PSALMS 47
We will begin by giving chapter 46 in metre to show how easily it
could be sung.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 46
Verse 1 "God is our strength and refuge high; A sure and present help
is he, When dark and troublous days are nigh; Hence free
from fear our hearts shall be. Though earthquakes move the
world, and hills' midst seas be hurled, Though waves of the
deep In turmoil roar and leap, And swelling shake the
mountains steep."
Verse 2 "A river flows, whose waters clear The city of our God make
glad, The holy tabernacles, where The Highest One his
dwelling made. In midst of her hath God Established his
abode; No trouble can her move, For God her help will prove,
When morning light dawns from above."
Verse 3 "The nations rage, the kingdoms shake, His voice goes forth,
earth melts away. The Lord of Hosts our part doth take, and
Jacob's God is shield and stay. Come, then, let all draw
near, And view with holy fear The works surpassing though
Jehovah's arm hath wrought, What ruins he on earth hath
brought.
Verse 4 "To earth's remotest bonds he turns Wars into peace: He
breaks the bow; He cuts the spear, the chariot burns. That I
am God, be still and know; Among the heathen I will be
exalted high; On earth supreme The Lord of hosts doth aid
afford, And Jacob's God is shield and sword."
We will begin now the verse by verse study of the 46th Psalm.
Psalms 46:1 "{To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon
Alamoth.} God [is] our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble."
Others may boast of their great armies and their weapons of war,
but our strength and help, if we are Christians is the Lord. In our
world now, there are enough atomic bombs to destroy the world as we
know it. We can not depend on these bombs for protection. If one
person ever pushes the button to the first atomic bomb, there will be
many that follow. There is no security in this world, or in the things
of this world. God alone, can help us.
Psalms 46:2 "Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be
removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the
sea;"
There is enough total fire power in the world today to do this
very thing. In tests that have been done of one bomb, islands have
disappeared. You see, this earth that we dwell in is very unstable. I
will not fear, because I will look up and rejoice for my redemption
draweth nigh. The world's people today do fear, as the following
Scripture tells us. Luke 21:26 "Men's hearts failing them for fear,
and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for
the powers of heaven shall be shaken."
Psalms 46:3 "[Though] the waters thereof roar [and] be troubled,
[though] the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah."
We know that this, too, can happen and will happen during the
wrath of God. Selah, in the verse above, is saying, take a moment and
think on these things. Fear is not for the Christian. We have hope,
and the world does not. We know that when all of this begins, there
will be an earthquake that we be felt all over the earth. Of course,
all of this uproar of the earth will cause the waters to swell, as
well. What a wonderful time to be somewhere else other than on this
earth.
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."
There is a river that brings great peace to the Christian. It is
the river of the Spirit of God. This is speaking of the river that
brings perfect peace to the church of God. This is that water spoken
of by Jesus to the woman at the well. This city of God is the
habitation of God. Each true Christian is the dwelling place of the
Holy Spirit of God. Revelation 21:3 "And I heard a great voice out of
heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he
will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them, [and be] their God."
Psalms 46:5 "God [is] in the midst of her; she shall not be
moved: God shall help her, [and that] right early."
The her, in this verse, is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God dwells in the Christian, so she cannot be moved. Right early would
mean at the breaking of day. The world may be falling down around her,
but the church will not fall. The church, in this sense, is not a
building, but the Christians.
Psalms 46:6 "The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he
uttered his voice, the earth melted."
The heathen raged is speaking of the world gone mad. The kingdoms
being moved has to do with the rulers of this world being over thrown.
All of the turmoil that you could imagine in your heart would not be
as bad as this is saying here. In our day, the middle East crisis
could blow up into just such a mess. Notice, though, that all the
powers in the world are no comparison to God uttering His voice. The
earth melting just means that the power of the voice of God settled
this whole thing. Perhaps, it means, also, that those things which
could be burned up were. The world, and everything, and everyone in
it, are in the control of God. We are but putty in His hands.
Psalms 46:7 "The LORD of hosts [is] with us; the God of Jacob
[is] our refuge. Selah."
The church is in the hands of God. In our study in Revelation, we
saw that the candlestick was in the church. Jesus' Light is with us,
church. He is our refuge. We are in Him, and He in us. I John 3:24
" And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him.
And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath
given us." Our refuge {safe place} is in Him. Again, we see Selah.
Pause and think on these things.
Psalms 46:8 " Come, behold the works of the LORD, what
desolations he hath made in the earth."
We know of the utter destruction God brought on Sodom and
Gomorrah. This will be just such a destruction, but even more
widespread. This verse is about the time when the wrath of God is
poured out upon the earth. This is the time when the water turns to
wormwood, and one third of the trees are burned up, and all the other
destructions that go with that. Praise God that we will not be part of
the destruction, but will be beholding the destruction.
Psalms 46:9 "He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the
chariot in the fire."
The war we have been reading about is the war that ends all wars.
Jesus is the King of Peace. He brings peace to the world. We saw in
the previous verse, how great the voice of God is. He speaks, and
peace comes. There will be no more weapons. God destroys them all.
There will be a time of peace, such as the world has never known.
Psalms 46:10 "Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be
exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."
This is not a request, but a command. There will be no question
that this is God. Sometimes God does not want us helping Him. He wants
us to be still. and know that He is God. Jesus will reign with a rod
of iron for a thousand years on this earth. We will serve Jesus as His
helpers over the heathen.
Psalms 46:11 "The LORD of hosts [is] with us; the God of Jacob
[is] our refuge. Selah."
Christians throughout the world should shout praises of this
fact. He is our refuge {hiding place}. The Lord is with us. The God of
Jacob is the Lord. The Lord is with us now, and will continue to be
with us for all of eternity.
Questions 47
1. Who was this Psalm addressed to?
2. ___ is our refuge and our strength.
3. Is there security in having the atomic bomb?
4. Who is our only hope?
5. Verse 2 speaks of 2 terrible world happenings, what are they?
6. What attitude should we have of these calamities?
7. Quote Luke chapter 21 verse 26.
8. What is the word Selah telling us in verse 3?
9. Where is the river that brings great peace to the Christian?
10. What is meant by the city of God?
11. Where do we find the Scripture that says the tabernacle of God is
with man?
12. Who is the her in verse 5?
13. What does right early mean?
14. What does the heathen raged mean?
15. What crisis in our world could blow up in to a terrible war?
16. All the powers in the world are no comparison to what?
17. Who is in control of the entire world?
18. The church is not a building, but what?
19. We are but _____ in His hands.
20. Who, does verse 7 say, is our refuge?
21. Quote 1 John chapter 3 verse 24.
22. What is a refuge?
23. Who has caused the desolation of the earth in verse 8?
24. What will be different in this destruction by God from the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah?
25. What are some of the devastating things that happen on the earth?
26. What 3 things does He do that signifies the end of war?
27. Who is the King of Peace?
28. In verse 10, we are instructed to do what?
29. Describe the reign of Jesus on the earth.
30. What is God called in verse 11?
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