Psalms 46

To the chief musician, for the sons of Korah, a song on Alamoth

46:Title Alamoth was probably a musical term.⚜

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear,

though the earth be removed,

and though the mountains be carried into

the middle of the sea,

3 Though its waters roar and are in turmoil,

though the mountains shake with its

surging. Selah

46:2-3 If we are in God, the mighty and eternal refuge, who or what can harm us (Ps 23:4)? And why should we fear as if we were not in Him? Believers need not fear even in natural disasters such as are described here, or in the upheaval of nations and societies. These are sometimes symbolized in the Bible by mountains and bodies of water or floods – Isa 17:12; 59:19; Jer 46:7-8; 47:1-2; 51:24-25; Dan 2:35; Rev 17:1, 15.⚜

4 There is a river whose streams make glad

the city of God, the holy place of

the tabernacle of the Most High.

5 God is within her. She will not be shaken.

God will help her at early morning.

46:5 See Ps 48:1; 87:1-3; Rev 3:12; 21:22; 22:3. God was in the earthly Jerusalem the capital city of His people Israel. He is also in the heavenly Jerusalem and He is in His church which is compared to a city in Rev 21:9-10.⚜

6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were

moved.

He uttered his voice, the earth melted.

46:6 See Ps 2:1. Nations are frequently in an uproar, but God is in absolute control of events.⚜

7 The LORD of hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

46:7 The sovereign God is Immanuel, He is with His people. Note at Ex 25:8. Here are two of His names.⚜

8 Come, see the works of the LORD,

the desolations he has made in the earth.

46:8 Think of the ruins of ancient civilizations – Nineveh, Babylon, Egypt, Edom, Greece, Troy, Harappa, etc. It is the Lord God of Israel, the one true God, who has brought about these desolations.⚜

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.

He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two.

He burns the chariot in the fire.

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in the earth”.

46:10 God Himself now speaks to the writer and through the writer to us. If men would stop their struggles and spend some time in the contemplation of who and what God is, what a difference it would make! The day is coming when Jehovah God alone will be exalted and praised – Ps 47:2; Isa 2:11, 17; Zech 14:9.⚜

11 The LORD of hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah