Psalms · Chapter 46

Verse 1. God is our refuge] It begins abruptly, but nobly; ye may trust in whom and in what ye please: but GOD (ELOHIM) is our refuge and strength.

A very present help] A help found to be very powerful and effectual in straits and difficulties. The words are very emphatic: dam axmn twrxb hrz[ ezerah betsaroth nimtsa meod, “He is found an exceeding, or superlative help in difficulties.” Such we have found him, and therefore celebrate his praise.

Verse 1. God is our refuge and strength — He hath manifested himself to be so in the course of his providence in time past, and he has engaged to be so in time to come, and will not fail to fulfil his engagement. Are we in danger from visible or invisible enemies? God is our refuge, to whom we may flee, and in whom we may be safe. Have we work to do, a warfare to accomplish, and sufferings to endure? God is our strength to bear us up under our burdens, and to fit us for all our services and sufferings. Are we oppressed with troubles and distresses? He is a help in trouble: yea, a present help — Hebrew, dam axmn hrz[, gnezra nimtza meod, a help found exceedingly, or, tried very much; one whom we have found by experience to be such; a help on which we may write, probatum est; or, a help at hand, that is, never far to seek, but always ready to be found of us. Or, a help sufficient, accommodated to every case and exigence whatever.

1. Refuge and strength—Two strong words to express complete safety. Very present help—Literally, God has been found a help in distress exceedingly. The idea is of greatness and sufficiency of help.

V. 2. Though-Though there should be nothing but confusion, and desolations round about us: which are often expressed by such metaphors.

Verse 2. Therefore will not we fear] Let what commotions will take place in the earth, we will trust in the all-powerful arm of God. Probably the earthquake referred to, here means political commotions, such as those mentioned under the title; and by mountains, kings or secular states may be intended.

Verses 2, 3. Therefore will not we fear — They that, with a holy reverence, fear God, need not, with any amazement, be afraid of any power of earth or hell. If God be for us, who can be against us? It is our duty, it is our privilege to be thus fearless. It is an evidence of a clear conscience, of an upright heart, and of a lively faith in God and in his providence and promise. Though the earth — The very foundation on which we stand, and on which are built all our temporal blessings; should be removed — Out of its place; should no longer support, but sink under us: though all our creature-confidence fail us, and that which should uphold us, threaten to swallow us up, as the earth did Korah; and though the mountains — The strongest and firmest parts of the earth; be carried into the midst of the sea — And lie buried in the unfathomed ocean; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled — Though the sea rage and foam, and make a dreadful noise, and its furious billows lash the shore with so much violence, that the mountains shake with the swelling thereof: yet, while we keep close to God, and have him for us, we have no cause to fear. What the heathen poet vainly boasted concerning his justum et tenacem propositi virum, his just and upright man, is really true of the believer that makes God his refuge and strength, and confides in him for support in trouble: Si fractus illabatur orbis,

Impavidum ferient ruinæ. — HORACE.

“If the world should be dissolved, and fall in pieces around him, the ruins would strike him unappalled.” The psalmist, however, speaks figuratively. The earth represents the established course of human things, mountains are princes and kingdoms, and the waters of the sea multitudes of people. His meaning, therefore, is, though there should be nothing but shakings, commotions, and desolations, in all the nations around us; though kingdoms and states be in the greatest confusion, embroiled in wars, tossed with tumults, and their governments be overturned by insurrections of the people, and be in continual revolution; though their powers combine against the church and people of God, though they aim at no less than their ruin, and go very near to effect their purpose; yet will we not fear, knowing that all these troubles will end well for the church. If the earth be removed, those have reason to fear that have laid up their treasures on earth, and have set their hearts upon it; but not those who have laid up for themselves treasures in heaven, and who then can expect to be most happy, when the earth, and all the works that are therein, shall be burned up. Let those be troubled at the troubling of the waters, who build their confidence on such a floating foundation, but not those who are led to the Rock that is higher than they, and find firm footing upon that rock.

2. The all-sufficiency of divine aid precludes fear. The earth be removed—The most stable and abiding of figures. Psalm 104:5; Ecclesiastes 1:4. Mountains—Emblems of strength and firmness. Job 9:6; Psalm 18:7. The suppositional conditions imply the greatest disorder, if not the dissolution of the system of nature, illustrating human catastrophes terrible and world wide. The prophetic writings abound in such imagery. Compare Habakkuk 3:17-19.

Verse 3. Though the waters thereof roar] Waters, in prophetic language, signify people; and, generally, people in a state of political commotion, here signified by the term roar. And by these strong agitations of the people, the mountains-the secular rulers, shake with the swelling thereof-tremble, for fear that these popular tumults should terminate in the subversion of the state. This very people had seen all Asia in a state of war. The Persians had overturned Asia Minor, and destroyed the Babylonian empire: they had seen Babylon itself sacked and entered by the Persians; and Cyrus, its conqueror, had behaved to them as a father and deliverer. While their oppressors were destroyed, themselves were preserved, and permitted to return to their own land.

Verses 2, 3. Therefore will not we fear — They that, with a holy reverence, fear God, need not, with any amazement, be afraid of any power of earth or hell. If God be for us, who can be against us? It is our duty, it is our privilege to be thus fearless. It is an evidence of a clear conscience, of an upright heart, and of a lively faith in God and in his providence and promise. Though the earth — The very foundation on which we stand, and on which are built all our temporal blessings; should be removed — Out of its place; should no longer support, but sink under us: though all our creature-confidence fail us, and that which should uphold us, threaten to swallow us up, as the earth did Korah; and though the mountains — The strongest and firmest parts of the earth; be carried into the midst of the sea — And lie buried in the unfathomed ocean; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled — Though the sea rage and foam, and make a dreadful noise, and its furious billows lash the shore with so much violence, that the mountains shake with the swelling thereof: yet, while we keep close to God, and have him for us, we have no cause to fear. What the heathen poet vainly boasted concerning his justum et tenacem propositi virum, his just and upright man, is really true of the believer that makes God his refuge and strength, and confides in him for support in trouble: Si fractus illabatur orbis,

Impavidum ferient ruinæ. — HORACE.

“If the world should be dissolved, and fall in pieces around him, the ruins would strike him unappalled.” The psalmist, however, speaks figuratively. The earth represents the established course of human things, mountains are princes and kingdoms, and the waters of the sea multitudes of people. His meaning, therefore, is, though there should be nothing but shakings, commotions, and desolations, in all the nations around us; though kingdoms and states be in the greatest confusion, embroiled in wars, tossed with tumults, and their governments be overturned by insurrections of the people, and be in continual revolution; though their powers combine against the church and people of God, though they aim at no less than their ruin, and go very near to effect their purpose; yet will we not fear, knowing that all these troubles will end well for the church. If the earth be removed, those have reason to fear that have laid up their treasures on earth, and have set their hearts upon it; but not those who have laid up for themselves treasures in heaven, and who then can expect to be most happy, when the earth, and all the works that are therein, shall be burned up. Let those be troubled at the troubling of the waters, who build their confidence on such a floating foundation, but not those who are led to the Rock that is higher than they, and find firm footing upon that rock.

V. 4. A river-This may design the gracious presence, and blessing of the Lord, which is frequently described under the name of waters. Make glad-Shall not barely preserve it from danger, but give great occasion for rejoicing and thanksgiving. The city-Jerusalem, the place where God’s holy tabernacle is settled.

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.

Verses 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, 2 Chronicles 32:30, and Isaiah 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 God’s 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. God’s 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, Isaiah 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 God’s church; and here, as frequently, put for it; the holy place of the tabernacles — The place where God’s 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 is, 1st, Not destroyed or removed as the earth may be, (verse 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, rqb twnpl, liphnoth boker, before the morning, or, when the morning appeareth, that is, very speedily, for he is a present help, (verse 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.

Verse 4. A river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God. This was the Gihon, a very copious fountain on the west of Jerusalem, like St. Winnefrid’s well in Wales, or the spring at Cheddar in Somerset. At this fount, accounted holy, Solomon was consecrated by Zadock and Nathan. King Hezekiah made a subterranean passage for this water under the hills, on the west side of the city of David; foreseeing that in a future siege, the enemy might find it and divert it from the city. Of the great and secret aquæduct we have a specimen in Procopius 4. Gothicorum. From this fountain a stream was conducted to the temple, and to the pools in the city, making them glad. From this fountain, the life of Jerusalem, many fine ideas were suggested to the prophets concerning the living waters, which replenish the church of God.

It is a very conspicuous blunder in one of our commentators to say, that the psalmist “alludes here to the brook Kidron, and its two streams or rivulets flowing from it, Gihon and Siloah, 2 Chronicles 32:30, whose waters went softly to Jerusalem.

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, (Isaiah 8:6,) known in later times as Siloam, (John 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, 2 Chronicles 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 (Isaiah 22:11) and “Upper Pool” of Isaiah (Isaiah 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, (2 Chronicles 32:4; Ecclus. 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, (Isaiah 12:3; John 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 Ezekiel 47:1-12; Zechariah 14:8, and “the river of life” proceeding “out of the throne of God and the Lamb,” Revelation 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 (Isaiah 8:6) refers to the gentle flow of its waters, imparting life and cheer to the city.

Verse 5. God is in the midst of her] God will not abandon them that trust in him; he will maintain his own cause; and, if his Church should at any time be attacked, he will help her, and that right early-with the utmost speed. As soon as the onset is made, God is there to resist. As by the day-break the shadows and darkness are dissipated; so by the bright rising of Jehovah, the darkness of adversity shall be scattered.

Verses 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, 2 Chronicles 32:30, and Isaiah 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 God’s 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. God’s 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, Isaiah 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 God’s church; and here, as frequently, put for it; the holy place of the tabernacles — The place where God’s 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 is, 1st, Not destroyed or removed as the earth may be, (verse 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, rqb twnpl, liphnoth boker, before the morning, or, when the morning appeareth, that is, very speedily, for he is a present help, (verse 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.

Ver. 5. She shall not be moved. God having put his great name in Jerusalem, the rabbins cherished a fond notion that the city should stand for ever, which promise respected the spiritual, not the secular Zion.

5. God is in the midst of her—Not the natural strength of the city, nor its improved fortifications, commissary supplies, extensive water works, military discipline, and arsenal stores, on which Hezekiah had bestowed such timely attention—not these were the strength of the city, but God, who was in the midst of her. Right early—Literally, at the uncovering of dawn; the earliest day streak, before the dawn proper; that is, immediately, in the opportune moment.

Verse 6. The heathen raged] There had been terrible wars on all hands, and mighty states were crushed, when the poor Jews were, by the especial favour of God, kept in peace and safety. Kingdoms were moved while they were preserved.

He uttered his voice] These words seem to refer to thunder, lightning, and earthquake. The expressions, however, may be figurative, and refer to the wars and desolations already mentioned. God gave the command; and one empire was cast down, and another was raised up.

Verses 6, 7. The heathen raged — At David’s coming to the throne, and at the setting up of the kingdom of the Son of David. Compare Psalm 2:1,

2. The kingdoms were moved — With indignation, and rose up in a tumultuous, furious manner to oppose it. He uttered his voice — He spake unto them in his wrath, Psalm 2:5, and they were moved in another sense; they were struck into confusion and consternation, put into disorder, and all their measures broken. The earth melted — So that they found no firm footing; their earthly hearts failed them for fear, and dissolved like snow before the sun. The Lord of hosts is with us — He who commands all the armies of heaven is on our side. Why then should we be afraid? The God of Jacob is our refuge — That God who preserved our forefather Jacob in all his distresses, and hath made a gracious covenant with his posterity, defends us as in an impregnable fortress, where we need not fear any danger.

Ver. 6. The heathen raged, as in Psalm 2:1, when David was made king, and when Israel was likely to gain the sovereignty over all Syria.

6. The heathen raged—Compare Isaiah 10:24-34, on Sennacherib’s entrance into Judah, and 2 Kings 18:17-35, on his blasphemous boasting. He uttered his voice—The voice of God is opposed to the arrogant and impious boasting of the enemy. This availed nothing, that caused the earth to melt, that is, the hearts of the enemy to dissolve in fear. See also Joshua 2:9. The Hebrew lwq, (kohl,) “voice,” does not always apply to the human “voice,” or even to articulate sound; but always means an audible sound of some sort of definite import, as “a voice of rain,” (thunder,) 1 Kings 18:41; and “voice of chariots, and voice of horses,” 2 Kings 7:6. So “the voice of a marching in the tops of the mulberry trees,” 2 Samuel 5:24, (where see note,) might have been caused by a wind miraculously ordered. Isaiah (Isaiah 37:7) describes the overthrow of Sennacherib’s army to have been by a blast, or wind, (jzr,) which would fitly apply to the simoon, the scourge and terror of Palestine and the Desert. See on Psalm 103:16, and 11:6. Though its approach is heard at a great distance, in this case it awoke no soldier, owing to the preternatural sleep referred to in Psalm 76:6, where see note.

V. 7. Raged-Against God, and against his people. Uttered-He spake to them in his wrath. The earth-The inhabitants of the earth were consumed.

Verse 7. The Lord of hosts is with us] We, feeble Jews, were but a handful of men; but the Lord of hosts-the God of armies, was on our side. Him none could attack with hope of success, and his legions could not be over-thrown.

The God of Jacob] The God who appeared to Jacob in his distress, and saved him out of all his troubles, appeared also for us his descendants, and has amply proved to us that he has not forgotten his covenant.

Verses 6, 7. The heathen raged — At David’s coming to the throne, and at the setting up of the kingdom of the Son of David. Compare Psalm 2:1,

2. The kingdoms were moved — With indignation, and rose up in a tumultuous, furious manner to oppose it. He uttered his voice — He spake unto them in his wrath, Psalm 2:5, and they were moved in another sense; they were struck into confusion and consternation, put into disorder, and all their measures broken. The earth melted — So that they found no firm footing; their earthly hearts failed them for fear, and dissolved like snow before the sun. The Lord of hosts is with us — He who commands all the armies of heaven is on our side. Why then should we be afraid? The God of Jacob is our refuge — That God who preserved our forefather Jacob in all his distresses, and hath made a gracious covenant with his posterity, defends us as in an impregnable fortress, where we need not fear any danger.

7. A refrain, as in verses 1 and 11, which see.

V. 8. Desolations-Among those who were vexatious to God’s people.

Verse 8. Come, behold the works of the Lord] See empires destroyed and regenerated; and in such a way as to show that a supernatural agency has been at work. By the hand of God alone could these great changes be effected.

Verses 8, 9. Come, behold the works of the Lord — Draw near, all ye that doubt whether God be with us, and consider seriously these wonderful victories, which it would have been impossible for us to have obtained without the help of God; what desolations he hath made in the earth — That is, among those people of the earth who were neighbouring and hostile to us, and thought to have laid us waste, 2 Samuel 8:1; 1 Chronicles 18:1. Mark, I beseech you, how many cities we have taken, and what desolations we have made, by his assistance, in their country. All the operations of providence must be considered as the works of the Lord, and his attributes and purposes must be taken notice of in them, particularly when he turns upon the enemies of his church that very destruction which they designed to bring upon her. He maketh wars to cease — He hath ended our wars, and settled us in a firm and well-grounded peace; unto the end of the earth — Or of this land, namely, of Israel, from one end of it to the other. Or, he may be understood as speaking more generally, that God, when he pleases, puts an end to the wars of nations, and crowns them with peace. For war and peace depend on his will and word, as much as storms and calms at sea.

Ver. 8. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made. The whole belt of nations, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, and the Syrians subdued, as Psalm 83.; and now the reign of peace is come, after a long and stormy time.

8. Come, behold—An invitation to survey the fearful field of death. Read 2 Kings 19:35.

V. 9. To cease-He hath settled as in a firm and well-grounded peace. The land-Of Israel: from one end of it to the other. The bow-The bows and spears, and chariots of their enemies.

Verse 9. He maketh wars to cease] By the death of Cambyses, and setting Darius, son of Hystaspes, upon the Persian throne, he has tranquillized the whole empire. That same God who for our unfaithfulness has delivered us into the hands of our enemies, and subjected us to a long and grievous captivity and affliction, has now turned our captivity, and raised us up the most powerful friends and protectors in the very place in which we have been enduring so great a fight of afflictions. He breaketh the bow] He has rendered useless all the implements of war; and so profound and secure is the general tranquillity, that the bow may be safely broken, the spear snapped asunder, and the chariot burnt in the fire.

Verses 8, 9. Come, behold the works of the Lord — Draw near, all ye that doubt whether God be with us, and consider seriously these wonderful victories, which it would have been impossible for us to have obtained without the help of God; what desolations he hath made in the earth — That is, among those people of the earth who were neighbouring and hostile to us, and thought to have laid us waste, 2 Samuel 8:1; 1 Chronicles 18:1. Mark, I beseech you, how many cities we have taken, and what desolations we have made, by his assistance, in their country. All the operations of providence must be considered as the works of the Lord, and his attributes and purposes must be taken notice of in them, particularly when he turns upon the enemies of his church that very destruction which they designed to bring upon her. He maketh wars to cease — He hath ended our wars, and settled us in a firm and well-grounded peace; unto the end of the earth — Or of this land, namely, of Israel, from one end of it to the other. Or, he may be understood as speaking more generally, that God, when he pleases, puts an end to the wars of nations, and crowns them with peace. For war and peace depend on his will and word, as much as storms and calms at sea.

9. Burneth the chariot in the fire—This, according to Ezekiel 39:9,

Verse 10. Be still, and know that I am God] wprh harpu, Cease from your provocations of the Divine justice; cease from murmuring against the dispensations of his providence; cease from your labour for a season, that ye may deeply reflect on the severity and goodness of God-severity to those who are brought down and destroyed; goodness to you who are raised up and exalted:—cease from sin and rebellion against your God; let that disgrace you no more, that we may no more be brought into distress and desolation.

Know that I am God] Understand that I am the Fountain of power, wisdom, justice, goodness, and truth.

I will be exalted among the heathen] By the dispensation of punishments, the heathen shall know me to be the God of justice; by the publication of my Gospel among them, they shall know me to be the God of goodness.

I will be exalted in the earth.] I will have my salvation proclaimed in every nation, among every people, and in every tongue.

Verse 10. Be still, &c. — He speaks, either, 1st, To the Israelites, and commands them henceforth silently and quietly to wait upon him, without fear or diffidence; to be calm and sedate, and tremble no more; but, knowing him to be God, God alone, who would be exalted above the heathen, to leave it to him to maintain his own honour, to fulfil his own counsels, and support his own interest in the world. Or, rather, 2d, He speaks to the heathen, who had raged, verse 6, and admonishes them to cease assaulting and disturbing his people. Let them threaten no more, but know, to their terror, that Jehovah is the only true and Almighty God, and that their gods are but dumb and vain idols: that in spite of all their impotent malice against his name and honour, he will be exalted among them, as well as among his own people; will make himself glorious by his great and wonderful works; will be exalted in the earth — Or, in the world, as well as in the church. Let them, therefore, rage no more; for it is all in vain. He that sits in heaven laughs at them; the Lord has them in derision.

Ver. 10. Be still and know that I am God. From the time of David’s conquest of Syria, and during the whole reign of Solomon, the Israelites had peace, which is noticed here as the best time for spiritual improvement, and the exercises of devotion.

10, would mean that the chariots should serve as common fuel for the inhabitants. Thus what was intended as an engine of destruction, God converts into the humblest use of peaceful life. Thus the sword also shall be beaten into the ploughshare, Isaiah 2:4. God will rebuke the pride and ambition of man. The allusion to the war chariot could apply only to Sennacherib’s army, not to the Arabians in Jehoshaphat’s reign, (2 Chronicles 20,) and is decisive against dating the psalm at the latter invasion. See the introduction to Psalm 47.

10. Be still, and know that I am God—The great moral lesson of the psalm. The uproar of war is ended, the elements are hushed. The address is to Hebrew and Assyrian. Let the former “be still,” cease from his fears and anxieties, the latter from his arrogance and pride. Let God alone be exalted. He only is to be feared. Psalm 76:8.

V. 11. Be still-Stir no more against my people. God-The only true and almighty God; your gods are but dumb and impotent idols. Exalted-I will make myself glorious by my great and wonderful works.

Verse 11. The Lord of hosts is with us] Having heard these declarations of God, the people cry out with joy and exultation, The Lord of hosts, the God of armies, is with us; we will not fear what man can do unto us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.] He who saved our fathers will save us, and will never abandon his people in distress.

Selah.] This is a firm, lasting, unshaken, well-tried truth.

11. The Lord of hosts, etc.—This is the befitting refrain (verses 1 and 7) for closing, as it is the key note and central idea of the psalm.