Psalms 46:11
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
12 notes on this verseThe Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. See Gill on Psa 46:7. The Targum paraphrases it, "the Word of the Lord of hosts", as in Psa 46:7; and the same words are here repeated, to comfort those that were fearful and unbelieving, with which the church then comforted herself. Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa 3:2.
This site's exposition
Be still and know
on Psalms 46:10-11
Be still and know is God's command to the nations. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read it as an order to the kingdoms that rage in verse 6 to cease. His answer is that He will be exalted over the earth, and the refrain of verse 7 closes the psalm.
This site's exposition
the God of Jacob
The refrain of verse 7 returns after God's word to the nations in verse 10. Barnes made it the result of the whole psalm, for the LORD of Hosts had saved His city and nation in time of danger. Clarke read the Selah as a mark of truth well tried.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
This, then, is God, everywhere mighty, everywhere exalted; this is God who takes his place with us always. Have no fear, then, be not disturbed, having an invincible Master as we do, to whom all honor and glory is fitting, together with the peerless Father and his vivifying Spirit, now and forever, and for ages of ages.
"The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our taker up" (ver. 11). Miracles are done among the heathen, full filled is the faith of the heathen; burned are the arms of human presumption. Still are they, in tranquillity of heart, to acknowledge God the Author of all their gifts. And after this glorifying, doth He yet desert the people of the Jews? of which saith the Apostle, "I say unto you, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened unto Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." That is, until the mountains be carried hither, the clouds rain here, the Lord here bows the kingdoms with His thunder, "until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." And what thereafter? "And so all Israel shall be saved." Therefore, here too observing the same order, "I will be exalted" (saith He) "among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth;" that is, both in the sea, and in the earth, that now might all say what followeth: "the God of Jacob is our taker up."
The Medieval Church1 voice
From these things he shows the greatness of God, when he says, "The Lord of hosts is with us." As if to say: by these great works of God shown at that time, we can say that the Lord of hosts is with us. And …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
We may, in singing it, apply it either to our spiritual enemies, and be more than conquerors over them, or to the public enemies of Christ's kingdom in the world and their threatening insults, endeavouring to preserve a holy security and serenity of mind when they seem most formidable.
This sovereign Lord is with us, sides with us, acts with us, and has promised he will never leave us. Hosts may be against us, but we need not fear them if the Lord of hosts be with us. (2.) They are under the protection of a God in covenant, who not only is able to help them, but is engaged in honour and faithfulness to help them.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. It was meet to sing this twice over. It is a truth of which no believer wearies, it is a fact too often forgotten, it is a precious privilege which cannot be too often considered. Reader, is the Lord on thy side? Is Emmanuel, God with us, thy Redeemer? Is there a covenant between thee and God as between God and Jacob? If so, thrice happy art thou.
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. It was meet to sing this twice over. It is a truth of which no believer wearies, it is a fact too often forgotten, it is a precious privilege which cannot be too often considered. Reader, is the Lord on thy side? Is Emmanuel, God with us, thy Redeemer? Is there a covenant between thee and God as between God and Jacob? If so, thrice happy art thou. Show thy joy in holy song, and in times of trouble play the man by still making music for thy God. Selah. Here as before, lift up the heart. Rest in contemplation after praise. Still keep the soul in tune. It is easier to sing a hymn of praise than to continue in the spirit of praise, but let it be our aim to maintain the uprising devotion of our grateful hearts, and so end our song as if we intended it to be continued.
The Lord of hosts is with us - Having heard these declarations of God, the people cry out with joy and exultation, The Lord of hosts, the God of armies, is with us; we will not fear what man can do unto us. The God of Jacob is our refuge - He who saved our fathers will save us, and will never abandon his people in distress. Selah - This is a firm, lasting, unshaken, well-tried truth.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord of hosts is with us ... - See Psa 46:7. This is the conclusion, or the result of the whole. As applied to the invasion of Sennacherib, this would be clearly seen, for all that occurred in that invasion was adapted to leave the impression that Jehovah, God of hosts, was with the Hebrew people. He had interposed in time of danger; he had saved his city and nation; he had overthrown one of the most mighty armies that had ever been assembled; he had caused the boasting conqueror himself to retrace his steps to his capita; he had wholly delivered the nation from all danger; and he had shown how easy it was, in ways which they could not have anticipated, to bring deliverance. The truth thus conveyed was adapted to the people of God in all lands and at all times, as showing that God has power to defend his people against the most formidable enemies, and that all their interests are safe in his hands.
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
Psalms 46:1God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
it leads to
- Psalms 9:9
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- Psalms 62:7–8
My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock; my refuge is in God.
- Psalms 91:1–9
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Psalms 9:9
Through
Deuteronomy 33:27The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:4
For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 90:1–2
Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.
- Isaiah 25:4
Through
Psalms 46:7The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
it leads to
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Romans 8:31
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 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); Alexander Maclaren, The Psalms, Expositor's Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 46; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 46:3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.