Psalms 46:7
in Psalms 46The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. [Selah
KJV
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
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This verse in Psalms 46
Commentary
10 notes on this verseOur protector, he says, is not another God besides him who was handed down by the prophets. But [he is] the God of Jacob, who spoke in an oracle to his servant, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."
This site's exposition
Nations rage, kingdoms crumble
on Psalms 46:6-7
Nations rage, kingdoms crumble, and one lift of God's voice melts the earth. Barnes found in that voice the same ground as the confidence of verse 1, and the threat has moved from the shaking earth to armies. The God of Jacob is our fortress.
This site's exposition
The LORD of Hosts
Barnes took the LORD of Hosts as the God who commands every host in heaven and on earth. He found the Hebrew phrase is with us again in Isaiah 7:14 and 8:8, where it describes the Messiah. Clarke recalled the God who helped Jacob in his trouble.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our taker up" (ver. 7). Not any man, not any power, not, in short, Angel, or any creature either earthly or heavenly, but "the Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our taker up." He who sent Angels, came after Angels, came that Angels might serve Him, came that men He might make equal to Angels. Mighty Grace! If God be for us, who can be against us? "The Lord of Hosts is with us." What Lord of Hosts is with us? "If" (I say) "God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all; how hath He not with Him also freely given us all things." Therefore be we secure, in tranquillity of heart nourish we a good conscience with the Bread of the Lord. "The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our taker up." However great be thy infirmity, see who taketh thee up. One is sick, a physician is called to him. His own taken-up, the Physician calleth the sick man. Who hath taken him up? Even He. A great hope of salvation; a great Physician hath taken him up. What Physician? Every Physician save He is man: every Physician who cometh to a sick man, another day can be made sick, beside Him. "The God of Jacob is our taker up." Make thyself altogether as a little child, such as are taken up by their parents. For those not taken up, are exposed; those taken up are nursed. Thinkest thou God hath so taken thee up, as when an infant thy mother took thee up? Not so, but to eternity. For thy voice is in that Psalm, "My father and my mother forsake me, but the Lord hath taken me up."
The Medieval Church1 voice
"The Lord of hosts." Here he explains what he said about the consolation, namely what he said: "God is in the midst of it." And he describes God who helps, both his presence and his assistance. He describes God in two ways: because he is …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The Lord of hosts is with us,.... The Targum is, "the Word of the Lord of hosts".
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The Lord of hosts is with us. This is the reason for all Zion's security, and for the overthrow of her foes. The Lord rules the angels, the stars, the elements, and all the hosts of heaven; and the heaven of heavens are under his sway. The armies of men though they know it not are made to subserve his will.
The Lord of hosts is with us. This is the reason for all Zion's security, and for the overthrow of her foes. The Lord rules the angels, the stars, the elements, and all the hosts of heaven; and the heaven of heavens are under his sway. The armies of men though they know it not are made to subserve his will. This Generalissimo of the forces of the land, and the Lord High Admiral of the seas, is on our side—our august ally; woe unto those who fight against him, for they shall fly like smoke before the wind when he gives the word to scatter them. The God of Jacob is our refuge, Immanuel is Jehovah of Hosts, and Jacob's God is our high place of defence. When this glad verse is sung to music worthy of such a jubilate, well may the singers pause and the players wait awhile to tune their instruments again; here, therefore, fitly stands that solemn, stately, peaceful note of rest, selah.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The Lord of hosts is with us - We, feeble Jesvs, were but a handful of men; but the Lord of hosts - the God of armies, was on our side. Him none could attack with hope of success, and his legions could not be over-thrown. The God of Jacob - The God who appeared to Jacob in his distress, and saved him out of all his troubles, appeared also for us his descendants, and has amply proved to us that he has not forgotten his covenant.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord of hosts - The God commanding, ordering, marshalling the hosts of heaven - the angels, and the starry worlds. See the notes at Isa 1:9. Compare Psa 24:10. The reference here is to God considered as having control over all “armies,” or all that can be regarded and described as a marshalled host, in earth and in heaven. Having such a Being, therefore, for a protector, they had nothing to fear. See Psa 46:11. Is with us - Is on our side; is our defender. The Hebrew phrase used here is employed in Isa 7:14 (notes); Isa 8:8 (notes), to describe the Messiah. See the notes at those passages. The God of Jacob - See the notes at Psa 24:6. The meaning is, The God whom Jacob acknowedged, and whom he found to be his friend, is with us. Is our refuge - literally, a high place, as a tower, far above the reach of enemies. See Psa 9:9, note; Psa 18:2, note. So the margin, “an high place for us.”
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֣וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| עִמָּ֑נוּ | ʾimanu | [is] with us | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| מִשְׂגָּֽב־ | misgav- | [is] a refuge | H4869 → | 17 times |
| לָ֝נוּ | lanu | of us | ||
| אֱלֹהֵ֖י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֣ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| סֶֽלָה׃ | selah | Selah | H5542 → | 74 times |
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֣וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
עִמָּ֑נוּ[is] with us
ʾimanuH5973 →1050 times
מִשְׂגָּֽב־[is] a refuge
misgav-H4869 →17 times
לָ֝נוּof us
lanu
אֱלֹהֵ֖י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יַעֲקֹ֣בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
סֶֽלָה׃Selah
selahH5542 →74 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
it leads to
- Psalms 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- 1 John 4:4
You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- Isaiah 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the…
- Psalms 118:6
Through
Matthew 28:20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Joshua 1:5
No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
- Acts 18:9–10
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.
- Isaiah 41:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 46; Basil of Caesarea, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 18:6 (PS 46); Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.