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Psalm 46

God’s Defense of His City and People

To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,

though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;

God will help it when the morning dawns.

The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The L ord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Come, behold the works of the L ord;

see what desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;

he burns the shields with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God!

I am exalted among the nations,

I am exalted in the earth.”

The L ord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

5. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. The Psalmist now shows that the great security of the Church consists in this, that God dwells in the midst of her; for the verb which we translate, shall be moved, is of the feminine gender, nor can it be referred to God, as if it were designed to teach that God is immovable. The sentence must be explained in this way, The holy city shall not be moved or shaken, because God dwells there, and is always ready to help her. The expression, the dawn of the morning ¹⁷⁷¹⁷⁷ “At the looking forth of the morning; that is, as the Greek explaineth it, ‘very early;’ when the morning peereth or showeth the face.” — Ainsworth. “As soon as the morning appears [or shows] its face; i.e., God will come very early to her succor, before any enemy is awakened to annoy her.” — Mudge. “Before the dawn of the morning; i.e., with the utmost readiness and alacrity. The expression is borrowed from the conduct of a person who, in his anxiety to accomplish a favorite object, engages in it earlier than men ordinarily would. Jeremiah 7:13; and 7:25.” — French and Skinner. denotes daily, as soon as the sun rises upon the earth. The sum of the whole is, If we desire to be protected by the hand of God, we must be concerned above all things that he may dwell amongst us; for all hope of safety depends upon his presence alone. And he dwells amongst us for no other purpose than to preserve us uninjured. Moreover, although God does not always hasten immediately to our aid, according to the importunity of our desires, yet he will always come to us seasonably, so as to make apparent the truth of what is elsewhere said,

“Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep,” (Psalm 121:4.)

¹⁷⁷ “At the looking forth of the morning; that is, as the Greek explaineth it, ‘very early;’ when the morning peereth or showeth the face.” — Ainsworth. “As soon as the morning appears [or shows] its face; i.e., God will come very early to her succor, before any enemy is awakened to annoy her.” — Mudge. “Before the dawn of the morning; i.e., with the utmost readiness and alacrity. The expression is borrowed from the conduct of a person who, in his anxiety to accomplish a favorite object, engages in it earlier than men ordinarily would. Jeremiah 7:13; and 7:25.” — French and Skinner.