This article is about Psalm 46 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 46 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 47.
Psalm 46 is the 46th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 45. In Latin, it is known as "Deus noster refugium et virtus".[1] The song is attributed to the sons of Korah.
Psalm 46
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble"
Print of Luther's paraphrase of Psalm 46 in Klug's Gesangbuch, 1533: Der xlvi. Psalm / Deus noster refugium et virtus
The following table shows the Hebrew text[3][4] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
Illustration from the Stuttgart Psalter for verse 9He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
According to Matthew Henry, this psalm may have been composed after David defeated the enemies of ancient Israel from surrounding lands.[6] Spurgeon notes that the description in verse 1 in the Hebrew Bible version, calling for the psalm to be played "on alamot", could denote either a high-pitched musical instrument or the soprano voices of young girls who went out to dance in celebration of David's victory over the Philistines.[2] The Jerusalem Bible renders this word as an oboe.[7] The Midrash Tehillim, however, parses the word alamot (Hebrew: עלמות) as referring to the "hidden things" that God does for his people.[8] The psalm praises God for being a source of power and salvation in times of trouble.
There is a difference of opinion among Christian scholars as to which "river" the psalm is referring to in verse 4 of the KJV, the streams of which make glad the city of God. Among the possibilities are:[9]
The Jordan River. However, the Jordan River is a distance of 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Jerusalem (assuming that the "city of God" is a reference to Jerusalem). For this reason, some have found this possibility unlikely.
It has been proposed that this psalm is prophesying the kingdom of God under Jesus Christ, which He inaugurated at His first coming and will conclude when He returns.
This verse is further developed in Psalm 47, which opens with the words "Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph![12] It is all the nations of the world who are addressed.[13]
This psalm was traditionally recited or sung at the office of matins on Tuesday[16] after St. Benedict of Nursia established his rule of St. Benedict around 530, mainly in the numerical order of the psalms.[17] Today, Psalm 46 is sung or recited at Vespers on Friday of the first week of the liturgical four weekly cycle.
In the 17th century, Johann Pachelbel composed a motet setting of Psalm 46, Gott ist unser Zuversicht und Stärke. Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase in German, "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott", SWV 143, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628. In 1699, Michel-Richard Delalande based a grand motet on the psalm. Marc-Antoine Charpentier set in early 1690s a "Deus noster refugium" H.218, for soloists, chorus, 2 treble instruments and continuo. Jean Philippe Rameau set the psalm for the motet Deus noster refugium.
In the eighteenth century, the child Mozart wrote a short motet to the text of the first verse as a gift to the British Museum and an homage to 16th century English composers such as Thomas Tallis.
In contemporary music, the Christian duo Shane & Shane adapted the psalm into the song "Psalm 46 (Lord of Hosts)", which appeared on their 2016 album Psalms II.
For several decades, some theorists have suggested that William Shakespeare placed his mark on the translated text of Psalm 46 that appears in the King James Bible, although many scholars view this as unlikely, stating that the translations were probably agreed upon by a committee of scholars.[21]
Alleged evidence for this claim is that Shakespeare was in King James' service during the preparation of the King James Bible, and was generally considered to be 46 years old in 1611 when the translation was completed. There are a few extant examples of Shakespeare's actual signature, and on at least one occasion he signed it 'Shakspeare', which divides into four vowels and six consanants, thus '46'. The 46th word from the beginning of Psalm 46 is "shake" and the 46th word from the end (omitting the liturgical mark "Selah") is "spear" ("speare" in the original spelling).[22][23]
^Mabillard, Amanda (20 Aug 2000), "General Q & A", Shakespeare Online, retrieved June 13, 2019. Citing Humes. James C. Citizen Shakespeare: a social and political portrait. Lanham: University Press of America, 2003, p. 164.
