seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Psalm 46[a]For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.(b) A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “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 Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
a. Psalm 46:1 In Hebrew texts 46:1-11 is numbered 46:2-12.
b. Psalm 46:1 Title: Probably a musical term
c. Psalm 46:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 11.
d. Psalm 46:9 Or chariots
There's something really special about the words "Be still, and know that I am God". It brings to mind a man holding a tiny baby to his shoulder.... his big hand takes up much of the baby's body.... the big man is shushing softly.... bobbing a tiny bit to "rock" the baby soothingly.... "ssshhh , be still.." Isn't that a beautiful thought?
I rocked my youngest daughter to sleep every night until she was in school. There's something about rocking a child to sleep that just makes life worthwhile. My daughter got to where she wouldn't get in my lap.... "I don't want to go to sleep" she would say. She knew as soon as her head hit my chest... she would hear the steady beat of my heart.... the rhythm of my breathing.... she would go right to sleep. Rocking my daughter was as good for me as it was for her..... we both felt....Secure.... loved.... warm.
OK... apparently, according to the easy English site.... I'm going into a "trilogy" of poems.
We do not know who wrote these 3 psalms. We do not know when their author wrote them. (The author is the person that writes something.) What we do know is that something happened that saved the city of Jerusalem. What was it?
We are not sure, but many Christians and Jews think that it was when Sennacherib attacked Jerusalem. This was in 701 BC. BC means "years Before Christ came to the earth". Sennacherib was the king of Assyria. Assyria was a strong country, and an enemy of Jerusalem. Assyria attacked Jerusalem in 701 BC. But God protected the city. (Protect is another word for "keep safe".) One night, 185 000 Assyrian soldiers died. We do not know why. It was a strange illness, but we do not know what it was. This is what the Bible says in 2 Kings 19:34-36:
If Psalms 46-48 are from this date, then perhaps the author was the prophet Isaiah. Many of the words in these psalms are also words that Isaiah used in his book, but not many other Bible writers used.
In the psalm, the city of God is Jerusalem. For us it means "the people of God". The Most High is another name for God. In verse 5 we read "early in the morning". This is when they saw what the angel of the LORD had done in the night, look at 2 Kings 19:35 in The Story of Psalms 46, 47 and 48. In verse 6 "the *nations" are people like the Assyrians. The loud noise was to frighten the people in Jerusalem. But the kingdoms that fell, because somebody destroyed them, did not include Jerusalem! In verse 7, "God of Jacob" is another name for "God of the Jews". Because Jerusalem did not fall to Assyria, the *psalmist wrote, "The LORD of everything is with us". He meant that God was fighting for Jerusalem. Christians believe that God still fights for his people. He is the same God that the *psalmist called "the God of Jacob" and "the LORD of everything". (The *psalmist is the person that wrote the psalm.)
Verse 8 tells us that God has done surprising things in the earth. These are things that not only surprise us (because we did not think that they would happen) but also make us a bit afraid. Verse 9 tells us that God stopped the war. Verse 10 tells us that God spoke to the people that were fighting just as a parent speaks to *noisy children. (Noisy means "making a lot of noise".) It is as if God said, "I am your leader. Stop all this noise". The end of verse 10 means two things. In the time of the psalmist it meant that God would make people see that he was "the Most High". For Christians it means that they lifted God high on the cross of Calvary to make everybody see what he was doing. Those that wanted Jesus to save them would then come to him. (They killed Jesus on the cross of Calvary.)
I love that part of the commentary where it says "God spoke to the people that were fighting just as a parent speaks to noisy children.....I'm the oldest of five kids.... I know what quieting noisy children can sound like.... ssshhh....
God will tell us.... "Relax... I got this"
