Psalms 46:4

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
river	נָהָ֗ר na.Har	H5104	a stream (including the sea · noun, common masculine singular absolute
streams	פְּלָגָ֗יו pe.la.Gav	H6388	a rill (i.e. small channel of water · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
glad	יְשַׂמְּח֥וּ ye.sa.me.Chu	H8055	probably to brighten up · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
city	עִיר 'ir-	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · noun, common feminine singular construct
God	אֱלֹהִ֑ים 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
holy	קְ֝דֹ֗שׁ ke.Dosh	H6918	sacred (ceremonially or morally) · adjective, masculine singular construct
tabernacles	מִשְׁכְּנֵ֥י mish.ke.Nei	H4908	a residence (including a shepherd's hut · noun, common masculine plural construct
High	עֶלְיֽוֹן el.Yon	H5945	an elevation · adjective, masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Revelation 22:1-3 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Ezekiel 47:1-12 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for…
Psalms 36:8-9 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
Psalms 48:8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.
Psalms 87:3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
2 Chronicles 6:6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
Isaiah 60:14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the sol…
Psalms 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 46:1-5

The psalmist here teaches us by his own example. I. To triumph in God, and his relation to us and presence with us, especially when we have had some fresh experiences of his appearing in our behalf (Psa 46:1): God is our refuge and strength; we have found him so, he has engaged to be so, and he ever will be so. Are we pursued? God is our refuge to whom we may flee, and in whom we may be safe and think ourselves so; secure upon good grounds, Pro 18:10. Are we oppressed by troubles? Have we work to do and enemies to grapple with? God is our strength, to bear us up under our burdens, to fit us for all our services and sufferings; he will by his grace put strength into us, and on him we may stay…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 46:4

God's favor is denoted by a river (compare Psa 36:8; Zac 14:8; Rev 22:1). city of God, the holy place--His earthly residence, Jerusalem and the temple (compare Psa 2:6; Psa 3:4; Psa 20:2; Psa 48:2, &c.). God's favor, like a river whose waters are conducted in channels, is distributed to all parts of His Church. most High--denoting His supremacy (Psa 17:2).

John Gill on Psalms 46:4

There is a river,.... The allusion is either to the river Kidron, which ran by Jerusalem; or to the waters of Shiloah, which by different courses and branches, ran through the city of Jerusalem, and supplied the several parts of it with water, to the joy and comfort of its inhabitants: but the words are to be understood in a figurative sense, as applicable to Gospel times; and this river either designs the Gospel, the streams of which are its doctrines, which are living waters that went out from Jerusalem, and which publish glad tidings of great joy to all sensible sinners; or the Spirit and his graces, which are compared to a well, and rivers of living water, in the exercise of which the sa…

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John Calvin on Psalms 46:3-5

Psalm 46:3-5 3. Though the waters thereof roar and rage [175] tempestuously: though the mountains be shaken with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4. The streams of her river shall make glad the city of God, the sanctuary of the tabernacles of the Most High. 5. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God will help her at the dawn of the morning. 3 Though the waters thereof roar, etc This verse ought to be read in connection with the verse which follows, because it is necessary to complete the sense, as if it had been said: Though the waters of the sea roar and swell, and by their fierce impetuosity shake the very mountains -- even in the midst of these dreadful tumults, the holy cit…

The Church Fathers

The city of God, or the church, is the reasonable spirit. The flowing of the river is the gifts of the Spirit.
— Evagrius Ponticus, NOTES ON THE PSALMS 45[46].5

As a river divided into countless tributaries waters the surrounding land, so God's providence flows everywhere, spreading copiously, advancing in a rush and covering everything.
— John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 46:1

He gave the name "river" here to the preaching of the gospel and "city" to the way of life of God-fearing people, watered by the streams of the river to the point of fruitfulness.
— Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 46:5

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Alamoth — Virgins, a musical term (1 Chr. 15:20), denoting that the psalm which bears this inscription (Ps. 46) was to be sung by soprano or female voices.
Tent — (1.) Heb. ‘ohel (Gen. 9:21, 27). This word is used also of a dwelling or habitation (1 Kings 8:66; Isa. 16:5; Jer. 4:20), and of the temple (Ezek. 41:1). When used of the tabernacle, as in 1 Kings…
Cities · Built: Beside rivers — Built: Beside rivers
Emblems Of The Holy Spirit, The · Refreshing — Refreshing
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
Jerusalem · .CITY OF GOD — .CITY OF GOD
River · .Of salvation — .Of salvation
Rivers · Cities often built beside — Cities often built beside
Salvation · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 46:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 46:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 46:4

John Gill on Psalms 46:4

John Calvin on Psalms 46:3-5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 46:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 46:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 46:4

John Gill on Psalms 46:4

John Calvin on Psalms 46:3-5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 46:4-7

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 46:4-6

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 46:4