John Gill Commentary Psalms 46

God [is] our refuge and strength
That is, Christ, who is God as well as man, is the "refuge" for souls to fly unto for safety; as for sensible sinners, in a view of danger, wrath, and misery, so for saints, in every time of distress; typified by the cities of refuge, under the legal dispensation; (See Gill on Psalms 9:9); and he it is from whom they have all their spiritual strength, and every renewal and supply of it, to exercise grace, perform duties, withstand enemies, bear the cross patiently, show a fortitude of mind under the sorest distresses, and hold on and out unto the end:

In short, he is the strength of their hearts, under the greatest trials, of their lives, amidst the greatest dangers; and of their salvation, notwithstanding all their enemies;

a very present help in trouble ;
whether inward or outward, of soul or body; the Lord helps his people under it to bear it, and he helps them out of it in the most proper and seasonable time: they are poor helpless creatures in themselves; nor can any other help them but the Lord, who made heaven and earth; and he helps presently, speedily, and effectually:

In the Hebrew text it is, "he is found an exceeding help in trouble" ^F20 ; in all kind of trouble that the saints come into, the Lord has been found, by experience, to be an exceeding great helper of them; moreover, he is easily and always to be come at, and found by them for their help.

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: (dam aumn) "inventum valde", Michaelis.

Therefore will not we fear
, The consideration of the Lord's being the refuge, strength, and help of his people, in all times of trouble and distress, has a great influence on their faith and confidence, and makes them intrepid and fearless in the midst of the greatest dangers: nor indeed have they any reason to be afraid of men or devils, since the Lord is on their side; nor should they indulge a slavish fear on any account whatever;

though the earth be removed ;
or "changed" ^F21 , as to its position or fruitfulness; or whatever changes, vicissitudes, and revolutions may be in the kingdoms, nations, and among the inhabitants of the earth, through wars and desolations made thereby;

and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea ;
so the destruction of kingdoms, empires, and cities, is expressed by a like phrase; as of Babylon, (Jeremiah 51:25) ; and of the Roman and Pagan empire, (Revelation 6:12–14) , and of the city of Rome, (Revelation 8:8) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: (rymhb) "cum mutabit", Pagninus; "etiamsi permutarit", Vatalbulus; "si commutaret", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Ainsworth.

[Though] the waters thereof roar [and] be troubled
The noise of which causes men's hearts to fail them for fear, (Luke 21:25Luke 21:26) ;

[though] the mountains shake with the swelling thereof .
All these figurative expressions denote the hurlyburlies, confusions, and disorders that has been or will be in the world; amidst all which the people of God have no reason to fear; for it is always well with the righteous, let it go how it will with others.

The passage may be applied to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the wars preceding it, and the dispersion of the Jews upon it; when true believers in Christ found him to be their refuge, strength, and help in that time of trouble, such as never was the like, and were safe and without fear; and Aben Ezra, a Jewish commentator, thinks it is right to interpret this psalm concerning the wars of Jerusalem:

moreover, these words may be applied to any other time of calamity, through war or persecution, that has been since; as also to any that is to come; as to the slaying of the witnesses, the hour of temptation that will try all that are upon the earth;

and even to the day of judgment, when heaven and earth shall flee away from the face of the Judge; when the heavens shall be folded up as a garment, and the earth, and all that is therein, shall be burnt up, and the whole world of the ungodly shall be thrown into the utmost panic, the saints will be safe with Christ, and ever happy with him;

and, in the worst of times in this world, God is always their covenant God, their shield, portion, and exceeding great reward; Christ is their Redeemer and Saviour, their city of refuge, and strong hold; and though they may be plundered of their goods and property, they have a better and a more enduring substance in heaven; an estate, an inheritance there, that can never be taken away;

and even should their enemies kill the body, that is the utmost they can do; their souls are safe in the hands of Christ; their life is hid with him; and when he shall appear, they shall appear with him in glory; and therefore they may well say, "we will not fear" ^F23 .

Selah; on this word, (See Gill on Psalms 3:2).

FOOTNOTES:

• F23: "Si fractus illabatur orbis" Horat. Carmin. l. 3. Ode. 3. v. 7.

[There] is a river
The allusion is either to the river Kidron, which ran by Jerusalem; or to the waters of Shiloah, which by different courses and branches, ran through the city of Jerusalem, and supplied the several parts of it with water, to the joy and comfort of its inhabitants: but the words are to be understood in a figurative sense, as applicable to Gospel times; and this river either designs the Gospel, the streams of which are its doctrines, which are living waters that went out from Jerusalem, and which publish glad tidings of great joy to all sensible sinners; or the Spirit and his graces, which are compared to a well, and rivers of living water, in the exercise of which the saints have much joy and peace; or else the Lord himself, who is a place of broad rivers and streams to his people, and is both their refreshment and protection; or rather his everlasting love to them is here intended; see (Psalms 36:8) (Ezekiel 47:5) (Revelation 22:1) ;

The head of this river is the heart of God, his sovereign goodwill and pleasure; the channel through which it runs is Christ Jesus; the rise of it was in eternity, when, like a river that runs underground, it flowed secretly, as it does before the effectual calling; when it breaks up, and appears in large streams, and flows, and so it proceeds running on to all eternity. It is a river that is unfathomable, and cannot be passed over; it has heights and depths, and lengths and breadths, which cannot be fully comprehended: as for the quality of it, it is a pure river, clear as crystal; free of all dissimulation in the heart of God, and clear of all motives and conditions in the creature. Its water is living water; which quickens dead sinners, revives drooping saints, secures from the second death, and gives eternal life; it makes all fruitful about it, or that are planted by it;

the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God ;
the "streams" of this river are eternal election; the covenant of grace its blessings and promises; the provision and mission of Christ as a Saviour, and redemption by him; justification, pardon, adoption, regeneration, perseverance in grace, and eternal life; called "streams", because they flow from the fountain of divine love; and because of the rapidity, force, and power of the grace of God, in the application of them in conversion, which carries all before it; and because of the abundance, continuance, and freeness of them, and the gratefulness and acceptableness of them to those who see the worth of them, and their interest in them; see (Song of Solomon 4:15) ;

and these, when made known and applied, "make glad" the hearts of God's people under a sense of sin and guilt, under divine desertions, the temptations of Satan, and the various afflictions they meet with; for these are intended by "the city of God", as the church is often called, because of his building, and where he dwells, and where the saints are fellow citizens. And the same are signified by

the holy [place] ;
being an holy temple to God, consisting of holy persons, such who are sanctified by the Spirit of God, and live holy lives and conversations: and

of the tabernacles of the most High ;
being the dwelling places of God, Father, Son, and Spirit. All which is a reason why the saints should not fear in the worst of times.

God [is] in the midst of her
The church and people of God; not merely by his essence, power, and providence, as he is in the midst of the world; but by his gracious presence, and which always continues, though not always perceived; and is a sufficient antidote against all fear of men and devils;

she shall not be moved ;
though the earth may; and when it is, (Psalms 46:2) , neither from the heart of God, on which his people are set as a seal; nor from the hands of Christ, from whence they can never be plucked; nor from the covenant of grace, which is immovable; nor off of the rock Christ, on which they are built; nor from the state of grace, of justification, adoption, and sanctification, in which they stand; nor out of the world, by all the cunning and power of antichrist;

God shall help her, [and that] right early :
or "when the morning looks out" ^F24 . When it is night with the church, it is the hour and power of darkness with the enemies of it; and this is the time of the reign of antichrist, whose kingdom is a kingdom of darkness: but the "morning cometh, and also the night"; the former being about to break forth, and the latter to be at an end; yea, at eventide it shall be light: and the Lord will be a suitable, seasonable, and timely help to his people; for though weeping endures the night, joy comes in the morning.

FOOTNOTES:

• F24: (rqb twnpl) "respiciente mane", Pagninus; "ad prospectum aurorae", Musculus; "at the looking forth of the morning", Ainsworth; that is, "speedily and quickly", as Suidas interprets it in voce (prwi) .