Catholic Commentary on Psalm 46

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10)

God Our Refuge and Strength

Psalm 46 opens with one of the great declarations of trust in the whole Bible: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. The imagery is of cosmic catastrophe: not the ordinary troubles of daily life but the dissolution of the created order itself. Mountains falling into the sea, waters roaring, the earth giving way. And in the middle of this absolute worst-case scenario: therefore we will not fear.

The confidence is not grounded in any external stability, because all external stability has been removed in the imagery. It is grounded in the one who remains when everything else gives way. This psalm was the inspiration for Luther's great Reformation hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," and it has been sung by communities facing persecution, disaster, and existential threat in every century since it was written.

The River of God

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. The river flowing through the city of God is the river of Eden and the river of Ezekiel's vision and the river of Revelation 22: the water of life that flows from the presence of God. The city that has this river within it does not need any other defence. God is in her midst.

Be Still and Know

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. This is the command at the centre of the chaos: be still. In Hebrew the word means to let go, to release, to cease striving. The stillness is not passive indifference but the active choice to stop trying to manage what only God can manage. Know that I am God. The knowing is not intellectual acknowledgment but the experiential recognition that comes when the striving ceases and the presence is allowed to be present.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, be still. In the middle of whatever is giving way in your life, whatever mountains are falling, whatever waters are roaring, be still. Not because it is not serious. Because God is more serious than it is. He is exalted among the nations. He will be exalted in the earth. And the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob, is your refuge.

Prayer

God our refuge and strength, ever-present in trouble, let us not fear though the earth give way. Be still in us. Make us still before you. Let us know that you are God, exalted among the nations, the Lord of hosts who is our refuge. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

46
God Is Our Refuge and Strength
(2 Kings 18:13–16; 2 Chronicles 32:1–8)
For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.* 46:0 Alamoth is probably a musical or liturgical term; here and in 1 Chronicles 15:20. A song.
 
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in times of trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth is transformed
and the mountains are toppled
into the depths of the seas,
3 though their waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake in the surge.
Selah
4 There is a river whose streams delight the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her; she will not be moved.
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 Nations rage, kingdoms crumble;
the earth melts when He lifts His voice.
7 The LORD of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
8 Come, see the works of the LORD,
who brings devastation upon the earth.
9 He makes wars to cease throughout the earth;
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
He burns the shields † 46:9 Or chariots in the fire.
 
10 “Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted over the earth.”
 
11 The LORD of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

*^ 46:0 Alamoth is probably a musical or liturgical term; here and in 1 Chronicles 15:20.

†46:9 46:9 Or chariots

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