Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 46:4

[There is] a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy [place] of the tabernacles of the most High.

4. In contrast to the tumultuous sea threatening to engulf the solid mountain, is the river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God. The gently flowing river, fertilising all the land over which it is distributed in channels and rivulets, is an emblem of Jehovah’s Presence, blessing and gladdening His city. Abundant irrigation is indispensable in Palestine. Cp. Psa 1:3; Isa 30:25. The figure reminds us of Isa 8:6, where “the waters of Shiloah that go softly” are the emblem of the Divine government, and “the waters of the River great and many” are the emblem of the power of Assyria; and again of Isa 33:21, where Jehovah is compared to a mighty river encircling and protecting His city.

the city of God ] Cp. Psa 48:1; Psa 48:8; Psa 87:3; Psa 101:8; Isa 60:14; Heb 12:22; Rev 3:12.

the holy place &c.] Better, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. Cp. Psa 43:3, note. The title Most High is significant. By His deliverance of His own city He has proved Himself the supreme Ruler of the world, refuting the self-deifying pretensions of Sennacherib (Isa 36:20; Isa 37:4; Isa 37:10 ff., Isa 34:23, 35; cp. Isa 14:13-14). Cp. Psa 7:17, and for the usage of this title see Appendix, Note ii.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4 7. The Presence of God the joy and security of His people.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

There is a river – There is no allusion here to any particular stream or river, but the image is designed to represent a state of peace and calm security in contrast with the rough and troubled ocean. While the ocean rages, and foams, and dashes against the mountains as if it would overturn them, the state of Jerusalem, the city of God, was well represented by a calm and gently-flowing river; a river of full banks, diffusing joy and fertility and beauty wherever it flowed. This image, to represent happiness, abundance, peace, joy, is one that is often employed in the Scriptures. Compare Isa 32:2; Isa 33:21; Isa 41:18; Psa 1:3; Rev 22:1; Psa 36:8. The idea here is simply that Jerusalem would be calm and serene amidst all the external agitations in the world – calm as a gently-flowing stream. The streams – the canals – the water-courses of such a river flowing around each dwelling and along each garden, would diffuse happiness and beauty everywhere.

The streams whereof – The allusion here is undoubtedly to the canals, watercourses, or rivulets that were led off from the main stream for the purpose of supplying fountains and watering gardens. Thus the city of Damascus is watered by streams or canals cut from the river Barrady, that flows down from the regions of Anti-Libanus. The greenness – the beauty – the fertility – of Damascus is owing wholly to the waters of the river thus conducted to every house and garden in the city. Compare introduction to Isa 17:1-14. So here, the flowing river of divine mercy and goodness is conveyed, as in smaller canals or streams, to each home and heart, producing peace, calmness, joy – while the world around is full of commotion and trouble.

Shall make glad the city of God – Jerusalem, considered as the place where God was worshipped, and where he was supposed especially to dwell: Psa 48:1.

The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High – Of the tent where the Most High is supposed to abide. The word is applicable to any habitation or dwelling-place; but in the Scriptures it is applied especially to the sacred tent erected by Moses in the wilderness, and ultimately removed to Mount Zion by David, as the divine abode on earth. It is sometimes, also, applied to the temple; and if this psalm was written, as I have supposed, in the time of Hezekiah, it would be applicable to that. Compare Psa 84:2; Psa 132:5. The tabernacle and the temple were alike divided into two parts – the holy and the most holy place – and hence the plural term is sometimes applied to them. Compare the notes at Heb 9:2-3.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Psa 46:4-7

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.

The city and river of God

There are two remarkable events in the history of Israel, one or the other of which most probably supplied the historical basis upon which this psalm rests. One is that singular deliverance of the armies of Jehoshaphat from the attacking forces of the bordering nations, but I think rather that the more ordinary reference is the correct one, which sees JCr/ this psalm and in the two succeeding, the echoes of that supernatural deliverance of Israel in the time of Hezekiah, when The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, and Sennacherib and all his army were, by the blast from the breath of His nostrils, swept into swift destruction. Now, these verses are the cardinal central portion of the song. We may call them The Hymn of the defence and the deliverance of the city of God. The main turning points in them are–

I. The gladdening river–an emblem of many great and joyous truths. This river is God Himself in the outflow and self-communication of His own grace to the soul. The stream is the fountain in flow. Concerning this communication note–

1. The manner of it. In the previous verses you can hear the wild waves of the sea dashing round the base of the firm hills, sapping their strength, and toppling their crests down in the bubbling, yeasty foam. Remember how, not only in Scripture but in all poetry, the sea has been the emblem of endless unrest. Its waters, those barren, wandering fields of foam, going moaning round the world with unprofitable labour, how they have been the emblem of unbridled power; of tumult and strife, and anarchy and rebellion! Then mark how our text brings into sharpest contrast with all that hurly-burly of the tempest, and the dash and roar of the troubled waters, the gentle, quiet flow of the river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, the translucent little ripples purling along beds of golden pebbles, and the enamelled meadows drinking the pure stream as it steals by them. Thus, says our psalm, not with noise, not with tumult, not with conspicuous and destructive energy, but in silent, secret, underground communications–Gods grace, Gods love, His peace, His power, His Almighty and gentle Self flow into mens souls. The extremest power is silent.

2. Their number and variety. The streams whereof, that is to say, the divisions whereof. As Eastern rivers are broken up into canals that are led off to each mans plot of ground. Listen to words that are a commentary upon this verse, All these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing unto every man severally as he will.

3. The effects of this communicated God. The streams make glad. They to whom this stream pours shall know no thirst; they who possess it from them it shall come. Out of him shall flow rivers of living water. The least flower with a brimming cup may stand, And share its dewdrop with another near. The city thus supplied may laugh at besieging hosts. With the deep reservoir in its central fortress, the foe may do as they list to all surface streams; its water shall be sure, and no raging thirst shall ever drive it to surrender.

II. Then notice secondly, substantially the same general thought, but modified and put in plain words–the indwelling helper. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. Or, as the latter clause had better be translated, as it is given in the margin of some of our Bibles, God shall help her at the appearance of the morning. There are two things then. First of all, the constant presence; and second, help at the right time. The Lord is in the midst of her–that is the perennial fact. The Lord shall help her, and that right early–that is the grace for seasonable help.

III. The psalm having set forth these broad grounds of confidence, goes on to tell the story of the actual deliverance which confirms them, That deliverance comes from the Conquering Voice. He uttered His voice–the earth melted. With what vigour these hurried sentences describe, first the wild wrath and formidable movements of the foe, and then the one sovereign word which quells them all, as well as the instantaneous weakness that dissolves the seeming solid substance when the breath of His lips smites it! How grand and lofty the thought I the simple word conquers all opposition. He speaks and it is done. The depths are congealed in the breast of the sea! As if you were to lay hold upon Niagara in its wildest plunge, and then with a word to freeze all its descending waters, and stiffen them into immoveableness in fetters of eternal ice. So, He utters His voice, and all meaner noises are hushed. His voice the earth melted. How grandly, too, these last words give the impression of immediate and utter dissolution of all opposition! All the Titanic brute forces are, at His voice, disintegrated, and lose their organization and solidity. The hills melted like wax; The mountains flowed down at Thy presence. The psalmist is generalizing the historical fact of the sudden and utter destruction of Sennacheribs host into a universal law. And it is a universal law–true for us as for Hezekiah and the sons of Korah, true for all generations.

IV. The act by which we enter the city of God. The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. There must be personal appropriation. We must make these truths our own, grasping them by faith, and unite ourselves with the great multitude who are joined together in Him. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

The security and happiness of the Church

I. What is here meant by the city of God. Two descriptive pictures are laid before us. One is a scene of wild commotion. The earth is removed from its place; the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea. The other scene stands out in marked contrast to this. A placid river runs through a sheltered valley; utterly unaffected by the elemental disturbances which surround it, and sending to every part of the city, through which it flows, its calm fertilizing streams of health and peace. The scene of tempest and commotion is the world. The scene of silent usefulness, and sheltered repose, and enjoyed and diffused blessing–the city watered by a river–is the Church of God. And how true is the picture as seen in the respective destinies of secular communities and the one spiritual community of Gods Church I The spiritual Zion has always been able to hold her own. It has been Gods stronghold, having salvation for its walls and bulwarks, and girt round on every side by the everlasting hills.

II. The spiritual happiness of the true church of God.

1. It is implied that, in this city of God, there is much of inward tranquillity and peacefulness. A contrast is presented between the calm which reigns in the city, and the tempest which is raging outside. It is the calm of the Divine presence. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved–neither by weapons turned against her, nor dangers threatening her, nor calamities and fears casting her down. But let us not lose ourselves in generalities. The tranquillity of the Church is the tranquillity of every individual member of that Church. It is the calm repose of sonship–the sense of deliverance from a bondage state; the pleasant consciousness of pardon and acceptance–all the tumult of inward guilt subsiding into a great calm. Again, it is the tranquillity of men under absolute control and guidance in relation to everything that concerns them. They are not their own, being bought with a price. But they are bought only to be under a happier service–being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ. Yet is this law not their yoke, but their relief. They are relieved from the embarrassment and tyranny of their own erring and mistaken choices.

2. Observe, as another feature of the spiritual happiness of the Church, the rich provision made for all her members, a provision both of grace and glory. A river is an emblem of copiousness and depth and vitality and continuance. But not by the parent river only is the city of God gladdened. It receives blessing through a multitude of tributary streams. There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God. Thus there is the stream of revealed truth and knowledge; the pure deep living waters of inspiration; that word of the Gospel which, beginning with Moses and the prophets, and widening as time flowed on, at length emptied all its treasures of grace and truth into that crystal sea of light, which contains the full and perfect revelation of the mind of God. And then there is the stream of holy ordinances–the Sabbath with its tranquil devotions.

3. Make glad, observe it is said; the expression intimating that among the inhabitants of this city of God there is true gladness and rejoicing. It is true gladness, the gladness of rational and responsible beings, the calm gladness of a relieved conscience, of an interest made sure in the great propitiation, of a conscious abiding under that light of Gods countenance which makes over to us Heavens best, and earths best too–Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. (D. Moore, M. A.)

The city of God

I. The city.

1. God is its founder.

2. God is its lawgiver.

3. It is a defenced city (Zec 2:5).

4. It is an exalted city. The character of the King raises her in the scale of importance. The Lord Jehovah has His palace within her; there He, at times, manifests the glories of His character and the splendour of His majesty. This city is also exalted by the numerous and valuable privileges she enjoys; every subject has free access to a throne of grace, there to present his suit, to make known his grievance, and to supplicate every needful favour. There is also perfect freedom in this city; no galling shackles, no dreaded fetters, are employed to enslave, but every subject of Christ enjoys the sweetest liberty in walking according to the given law of heaven. Here it is freedom to obey and liberty to serve.

II. The supply of this city.

1. The good providence of God is a stream which continually follows the Church. A thorough conviction of the superintendence of an all-wise Providence is productive of the greatest joy and satisfaction to the Christian. He rests satisfied, depending on the word of truth that all things shall work together for good.

2. The Holy Scriptures are a stream from the Deity, inasmuch as they are emphatically the revelation of God, and they contain matter of joy to the Christian in many respects. In this volume he finds information for the mind, the strongest motives to Christian obedience, a sacred impulse to his zeal, an increasing ardour to his affections, and new encouragement for hope.

3. The influences of the Spirit. He who hath begun a good work will carry it on.

4. Its joy shall make glad the city of God. The gladness of the Church comes from God, a pure spring, so that it must be pure in its nature. Indeed, He alone is the source of all the believers comforts, however numerous and various they may be. (D. Jones.)

The security and happiness of the Church

Note the contrasted scenes. One, of wild commotion–the sea is roaring and troubled: the other of quiet peace. A placid river runs through its sheltered valley, undisturbed and undisturbable. The scene of tempest and change is the world: of quiet peace, the Church.

I. The security of the church. Trace its history from first to last and see how it has been preserved.

II. Its tranquillity. For therein are to be found men who are–

1. At peace with God.

2. Under the holy government of their Lord, which restrains all passion and temper.

3. In communion with God.

4. In the use of religious ordinances.

III. The supply of the church. A river. Think of the source, the continuance, the fulness, of this stream of heavenly truth, bright and pure.

IV. The gladness of the church.

1. It is noble and worthy of rational beings.

2. It is satisfying.

3. It is sanctifying.

4. It is benevolent.

5. It fits us for scenes where gladness is eternal. (R. Watson.)

The river of God

The fourth chapter of St. John and Psalm sixty-three show that by the river spoken of, the Holy Spirit of God is meant. Under the figure of a river the properties and excellencies of the Spirit of God, hero described as flowing through the Scriptures and the Church, are set forth.

I. A river flows from a fountain, and this river proceeded out of the throne of God and the Lamb, the infinite bosom of our Father and our God.

II. It is exhaustless as the fountain from whence it flows.

III. It is in places shallow, whilst in others its depths cannot be fathomed.

IV. It is accessible to all.

V. Fertility follows it.

VI. Its channel is the lord Jesus Christ.

VII. It is a highway by which great treasures are conveyed to us; and it is a great means of communication between us and heaven.

VIII. It rises to the height of its source.

IX. It rears all down before it by its force and pressure.

X. It is a defence to the city which it surrounds.

XI. It rears off all impurities.

XII. It is a gladdening spectacle. Then let us value the work of the Holy Spirit. (J. Cummins, D. D.)

The river of mercy

I. The river. This I take to be the mercy of God; His kindness to the miserable. Just, He must needs be, for He would not be merciful if He were not just. But there are manifestations of His justice in which He takes no joy. He taketh no pleasure in the death of the sinner; but He delighteth in mercy. And sometimes its exhibitions are very tender–it droppeth as the gentle dew from heaven upon the place beneath. And how copious its store! it is a river, not a rill that can be turned aside by any pebble in its bed; but a river that sweeps triumphantly over and through every obstacle.

II. The streams Some rivers are fed by streams; not so this one it gives out streams but receives none, like the river of Damascus, whose branches surround the city. These streams are–

1. Pardoning mercy.

2. Purifying mercy: for it would be of little use if purity were not given as well as pardon.

3. Pacifying mercy–to keep me quiet in the midst of this unquiet world.

III. The fruit. The river is to make glad the city of God. That is, Gods Church and people; and the great purpose of the river and all its streams is–to make them glad: to bring up a smiling landscape around them, to fill their lips and hearts with praise.

IV. Its source. It is far above out of your sight. So is it, even, with earthly rivers: they do not at once reveal their source. You must travel up and up the stream, and leave plain for hillside, and still press on ere you come to the fountain head. And for this river you must ascend to the boundless lake of Divine love.

V. The channel–the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him it flows down to man.

VI. The power that brings the streams close home to us, so that we may have the blessing, is the power of the Holy Spirit. See what He has already done in the Scriptures and in the Church. (F. Tucker, B. A,)

The river through the city

I. An illustration of the gladness given by God to his church. The mercies of God, to the Jews, were like a river constantly flowing, making glad the city. The figure is suggestive. A river is a great boon to any city through which it passes so long as it keeps within its accustomed channels. It gives brightness to a city. It lends interest, makes picturesque by its bends or its tree- and reed-fringed banks. It is a means of intercourse with other places. Imagine Paris without the many-bridged Seine, or London without its ship-burdened Thames. A river may be a constant bearer of material blessings. By its ebb and flow it blesses a city in various ways. It bears away refuse, and brings back vitalizing influences. A river can make glad in that it bears the necessaries of life to a beleaguered city, which but for the roadway of water could not be reached. At the relief of Londonderry, what joy when the ships pressed past the intercepting booms and came right up to the wharves, and rolled to a famishing people and cattle the barrels of flour and bundles of fodder. Jerusalem had no such rivers as those we have been speaking of. It had a torrent sweeping by in Kedron at times. Soon it dropped down to a trickling stream which might make melody and gladness as it flowed. Suppose it had been always full and steadily flowing, it would have brought gladness. If Jerusalem had no such actual river she had another stream that blessed her, that of Divine mercy. The psalmist is speaking of spiritual things, for he refers to the Holy place of the Tabernacle of the Most High. All God was to the Jewish nation He is to His Church this day.

II. The constituents of this gladness.

1. The special relationship established.

2. The revelations vouchsafed.

3. In the intercourse main-rained.

4. In the blessings bestowed.

5. In the holy effort called forth.

6. In the praise evoked.

If God has given us reasons for joy, we ought to do all we can to increase the volume and force of the stream of joy rippling or rolling by to others. (Homiletic Magazine.)

The river of Divine grace

I. The grace of god compared to a river.

1. However large in its volume as it gets nearer the sea, every river is small in its beginnings. Thus, also, it is with the grace of God in the soul of man. The most experienced believer will testify that if he would trace back the work of grace, which has grown so steadily, to its first beginnings, the contrast is most marvellous. If he can at all identify its first commencement, he will tell you that it was some apparently trifling incident in his life–a word in season–an earnest sermon–an unaccountable thought–a sleepless night–a witty, but godly rebuke–a mothers parting charge–a loved ones consistent Christian influence and conduct–or a sudden check in a career of cruelty and sin.

2. It is possible for a river to be much contaminated by what is thrown into it, as it passes through populous towns; but it is impossible to change the nature of the water which is thus contaminated. Give the careful chemist a sufficient quantity of the most polluted river-water, and he can obtain from it, by filtration, distillation, and re-distillation, the pure and wholesome fluid which God has provided for us, and which He has guarded from defilement by decreeing that it shall everywhere and always have one fixed and unaltered composition, and that its constituent gases shall be so closely united that they can only be separated by a difficult and expensive process. Take the water of any river, fresh from its source, and you will readily perceive that it is pure in its nature. Need I say that it is so with the grace of God?

3. The grace of God, like a river, is perpetual in its movements. The lake may be stagnant, unless some river runs through it; the canal must be kept as free from any current as possible; but the river is always on the move. So it is with the grace of God in the soul of man. However hidden it may be, it is ever living and ever moving. Geographers tell us that the river Guadiana, in Spain, conceals itself in the earth for some fifteen miles of its course. But it is still there. In like manner, however concealed, the grace of God is at work in the heart of every believer.

4. It is peaceable in its course. Still waters run deep. There may not be the stillness of the stagnant lake; but there is the quiet, or even the silence of the flowing river. But we must not take this characteristic of Gods grace as a recommendation to us to shut up our cares or joys into our own souls, and never share them with others. Gods people should not be silent when there is opportunity to declare what He hath done for their souls.

5. The grace of God, like a river, is powerful in its current. It is said that the Rio de la Plata, a South American river, which is two hundred miles broad where it enters the Atlantic Ocean, is so powerful in its current, that fresh water may be taken up by vessels sailing near it for many a league from land. But what is this physical force, compared with the irresistible power of the grace of God? Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power.

6. It is plentiful in its supply. The river runs through meadow, and garden, and country, and city, serving some useful purpose wherever it goes. Here it nourishes the cornland upon which the precious crops are springing up; and there it affords a ready means of watering the carefully-tended garden. In one place it turns a mill, to afford maintenance to an honest family and grind corn for hundreds of other families; in another place it supplies water for a canal, to convey these products of industry to the populous town or the factors store. Ever increasing, as it nears its destination, boats and even ships are borne upon its plentiful waters, until at last it joins the great and wide sea. Is it not so with the grace of God? Does not the figure fall far short of the fact?

II. The church of God compared to a city. A city affords security for life and property. It furnishes facilities for the transaction of business. It ensures liberty to every honest and faithful citizen: and it provides society for all who reside in it. This is precisely what the Church of God affords to its individual members–the most complete security for the believing soul, through the blood of the everlasting covenant; the only thorough liberty which the soul can experience, for if the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed; and the highest form of human society upon earth; for the apostle says (Eph 2:19-20). The Church of God may be called a city, because it is a community in which law and order find their highest developments. The love of Christ constraineth us (2Co 5:14), is its unfailing spring of Christian obedience and activity. The Republic of France used to stamp upon its coins Liberty, Egalite, Fraternite; but never did any government in this world succeed in realizing such an ideal of human happiness. True liberty, true equality, true friendship and brotherhood, are to be found only in the Church of God. It is a city set on an hill that cannot be hid. It may be called the city of God, because it abounds with houses of God–it is the holy place of, the tabernacles of the Most High. Its walls are Salvation, and its gates Praise.

III. The means of grace compared to streams. Just as the faithful Israelites drank of the spiritual Rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ (1Co 10:4), so with us to-day. There is the Word of God, ever ready to furnish us with some refreshing stream of Divine comfort and strength. There is the throne of grace, ever open to our supplications in time of need. There is the public worship of God, where we may taste afresh the calm which comes from the assurance of sins forgiven. There is the preaching of the Gospel, which should be to us as cold waters to a thirsty soul, and as good news from a far country. There are the occasional services of the Church, by which we are studiously and solemnly reminded of the immense privileges which belong to those who are truly servants of God. And there are, particularly, two copious and important streams, which deserve to be far more reverently and extensively used and appreciated–the Sacraments of the grace of God, Holy Baptism and the Holy Communion. (J. Mitchell.)

Gihon and the river of life

The allusion in the text is probably to Gihon, a copious fountain, whose streams were so abundant that they were like a river. It made the hearts of the people glad; and if we lived under the same climate as they, and had as great a scarcity of water as Jerusalem naturally had, we should have been glad too. But oh! how does it lead us up to something higher than this! How does it lead us up to the River of life, the Gospel of the grace of God, which has gladdened the Church of God in all ages, which gladdens it now, and which will gladden it to all eternity!

I. The contrast.

1. In the certainty of supplies. Gihon might have been dried up; in times of great heat, the most abundant fountains in that country are often dried up; even Jordan, their greatest river–their only great river–is sometimes brought so low as to be reduced almost to a small stream. But when does the river of grace ever become dry?

2. Gihons waters were but shallow. But who can fathom the depth of this river, the love from which it springs?

3. The course of Gihon might have been diverted, might have been turned into a new channel. When Jerusalem was besieged, it is not told us whether Titus turned the current of Gihon; yet it-might have been so. But who can turn the current of Gods grace? Who can dam up that stream?

4. There is a contrast in the quality of the waters. No doubt the inhabitants of Jerusalem drank of this river, and were glad. They drank and were refreshed, and thanked God. Yet it only slaked their thirst; it did not go above that. But what is there not in the pardon of my sin? what is there not in the acceptance of my person? what is there not in the clear witness of the Spirit with my spirit that I am a child of God? If you enjoy that it shall be something more than slaking the thirst of the body.

II. The resemblance.

1. The waters of this Gihon were brought to Jerusalem by an aqueduct, and carried by conduits through the streets into the temple. It went through one of the high hills of Jerusalem. Hezekiah, therefore, must have had great difficulty. And the whole current of the Gospel must run through difficulties–what to the natural sense would appear impossibilities.

2. There is another strong line of resemblance, which is, that the Lord employs human agency. God was at no loss about Gihon; had He a mind, it would have bubbled up in the midst of Jerusalem; He wanted not the hands of men; it might have sprung forth at the base of that hill on which the temple was built. But Hezekiahs zeal must be called forth–his loss of money, his loss of time, his patience in the midst of disappointments. The water was brought into Jerusalem, and it was brought by human agency. God delights in human agency. When that agency is laid in the dust, laid low at the foot of the Cross, He delights to make use of it. It is His glory to work by human instrumentality. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved.—

The security of the Church

I. In what sense God may re said to be in the midst of the church.

1. By His Word.

2. By His ministers.

3. By His Spirit.

II. The happy consequences of his presence in reference to her final safety and her timely deliverance from present troubles.

1. How great are the privileges of true believers.

2. How necessary it is to ascertain our individual interest in these blessings.

3. How great is our encouragement to prayer. (W. Mayors, M. A.)

God shall help her and that right early.—

God our helper

I. Israel needed the divine help and trusted in God for deliverance. The Church of to-day in its growth in grace needs like deliverance, but is at times slow to confess this.

II. God makes his people sensible of their need when they forget it. He did so by Israel. He said, I will go and return to My place till they acknowledge their offence and seek My face; in their affliction they will seek Me early (1Ki 8:38-39).

III. Such sense of need requisite to make men seek his assistance in prayer. (J. Foot, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 4. There is a river, the streams whereof] The Chaldee understands the river, and its streams or divisions, as pointing out various peoples who should be converted to the faith, and thus make glad the city of God, Jerusalem, by their flowing together to the worship of the true God.

But the river may refer to the vast Medo-Persian army and its divisions: those branches which took Babylon; and, instead of ruining and destroying the poor Jews, preserved them alive, and gave them their liberty; and thus the city of God, and the tabernacle of the Most High, were gladdened.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

He either speaks of, or at least alludes to, the river of Kidron, 2Sa 15:23; Joh 18:1, and its two streams or rivulets flowing from it, Gihon and Shiloah, 2Ch 32:30; Isa 8:6, which being small and contemptible, or still or gentle waters, are not unfitly opposed to the vast and unruly waters of the sea. He insinuates the weak condition of Gods church as to outward advantages, that they had not one sea to oppose to another, but only a small river; which though in itself despicable, yet was sufficient to refresh and defend them in spite of all their enemies. And as the sea and waters thereof, Psa 46:2,3, are to be understood metaphorically, as all agree, so also in all probability are this river and streams; which therefore may design the gracious presence, and assistance, and blessing of be Lord, (which is very frequently described under the name of waters, as Isa 11:9; 12:3; Zec 14:8, &c.,) or the Lord himself, who is expressly said to be unto the city of Zion, for its defence, a place of broad rivers and streams, Isa 33:20,21, which probably alludes to this text, or at least explains it.

Shall make glad, i.e. shall not barely defend it from utter ruin, but preserve it from danger, and give great occasion for rejoicing and thanksgiving.

The city of God, i.e. Zion or Jerusalem, so called also Psa 48:1; Isa 60:14.

Of the tabernacles, i.e. of the tabernacle, the plural number for the singular, as Psa 43:3; the place where Gods holy tabernacle is settled.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

4. God’s favor is denoted by ariver (compare Psa 36:8; Zec 14:8;Rev 22:1).

city of God, the holyplaceHis earthly residence, Jerusalem and the temple (comparePsa 2:6; Psa 3:4;Psa 20:2; Psa 48:2,&c.). God’s favor, like a river whose waters are conducted inchannels, is distributed to all parts of His Church.

most Highdenoting Hissupremacy (Ps 17:2).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

[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 Ps 36:8; 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 So 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.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(Heb.: 46:5-8) Just as, according to Gen 2:10, a stream issued from Eden, to water the whole garden, so a stream makes Jerusalem as it were into another paradise: a river – whose streams make glad the city of Elohim (Psa 87:3; Psa 48:9, cf. Psa 101:8); (used of the windings and branches of the main-stream) is a second permutative subject (Psa 44:3). What is intended is the river of grace, which is also likened to a river of paradise in Psa 36:9. When the city of God is threatened and encompassed by foes, still she shall not hunger and thirst, nor fear and despair; for the river of grace and of her ordinances and promises flows with its rippling waves through the holy place, where the dwelling-place or tabernacle of the Most High is pitched. , Sanctum (cf. el – Kuds as a name of Jerusalem), as in Psa 65:5, Isa 57:15; , Exo 15:16. , dwellings, like , Psa 43:3; Psa 84:2; Psa 132:5, Psa 132:7, equivalent to “a glorious dwelling.” In Psa 46:6 in the place of the river we find Him from whom the river issues forth. Elohim helps her – there is only a night of trouble, the return of the morning is also the sunrise of speedy help. The preterites in Psa 46:7 are hypothetical: if peoples and kingdoms become enraged with enmity and totter, so that the church is in danger of being involved in this overthrow – all that God need to is to make a rumbling with His almighty voice of thunder ( , as in Psa 68:34; Jer 12:8, cf. , to make a lifting with the rod, Exo 7:20), and forthwith the earth melts ( muwg , as in Amo 9:5, Niph. Isa 14:31, and frequently), i.e., their titanic defiance becomes cowardice, the bonds of their confederation slacken, and the strength they have put forth is destroyed – it is manifest that Jahve Tsebaoth is with His people. This name of God is, so to speak, indigenous to the Korahitic Psalms, for it is the proper name of God belonging to the time of the kings (vid., on Psa 24:10; Psa 59:6), on the very verge of which it occurs first of all in the mouth of Hannah (1Sa 1:11), and the Korahitic Psalms have a royal impress upon them. In the God, at whose summons all created powers are obliged to marshal themselves like the hosts of war, Israel has a steep stronghold, , which cannot be scaled by any foe – the army of the confederate peoples and kingdoms, ere it has reached Jerusalem, is become a field of the dead.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

The prophet says expressly, that the city of God shall be glad, although it had no raging sea, but only a gently flowing stream, to set for its defense against those waves of which he has made mention. By this mode of expression he alludes to the stream which flowed from Shiloah, and passed through the city of Jerusalem. Further, the prophet, I have no doubt, here indirectly rebukes the vain confidence of those who, fortified by earthly assistance, imagine that they are well protected, and beyond the reach of all danger. Those who anxiously seek to strengthen themselves on all sides with the invincible helps of the world, seem, indeed, to imagine that they are able to prevent their enemies from approaching them, just as if they were environed on all sides with the sea; but it often happens that the very defenses which they had reared turn to their own destruction, even as when a tempest lays waste and destroys an island by overflowing it. But they who commit themselves to the protection of God, although in the estimation of the world they are exposed to every kind of injury, and are not sufficiently able to repel the assaults made upon them, nevertheless repose in security. On this account, Isaiah (Isa 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, They defraud God of his honor by the unworthy reflection, that when he made choice of the city of Jerusalem, he had not made the necessary provision in respect of strength and fortifications for its defense and preservation. And certainly, if this psalm was written after the slaughter and flight of the army of Sennacherib, it is probable that the inspired writer purposely made use of the same metaphor, to teach the faithful in all ages, that the grace of God alone would be to them a sufficient protection, independent of the assistance of the world. In like manner, the Holy Spirit still exhorts and encourages us to cherish the same confidence, that, despising all the resources of those who proudly magnify themselves against us, we may preserve our tranquillity in the midst of disquietude and trouble, and not be grieved or ashamed on account of our defenseless condition, so long as the hand of God is stretched out to save us. Thus, although the help of God comes to our aid in a secret and gentle manner, like the still flowing streams, yet it imparts to us more tranquillity of mind than if the whole power of the world were gathered together 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 condition of that time: for although God exercised authority over all the tribes of the people, yet he made choice of that city as the seat of royalty, from which he might govern the whole nation of Israel. The tabernacles of the Most High were scattered throughout all Judea, but still it was necessary that they should be gathered together and united in one sanctuary, that they might be under the dominion of God.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(4) A river . . .Heb., nhar, i.e., a perennial stream, as distinguished from nchal, a torrent bed dry except in the rainy season. Plainly, then, the Cedron is not here alluded to. But many commentators think Siloam is intended. (See Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 180, and comp. Isa. 12:3; Eze. 47:1-5; Joh. 7:37.)

There may not, however, be any such local allusion. The river, flowing calmly and smoothly along, may be only a symbol of the peace and blessing of the Divine presence, as the tumult and tempest of the sea in the last verse are of the worlds noisy troubles. Indeed, the LXX. (comp. Prayer Book version) seems to connect the river of this verse with the waters of the preceding.

Streams.See Note on Psa. 1:3, where the same word occurs.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

4. A river The word denotes a perennial river, as distinguished from a winter torrent.

The streams whereof That is, its divisions, or channels. The idea is, that of a copious, living stream distributed by pipes and aqueducts.

Make glad the city of God Its abundant supply, even during the close siege from which they had been delivered, should refresh and enliven the city. The water supplies of ancient Jerusalem were the admiration of the world. If Assyria boasted of her Tigris, Babylon of her Euphrates, Damascus of her Abana and Pharpar, and Egypt of her Nile, so could Zion, in her nest among the mountains, glory in her peaceful and living Shiloah, especially as the emblem of the unfailing grace of Israel’s God. The holy place, etc. Hebrew, The holy, the dwelling places of the Most High. The reference to the temple and its outer buildings is clear. “Holy place” is not a synonymous parallel to “city of God,” but is an intensive carrying forward of the description, as if it read “the city of God, even the holy place” [temple.] The “river” here alluded to is, doubtless, the same as Shiloah, (Isa 8:6,) known in later times as Siloam, (Joh 9:7,) where it applies only to a pool supplied as we shall see by this river.

The psalmist alludes to this stream, not because it was the only supply, but an important one, which had just then, by Hezekiah’s energetic war preparations, gained unprecedented celebrity by having been diverted and brought through the city. Of this river it is said, 2Ch 32:3, that it “ran through the midst of the land,” which the Septuagint reads: “flowed [literally, made a division ] through the city.” That Hezekiah caused it to flow through the city none will doubt. But in what direction, and where the “Upper Gihon” was located, are not so clear. Future discovery must finally determine this. Robinson supposed that the source of the stream was “the ancient Fountain of Gihon, on the higher ground west of the city,” northwesterly from the Jaffa Gate. This would bring its waters to the so-called Pool of Hezekiah, within the modern walls, and, eastward between Acra and Zion, to the temple area. But Ritter says: “It seems much more probable, much more conformable to all the conditions of the case, that they were connected with the north side of Jerusalem;” and with Krafft he locates the “Old Pool” of Isaiah (Isa 22:11) and “Upper Pool” of Isaiah (Isa 36:2, the source of Shiloah) near the modern Damascus gate. To the same effect Barclay argues. ( City of the Great King, p. 304, et seq.) The entire evidence on this subject, which seems quite conclusive, would determine the source of Shiloah to be some copious spring or fountain the chief, if not the only one of the city situated north, not far from the source of Kidron, supplied with tanks or reservoirs, probably the same as are still found there. This fountain was closed up by Hezekiah, and the overflow of its waters, brought down southward by an underground conduit, (2Ch 32:4; Sir 48:17 ,) through the natural valley between Bezetha and Moriah on the east and Acra and Zion on the west, till, coming opposite the modern mosque Haram-es-Sherif, about midway of the temple area, it was turned eastward to the great reservoir under the temple, (under modern es-Sukrah, or the Rock;) thence, as it appears, southward to supply other subterranean tanks and cisterns known to exist within and around the mosque el-Aksa, on the southern limit of the ancient temple enclosure; thence southeasterly to the Fountain of the Virgin; thence southward to the Pool of Siloam; and thence to the Kidron and the Dead Sea. The waters of the fountain-head are known to resemble in taste those under the mosque, (the old temple site,) and those of the pools of the Virgin and of Siloam, showing that they have a common origin. It is already known that these pools are fed by the same stream whose rock-cut channel has been traced from Siloam to the southern wall of the old temple enclosure; while on the north, travellers, by putting their ears close to the ground, near the Damascus gate, “hear the noise of running water, which may be traced through the middle of the city (as above described) as far as opposite to es-Sukrah,” already mentioned. This is well attested, and this stream would seem to have been the main artery of the city and temple water works. Certainly the diversion of its waters through the city was one of the great acts of Hezekiah’s reign. Vast subterranean reservoirs, protected by heavy arched stone and mason work, and connected by pipes, still exist under the temple area and the city, which were filled partly by rain, but mostly by running water from abroad. These were reached through mouths, shafts, or wells in the temple enclosure, (Isa 12:3; Joh 7:37-38,) and elsewhere. This mysterious river, whose “streams,” or divisions, gladdened “the city of God and the holy place,” has a further symbolic significance of gospel grace and eternal life. See the figure expanded, in Eze 47:1-12; Zec 14:8, and “the river of life” proceeding “out of the throne of God and the Lamb,”

Rev 22:1. Tacitus ( Hist., book 5, 12,) mentions the “fountain of living water” under the temple at Jerusalem, which Milton calls

“Siloa’s brook, that flowed

Fast by the oracle of God.”

Isaiah (Isa 8:6) refers to the gentle flow of its waters, imparting life and cheer to the city.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

In Contrast With The Raging Waters Which Seek To Shake Them God Is To Be Seen As Like A Peaceful River Making Glad His People ( Psa 46:4-7 ).

Psa 46:4-5

‘There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God,

The holy place of the dwellingplaces of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; She shall not be moved,

God will help her, and that right early.’

We can compare with this Isa 33:21, where it says, ‘there (in Zion) YHWH in majesty will be for us, a place of broad rivers and streams’. Permanent rivers and streams where what men in Palestine dreamed of so that they might not be so dependent on the rain. We can compare the fruitfulness of Eden with its great river (Gen 2:10). This is therefore a picture of full provision. (Compare the similar picture in Ezekiel 47). And the promise is that to us God will be such a River, through His Spirit, a river that will satisfy our hearts and will also flow out from us to others (Joh 7:37-38). And it will flow to all of God’s people, to ‘the city of God’.

Note the description of the city of God. It is ‘the holy place of the dwellingplaces of the Most High’. For Israel that was because it was there that the Temple was among them, with its inner and outer sanctum, and its storage and utility rooms, the place where God met with them and dwelt among them. For us it is because we are ourselves are together the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and each of us is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit (1Co 3:16; 1Co 6:19 ; 2Co 6:16-18; Eph 2:19-22), so that God’s River flows in, and through, and from us continually (Joh 7:38).

Note also the description of God as ‘the Most High’. This title is regularly used in relation to the nations. It is a reminder that God is over all. See, for example, Gen 14:22; Num 24:16; and compare Dan 3:26; Dan 4:2.

And because God in the midst of her is over all, nothing can move or shake her. For while she trusts in Him God will always help her, and that without delay (right early). In the same way because God is in the midst of us we too, if we trust in Him, will not be moved. We too can be sure that we will know His prompt and powerful help.

‘And that right early.’ Literally, ‘when the morning appears’ (compare Exo 14:27). Thus it is saying that His assistance will come once the night is over and morning appears, without our being made to wait until later in the day.

Psa 46:6-7

‘The nations raged (or ‘roared’), the kingdoms were moved,

He uttered his voice, the earth melted.

YHWH of hosts is with us,

The God of Jacob is our refuge.’ [Selah

This confidence that we have in God is in spite of the activities and efforts of the world in its enmity against God. The nations might rage and roar against God’s people, the kingdoms might move against them, but they can be confident that when God utters His voice the earth and all that is within it melts. And where will they be then? We can compare with this Isaiah’s beautiful words, ‘in quietness and in confidence will be your strength’ (Isa 30:15).

And this is because YHWH of hosts, YHWH the God of battle and lord of the heavenly hosts, is with us. It is because the God of Jacob (Israel) is our stronghold. Knowing that God is with us and is our stronghold is sufficient to bring peace in the most devastating of situation.

In the original instance Israel had seen the raging and roaring nations melt away as the Assyrians withdrew hastily from Judah once God had uttered His voice. But the promise is to all believers whatever troubles they have to face. Note how the same words ‘roar’ and ‘moved’ are used as in Psa 46:2. It reminds us that those whose trust is in God need fear neither natural phenomena, nor the activities of men. For God is in control over all.

The second section again ends with Selah, ‘think of that’.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Psa 46:4. There is a river, the streams whereof, &c. Or, as some render it, The river by its streams, &c. But the version of the Liturgy is nearer the Hebrew: The rivers of the flood thereof shall make glad the city of our God; the holy place, &c. i.e. “The rivers, which sweep all other fenced cities before them, shall be so far from hurting us, that they shall make glad the city of our God; they shall be the occasion of great joy to us upon our victory over our enemies, &c.” The Psalmist appears to have been warmed with a grateful sense of their late deliverance, so that his imagination rises from one thing to another. His trust in God was so steady, that he exhorts his subjects not to fear, though all other nations should be in confusion; though their enemies, like the sea, should rage and swell, and threaten them most violently; nay, though they should destroy all other fortified places at pleasure: for, though the rivers of that flood of ungodly men should set all their forces against Jerusalem, they should be so far from succeeding, that he assures them, the effect of that attempt should only be to furnish matter of joy and triumph for them. The LXX seem to have taken it in this sense, who translate it, the forces, or vehemence of the river; and the Ethiopic version, the river which runs rapidly. Bishop Patrick understands it differently, and paraphrases it thus: “Our hearts shall be quiet and still, like the river which runs through our city:” And Piscator, Hammond, and others, speak much to the same purpose; who mention the brook Gihon, which waters Jerusalem, and the streams of Siloa, which flow softly.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

DISCOURSE: 579
THE RIVER OF GOD

Psa 46:4. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God.

FREQUENTLY, in the Holy Scriptures, is God compared to a fountain: in conformity with which idea, the blessings of salvation which flow from him may well be called a river. To the Israelites in the wilderness, there was given a stream which followed them in all their journeys: and to the Church. at this day also, is a river opened for the refreshment of all who travel Zion-ward. Innumerable are the necessities of Gods people in this dreary wilderness; and the troubles with which they have to contend are often so great as to make it appear as if the earth itself were removed, and the mountains were carried into the midst of the sea. But God is with his people; and the river which attends their steps supplies their every want. The whole city of God is gladdened by it, and especially the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High: for the nearer any ones access to God is, the more abundant are the communications made to him of grace and peace.
The exalted character given of this river will justify a minute inquiry respecting it. Let us notice then,

I.

The source from whence it issues

[Whence can this be, but from God himself? But on this subject we are not left to form conjectures: for David says, With God is the fountain of life [Note: Psa 36:9.]. And St. John says, that there was shewn to him a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb [Note: Rev 22:1.]. From God, as the primary cause of all good, and from the Lamb, who has purchased the Church with his blood, and who is constituted Head over all things to his Church, and has all fulness treasured up in him for his peoples use; from our adorable Emmanuel, I say, all the blessings of salvation flow. The Father, of his own sovereign will, opened a way for the bestowment of them: the Son, by his atoning blood, procured them for us: and the Holy Spirit imparts them to the souls of men: so that from our Tri-une God does this river altogether proceed. In truth, it was typified by the waters that flowed from the rock in Horeb, and supplied the camp of Israel forty years: They all drank the same spiritual drink, says the Apostle; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and that rock was Christ [Note: 1Co 10:4.].]

We may next notice,

II.

The channel in which it flows

[It is in the ordinances of the Gospel that all spiritual blessings are dispensed. For thus saith the prophet: It shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim [Note: Joe 3:18. with Isa 2:3. latter part.]. To the house of God, those who are athirst come, that they may drink of its refreshing streams. O God, thou art my God, saith holy David; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I hare seen thee in the sanctuary [Note: Psa 63:1-2.]. Yes; these are the golden pipes, by which the golden oil is communicated from the olive-trees to every lamp in the sanctuary [Note: Zec 4:11-12.]. See, in the days of old, what blessings attended the ministration of the word, accompanied as it was by an effusion of the Spirit from on high: nothing could withstand its power! So it still sweeps away from men every refuge of lies, and overflows their hiding places [Note: Isa 28:17.]; at the same time that it bears them up, as in the ark, and saves them from the deluge that will destroy the world.]

We may not unprofitably direct your attention yet further to,

III.

The depths of its streams

[The Prophet Ezekiel refers so particularly to this, that we must on no account omit the mention of it. He speaks of this river as proceeding from under the threshold of the sanctuary, and from the side of the altar, where the sacrifices were offered. Being brought to it by the heavenly messenger who had been sent to instruct him, he was made to pass through its waters, which, in the first instance, rose only to his ankles. On being brought to another place, he found the waters up to his knees; and, at another place, up to his loins; and then, a little further on, it was out of the depth of any man [Note: Eze 47:1-5.]. Now this gives a most just and beautiful representation of the Gospel; which, in our first approach to it, is so shallow, that the veriest child may walk in it with perfect ease: but, as we advance in it, we find yet deeper truths; till, at last, its mysteries are unfathomable by any created intelligence; so unsearchable are Gods judgments, and his ways past finding out [Note: Rom 11:33.]. Nothing can be more simple than the great leading truth of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ: a child that can but just run, may read, and a wayfaring-man, though a fool, may understand, it. But when we attempt to explore the love of Christ displayed in it, we find a length and breadth and depth and height that infinitely surpass any finite comprehension [Note: Eph 3:18-19.].

But of its chief excellencies we must especially mark,]

IV.

The salubrity of its waters

[The Prophet Zechariah, especially referring to the Gospel, says, It shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem [Note: Zec 14:8.]. And in the passage before quoted from the Prophet Ezekiel, their efficacy is fully declared: It shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed, and every thing shall live whither the river cometh [Note: Eze 47:9.]. Here then we see, that they give health to the diseased, and life to the dead. Verily, there is no disease which shall not be removed by the use of them. Naaman thought that Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, might be as serviceable as the waters of Israel [Note: 2Ki 5:12.]: and, in like manner, many vainly hope to heal themselves by the application of carnal remedies to their souls. But it is this river only that can purify us from our sins; and the man that washes in it, how leprous soever he may have been, shall instantly experience its healing efficacy. Nor shall its virtue be confined to a single patient: none shall have cause to complain, like the man at Bethesdas pool, that one less indigent or more highly-favoured than himself has been beforehand with him, and exhausted all its virtue [Note: Joh 5:7.]. Not a human being shall fail of obtaining all he needs, if only he apply the remedy in faith: The fountain is opened for sin, and for uncleanness [Note: Zec 13:1.]: and its powers are yet as effectual as on the day that David washed in it [Note: Psa 51:7.], or the murderers of the Lord of glory sprinkled its waters upon their souls [Note: Act 2:41.]. It will even give life to the dead. When a dead man was cast into the sepulchre of Elisha, the very instant his body touched the bones of the prophet, he revived, and stood upon his feet [Note: 2Ki 13:21.]. And shall not these waters, sprinkled on the soul, produce a like effect? Has not our blessed Lord himself affirmed, I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die [Note: Joh 11:25-26.]? Let it not be thought that the Gospel has lost one atom of its power: for though men be in a state so desperate, that, as in Ezekiels vision, their bones are reduced to dust, and scattered over the face of the earth, yet shall they rise a great army, as soon as ever the Word and Spirit of God shall be applied with power to their souls [Note: Eze 37:1-10.].

That, however, of which our text more particularly speaks, is,]

V.

Its efficacy to gladden the whole city of God

[In two respects does it contribute to the happiness of every citizen of Zion; namely, by the defence it affords, and by the refreshment it administers. Common rivers, if they afford protection against those who have no means of crossing them, give, in many instances, a greater facility of assault, either by means of large fleets, which transport an enemy with ease to any point he may choose to attack; or by smaller vessels, whereby he may come suddenly and unperceived, and disembark upon its very banks. But this river admits not of access by any such means. Hear the account given of it by the Prophet Isaiah: Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities; (the city spoken of in our text:) thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken: for there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby [Note: Isa 33:20-21.]. We may conceive of a river which, by its shoals and cataracts, bids defiance to vessels of any kind; and such is that which encompasses our Zion, and keeps it from every assault. At the same time it supplies the wants of the besieged in rich abundance. From the moment that any one tastes its refreshing streams, he thirsts no more: he has within himself, as it were, a well of water springing up unto everlasting life [Note: Joh 4:13-14; Joh 7:37-38.]. Such perfect satisfaction both to soul and body will these waters give, that all who drink of them will have a foretaste of heaven itself: they draw water out of this fountain with inexpressible joy [Note: Isa 12:3.]: and they are abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Gods house; and he makes them drink of the river of his pleasures [Note: Psa 36:8.]. It is doubtless a strong-expression to say that this is a foretaste of heaven: but look into heaven, and you will find the very same river running there, and the blest inhabitants partaking of it: for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne is feeding them, and leads them to living fountains of water; and God wipes away all tears from their eyes [Note: Rev 7:17.].]

Let me on this sublime subject found an address,
1.

To those who are in circumstances of difficulty or danger

[It was after a deliverance from some impending calamity that this psalm was written: and from that deliverance the Psalmist inferred, that they who trust in God have nothing to fear. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not 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. To every inhabitant of Zion this sweet assurance belongs: God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early [Note: ver. 15.]. Know then your privilege, Brethren: and amidst all the storms and dangers to which you are exposed, see your God as an impassable river around you; or, varying the metaphor, as a wall of fire round about you, and the glory in the midst of you [Note: Zec 2:5.]. With such a protector, can any weapon that is formed against you prosper? You may bid defiance to every enemy; and say, with confidence, If God be for me, who can be against me?]

2.

To those who are seeking their happiness in the things of time and sense

[Infatuated people, who are forsaking the fountain of living waters, and hewing out cisterns for yourselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water [Note: Jer 2:13.]! when will you see your folly? when will you suffer your continued disappointments to instruct you? If you will not believe the word of God, methinks you might learn from your own experience. Did you, from such services, ever receive one single draught that satisfied you? Have you not, even in the moments of your highest enjoyment, found that you were labouring for that which could not profit, and that in the midst of laughter your heart was in heaviness? Listen, then, to the invitation of the prophet: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price! Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good; and let your soul delight itself in fatness [Note: Isa 55:1-2.]. Verily, if ye will come to the Lord Jesus Christ, and receive out of his fulness the blessings he has purchased for you, you shall see the good of his chosen, and rejoice in the gladness of his nation, and shall glory with his inheritance [Note: Psa 106:4-5.].]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

Reader, it is blessed to observe how the scriptures, in various places, open to our view the holy and sacred persons of the Godhead, as the united source of all our mercies. When John saw this river in a vision, which by its streams makes glad the city of God, he tells us he saw it issuing out of the throne of God and the Lamb; thereby not only intimating that the throne of God and the Lamb is one and the same, but also as plainly showing that the operations of the grace of the Holy Spirit in watering the church all flow from the same holy undivided Three in One. God the Father is this river, Jer 2:13 ; God the Son is this river, Zec 13:1 ; Son 4:15 ; God the Holy Ghost is this river, Joh 7:37-39 . Reader, do you know in your own personal experience what it is to be washed, to be refreshed, to be kept alive, and renewed from day today by the sweet streams of this river?

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Psa 46:4 [There is] a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy [place] of the tabernacles of the most High.

Ver. 4. There is a river, &c. ] Interea civitas Dei, amidst all these garboils and hurly-burlies abroad the Church shall be helped with a little help, as Dan 11:34 , that, through weaker means, she may see God’s greater strength. That contemptible brook Kidron (whereof read Joh 18:1 , compassing some part only of the city Jerusalem, or passing through the middle of it, as some write), together with the riverets Siloe and others that run into it, shall be able, through God, to save her from the power and greatness of her enemies. Confer Isa 8:6 , and this place shall be the better understood.

The holy place of the tabernacles ] This was the beauty and bulwark of Jerusalem, viz. the temple, the continued sincere service of God; this was the tower of the flock, and the stronghold of the daughter of God’s people, Mic 4:8 . See Isa 26:1-2 . And these rivers of the sanctuary, these waters of life, drawn with joy out of the wells of salvation, the precious promises, made glad the city of God, the consciences of believers, and caused them to triumph over all troubles.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Psalms

THE CITY AND RIVER OF GOD

Psa 46:4 – Psa 46:7 .

There are two remarkable events in the history of Israel, one or other of which most probably supplied the historical basis upon which this psalm rests. One is that wonderful deliverance of the armies of Jehoshaphat from the attacking forces of the bordering nations, which is recorded in the twentieth chapter of the Book of Chronicles. There you will find that, by a singular arrangement, the sons of Korah, members of the priestly order, were not only in the van of the battle, but celebrated the victory by hymns of gladness. It is possible that this may be one of those hymns; but I think rather that the more ordinary reference is the correct one, which sees in this psalm and in the two succeeding ones, echoes of that supernatural deliverance of Israel in the time of Hezekiah, when

‘The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold,’

and Sennacherib and all his army were, by the blast of the breath of His nostrils, swept into swift destruction.

The reasons for that historical reference may be briefly stated. We find, for instance, a number of remarkable correspondences between these three psalms and portions of the Book of the prophet Isaiah, who, as we know, lived in the period of that deliverance. The comparison, for example, which is here drawn with such lofty, poetic force between the quiet river which ‘makes glad the city of God,’ and the tumultuous billows of the troubled sea, which shakes the mountain and moves the earth, is drawn by Isaiah in regard to the Assyrian invasion, when he speaks of Israel refusing ‘the waters of Shiloah, which go softly,’ and, therefore, having brought upon them the waters of the river-the power of Assyria-’which shall fill the breadth of Thy land, O Immanuel!’ Notice, too, that the very same consolation which was given to Isaiah, by the revelation of that significant appellation, ‘Immanuel, God with us,’ appears in this psalm as a kind of refrain, and is the foundation of all its confident gladness, ‘The Lord of Hosts is with us.’ Besides these obvious parallelisms, there are others to which I need not refer, which, taken together, seem to render it at least probable that we have in this psalm the devotional echo of the great deliverance of Israel from Assyria in the time of Hezekiah.

Now, these verses are the cardinal central portion of the song. We may call them The Hymn of the Defence and Deliverance of the City of God. We cannot expect to find in poetry the same kind of logical accuracy in the process of thought which we require in treatises; but the lofty emotion of devout song obeys laws of its own: and it is well to surrender ourselves to the flow, and to try to see with the Psalmist’s eyes for a moment his sources of consolation and strength.

I take the four points which seem to be the main turning-points of these verses-first, the gladdening river; second, the indwelling Helper; third, the conquering voice; and fourth, the alliance of ourselves by faith with the safe dwellers in the city of God.

I. First, we have the gladdening river-an emblem of many great and joyous truths.

The figure is occasioned by, or at all events derives much of its significance from, a geographical peculiarity of Jerusalem. Alone among the great cities and historical centres of the world, it stood upon no broad river. One little perennial stream, or rather rill of living water, was all which it had; but Siloam was mightier and more blessed for the dwellers in the rocky fortress of the Jebusites than the Euphrates, Nile, or Tiber for the historical cities which stood upon their banks. One can see the Psalmist looking over the plain eastward, and beholding in vision the mighty forces which came against them, symbolised and expressed by the breadth and depth and swiftness of the great river upon which Nineveh sat as a queen, and then thinking upon the little tiny thread of living water that flowed past the base of the rock upon which the temple was perched. It seems small and unconspicuous-nothing compared to the dash of the waves and the rise of the floods of those mighty secular empires, still, ‘There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God.’ Its waters shall never fail, and thirst shall flee whithersoever this river comes.

It is also to be remembered that the psalm is running in the track of a certain constant symbolism that pervades all Scripture. From the first book of Genesis down to the last chapter of Revelation, you can hear the dashing of the waters of the river. ‘It went out from the garden and parted into four heads.’ ‘Thou makest them drink of the river of Thy pleasures.’ ‘Behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward,’ and ‘everything shall live whithersoever the river cometh.’ ‘He that believeth on me, out of His belly shall flow rivers of living water.’ ‘And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.’ Isaiah, who has already afforded some remarkable parallels to the words of our psalm, gives another very striking one to the image now under consideration, when he says, ‘The glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars.’ The picture in that metaphor is of a stream lying round Jerusalem, like the moated rivers which girdle some of the cities in the plains of Italy, and are the defence of those who dwell enclosed in their flashing links.

Guided, then, by the physical peculiarity of situation which I have referred to, and by the constant meaning of Scriptural symbolism, I think we must conclude that this river, ‘the streams whereof make glad the city of God,’ is God Himself in the outflow and self-communication of His own grace to the soul. The stream is the fountain in flow. The gift of God, which is living water, is God Himself, considered as the ever-imparting Source of all refreshment, of all strength, of all blessedness. ‘This spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe should receive.’

We must dwell for a moment or two still further upon these words, and mark how this metaphor, in a most simple and natural way, sets forth very grand and blessed spiritual truths with regard to this communication of God’s grace to them that love Him and trust Him. First, I think we may see here a very beautiful suggestion of the manner, and then of the variety, and then of the effects of that communication of the divine love and grace.

We have only to read the previous verses to see what I mean. ‘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.’ There you can hear the wild waves dashing round the base of the firm hills, sapping their strength, and toppling their crests down in the bubbling, yeasty foam. Remember how, not only in Scripture but in all poetry, the sea has been the emblem of endless unrest. Its waters, those barren, wandering fields of foam, going moaning round the world with unprofitable labour, how they have been the emblem of unbridled power, of tumult and strife, and anarchy and rebellion! Then mark how our text brings into sharpest contrast with all that hurly-burly of the tempest, and the dash and roar of the troubled waters, the gentle, quiet flow of the river, ‘the streams whereof make glad the city of God’; the translucent little ripples purling along beds of golden pebbles, and the enamelled meadows drinking the pure stream as it steals by them. Thus, says our psalm, not with noise, not with tumult, not with conspicuous and destructive energy, but in silent, secret underground communication, God’s grace, God’s love, His peace, His power, His almighty and gentle Self flow into men’s souls. Quietness and confidence on our sides correspond to the quietness and serenity with which He glides into the heart. Instead of all the noise of the sea you have within the quiet impartations of the voice that is still and small, wherein God dwells. The extremest power is silent. The mightiest force in all the universe is the force which has neither speech nor language. The parent of all physical force, as astronomers seem to be more and more teaching us, is the great central sun which moveth all things, which operates all physical changes, whose beams are all but omnipotent, and yet fall so quietly that they do not disturb the motes that dance in their path. Thunder and lightning are child’s play compared with the energy that goes to make the falling dews and quiet rains. The power of the sunshine is the root power of all force which works in material things. And so we turn, with the symbol in our hands, to the throne of God, and when He says, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ we are aware of an energy, the signature of whose might is its quietness, which is omnipotent because it is gentle and silent. The seas may roar and be troubled, the tiny thread of the river is mightier than them all.

And then, still further, in this first part of our text there is also set forth very distinctly the number and the variety of the gifts of God. ‘The streams whereof,’ literally, ‘the divisions whereof,’-that is to say, going back to Eastern ideas, the broad river is broken up into canals that are led off into every man’s little bit of garden ground; coming down to modern ideas, the water is carried by pipes into every man’s household and chamber. The stream has its divisions; listen to words that are a commentary upon the meaning of this verse, ‘All these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing unto every man severally as He will’-an infinite variety, an endless diversity, according to all the petty wants of each that is supplied thereby. As you can divide water all but infinitely, and it will take the shape of every containing vessel, so into every soul according to its capacities, according to its shape, according to its needs, this great gift, this blessed presence of the God of our strength, will come. The varieties of His gifts are as much the mark of His omnipotence as the gentleness and stillness of them.

And then I need only touch upon the last thought, the effects of this communicated God. ‘The streams make glad’-with the gladness which comes from refreshment, with the gladness which comes from the satisfying of all thirsty desires, with the gladness which comes from the contact of the spirit with absolute completeness; of the will, with perfect authority; of the heart, with changeless love; of the understanding, with pure incarnate truth; of the conscience, with infinite peace; of the child, with the Father; of my emptiness, with His fulness; of my changeableness, with His immutability; of my incompleteness, with His perfectness. They to whom this stream passes shall know no thirst; they who possess it from them it shall come. Out of him ‘shall flow rivers of living water.’ That all-sufficient Spirit not only becomes to its possessor the source of individual refreshment, and slakes his own thirst, but flows out from him for the gladdening of others.

‘The least flower with a brimming cup may stand,

And share its dew-drop with another near.’

The city thus supplied may laugh at besieging hosts. With the deep reservoir in its central fortress, the foe may do as they list to all surface streams, its water shall be sure, and no raging thirst shall ever drive it to surrender. The river breaks from the threshold of the Temple, within its walls, and when all beyond that safe enclosure is cracked and parched in the fierce heat, and no green thing can be seen in the dry and thirsty land, that stream shall ‘make glad the city of our God,’ and ‘everything shall live whithersoever the river cometh.’ ‘Thou shalt be as a well-watered garden, and as a river whose streams fail not.’

II. Then notice, secondly, substantially the same general thought, but modified and put in plain words-the indwelling Helper.

‘God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early,’ or, as the latter clause had better be translated, as it is given in the margin of some of our Bibles, ‘God shall help her at the appearance of the morning.’ There are two promises here: first of all, the constant presence; and second, help at the right time. Whether there be actual help or no, there is always with us the potential help of God, and it flashes into energy at the moment that He knows to be the right one. The ‘appearing of the morning’ He determines; not you or I. Therefore, we may be confident that we have God ever by our sides. Not that that Presence is meant to avert outward or inward trouble and trial, and painfulness and weariness; but in the midst of these, and while they last, here is the assurance, ‘She shall not be moved’; and that it will not always last, here is the ground of the confidence, ‘God shall help her when the morning dawns.’

I need not point out to you the contrast here between the tranquillity of the city which has for its central Inhabitant and Governor the omnipotent God, and the tumult of all that turbulent earth. The waves of the troubled waters break everywhere,-they run over the flat plains and sweep over the mountains of secular strength and outward might, and worldly kingdoms, and human polities and earthly institutions, acting on them all either by slow corrosive action at the base, or by the tossing floods swirling against them, until they shall be lost in the ocean of time. For ‘the history of the world is the judgment of the world.’ When He wills the plains are covered and mountains disappear, but one rock stands fast-’The mountain of the Lord’s house is exalted above the top of the mountains’; and when everything is rocking and swaying in the tempests, here is fixity and tranquillity. ‘She shall not be moved.’ Why? Because of her citizens? No. Because of her guards and gates? No! Because of her polity? No! Because of her orthodoxy? No! But because God is in her, and she is safe, and where He dwells no evil can come. ‘Thou carriest Caesar and his fortunes.’ The ship of Christ carries the Lord and His fortunes; and, therefore, whatsoever becomes of the other little ships in the wild dash of the tempest, this with the Lord on board arrives at its desired haven-’God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved.’

Then, still further, that Presence which is always the pledge of stability, and unmoved calm, even while causes of agitation are storming around, will, as I said, flash into energy, and be a Helper and a Deliverer at the right moment. And when will that right moment be? At the appearing of the morning. ‘And when they arose early in the morning, they were all dead corpses’; in the hour of greatest extremity, but ere the foe has executed his purposes; not too soon for fear and faith, not too late for hope and help; when the morning dawns, when the appointed hour of deliverance, which He alone determines, has struck. ‘It is not for you to know the times and seasons’; but this we may know, that He who is the Lord of time will ever save at the best possible moment. He will not come so quickly as to prevent us from feeling our need; He will not tarry so long as to make us sick with hope deferred, or so long as to let the enemy fulfil his purposes of destruction. ‘Lord, behold! he whom Thou lovest is sick. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was. . . . Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. . . . And he that was dead came forth.’

The Lord may seem to sleep on His hard wooden pillow in the stern of the little fishing boat, and even while the frail craft begins to fill may show no sign of help. But ere the waves have rolled over her, the cry of fear that yet trusts, and of trust that yet fears, wakes Him who knew the need, even while He seemed to slumber, and one mighty word, as of a master to some petulant slave, ‘Peace! be still,’ hushes the confusion, and rebukes the fear, and rewards the faith.

‘The Lord is in the midst of her’-that is the perennial fact. ‘The Lord shall help her, and that right early’-that is the ‘grace for seasonable help.’

III. The psalm having set forth these broad grounds of confidence, goes on to tell the story of actual deliverance which confirms them, and of which they are indeed but the generalised expression.

The condensed narrative moves to its end by a series of short crashing sentences like the ring of the destructive axe at the roots of trees. We see the whole sequence of events as by lightning flashes, which give brief glimpses and are quenched. The grand graphic words seem to pant with haste, as they record Israel’s deliverance. That deliverance comes from the Conquering Voice. ‘The heathen raged’ the same word, we may note, as is found a verse or two back, ‘Though the waters thereof roar’, ‘the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.’ With what vigour these hurried sentences describe, first, the wild wrath and formidable movements of the foe, and then the One Sovereign Word which quells them all, as well as the instantaneous weakness that dissolves the seeming solid substance when the breath of His lips smites it!

And where will you find a grander or loftier thought than this, that the simple word-the utterance of the pure will of God conquers all opposition, and tells at once in the sphere of material things? He speaks, and it is done. At the sound of that thunder-voice, hushed stillness and a pause of dread fall upon all the wide earth, deeper and more awe-struck than the silence of the woods with their huddling leaves, when the feebler peals roll through the sky. ‘The depths are congealed in the heart of the sea’-as if you were to lay hold of Niagara in its wildest plunge, and were with a word to freeze all its descending waters and stiffen them into immovableness in fetters of eternal ice. So He utters His voice, and all meaner noises are hushed. ‘The lion hath roared, who shall not fear?’ He speaks-no weapon, no material vehicle is needed. The point of contact between the pure divine will and the material creatures which obey its behests is ever wrapped in darkness, whether these be the settled ordinances which men call nature, or the less common which the Bible calls miracle. In all alike there is, to every believer in a God at all, an incomprehensible action of the spiritual upon the material, which allows of no explanations to bridge over the gulf recognised in the broken utterances of our psalm, ‘He uttered His voice: the earth melted.’

How grandly, too, these last words give the impression of immediate and utter dissolution of all opposition! All the Titanic brute forces are, at His voice, disintegrated, and lose their organisation and solidity. ‘The hills melted like wax’; ‘The mountains flowed down at Thy presence.’ The hardness and obstinacy is all liquefied and enfeebled, and parts with its consistency and is lost in a fluid mass. As two carbon points when the electric stream is poured upon them are gnawed to nothingness by the fierce heat, and you can see them wasting before your eyes, so the concentrated ardour of His breath falls upon the hostile evil, and lo! it is not.

The Psalmist is generalising the historical fact of the sudden and utter destruction of Sennacherib’s host into a universal law. And it is a universal law-true for us as for Hezekiah and the sons of Korah, true for all generations. Martin Luther might well make this psalm the battle cry of the Reformation, and we may well make our own the rugged music and dauntless hope of his rendering of these words:-

‘And let the Prince of Ill

Look grim as e’er he will,

He harms us not a whit.

For why? His doom is writ.

A word shall quickly slay him.’

IV. Then note, finally, how the psalm shows us the act by which we enter the City of God.

‘The Lord of Hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is our refuge.’ It is not enough to lay down general truths, however true and however blessed, about the safe and sacred city of God-not enough to be theoretically convinced of the truth of the supreme governance and ever-present aid of God. We must take a further step that will lead us far beyond the regions of barren intellectual apprehension of the great truths of God’s love and care. These truths are nothing to us, brethren! unless, like the Psalmist here, we make them our own, and losing the burden of self in the very act of grasping them by faith, unite ourselves with the great multitude who are joined together in Him, and say, ‘He is my God: He is our refuge.’ That living act of ‘appropriating faith’ presupposes, indeed, the presence of these truths in our understandings, but in the very act they are changed into powers in our lives. They pass into the affections and the will. They are no more empty generalities. Bread nourishes, not when it is looked at, but when it is eaten. ‘He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.’ We feed on Christ when we make Him ours by faith, and each of us is sustained and blessed by Him when we can say, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Mark, too, how there is here set forth the twofold ground for our calmest confidence in these two mighty names of God.

‘The Lord of Hosts is with us.’ That majestic name includes all the deepest and most blessed thoughts of God which the earlier revelation imparted. That name of ‘Jehovah’ proclaims at once His Eternal Being and His covenant relation-manifesting Him by its mysterious meaning as He who dwells above time, the tideless sea of absolute unchanging existence, from whom all the stream of creatural life flows forth many-coloured and transient, to whom it all returns, who, Himself unchanging, changeth all things, and declaring Him, by the historical associations connected with it, as having unveiled His purposes in firm words, to which men may trust, and as having entered into that solemn league with Israel which underlay their whole national life. He is the Lord the Eternal,-the covenant name.

He is the Lord of Hosts, the ‘Imperator,’ absolute Master and Commander, Captain and King of all the combined forces of the universe, whether they be personal or impersonal, spiritual or material, who, in serried ranks, wait on Him, and move harmonious, obedient to His will. And this Eternal Master of the legions of the universe is with us, weak and poor, and troubled and sinful as we are. Therefore, we will not fear: what can man do unto us?

Again, when we say, ‘The God of Jacob is our refuge,’ we reach back into the past, and lay hold of the mercies promised to, and received by, the long vanished generations who trusted in Him and were lightened. As, by the one name, we appeal to His own Being and uttered pledge, so, by the other, we appeal to His ancient deeds-past as we call them, but present with Him, who lives and loves in the undivided eternity above the low fences of time. All that He has been, He is; all that He has done, He is doing. We on whom the ends of the earth are come have the same Helper, the same Friend that ‘the world’s grey fathers’ had. They that go before do not prevent them that come after. The river is full still. The van of the pilgrim host did, indeed, long, long ago drink and were satisfied, but the bright waters are still as pellucid, still as near, still as refreshing, still as abundant as they ever were. Nay, rather, they are fuller and more accessible to us than to patriarch and Psalmist, ‘God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.’

For we, brethren! have a fuller revelation of that mighty name, and a more wondrous and closer divine presence by our sides. The psalm rejoices in that ‘The Lord of Hosts is with us’; and the choral answer of the Gospel swells into loftier music, as it tells of the fulfilment of psalmists’ hopes and prophets’ visions in Him who is called ‘Immanuel,’ which is, being interpreted, ‘God with us.’ The psalm is confident in that God dwelt in Zion, and our confidence has the more wondrous fact to lay hold of, that even now the Word who dwelt among us makes His abode in every believing heart, and gathers them all together at last in that great city, round whose flashing foundations no tumult of ocean beats, whose gates of pearl need not be closed against any foes, with whose happy citizens ‘God will dwell, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.’

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 46:4-7

4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

5God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

6The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;

He raised His voice, the earth melted.

7The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

Psa 46:4-7 This strophe describes the tranquil peace surrounding God when the earth is in turmoil (i.e., Revelation 4-5).

1. a river continually flows (lit. irrigation canal, BDB 625, cf. Psa 36:8; Psa 65:9; Eze 47:1; Joe 3:18; Zec 14:8; Rev 22:1; Rev 22:17) in the city of God (cf. Psa 48:1; Psa 48:8; Psa 87:3; Psa 101:8; Isa 60:14; Rev 3:12)

2. the city of God will not be moved (i.e., shaken) because YHWH is in her midst (cf. Hos 11:9; Zec 2:5; Heb 11:10; Heb 12:22; Heb 13:14)

3. God will help her (cf. Psa 37:40; Isa 41:14) when morning dawns (imagery of perfect timing, cf. Psa 5:3; Psa 17:15; Psa 30:5; Psa 90:14). This help links with the nations made an uproar in Psa 46:6 a (same verb in Psa 46:3 a, cf. Psalms 2). The nations are mentioned again in Psa 46:10 b. God’s purposes have always included the nations (see Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan )!

4. the city of God will not be moved (i.e., imagery of stability and continuance)

Psa 46:4 b

NASB, JPSOAThe holy dwelling places

NKJVThe holy place of the tabernacle

NRSVthe holy habitation

TEVthe sacred house

NJBit sanctifies the dwelling

LXXsanctified his covert

REBthe holy dwelling

The MT (BDB 1015) has

1. tabernacle Exo 25:9; Exo 26:30; Exo 38:21; Exo 40:34-35; Num 9:18; Num 9:22 (i.e., tent of meeting); Psa 78:60

2. dwelling place

a. of Korah (i.e., tents) Num 16:24; Num 16:27

b. of Jacob Psa 87:2

c. of YHWH (i.e., temple) Psa 26:8; Psa 74:7

d. of YHWH (but plural, i.e., all the buildings on the temple mount) Psa 43:3; Psa 84:1; Psa 132:5; Psa 132:7; Eze 32:27

The plural could refer to

1. all the buildings of the temple

2. the plural of majesty (i.e., most holy)

You can see from the translations that some change holy (adjective, BDB 872) into the verb sanctify (LXX, Vulgate, NJB), which is a change of only vowels.

the Most High This title for Deity (Elyon, BDB 751 II, see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY ) is used in Gen 14:18-22; Num 24:16; and Deu 32:8, but mostly (16 times) in the Psalms and in Daniel 7 (4 times). The basic meaning is high. It is used mostly by non-Israelites.

Psa 46:6 Notice the contrast between

1. the nations uproar, Psa 46:6 a (ineffective)

2. YHWH’s voice, Psa 46:6 b (effective)

The verb melted (BDB 556, KB 555, Qal imperfect) can be used

1. figuratively of enemies’ courage Exo 15:15; Jos 2:9; Jos 2:11; Jos 2:24; Isa 14:31

2. figuratively of judgment Amo 9:5

3. literally (i.e., final cleansing of earth) 2Pe 3:10

Psa 46:7 This same promise,

1. YHWH of Hosts is with us (cf. Psa 24:10; see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY , cf. Num 14:9; 2Ch 13:12)

2. God of Jacob is our stronghold (cf. Psa 9:9; Psa 48:3; Psa 59:9; Psa 59:16-17)

is repeated in Psa 46:11 for emphasis! These statements are the psalmist’s hope and YHWH’s promises to His people.

is with us This is the greatest promise (cf. Num 14:9; 2Ch 13:12; Psa 9:10; Psa 37:28; Psa 94:14; Heb 13:5 [from Deu 31:6; Jos 1:5]). We need God!

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

river. Hebrew. nahar. a constantly flowing river (not nahal, a summer wady). It flows beneath Zion, filling En Rogel and supplying Siloam. See App-68.

streams = channels. Hebrew. palag. See note on Gen 10:25. Gen 1:3, i.e. the rock-cut channels beneath Zion. See App-68. All other water-supplies cut off. Compare 2Ch 32:30. 2Ki 20:20. See App-68, and Ecc 48:17.

The holy place of the tabernacles of the MOST HIGH. Septuagint and Vulg, render this “The Most High hath hallowed His habitation”. See note on Exo 3:5.

tabernacles = the great habitation. Plural of majesty, implying greatness of glory, not of size. Hebrew. mishkan. App-40.

MOST HIGH. Hebrew. Elyon. App-4.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Psa 46:4-7

Psa 46:4-7

GOD’S ASCENDANCY OVER THE ENEMIES OF HIS PEOPLE

“There is a river, the streams whereof 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 will help her, and that right early.

The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved:

He uttered his voice, the earth melted.

Jehovah of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

(Selah)”

“There is a river, etc.” (Psa 46:4). The text seems to identify this river as the tabernacles of the Most High, God’s dwelling place; but the actual meaning might be, “The river of God’s presence and favor,” The tabernacles of the Most High typically represent, “God’s favor, like a river, is distributed to all the Church. “It was the river of God’s life-giving presence. “This river is the perennial fountain of God’s grace.

Yes indeed, these views are acceptable; but there seems also to be a prophecy of that Eternal City of God that cometh down out of heaven, the New Jerusalem, described in the last chapters of Revelation. The River of Life flows out of the throne of God in that City; and the Tree of Life grows on either side of it, the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations.

There is also something else that fits very beautifully into these wonderful verses. From Isaiah 8, we have this:

“Forasmuch as this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly … now therefore, behold the Lord bringeth upon them the waters of the (Euphrates) River, strong and mighty, even the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks; and it shall sweep onward into Judah … and overflow (Isa 8:6-8).”

The waters of Shiloah here are the same as those of the Pool of Siloam in the New Testament. “The spring of Gihon, whose waters Hezekiah brought into Jerusalem by a tunnel (2Ch 32:30) are here used as a symbol of God’s refreshing presence. These waters emptied into Siloam from underneath; hence the statement that “they went softly.” Isaiah certainly used this humble little river as a symbol of God’s government and protection, as contrasted with the terrible waters of the Euphrates at flood stage; and it is likely that the psalmist does the same thing here. This little stream is certainly a river that made glad the city of God, whether or not it was the river that did so.

Delitzsch combined in one paragraph the multiple spiritual intimations of these verses:

“When the city of God is threatened and encompassed by foes, still she shall not hunger and thirst, nor fear and despair; for the river of grace and of God’s ordinances and promises flows with its rippling waves through the holy place, where the dwelling-place, or tabernacle, of the Most High is pitched.

“God will help her, and that quite early” (Psa 46:5). The marginal reference or the last phrase here is, “At the dawn of morning”; and significantly, Isaiah stated that, “When men arose early in the morning, these (the whole army of Sennacherib) were all dead bodies” (Isa 37:36). This is a very strong link in the chain of evidence that binds these words to that great deliverance in 701 B.C.

“The nations raged, etc.” (Psa 46:6). “This means that in the past the thing that has regularly happened is that the “heathen have raged,” etc.; but God had only to utter his voice, and as a result, men and nations have collapsed before Him. God controls all the raging of the nations and their tumults.

“Jehovah of hosts is with us” (Psa 46:7). “If God be for us, who can be against us,” is the New Testament echo of this confidence. The great security is in God. Just as the coneys, a little animal often mentioned in the Old Testament, are very weak, but occupy impregnable dwelling places in the rocks; just so men also are weak, vulnerable, insecure apart from God; but “in Him,” they are secure, safe, invincible, and unconquerable.

“The God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psa 46:7). According to Kidner, this refrain probably should also have been inserted at the end of Psa 46:3, thus marking the three divisions of the psalm as a refrain. He also noted that, “The word `refuge’ in this refrain, here and in Psa 46:11, is distinct from the word so rendered in Psa 46:1. Here it implies inaccessible height; hence the New English Bible rendition, `Our high stronghold’

E.M. Zerr:

Psa 46:4. Rivers have always been regarded as important creations, both for diversion and as a necessity. A. river was used to water the first garden (Gen 2:10), the Nile River supported the land of Egypt (called “Sihor” in Isa 23:3), and the city of Babylon was adorned by the great Euphrates. Now we have David prophesying the most important of all rivers, the one to gladden the city of God in the Life Beyond. (See Rev 22:1-2.)

Psa 46:5. The presence of God would assure any city of protection against harm.

Psa 46:6. The heathen refers to all people who are not citizens of the Lord’s city. It does not necessarily mean they are idolaters. When such people realize the might of God’s voice they are put to shame and caused to rage in their defeat.

Psa 46:7. A host may signify any large group of men. It is generally used, however, to mean the organized army of warriors of a nation. David was a man of war and very logically thought of God from that standpoint. It would mean sure protection to have the Commander in Chief of heaven on one’s side. God of Jacob means the God whom Jacob served.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

a river: Psa 23:2, Psa 36:8, Psa 36:9, Isa 8:6, Isa 8:7, Isa 48:18, Eze 47:1-12, Rev 22:1-3

city: Psa 48:1, Psa 48:8, Psa 87:3, 2Ch 6:6, Isa 37:35, Isa 37:36, Isa 60:14, Heb 12:22, Rev 21:2, Rev 21:3, Rev 21:10

holy: Deu 12:11, Deu 12:12

most: Psa 91:1, Psa 92:1, Psa 92:8, Ecc 5:8, Mic 6:6

Reciprocal: Gen 2:10 – a river Exo 17:6 – that the people Psa 65:9 – the river Psa 87:7 – all my Son 4:15 – a well Isa 1:21 – the faithful Isa 33:21 – a place Isa 35:6 – for Isa 41:18 – General Isa 43:2 – I will be Joe 3:18 – and a Joh 4:10 – living Act 7:48 – the most High

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Psa 46:4-5. There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city The church, of God Which cheer, refresh, and comfort her, and that at a time when the waters of the sea roar, and foam, and threaten her. He alludes to the brook Kidron, and its two streams, or rivulets, flowing from it, Gihon and Siloah, 2Ch 32:30, and Isa 8:6, whose waters went softly by Jerusalem, and, being small and contemptible, or still and gentle, are not unfitly opposed to the vast and unruly waters of the sea. He insinuates the weak condition of Gods church, as to outward appearance, in that they had not one sea to oppose to another, but only a small river; which, however, though in itself apparently despicable, yet was sufficient to refresh and defend them in spite of their enemies. Now, as the sea and the waters thereof are to be understood metaphorically, so also are this river and its streams. The covenant of grace is the river, and its promises are the streams; or, the Spirit of grace is the river, and its influences, operations, and graces, are the streams. Gods word and ordinances are rivers and streams, with which he makes his saints glad in cloudy and dark days. God himself is to his church a place of broad rivers and streams, Isa 33:21. Mark, reader, the streams that make glad the city of God, are not rapid, but gentle, like those of Siloam. And observe, also, the spiritual comforts which are conveyed to the saints by soft and silent whispers, and which come not with observation, or rather, with outward noise and show, are sufficient to balance the most loud and boisterous threatenings of an angry and malicious world. The city of God Zion or Jerusalem, a figure of Gods church; and here, as frequently, put for it; the holy place of the tabernacles The place where Gods holy tabernacle is settled, the plural number being put for the singular, because the tabernacle included two apartments, the holy place, and the most holy, besides the different courts adjoining to it. God is in the midst of her

Not only by those symbols of his presence, the ark, the mercy-seat, and cherubim of glory, but by his own special residence, according to his promise. He is peculiarly present with and in his church, in all ages. She shall not be moved That Isaiah , 1 st, Not destroyed or removed as the earth may be, (Psa 46:2,) God having undertaken her protection, and his honour being embarked in her. The church shall survive the world, and be in bliss when the world is in ruins. 2d, Not disturbed; not much moved with fears of the issue. If God be with us we need not be moved at the most violent attempts made against us. God shall help her Who then can hurt her? He shall help her under her troubles; that she shall not sink; nay, that the more she is afflicted, the more she shall multiply. God shall help her out of her troubles; and that right early, Hebrew, , liphnoth boker, before the morning, or, when the morning appeareth, that is, very speedily, for he is a present help, (Psa 46:1,) and very seasonably; then when things are brought to the last extremity, and when the relief will be most welcome. This may be applied by particular believers to themselves: if God be in the midst of us, in our hearts, by his word and Spirit, we shall be established, we shall be helped in time of need; let us therefore trust and not be afraid: all is well and will end well.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

46:4 [There is] a {e} river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy [place] of the tabernacles of the most High.

(e) The river of Shiloh, which passed through Jerusalem: meaning, though the defence seems small, yet if God has appointed it, it is sufficient.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

2. God’s presence in Zion 46:4-7

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

God’s presence in Jerusalem was similar to that of a refreshing, life-giving river rather than the raging sea (Psa 46:3; cf. Isa 8:6; Isa 33:21). Old Jerusalem, of course, had no literal river flowing through it (cf. Rev 22:1-2). Because God abode in the city, it enjoyed great security. As time passed, however, God left the city because His people forsook Him (Ezekiel 8; Ezekiel 10).

"The imagery of the river and the streams is reminiscent of the description of the river with its four branches in the passage on the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:10-14). The restoration to the presence of God is likened to a restoration to the Garden of Eden of all those who are members of the City of God." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 352. See also his appendix on Zion theology, pp. 354-57.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)