John Calvin Commentary Psalms 46

God is our refuge and strength. Here the Psalmist begins with a general expression or sentiment before he speaks of the more particular deliverance. He begins by stating that God is sufficiently able to protect his own people, and that he gives them sufficient ground to expect it; for this is what the word מחסה, machaseh, properly signifies.

In the second clause of the verse, the verb he is found, which we translate in the present, is in the past tense: he has been found. Indeed, there would be no impropriety in limiting the language to some particular deliverance already experienced, just as others have also rendered it in the past tense.

But as the prophet adds the term tribulations in the plural, I prefer to explain it as a continued act: that God comes seasonably to our aid and is never lacking in the time of need whenever afflictions press upon his people. If the prophet were speaking of the experience of God’s favor, it would fit much better to render the verb in the past tense.

It is, however, obvious that his design is to extol the power of God and his goodness towards his people, and to show how ready God is to afford them assistance, so that in times of adversity they may not gaze around them in every direction, but rest satisfied with his protection alone.

He therefore says expressly that God acts in such a manner towards them to let the Church know that he exercises special care in preserving and defending her. There can be no doubt that by this expression he means to draw a distinction between the chosen people of God and other pagan nations, and in this way to commend the privilege of adoption which God, in his goodness, had granted to the posterity of Abraham.

Accordingly, when I said before that it was a general expression, my intention was not to extend it to all kinds of people, but only to all times; for the prophet's object is to teach us in what way God usually acts towards those who are his people.

He next concludes, by way of inference, that the faithful have no reason to be afraid, since God is always ready to deliver them and is even armed with invincible power.

He shows by this that the true and proper proof of our hope consists in this: when things are so confused that the heavens seem, as it were, to fall with great violence, the earth to move from its place, and the mountains to be torn up from their very foundations, we nevertheless continue to preserve and maintain calmness and tranquility of heart.

It is an easy matter to display great confidence as long as we are not in imminent danger; but if, in the midst of a general crash of the whole world, our minds remain undisturbed and free of trouble, this is evident proof that we attribute to the power of God the honor that belongs to him.

When, however, the sacred poet says, We will not fear, he is not to be understood as meaning that the minds of the godly are exempt from all anxiety or fear, as if they were destitute of feeling, for there is a great difference between insensibility and the confidence of faith.

He only shows that whatever may happen, they are never overwhelmed by terror but rather gather strength and courage sufficient to calm all fear.

The words, Though the earth be moved, and the mountains fall into the midst of the sea, are hyperbolical modes of expression, but they nevertheless denote a revolution and a turning upside down of the whole world.

Some have explained the expression the midst of the sea as referring to the earth. I do not, however, approve of this interpretation.

But to understand the doctrine of the psalm more fully, let us proceed to consider what follows.

Though their waters roar, etc. This verse should be read in connection with the following verse, because it is necessary to complete the meaning, as if it were said: Though the waters of the sea roar and swell, and by their fierce impetuosity shake the very mountains—even in the midst of these dreadful tumults, the holy city of God will continue to enjoy comfort and peace, satisfied with her small streams.

The relative pronoun her, according to the common usage of the Hebrew language, is superfluous here. The prophet simply intended to say that the small streams of a river would afford the holy city abundant cause for rejoicing, even if the whole world were moved and destroyed.

I have already mentioned a little earlier how profitable the doctrine taught us here is: that our faith is really and truly tested only when we are brought into very severe conflicts, and when even hell itself seems to open to swallow us up.

In the same way, the victory of faith over the whole world is portrayed to us. In the midst of the utmost confusion, faith unfolds and begins to raise its head, so that even though the whole creation seems to be banded together and to have conspired for the destruction of the faithful, it nevertheless triumphs over all fear.

This is not to say that the children of God, when placed in peril, joke or make a sport of death. Rather, in their estimation, the help God has promised them more than outweighs all the evils that inspire them with fear. The sentiment of Horace is very beautiful when, speaking of the righteous man and the man conscious of no guilt, he says (Carmina, Book 3, Ode 3):

“Dux inquieti turbidus Adriae,
Nec fulminantis magna Jovis manus,
Si fractus illabitur orbis,
Impavidum ferient ruinae.”

“Let the wild winds that rule the seas,
Tempestuous, all their horrors raise;
Let Jove’s dread arm with thunders rend the spheres;
Beneath the crush of worlds undaunted he appears.”

But since no such person as Horace imagines could ever be found, he is only trifling when he speaks this way. Therefore, their fortitude is founded solely on the assurance of divine protection, so that those who rely on God and put their trust in him may truly boast not only that they will be undismayed, but also that they will be preserved in security and safety amid the ruins of a falling world.

The prophet says expressly that the city of God shall be glad, although it had no raging sea, but only a gently flowing stream, for its defense against those waves he has mentioned. By this manner of expression, he alludes to the stream that flowed from Shiloah and passed through the city of Jerusalem.

Furthermore, I have no doubt that the prophet here indirectly rebukes the vain confidence of those who, fortified by earthly assistance, imagine they are well protected and beyond the reach of all danger.

Those who anxiously seek to strengthen themselves on all sides with the invincible help of the world indeed seem to imagine they can prevent their enemies from approaching them, just as if they were surrounded on all sides by the sea. However, it often happens that the very defenses they had erected turn to their own destruction, just as when a tempest lays waste and destroys an island by overflowing it.

But those who commit themselves to God's protection, although in the world's estimation they are exposed to every kind of injury and are not sufficiently able to repel the assaults made against them, nevertheless repose in security. For this reason, Isaiah (Isaiah 8:6) reproves the Jews because they despised the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and longed for deep and rapid rivers.

In that passage, there is an elegant antithesis between the little brook Shiloah on the one hand, and the Nile and Euphrates on the other; as if he had said that they defraud God of his honor by the unworthy thought that when he chose the city of Jerusalem, he had not made the necessary provision in terms of strength and fortifications for its defense and preservation.

And certainly, if this psalm was written after the slaughter and flight of Sennacherib's army, it is probable that the inspired writer purposely used the same metaphor to teach the faithful in all ages that God's grace alone would be a sufficient protection for them, independent of the world's assistance.

In the same way, the Holy Spirit still exhorts and encourages us to cherish the same confidence, so that, despising all the resources of those who proudly magnify themselves against us, we may preserve our tranquillity in the midst of anxiety and trouble, and not be grieved or ashamed of our defenseless condition, as long as God's hand is stretched out to save us.

Thus, although God's help comes to us in a secret and gentle manner, like the still-flowing streams, yet it imparts more tranquillity of mind to us than if the whole power of the world were gathered for our help.

In speaking of Jerusalem as the sanctuary of the tabernacles of the Most High, the prophet makes a beautiful allusion to the circumstances or conditions of that time.

For although God exercised authority over all the tribes of the people, yet he chose that city as the seat of royalty, from which he could govern the whole nation of Israel. The tabernacles of the Most High were scattered throughout all Judea, but it was still necessary for them to be gathered and united in one sanctuary, so that they might be under God's dominion.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. The Psalmist now shows that the great security of the Church consists in this: that God dwells in the midst of her. For the verb which we translate, shall be moved, is of the feminine gender, nor can it be referred to God, as if it were designed to teach that God is immovable.

The sentence must be explained in this way: The holy city shall not be moved or shaken because God dwells there and is always ready to help her. The expression, the dawn of the morning, denotes daily, as soon as the sun rises upon the earth. The sum of the whole is this: If we desire to be protected by the hand of God, we must be concerned above all things that He may dwell among us, for all hope of safety depends upon His presence alone.

And He dwells among us for no other purpose than to preserve us uninjured. Moreover, although God does not always hasten immediately to our aid according to the urgency of our desires, yet He will always come to us at the right time, so as to make apparent the truth of what is said elsewhere:

Behold, He that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep (Psalms 121:4).

The peoples raged. Since the Church of God is never without enemies—very powerful ones who consequently fight against her with cruel and unbridled fury—the prophet now confirms from experience the doctrine he had presented concerning the impregnable character of divine protection. He then deduces from this the general source of consolation that it continually belongs to God to restrain and suppress all disturbances, and that His arm is strong enough to break all the efforts of the enemy.

I admit this passage might be understood in a more general sense, meaning that the city of God is subject to attack by many storms and tempests, but that by God's favor she is, nevertheless, always kept safe. It is, however, more probable, as I have already said at the beginning, that the Psalmist is here speaking of some remarkable deliverance, in which God had given a striking proof of the power and favor He exercises in the constant preservation of the Church.

Accordingly, he relates what had taken place: namely, that the enemies of the Church came with a fearsome army to lay waste and destroy it; but that immediately, by the voice of God, they, as it were, melted and vanished away. From this we derive an invaluable source of consolation, when it is said that although the whole world rises up against us and throws all things into confusion by their increased madness, they can be brought to nothing in a moment, as soon as God shows Himself favorable toward us.

The voice of God, no doubt, signifies His will or command; but the prophet, by this expression, seems to refer to the promises of God, by which He has declared that He will be the guardian and defender of the Church. At the same time, let us observe the contrast stated here between the voice of God and the turbulent upheavals of the kingdoms of this world.

Jehovah of armies is with us. In this verse we are taught how we will be able to apply to our own use the things that the Scriptures everywhere record concerning the infinite power of God. We will be able to do this when we believe ourselves to be among those whom God has embraced with his fatherly love, and whom he will cherish.

The Psalmist again alludes, in terms of commendation, to the adoption by which Israel was separated from the common condition of all the other nations of the earth. And, indeed, apart from this, the description of the power of God would only inspire us with dread. Confident boasting, then, arises from this: that God has chosen us for his peculiar people, to show forth his power in preserving and defending us.

For this reason, the prophet, after celebrating the power of God by calling him the God of armies, immediately adds another epithet, the God of Jacob, by which he confirms the covenant made long ago with Abraham, that his posterity, to whom the inheritance of the promised grace belongs, should not doubt that God was favorable to them also.

So that our faith may rest truly and firmly in God, we must simultaneously consider these two aspects of his character—his immeasurable power, by which he is able to subdue the whole world under him, and his fatherly love which he has manifested in his word.

When these two things are joined together, there is nothing that can hinder our faith from defying all the enemies that may rise up against us, nor must we doubt that God will help us, since he has promised to do it. And as for power, he is also sufficiently able to fulfill his promise, for he is the God of armies.

From this we learn that those people err egregiously in the interpretation of Scripture who leave in entire suspense the application of all that is said concerning the power of God, and do not rest assured that he will be a Father to them, since they are of his flock and partakers of the adoption.