◄ Psalm 46:6 ►
Nations rage, kingdoms crumble; the earth melts when He lifts His voice.
Study Bible
Nations rage
The Hebrew word for "nations" is "goyim," which often refers to Gentile nations or peoples outside of Israel. In the context of Psalm 46, it signifies the tumultuous and rebellious nature of the world powers against God's sovereignty. The word "rage" comes from the Hebrew "hamah," which conveys a sense of uproar or commotion. Historically, this reflects the constant state of conflict and unrest among nations, a theme prevalent throughout the Bible. The imagery here is of a world in chaos, yet it serves as a reminder of God's ultimate control over the affairs of men.

kingdoms crumble
The term "kingdoms" in Hebrew is "mamlakhot," referring to established realms or dominions. The word "crumble" is translated from "mowt," meaning to totter or fall. This phrase captures the transient nature of earthly powers. Throughout history, empires have risen and fallen, underscoring the futility of human pride and ambition when set against the eternal kingdom of God. This serves as a powerful reminder that no matter how mighty a kingdom may appear, it is subject to the will of God and can be brought to nothing in an instant.

the earth melts
The Hebrew word for "earth" is "erets," which can mean land, ground, or the entire world. "Melts" is derived from "muwg," suggesting a dissolving or vanishing. This vivid imagery portrays the overwhelming power of God, who can cause the very foundations of the earth to dissolve. It echoes the biblical theme of God's sovereignty over creation, as seen in passages like 2 Peter 3:10, where the elements will be destroyed by fire. This serves as a sobering reminder of the impermanence of the physical world and the enduring nature of God's word and promises.

He lifts His voice
The phrase "lifts His voice" indicates the authority and power of God's spoken word. In Hebrew, "nasa" means to lift or carry, and "qol" refers to voice or sound. This suggests that when God speaks, His voice carries weight and authority, commanding attention and obedience. Throughout Scripture, God's voice is depicted as powerful and creative, as in Genesis 1, where He speaks the world into existence. This phrase reassures believers of God's active presence and intervention in the world, emphasizing that His word is final and decisive.

the earth melts
Reiterating the previous phrase, the repetition underscores the certainty and immediacy of God's power over creation. The melting of the earth symbolizes the ultimate authority of God over all things, reminding believers of the temporary nature of the physical world and the eternal nature of God's kingdom. This serves as an encouragement to place trust not in earthly powers or possessions, but in the unshakeable foundation of God's sovereignty and love.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Nations
Refers to the various peoples and countries of the world. In the context of this Psalm, it highlights the tumult and chaos often found among human governments and societies.

2. Kingdoms
Represents the political and social structures that humans establish. The crumbling of kingdoms signifies the transient nature of earthly power compared to God's eternal sovereignty.

3. The Earth
Symbolizes the physical world and its susceptibility to God's power. The melting of the earth when God speaks underscores His ultimate authority over creation.

4. God's Voice
Represents the power and authority of God. When He speaks, creation responds, demonstrating His control over all things.

5. Psalmist
The author of the Psalm, traditionally believed to be the sons of Korah, who composed this song to express trust in God's protection and power.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty Over Nations
Despite the chaos and instability in the world, God remains in control. Believers can find peace in His sovereignty, knowing that no earthly power can thwart His plans.

The Transience of Earthly Power
Kingdoms and governments may rise and fall, but God's kingdom is eternal. Christians are encouraged to place their trust in God's unchanging rule rather than in temporary human institutions.

The Power of God's Word
God's voice has the power to change the course of history and creation itself. Believers should seek to hear and obey His word, recognizing its authority in their lives.

Trust in God's Protection
In times of global unrest and personal uncertainty, Christians can find refuge in God's strength and protection, as He is a present help in trouble.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding God's sovereignty over nations and kingdoms affect your perspective on current world events?

2. In what ways can you apply the truth of God's eternal kingdom to your daily life and decision-making?

3. How can you cultivate a deeper trust in God's protection during times of personal or global instability?

4. Reflect on a time when you experienced the power of God's word in your life. How did it impact you?

5. How can you encourage others to find peace and security in God's sovereignty amidst the chaos of the world?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 2
This Psalm also speaks of nations raging and plotting in vain against the Lord, emphasizing God's sovereignty over earthly powers.

Isaiah 40:15
Highlights the insignificance of nations compared to God's greatness, reinforcing the idea that human power is fleeting.

Revelation 19:15
Describes the power of Christ's word, which will ultimately judge and rule the nations, connecting to the theme of God's authoritative voice.
Sermons
A Divine Refuge and StrengthC. Short Psalm 46:1-11
A Psalm of War and PeaceJ. A. Black, M. A.Psalm 46:1-11
God Our RefugePulpit AnalystPsalm 46:1-11
Hope for the TroubledW. Forsyth Psalm 46:1-11
Man's Refuge, Strength and HelpRobert Bruce Hull.Psalm 46:1-11
Our Present HelpW. Birch.Psalm 46:1-11
Sure HelpW. Birch.Psalm 46:1-11
The Moral Mirror of the GoodHomilistPsalm 46:1-11
The Safe ShelterW. Birch.Psalm 46:1-11
The Saint's StrongholdC. Clemance Psalm 46:1-11
Gihon and the River of LifeJ. H. Evans, M. A.Psalm 46:4-7
God Our HelperJ. Foot, D. D.Psalm 46:4-7
The City and River of GodA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 46:4-7
The City of GodD. Jones.Psalm 46:4-7
The River of Divine GraceJ. Mitchell.Psalm 46:4-7
The River of GodJ. Cummins, D. D.Psalm 46:4-7
The River of MercyF. Tucker, B. APsalm 46:4-7
The River Through the CityHomiletic MagazinePsalm 46:4-7
The Security and Happiness of the ChurchD. Moore, M. A.Psalm 46:4-7
The Security and Happiness of the ChurchR. Watson.Psalm 46:4-7
The Security of the ChurchW. Mayors, M. A.Psalm 46:4-7
People
Jacob, Korah, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Angry, Fall, Forth, Heathen, Kingdoms, Lifted, Lifts, Melted, Melteth, Melts, Moved, Nations, Rage, Raged, Raised, Totter, Tottered, Troubled, Tumult, Uproar, Uttered, Utters, Voice, Wax
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 46:6

     4045   chaos
     4203   earth, the
     5196   voice
     5367   kingdoms

Psalm 46:4-7

     7271   Zion, as symbol

Library
God is Our Refuge
Westminster Abbey, 1873. Psalm xlvi. 1. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." This is a noble psalm, full of hope and comfort; and it will be more and more full of hope and comfort, the more faithfully we believe in the incarnation, the passion, the resurrection, and the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. For if we are to give credit to His express words, and to those of every book of the New Testament, and to the opinion of that Church into which we are baptised, …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

The Lord of Hosts, the God of Jacob
'The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge.' --PSALM xlvi. 11. Some great deliverance, the details of which we do not know, had been wrought for Israel, and this psalmist comes forth, like Miriam with her choir of maidens, to hymn the victory. The psalm throbs with exultation, but no human victor's name degrades the singer's lips. There is only one Conqueror whom he celebrates. The deliverance has been 'the work of the Lord'; the 'desolations' that have been made on the 'earth' …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The City and River of God
'There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered His voice, the earth melted. 7. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.'--PSALM xlvi 4-7. There are two remarkable events in the history of Israel, one or other of which most probably supplied the historical …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Desolations of the Lord, the Consolation of his Saints
IT SEEMS THAT EVERYTHING Christlike must have a history like that of Christ. His beginnings were small--the manger and the stable. So with the beginnings of that society which we love, and which we believe to be the very incarnation of the Spirit of Christ. Its beginnings also were small; but its latter end shall doubtless greatly increase--for, hath not the end of Christ become exceedingly glorious? He hath ascended up on high; he sitteth at the right hand of God, our Father; and doubtless this …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Eighteenth Day for Peace
WHAT TO PRAY.--For Peace "I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplication be made for kings and all that are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour."--1 TIM. ii"He maketh wars to cease to the end of the earth."--PS. xlvi. 9. What a terrible sight!--the military armaments in which the nations find their pride. What a terrible thought!--the evil passions that may at any moment bring …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

Of the Presence of God
Of the Presence of God The soul that is faithful in the exercise of love and adherence to God above described, is astonished to feel Him gradually taking possession of their whole being: it now enjoys a continual sense of that Presence, which is become as it were natural to it; and this, as well as prayer, is the result of habit. The soul feels an unusual serenity gradually being diffused throughout all its faculties; and silence now wholly constitutes its prayer; whilst God communicates an intuitive …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Higher Degree of Prayer, which is that of the Simple Presence of God, or Active Contemplation.
The soul, faithfully exercising itself in the affection and love of its God, is astonished to find Him taking complete possession of it. His presence becomes so natural, that it would be impossible not to have it: it becomes habitual to the soul, which is also conscious of a great calm spreading over it. Its prayer is all silence, and God imparts to it an intrinsic love, which is the commencement of ineffable happiness. Oh, if I could describe the infinite degrees which follow! But I must stop here, …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

The Stronghold
[Psalm 46] [41]Luther. 1530. trans. by William Gaskell, 1855 A sure stronghold our God is He, A trusty shield and weapon; Our help He'll be and set us free From every ill can happen. That old malicious foe Intends us deadly woe; Armed with the strength of hell, And deepest craft as well, On earth is not his fellow. Through our own force we nothing can, Straight were we lost for ever, But for us fights the proper Man, By God sent to deliver. Ask ye who this may be? Christ Jesus named is He, Of Sabaoth …
Catherine Winkworth—Christian Singers of Germany

The River of God
C. P. C. Ps. xlvi. 4 From the Rock that God has riven Flows the sacred river, Through the wastes of barren ages, Ever and for ever. Still on this side and on that side, Grow the healing trees-- Bearing fruit for all who hunger, Leaves for all disease. From the everlasting fountains Still it flows along, Making glad the holy city Of eternal song. From the throne of Christ in glory, Rock that God has riven, Onward still the crystal river Bears the life of Heaven. Sheep lie yet in quiet pastures …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity. Be Strong in the Lord
Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity. Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 8,7,8,7,6,6,6,6,7 Ein feste Burg [118]Luther. 1530. Hymn composed on the road to Worms. trans. by William Gaskell, 1855 A sure stronghold …
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year

The Lord of Hosts. --Ps. Xlvi.
The Lord of Hosts.--Ps. xlvi. Come, and behold the works of God, What desolations he will make; In vengeance when He wields His rod, The heathen rage, their kingdoms quake; He utters forth His voice;--'tis felt; Like wax the world's foundations melt; The Lord of Hosts is in the field! The God of Jacob is our shield. Again He maketh wars to cease, He breaks the bow, unpoints the spear, And burns the chariot;--joy and peace In all His glorious march appear: Silence, O Earth! Thy Maker own; Ye gentiles, …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

An Antepast of Heaven. --Psalm Xlvi.
An Antepast of Heaven.--Psalm xlvi. There is a river pure and bright, Whose streams make glad the heavenly plains, Where, in eternity of light, The City of our God remains. Built by the word of His command, With His unclouded presence blest, Firm as His throne, the bulwarks stand; There is our home, our hope, our rest. Thither let fervent faith aspire; Our treasure and our heart be there: Oh! for a seraph's wing of fire! No,--on the mightier wings of prayer,-- We reach at once that last retreat, …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Letter Lii to Another Holy virgin.
To Another Holy Virgin. Under a religious habit she had continued to have a spirit given up to the world, and Bernard praises her for coming to a sense of her duty; he exhorts her not to neglect the grace given to her. 1. It is the source of great joy to me to hear that you are willing to strive after that true and perfect joy, which belongs not to earth but to heaven; that is, not to this, vale of tears, but to that city of God which the rivers of the flood thereof make glad (Ps. xlvi. 4). And in …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

God is Our Stronghold and Our Stay
[835]Ein Feste Burg: Martin Luther, 1529 Psalm 46 Version by Elizabeth Wordsworth, 1903 God is our stronghold and our stay, Our hope in tribulation; What though the mountains rock and sway To earth's long-hid foundation? What though the ocean roar, Fast gaining on the shore, The hurtling storm rage loud Beneath the thunder cloud? Our hearts are all untroubled. The might of water sinks to rest; How calm yon river glideth, God's city mirrored on its breast, The house where he abideth! Hushed be all …
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA

The Faults Committed in this Degree --Distractions, Temptations --The Course to be Pursued Respecting Them.
As soon as we fall into a fault, or have wandered, we must turn again within ourselves; because this fault having turned us from God, we should as soon as possible turn towards Him, and suffer the penitence which He Himself will give. It is of great importance that we should not be anxious about these faults, because the anxiety only springs from a secret pride and a love of our own excellence. We are troubled at feeling what we are. If we become discouraged, we shall grow weaker yet; and reflection …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

The Opinions
Of the Hebrew Doctors on the great Day of Judgment, and of the Reign of the Messiah then to come. Carpentarius, in his Commentary on the Alcinous of Plato, p. 322, asserts, that "the seventh millenary was called, by the whole school of the Cabalists, the great day of judgment, because then they think that God will judge the souls of all." He means, by the name of Cabalists, (if I am not mistaken,) the Talmudic doctors, according to whom, in more than one author, that tradition is found to be recorded. …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

A Manifestation of God in Answer to Prayer
A MANIFESTATION OF GOD IN ANSWER TO PRAYER ". . . When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." -- Acts 4:31. This remarkable manifestation of God reveals the effectiveness of prevailing prayer. It vividly discloses the fact that prayer can accomplish much. It is apparent that neither the apostles, nor the assembled company of devout believers were astonished at the marvelous …
T. M. Anderson—Prayer Availeth Much

Notes on the Third Century
Page 161. Line 1. He must be born again, &c. This is a compound citation from John iii. 3, and Mark x. 15, in the order named. Page 182. Line 17. For all things should work together, &c. See Romans viii. 28. Page 184. Lines 10-11. Being Satan is able, &c. 2 Corinthians xi. 14. Page 184. Last line. Like a sparrow, &c. Psalm cii. Page 187. Line 1. Mechanisms. This word is, in the original MS., mechanicismes.' Page 187. Line 7. Like the King's daughter, &c. Psalm xlv. 14. Page 188. Med. 39. The best …
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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