“Welcome to Torah Today Ministries and our continuing series Tehillim Talks, our studies in the Psalms. And in this episode, we find ourselves in Psalm 46, a very short psalm, only 11 verses, and it divides itself very easily into three sections. And it has a rather long attribution.
It is this: To the Choir Master, Of the Sons of Korah, and this is one of the eight psalms in this group of psalms that are all attributed to the Sons of Korah. According to Alamot — we don’t know what Alamot (עֲלָמוֹת) is. We find the word over in 1 Chronicles 15:20, where it talks about “harps according to Alamot.” Whether this Alamot is a tuning, or if it’s a melody or a particular type of harp or musical instrument, we simply don’t know.
But the Hebrew word itself, Alamot (עֲלָמוֹת), can be translated a couple of different ways. One is Al-Mut (עַל־מּוּת), which means “upon death.” And if that’s how it should be translated, this is a psalm that is to be sung and studied and contemplated either when a person is approaching death or when we’ve lost a loved one, because this psalm does contain great comfort.
It could also be pronounced Olamot (עוֹלָמוֹת). Olam (עוֹלָם) is the Hebrew word for an age or an eon. So this would be the plural — “for the ages” or “according to the ages,” or an “ageless song.”
Also, this is the only psalm in the Book of Psalms that’s called merely “a song.” We’ve seen earlier a song for the dedication of the temple (Psalm 30:1), and in the last episode in Psalm 45, we found the Book of Psalms’ only love song; but here — just “a song,” the only one in the entire 150 psalms that’s simply called “a song.”
Make of that what you will.”
“But let’s take a look at the first three verses, the first section.
‘God is our refuge and strength, a help in trouble readily found.
Therefore we will not fear when the earth changes, though the mountains shift into the heart of the sea,
its waters roar and foam, the mountains tremble at its swelling.’ (Psalm 46:1–3)
And so the first section ends with the word Selah, so we know we’ve come to the end of a section. These three verses describe a time of great turmoil.
You know, we usually think of the earth as being solid, and we have both feet planted firmly in the earth; we feel stable, like everything’s good. But here we find a place where the ground is shaking and unstable — the earth is changing, the mountains are shifting into the heart of the sea, the waters of the sea are roaring and foaming, and the mountains tremble. In other words, all the things that we thought of as solid, stable, and unchanging are all unstable and shifting and changing a great deal.
But the psalmist says, we will not fear. We won’t be afraid, because God is our refuge — that’s where we go when we need protection. He is our strength — He is what we need when we are weak. He is our help.”
“This is what we need when we need assistance and guidance. And this word for help is unusual because the way the word is spelled is as Ezra’s name. Let me explain.
The word for help in Hebrew is Ezer (עֵזֶר). It’s found many times in the Scriptures — for example, in Genesis 2:18. It’s part of people’s names, like Eliezer (אֱלִיעֶזֶר) means ‘My God helps,’ and Ebenezer (אֶבֶן הָעֵזֶר) means ‘Stone of Help.’ The man Ezra (עֶזְרָא) — his name comes from this word Ezer.
Outside of the books of Ezra–Nehemiah, this is the only place where Ezra’s name appears (Psalm 46:1). Now, did the psalmist mean for this to be spelled like Ezra’s name? Is there some allusion here to Ezra? Or could it be that Ezra’s parents decided to name him after the spelling of this word in this psalm? We don’t know.
But we do know that God’s Spirit is at work in the writing of these psalms. And it’s almost as if to say, when you see everything being shaken to pieces and being destroyed, remember that God is our Ezra (עֶזְרָא) — He restores that which has been destroyed (Nehemiah 8–9).”
“There are a number of different words being used here for changing and shaking and so on, and three of them are very similar. There’s mur (מוּר), meaning ‘change’; mot (מוֹט), ‘shift’; and mug (מוּג), ‘melt.’ (Psalm 46:2–6)
So mur, mot, mug — a play on words. The psalmist piles them together to describe how everything seems to be collapsing — melting, shaking, falling apart.”
“As I record this, one week from today is Passover (Exodus 12:1–14). And one week ago today was the eclipse we watched from our backyard — incredible to see. Just a few days ago, Iran launched missile attacks into Israel. The whole world is shaking; things are changing.
Therefore, we will not fear when the earth changes (Psalm 46:2).
The seas and oceans in Scripture often symbolize the nations (Isaiah 17:12–13). So when the psalm speaks of waters roaring and foaming, it’s depicting national turmoil. And yet the psalmist says, we will not fear, for God is our refuge and strength.”
“I’ve discovered — and I can speak for Robin as well — that the more difficult the world becomes, the closer God draws to us. When things are the most chaotic out there, His peace arrives more quickly in here (Philippians 4:7). It’s like the more shaky things get out there, the more stable they become in here. That’s been our experience.”
“‘There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts.’ (Psalm 46:4–6)
God is in the midst of her — she shall not be shifted. Stay by the river; ignore the oceans. Follow the still stream that flows in the spiritual realm — for as 2 Corinthians 4:18 teaches, ‘the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal.’”
“‘Adonai of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our high tower.’ (Psalm 46:7)
Adonai Tzeva’ot (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת) — the Lord of Hosts, of heaven’s armies — is with us. The God of Jacob is our Misgav(מִשְׂגָּב), our high tower. You’ll find this same word in Psalm 9:9: ‘Adonai is a Misgav for the oppressed, a Misgav in times of trouble.’”
“‘Come, behold the works of Adonai, how He has brought desolations on the earth.’ (Psalm 46:8)
The Hebrew word for behold is Chazah (חָזָה) — to see with the spirit or the mind, not just with the eyes (Isaiah 33:17). The Chazan (חַזָּן), the prayer leader, comes from this same root — he is the one who beholds God and leads others in worship.
Even desolations can be beheld as wonders when seen through God’s eyes, for He makes wars cease (Psalm 46:9) and builds His kingdom through the very shakings that trouble us.”
“‘He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire.’ (Psalm 46:9)
‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10) is better translated ‘Relax and know that I am God.’ The Hebrew word is Rafah (רָפָה) — ‘to loosen, to let go.’
It’s the same word Pharaoh used in Exodus 5:17 when he accused Israel of being lazy — Rafah atem, ‘You are lazy!’ And it’s the same word God uses in Joshua 1:5 when He promises, ‘I will not Rafah (let go of you) nor forsake you.’ So we must relax our grip and let go of control, but God will never let go of us.”
“‘Adonai of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our high tower, Selah.’ (Psalm 46:11)
The God of the heel — the God of the lowly — is our high tower. Even when everything is shaken apart, we can be secure in Him. We may have to let go of some things before we can experience that peace.
So until next time, I wish you shalom — and may God bless.”
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To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamot. A Song.
1-3 God is our refuge and strength, a help in trouble, readily found. 2 Therefore we will not fear when the earth changes, though the mountains shift into the heart of the sea. 3 Its waters roar and foam; the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
עצרה = “Ezra”
4-7 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be shifted; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms shift; He utters His voice, the earth melts. 7 Adonai of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our high tower. Selah
משגב (mis’gav) = “high tower/high fortress”
8-11 Go and behold the wonders of Adonai, how He has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Relax, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 Adonai of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our high tower. Selah
חזה (chazah) = “behold with the spirit/mind”
רפה (raphah) = “relax, let go”