Psalm 46 is a Song of Zion hymn. At least, it is if we take verses 4-5 seriously. The city seems inviolable in this psalm, a theology consistent with other Zion hymns and Isaiah. However, many consider it a psalm of confidence. It inspired both “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” by Martin Luther, and “Be Still, My Soul,” by Catherine von Schlegel. The theme of this psalm is the intrepid confession of faith in God. It expresses the confidence the community in God. The three parts of the psalm focus on creation, history, and eschatology. The affirmation that God is our refuge, as in Psalm 62:9, may reflect the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib in 701.
I will spend a little time with the superscription.
To the leader of the music in the temple, as are 54 other psalms.
Of the Korahites. If this is accurate, it would be post-exilic psalm. See Psalms 42, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87 & 88. Most of these lie within what is referred to as the “Elohistic Psalter,” a section of the Psalter (Psalms 42-83), in which Elohim rather than YHWH predominates as the preferred name of God. This use of Elohim, however, is not an indicator of date. The psalms may simply have been arranged so that the more “Elohistic” ones were kept together because this seemed right to a later editor. The reason the psalms attributed to the “sons of Korah” are often thought to be post-exilic has more to do with the book of Chronicles than with the final shape of the book of Psalms. In Chronicles there are two major groups who coordinate the singing and liturgy in the temple. These are the Kohathites and the Korahites (II Chronicles 20:19). Both groups trace their lineage to Levi, son of Jacob, ancestor of all the Levitical priests. Because the Korahites (or “sons of Korah”) are so prominent a group in Chronicles (I Chronicles 9:19), it is argued by many that they must have played a leading role in the Second Temple, not in the first. There is some disagreement over this, however. Although most of the references to the Korahites are in Chronicles, this source is not the first to mention Korah or his descendants. The first Korah was a first cousin to Moses and Aaron (Exodus 6:21), who later rebelled against them in the wilderness (Numbers 16). Numbers is careful to point out, however, that the sons of Korah did not perish after the rebellion (Numbers 26:11). Korah’s clan continued. According to I Chronicles 6:31, one Heman (also said to be a lineal descendant of Samuel the prophet) was one descendant of the original Korah who served as a singer in the temple. The Psalter credits this Heman with the authorship of Psalm 88. Appointed with Heman was the famous psalmist Asaph (Psalms 50, 73-83), also a Levite, but not a descendant of Korah, although the text calls him Heman’s brother. Hebrew does not have a word for “cousin” so it often uses the terms “brother” and “sister,” in the sense of “kinsperson,” to refer to cousins. Also mentioned along with Heman and Asaph in I Chronicles 6 is Ethan (elsewhere called the Ezrahite), another of Levi’s descendants, who is also said to have been a psalm writer (Psalm 89, see also 1 Chronicles 15:17-19). Another musician frequently mentioned with these is one Jeduthun, who may have been an arranger of psalms (see Psalms 39, 62, 77 and I Chronicles 16:37-42). One of the reasons that the mention of the Korahite Heman along with others, especially Ethan, is interesting regarding the date of the Korahite psalms, is that one reference outside of Chronicles also groups the two characters and refers to them as if they were contemporaries of Solomon! I Kings 4:31 describes Solomon as wiser than “Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman,” among others. This leaves open the possibility that Ethan and Heman were pre-exilic figures whose later clans had charge of worship in the Second Temple.
According to (to, for, concerning) Alamoth. This is the name of a tune to which the psalm might be sung, or a description of the way it was to be performed. If it is a title, many readings are possible. Alamoth has been translated by various ancient witnesses as either “Young Women,” “Innocence,” “Secrets,” “Ancient Days,” and even “Death,” depending on what vowels are placed with the given consonants. If this is a choral direction, “According to Alamoth” could mean that the piece was to be sung by children, or other soprano voices which might include young women or young boys.
A Song. This title occurs in Psalm 18, 45-46, 65-68, 75-76, 83 (the only one not a psalm of praise), 87-88, 92, 108. The songs of ascent are 120-134.
Psalm 46: 1-3 offer a confession of faith rising above the raging of nature at creation. 1God (Elohim) is our refuge and strength, a very present, and therefore needed and real, help in trouble, the theme of the Psalm. Similar imagery is in 18:2. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. The total collapse of what is finite cannot frighten the faithful. It takes great boldness to declare that they will not fear when the world is falling apart. 3 Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah The destruction of creation is not fearful to the faithful. The language of verses 2-3 is mythological, going back to the Canaanite traditions, such as the subduing of monsters in creation that we find in the creation story of Ugarit.
Imagine a man who faces a lot of problems in his daily work and strains in his other duties. But this man is also happily married and thus looks forward to returning home each day. And because his home is a place of love and joy, he can cope, even with some zest, with those difficulties outside. If his marriage were to go sour, however, he might find the other problems of life altogether too much to deal with. The untroubled home, being a refuge or center of operations, gives him a place not to hide, but to regroup and then sally forth again.[1] In saying that God is our refuge, the psalmist is not seeking to escape, but he recognizes that God is our rock of secure footing, of joy, and of strength from which to deal with the problems of life. God is a refuge who protects us not by hiding us, but by equipping us to face that which cannot be avoided, whether it be cancer, meaninglessness, terrorism, death of a loved one, financial loss, foreclosure or anything else. And that kind of refuge, which God provides to those who trust in God, does not go away. It does not change.
Psalm 46: 4-7 offer confession of faith above the assaults of the nations in history. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High (Elyon). There is no river in Jerusalem, but a reference to the mythological rising of Eden or Paradise is possible. The poet offers a deliberate contrast with the desolation mentioned above. God has domesticated the waters of chaos. The description might be imaginative, since the Gihon Spring, the main water source of Jerusalem, is too small to fit the depiction of this verse. The point is that no catastrophe threatens the rule of God. 5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. God is the one on whom Jerusalem relies, not military might. The psalmist envisions God as dwelling in Jerusalem. As the dangerous night ends, the psalmist envisions an opportune time, a time when deliverance comes. 6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter, matching the defeat of chaos, where mountains toppled in verse 2; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The reference to the nations suggests a siege of the city. The historical event takes on cosmic significance. 7 The LORD (Yahweh) of hosts, the Ark being a reference, the Lord is warrior is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge, meaning deliverance of Jerusalem. Selah
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