of Calcutta. Without hesitation she mentioned only two things: the desire to work hard and a joyful attitude. It has been my observation that both of those qualities are rare. But the second is much rarer than the first. Diligence may be difficult to find, but compared to an attitude of genuine joy, hard work is commonplace.”

• Charles R. Swindoll, Bedtime Blessings

My Thoughts

Another psalm of the Sons of Korah, this starts with a blueprint for worshipping God: clap our hands and shout for joy.

This calls for all nations to do so and during the millennial reign, that will be the case.

What is God?  He is awesome.

What has God done? Subdued other nations.

Again shouts of joy, sounding trumpets, and singing praises to God.

And then the beginning is repeated but with a different tone.  God has always been in control, and He always will be.  God reigns.

Psalm 48

Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
    in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
Beautiful in its loftiness,
    the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
    the city of the Great King.
God is in her citadels;
    he has shown himself to be her fortress.
When the kings joined forces,
    when they advanced together,
they saw her and were astounded;
    they fled in terror.
Trembling seized them there,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.
You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
    shattered by an east wind.
As we have heard,
    so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
    in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
    forever.
Within your temple, O God,
    we meditate on your unfailing love.
Like your name, O God,
    your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
    your right hand is filled with righteousness.
Mount Zion rejoices,
    the villages of Judah are glad
    because of your judgments.
Walk about Zion, go around her,
    count her towers,
consider well her ramparts,
    view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
    to the next generation.
For this God is our God for ever and ever;
    he will be our guide even to the end.

• Psalm 48:1-14

Type of Psalm

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s goodness to Israel:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This psalm, as the two former, is a triumphant song; some think it was penned on occasion of Jehoshaphat’s victory (2 Chr. 20), others of Sennacherib’s defeat, when his army laid siege to Jerusalem in Hezekiah’s time; but, for aught I know, it might be penned by David upon occasion of some eminent victory obtained in his time; yet not so calculated for that but that it might serve any other similar occasion in aftertimes, and be applicable also to the glories of the gospel church, of which Jerusalem was a type, especially when it shall come to be a church triumphant, the ‘heavenly Jerusalem’ (Heb. 12:22), ‘the Jerusalem which is above,’ Gal. 4:26. Jerusalem is here praised, I. For its relation to God, ver. 1, 2. II. For God’s care of it, ver. 3. III. For the terror it strikes upon its enemies, ver. 4-7. IV. For the pleasure it gives to its friends, who delight to think, 1. Of what God has done, does, and will do for it, ver. 2. 2. Of the gracious discoveries he makes of himself in and for that holy city, ver. 9, 10. 3. Of the effectual provision which is made for its safety, ver. 11-13. 4. Of the assurance we have of the perpetuity of God’s covenant with the children of Zion, ver. 14. In singing this psalm we must be affected with the privilege we have as members of the gospel church, and must express and excite our sincere good-will to all its interests.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 48:8 As we have heard, so we have seen: “Cf. the personal, individual testimony of Job (e.g., 42:5).  The historical tradition of verses 1-3 had been proven true once again in the events of verses 4-7.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

My Thoughts

This psalm is a song of the Sons of Korah about Jerusalem.

The city is beautiful.  It is the joy of all nations.  Kings have combined forces and yet have been repelled.

God is the citadel, the protector of the city.

Jerusalem’s temple is mentioned as the place to worship God.  Matthew Henry gives two estimates as to when it was written.  Jehoshaphat had many military victories, but it could be in the time of Hezekiah when Sennacherib was defeated.  Rev. MacArthur connects the joy of the nations to Lamentations – realizing what they had lost.

The psalm ends with God is their God forever and ever, but they turned from God and the city was destroyed.

We may boast of God, but when we turn from God, there is no room at all in which to boast.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 46

“1. The New Testament usually applies promises originally meant for Israel to the Church. What forces threaten the Church today?
“2. Could verses 2-3 and 5-6 portray any crisis in your life? How did you respond to that crisis?
“3. What difference does it make to you to know Jesus is Lord over all those chaotic events? How is he a ‘fortress’ to you? Where do you feel a need for his special protection right now?
“4. Spend some time in prayer. As each group member shares a ‘trouble’ one member can read verse 10 in response.”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 47

“1. In what way is God King of all the earth when so many people ignore and disobey him?
“2. Judaism does not teach that all should become Jews. Do you think God wants everyone to become a Christian? Even Jews? What is your vision of the messianic assembly {v.9)?
“3. Do you enjoy loud singing, clapping and praises? How often do your church services give you a sense of awe?”

Psalm 48

“1. How have you seen God guide you through a crisis which threatened your ‘city’?
“2. A lot of money is spent on church buildings. How can you avoid being enamored with the ‘citadels’ of power and the ‘ramparts’ of a building fund drive, and keep God’s work in focus?
“3. Who was significant in passing God’s love on to you? How can you pass it on?”

There is one set of questions each of these psalms.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.