God is Our Refuge

Psalm 46:1-11 English Standard Version

This psalm has been popularized by Martin Luther’s rendition in “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”[1]

A wonderful legendary story exists about Psalm 46. According to the tale, the translators of the King James Version, who worked in 1604–11 c.e., were determined to arrive at the best possible English translation of the biblical text. When they considered the translation of the poetic material of the Old Testament, especially the book of Psalms, they felt the best choice for a translator was none other than England’s own poet and playwright of the time, William Shakespeare. And so they prevailed upon him to work with them in rendering the psalms into good English. Shakespeare agreed and undertook the task. One by one the psalms were transformed from their enigmatic Hebrew and Latin predecessors to the lively English of Shakespeare’s day. Serendipitously, Shakespeare arrived at the translation of Psalm 46 on the day of his forty-sixth birthday. Not one to let a good opportunity pass by, Shakespeare decided to “leave his mark” on the Psalter to mark the occasion. The words cooperated, and when readers examine the King James translation of Psalm 46, they discover an interesting phenomenon. The forty-sixth word from the beginning of the text of Psalm 46 is “shake”: (“though the mountains shake,” v. 3); the forty-sixth word from the end of the text of Psalm 46 is “spear”: (“he cutteth the spear in sunder,” v. 9)—an enduring tribute to the forty-sixth birthday of England’s great poet laureate. Thus, according to the legend, Shakespeare, the master English poet of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, lent his immeasurable talent to the English Bible translation that was the standard for the English Protestant church for over three hundred years.[2]

Psalm 46:title

1. To the choirmaster.

2. Of the Sons of Korah.

3. According to Alamoth.

a. The phrase ʿal-ʿălāmôt is unexplained but is probably a musical term. One hypothesis derives it from ʿalmâ, “young woman,” and translates “with a girl’s voice” (i.e., high pitched; Gesenius).[3]

b. 1 Chronicles 15:20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with strings according to Alamoth;

4. A Song.

Psalm 46:1

1. God is our refuge and strength,

a. Refuge - safety and free from danger[4]

b. Strength - my protection

2. a very present help in trouble.

a. Help - one who assists and serves another with what is needed[5]

Psalm 46:2-3

1. (v.2) Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

2. though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

3. (v.3) though its waters roar and foam,

4. though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

a. Symbols of conflict between chaos and created order.

i. Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

ii. Psalm 24:2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

b. Symbols of eschatological conflict.

i. (v.3) though its waters roar and foam,

1. Luke 21:25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,

2. The reference to the roaring of the sea in 21:25c, “by the roaring of the sea and the waves” (ēchous thalassēs kai salou), possibly alludes to Ps. 46:3: “Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult” (45:4 LXX: ēchēsan kai etarachthēsan ta hydata autōn etarachthēsan ta orē en tē krataiotēti autou).[6]

5. Selah

a. Commentators suggest inserting the refrain found in vv. 7 and 11 here.[7]

i. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 46:4

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

2. the holy habitation of the Most High.

a. Genesis 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)

b. Genesis 2:10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.

c. Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

d. Revelation 22:2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Psalm 46:5

1. God is in the midst of her;

2. she shall not be moved;

a. (v.2) though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

3. God will help her when morning dawns.

a. Exodus 14:27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lordthrew the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.

Psalm 46:6

1. The nations rage,

a. (v.3) though its waters roar and foam,

2. the kingdoms totter;

a. (v.2) though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

3. he utters his voice,

4. the earth melts.

Psalm 46:7

1. The Lordof hosts is with us;

2. the God of Jacob is our fortress.

3. Selah

Psalm 46:8

1. Come, behold the works of the Lord,

2. how he has brought desolations on the earth.

Psalm 46:9

1. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

2. he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

3. he burns the chariots with fire.

Psalm 46:10

1. “Be still, and know that I am God.

a. This divine oracle (“Be still, and know”) can be misunderstood as a summons to quiet meditation. Rather, the Hebrew imperative (from rph, Hiphil) means “desist,” commanding the forces opposing God’s sovereignty to surrender. [8]

b. Mark 4:39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

2. I will be exalted among the nations,

3. I will be exalted in the earth!”

Psalm 46:11

1. The Lordof hosts is with us;

2. the God of Jacob is our fortress.

3. Selah

Deuteronomy 31:8

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Matthew 28:20

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

[1] VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, p. 350). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. [2] deClaissé-Walford, N., & Tanner, B. (2014). Book Two of the Psalter: Psalms 42–72. In E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr. (Eds.), The Book of Psalms (pp. 425–426). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [3] Gerstenberger, E. (1988). Psalms Part 1: With an Introduction to Cultic Poetry (Vol. 14, p. 191). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [4] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament)(electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc. [5] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament)(electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc. LXX Septuagint [6] Pao, D. W., & Schnabel, E. J. (2007). Luke. In Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament (p. 378). Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos. [7] deClaissé-Walford, N., Jacobson, R. A., & Tanner, B. L. (2014). The Book of Psalms. (E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr., Eds.). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [8] Schaefer, K. (2001). Psalms. (D. W. Cotter, J. T. Walsh, & C. Franke, Eds.) (p. 118). Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press.