Psalm 46:1-11. "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

Psalm 46:1-11 TO THE CHOIRMASTER. OF THE SONS OF KORAH. ACCORDING TO ALAMOTH. A SONG. 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (ESV)

From time to time horrific things happen to stop us in our tracks and make us think of God and eternity. When people are not prepared to stop to listen to what God has to say through his revealed word, the Bible, He will use world events—an earthquake, a tsunami, war, an atrocious terrorist attack—or the current disruption to our lives with the COVID-19 virus, to challenge us in our busy lives to consider the living God our Creator. Faith in God’s protection, expressed so profoundly in this psalm, is both present and proleptic, reaching forward to the time of God’s ultimate conquest of chaos and establishment of peace. (Craigie, P. C. (1983). Psalms 1–50 (Vol. 19, p. 346). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)

Psalm 46 is a particularly powerful Psalm of the living God in a time of difficulty. It was Martin Luther’s favourite psalm. In those days when he was opposed by Pope and Holy Roman Emperor and felt the pressures of his busy, turbulent life almost too great to bear, he would say to his friend Philip Melanchthon, ‘Come let us sing the 46th Psalm and let the devil do his worst!’ His hymn, A safe stronghold our God is still, A trusty shield and weapon is based on this psalm. Here is a psalm to bring comfort and strength to those who put their trust in God and to challenge those who have no time for God. The historical occasion … might very well have been God’s miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem from the armies of King Sennacherib of Assyria during the reign of Hezekiah, c. 701 B.C. (cf. 2 Kin. 18:13–19:37; 2 Chr. 32:1–21; Is. 36:1–37:38).( Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R., Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J. (Eds.). (1991). Believer’s Study Bible (electronic ed., Ps 46:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)

In addition to the regular headings, the inspired superscription, above the first verse, we see it addressed: ‘To the Choirmaster/Chief Musician’, ‘of the sons of Korah’ (the word ‘Psalm’ does not occur in the original) and ‘A Song’ (see Psalms 18; 30; 120–134) there is added ‘upon/according to Alamoth’. ‘Alamoth’ means ‘virgins’ and the exact phrase occurs again in a similar context during the celebrations associated with the arrival of the ark of the covenant at Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15:20). This would connect the contents of the psalm with the ark as the symbol of God’s presence among his people in the heart of David’s city of Jerusalem. Consequently, the most likely conjecture about the phrase Alamoth’ is that it is a technical musical notation, possibly indicating a song which was to be sung with female voices at a higher range (MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 783). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.).

Psalm 46 does not fall easily into any of the recognised categories such as praise, thanksgiving or prayer but it can be included among the ‘Songs of Zion’ (see Psalms 48; 76; 84; 87; 132) and has links with Psalms 2 and 24. It is clearly divided into three sections with a refrain marking the end of the second and third sections. All three describe upheavals of various sorts but in all circumstances God is seen as his people’s safety. The Psalmist of Psalm 46 calls God’s people to 1) Confessing God’s protection (Psalm 46:1–3), 2) Experiencing God’s presence (Psalm 46:4–7) and 3) Acknowledging God’s power (verses 8–11).

God’s people can know that “A Mighty Fortress is our God”, in times of trouble by: