The confidence which the church has in God, 1-7. An exhortation to behold it, 8-11.
1 [To the Chief Musician for the Sons of Korah. A Song upon Alamoth.]
God is our refuge and strength,/
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore, we will not fear/
though the earth is changed,/
though the mountains are carried/
into the midst of the sea,
3 Though its waters roar and are disturbed,/
though the mountains shake with its swelling./
[Selah.]
4 There is a river,/
the streams of which shall make the city of God glad,/
the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved./
God shall help her at the turning of dawn.
6 The heathen raged. The kingdoms were moved./
He uttered his voice, and the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us./
The God of Jacob is our refuge./
[Selah.]
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD,/
what desolations he has made in the earth.
9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth./
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear apart./
He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 "Be still and know that I am God./
I will be exalted among the heathen./
I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD of hosts is with us./
The God of Jacob is our refuge./
[Selah.]
Matthew Henry Commentary - Psalms, Chapter 46[➚]
John Calvin's Chapter Summary:
This psalm seems to be an expression of thanksgiving rather for some particular deliverance, than for the constant aid by which God has always protected and preserved his Church. It may be inferred from it that the city of Jerusalem. when stricken with great terror, and placed in extreme danger, was preserved, contrary to all expectation, by the unlooked for and miraculous power of God. The prophet, therefore, whoever composed the psalm, commending a deliverance so singularly vouchsafed by God, exhorts the faithful to commit themselves confidently to his protection, and not to doubt that, relying fearlessly upon him as their guardian and the protector of their welfare, they shall be continually preserved in safety from all the assaults of their enemies, because it is his peculiar office to quell all commotions.