Psalm 46 — God Is Our Refuge and Strength
The psalm behind Luther's 'A Mighty Fortress' — when mountains shake and nations rage, be still and know.
1God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
2Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change, And though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas;
3Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, Though the mountains tremble with the swelling thereof. [Selah
4There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
5God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God will help her, and that right early.
6The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7Jehovah of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. [Selah
8Come, behold the works of Jehovah, What desolations he hath made in the earth.
9He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariots in the fire.
10Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
11Jehovah of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. [Selah
Historical context
Psalm 46 is attributed to the sons of Korah, the levitical guild of temple singers. Many scholars connect it with Hezekiah's deliverance from Sennacherib in 701 BC (2 Kings 19), when the Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem and was destroyed in a night. Whatever its first occasion, the psalm became Israel's go-to song for nights of cosmic and political tremor — and Martin Luther's in 1527 plague-stricken Wittenberg, where he wrote 'Ein Feste Burg' from its opening lines.
Commentary
Verses 1-3 set the scene: even if 'the earth changes, and the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas' — the most stable things imaginable to ancient Near Eastern hearers — God remains 'a very present help in trouble.' The word 'present' translates a Hebrew construction meaning 'abundantly found.'
Verses 4-7 shift from chaos to the city of God. 'There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad' — Jerusalem had no natural river, so this is theological geography: God's presence is the river. 'God is within her. She shall not be moved.'
Verses 8-11 invite the reader to 'come, see Yahweh's works.' The wars cease; the bow is broken; the spear is cut in two. Then comes the famous command — 'Be still, and know that I am God.' Hebrew rapû is closer to 'stop striving' than 'sit quietly'; it is the call to drop the weapon, not to feel calm.
The refrain repeats: 'Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our high tower.' Refuge is not a place but a person.