Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

PSALM 46: GOD IS OUR REFUGE The Lord is With Us!

It is traditionally thought that this psalm, along with Psalms 47 and 48, were written upon the oc- casion of Jerusalem being delivered from an overwhelming attack by a foreign army. God intervenes on behalf of his beloved city and defeats the enemy by his own strength. This was Martin Luther’s favorite psalm and the inspiration for his influential hymn of the Reformation: “AMighty Fortress is Our God.” The two most likely scenarios for its composition are: 1. The Attack Upon Jehoshaphat- (2 Chron. 20) In this chapter the nations of Moab, Ammon and Edom declared war on Jehoshaphat and sent massive armies against Jerusalem. Jahaziel, one of the temple servants, prophesied to the nation: “ …Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s…He is with you…Go out there tomorrow for the Lord is with you.” (vs. 15,17). After the prophecy the sons of Korah, (the authors of this psalm) stood and shouted! “ Then the Levites form the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.”(v. 19) The singers went before the army: “ At the moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies…to start fighting among themselves.” (v. 22) When the Israelites ar- rived at the battlefield…” there were dead bodies lying on the ground for as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.”(v. 24) 2. The Attack Upon King Hezekiah- (2 Kgs. 18,19) King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked Judah during the reign of King Hezekiah. Sennacherib sent his representative to speak to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and he mocked the God of Israel and called for the complete surrender of the city. Hezekiah asked Isaiah the Prophet to intercede on their behalf. Isaiah prophesied: “ …’His armies will not enter Jerusalem to shoot their arrows. For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David, I will defend it.’ That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian troops. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere.” (2 Kgs. 19:32,34,35) Sennacherib returned to Assyria where he was slain by two of his sons. In either case Jerusalem experienced a marvelous deliverance and provided a background for the truths expressed in this psalm. This is one of the ‘Psalms of Zion’ that centers upon God’s presence in the city of Jerusalem. Other ‘Zion’ psalms are 48, 76, 84, 87, and 122. It is distinctly divided by three ‘se- lahs’ or ‘interludes’.

I THE REFUGE OF GOD - 1-3 (Selah/Interlude) II THE RIVER OF GOD - 4-7 (Selah/Interlude) III THE REIGN OF GOD - 8-11 (Selah/Interlude)

INTRODUCTION:

“ For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be sung by soprano voices. (He- brew- according to alamoth) A song.”

(For the ‘Sons of Korah’ see Psalm 42.) Although the meaning is not totally certain, the most pop- ular translation of ‘alamoth’ is ‘the soprano voices’. Heman was the leader of the sons of Korah and he had 14 sons and 3 daughters: “ All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer, for God had honored him with fourteen sons and three daughters.” (1 Chron. 25:5) This is pointing to the age of grace where God is using women in a powerful way in the area of leading worship. Although boys were also used in soprano parts, it is an interesting possibility that this psalm was written for the descendants of the daugh- ters of Heman and they might have been in the choir sent out before the armies of King Jehoshaphat to confront the enemy! It is reminiscent of the ministry of the great worship leader Miriam: “ Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women in rhythm and dance. And Miriam sang this song: ‘I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has thrown both horse and rider into the sea.” (Ex. 15:20,21)

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