Psalms 46

Psalms 46:1

Council and Support

Here begins the second half of the psalm which, like the first half, begins with a declaration of faith. By now, the confidence of faith has become so certain that David can begin this second half with blessing or praising the LORD (Psalms 16:7). He praises God for counseling him. He leads him by His counsel as he goes through the land by day.

We also see this in perfection with the Lord Jesus. Because He let Himself to be led by the counsel of God, He is, for example, at the right time at the well of Jacob to meet a woman there and offer her the Gift of God (John 4:4-10). God is the ever-Present in His life. He lived on earth in close fellowship with Him. God calls Him “My Associate” (Zechariah 13:7). Never was there a moment when He took His eyes off Him.

David is not only open to the counsel of God during the day, but also at night. Even then he reflects on the teaching the LORD gives him by which he receives insight to discern what matters. In the night his mind – literally kidneys, figurative for inner man – instructs him. Kidneys refer to the inner self, the inside of man, where wisdom resides (Job 38:36). They symbolize wisdom to be able to discern what is useful and what is useless or even harmful. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to give insight and to be able to discern God’s will.

The kidneys in the body are a special purification system. They excrete in the body what is not good and retain what is good. This is wisdom. In the spiritual sense, they represent the purity of inner feelings. The Lord Jesus is completely pure in His deepest, most inner feelings. This is evident when He listens to His God in the night. Everything in Him is focused on God.

In His contemplation, He constantly has His eye fixed on the LORD His God (Psalms 16:8). We see this throughout the way He goes about which we read in the Gospels (John 14:31). This is an important indication for us. If we are engaged in God’s Word in order to receive from it counsel and instruction for the way we should go, we will only come to know that way if in doing so we always look to the Lord Jesus.

David put the LORD “continually before” him. For us, it is important to always look to the Lord Jesus. By doing so we will get to know Him better which will make us go our way on earth with all the more confidence. Through this we will also see that He is at our right hand. The right hand represents strength. He gives us the strength to walk to the glory of God and ensures with His strength that we will not be shaken.

The right hand also represents the place of honor. The Lord Jesus always gave God the place of honor, the highest place in His life. For us, that God is at our right hand means that we give Him the place of honor, the highest place in our lives. That dependence gives unprecedented joy in the heart and preservation of the body, even when the body is in death. We hear that in the closing verses of this psalm.

Psalms 46:2

The Path of Life

The word “therefore” indicates a conclusion based on the foregoing (Psalms 16:9). David has acknowledged God as his sovereign Lord, Adonai, and resorted to Him (Psalms 16:1-2). While rejecting all idolatry, he experienced the goodness of God (Psalms 16:3-8).

“Therefore” his heart is glad and his glory rejoices (cf. Luke 10:21; Hebrews 12:2). His “heart” is the center of his existence. From there his life is governed. His heart is in constant fellowship with God. The word “glory” has the meaning of all the value of his inner being, all his feelings for God. He also feels secure as far as his “flesh” is concerned. “My heart”, “my glory”, and “my flesh” constitute the whole man, as the New Testament speaks of “spirit and soul and body” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Peter, in his speech in Acts 2, quotes this verse as Scripture proof for the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:25-31). This is not a concoction of the authors of this commentary, but it is the commentary of Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, on what is contained in this psalm. That is why it is necessary to quote the verses from Acts 2 here.

David writes this psalm ten centuries earlier than the time of Peter’s speech. He writes in the I-form. Yet he cannot write about himself. After all, he has died, been buried, and, when Peter quotes this scripture, still has not risen. David, then, is here a prophet writing about Another, the Lord Jesus.

No one but the Lord Jesus went His way without for a moment taking His eye off God, His Father. He always saw God, His Father, before Him. Also, He always knew Him beside Him (John 8:29). His fellowship with His God gave Him joy in His heart, which He expressed with His mouth, even in the time of His rejection (Matthew 11:25).

Through His fellowship with His God, He had hope with regard to rest for His body. He knew that He would die the sinner’s death, but He faced that death with the Father before and beside Him, looking forward to the joy that would come afterwards (Hebrews 12:2).

He knew that God would not abandon His soul to Sheol (Psalms 16:10). By Sheol is not meant the grave. By a grave we mean a place in which the body of a dead person is laid. The Hebrew word sheol does not refer to the body, but to the soul. Sheol is the place where the souls of the dead go immediately after death, the realm of the dead. In Peter’s quote, taken from the Septuagint – the Greek translation of the Old Testament – we read the word hades, the Greek translation of sheol (Acts 2:27).

Next, the quote says that God will not “abandon” Christ’s soul to Hades, i.e. to the realm of the dead. Christ was “the Holy One” of God Who lived in perfect faithfulness to the covenant as God’s godly man to His glory. He suffered the pains of death in His soul in the three hours of darkness on the cross under God’s judgment for all who believe in Him. After His death, His soul went to paradise (Luke 23:43). Every unbeliever will suffer in Hades and finally eternally in hell.

After Christ died, He was laid in a tomb, but His body did not “undergo decay”. That is, His body was not affected by the decay of death. Even in His death, He was “the Holy One” of God. Therefore, after a short stay in the tomb – “a short time” (Hebrews 2:9) – He was raised. As a result of His work, the New Testament believer knows that his spirit and soul are with the Lord immediately after his death (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23), while his body is in the grave. His body will again emerge from the grave at the coming of the Lord Jesus for His own, but renewed, and be united with his spirit and soul (1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:52).

After hearing Christ speak in the quotation of His death and the special preservation therein by God, we next hear how He speaks of life and joy (Psalms 16:11). Here He speaks of His resurrection. This is life and joy after He has passed through death. After the resurrection, ways of life are opened and revealed. Life in the resurrection is a life of joy, it is life with the eye fixed on the face of God. In the spiritual sense, this applies today to every believer who keeps his eye fixed on Christ. Such a person always walks on the way of life, even though it may lead through death.

This path of life is made known by God to the Lord Jesus and thereby to His own. The path of life is always the path through death. God raises from the dead. He is the origin of that path, for He is life, He is the living God, life is only in Him. It is not so much the path that leads to life as the path on which life is enjoyed. It is the path marked by life (cf. Psalms 25:9-10).

Life in the full sense of the word and joy belong together. On the path of life is “fullness of joy” because it is a path in the “presence” of God, indicating His constant presence. Only on that path, only in a life of fellowship with Him, there is fullness of joy. This is the case both in this life and in the life after this life.

This is also the case with the “pleasures” that are in His “right hand”. They are there “forever”. By “pleasures” is meant a vast array of pleasant things that will gladden our hearts again and again, without interruption. There is not a moment when this is not so. Both in the present and in the future, He is able – the right hand speaks of power – to give those pleasures to all who are associated with Him in the world of resurrection. His presence and His right hand represent His Person and His deeds, what He gives and what He does.

Psalms 46:3

The Path of Life

The word “therefore” indicates a conclusion based on the foregoing (Psalms 16:9). David has acknowledged God as his sovereign Lord, Adonai, and resorted to Him (Psalms 16:1-2). While rejecting all idolatry, he experienced the goodness of God (Psalms 16:3-8).

“Therefore” his heart is glad and his glory rejoices (cf. Luke 10:21; Hebrews 12:2). His “heart” is the center of his existence. From there his life is governed. His heart is in constant fellowship with God. The word “glory” has the meaning of all the value of his inner being, all his feelings for God. He also feels secure as far as his “flesh” is concerned. “My heart”, “my glory”, and “my flesh” constitute the whole man, as the New Testament speaks of “spirit and soul and body” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Peter, in his speech in Acts 2, quotes this verse as Scripture proof for the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:25-31). This is not a concoction of the authors of this commentary, but it is the commentary of Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, on what is contained in this psalm. That is why it is necessary to quote the verses from Acts 2 here.

David writes this psalm ten centuries earlier than the time of Peter’s speech. He writes in the I-form. Yet he cannot write about himself. After all, he has died, been buried, and, when Peter quotes this scripture, still has not risen. David, then, is here a prophet writing about Another, the Lord Jesus.

No one but the Lord Jesus went His way without for a moment taking His eye off God, His Father. He always saw God, His Father, before Him. Also, He always knew Him beside Him (John 8:29). His fellowship with His God gave Him joy in His heart, which He expressed with His mouth, even in the time of His rejection (Matthew 11:25).

Through His fellowship with His God, He had hope with regard to rest for His body. He knew that He would die the sinner’s death, but He faced that death with the Father before and beside Him, looking forward to the joy that would come afterwards (Hebrews 12:2).

He knew that God would not abandon His soul to Sheol (Psalms 16:10). By Sheol is not meant the grave. By a grave we mean a place in which the body of a dead person is laid. The Hebrew word sheol does not refer to the body, but to the soul. Sheol is the place where the souls of the dead go immediately after death, the realm of the dead. In Peter’s quote, taken from the Septuagint – the Greek translation of the Old Testament – we read the word hades, the Greek translation of sheol (Acts 2:27).

Next, the quote says that God will not “abandon” Christ’s soul to Hades, i.e. to the realm of the dead. Christ was “the Holy One” of God Who lived in perfect faithfulness to the covenant as God’s godly man to His glory. He suffered the pains of death in His soul in the three hours of darkness on the cross under God’s judgment for all who believe in Him. After His death, His soul went to paradise (Luke 23:43). Every unbeliever will suffer in Hades and finally eternally in hell.

After Christ died, He was laid in a tomb, but His body did not “undergo decay”. That is, His body was not affected by the decay of death. Even in His death, He was “the Holy One” of God. Therefore, after a short stay in the tomb – “a short time” (Hebrews 2:9) – He was raised. As a result of His work, the New Testament believer knows that his spirit and soul are with the Lord immediately after his death (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23), while his body is in the grave. His body will again emerge from the grave at the coming of the Lord Jesus for His own, but renewed, and be united with his spirit and soul (1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:52).

After hearing Christ speak in the quotation of His death and the special preservation therein by God, we next hear how He speaks of life and joy (Psalms 16:11). Here He speaks of His resurrection. This is life and joy after He has passed through death. After the resurrection, ways of life are opened and revealed. Life in the resurrection is a life of joy, it is life with the eye fixed on the face of God. In the spiritual sense, this applies today to every believer who keeps his eye fixed on Christ. Such a person always walks on the way of life, even though it may lead through death.

This path of life is made known by God to the Lord Jesus and thereby to His own. The path of life is always the path through death. God raises from the dead. He is the origin of that path, for He is life, He is the living God, life is only in Him. It is not so much the path that leads to life as the path on which life is enjoyed. It is the path marked by life (cf. Psalms 25:9-10).

Life in the full sense of the word and joy belong together. On the path of life is “fullness of joy” because it is a path in the “presence” of God, indicating His constant presence. Only on that path, only in a life of fellowship with Him, there is fullness of joy. This is the case both in this life and in the life after this life.

This is also the case with the “pleasures” that are in His “right hand”. They are there “forever”. By “pleasures” is meant a vast array of pleasant things that will gladden our hearts again and again, without interruption. There is not a moment when this is not so. Both in the present and in the future, He is able – the right hand speaks of power – to give those pleasures to all who are associated with Him in the world of resurrection. His presence and His right hand represent His Person and His deeds, what He gives and what He does.

Psalms 46:4

The Path of Life

The word “therefore” indicates a conclusion based on the foregoing (Psalms 16:9). David has acknowledged God as his sovereign Lord, Adonai, and resorted to Him (Psalms 16:1-2). While rejecting all idolatry, he experienced the goodness of God (Psalms 16:3-8).

“Therefore” his heart is glad and his glory rejoices (cf. Luke 10:21; Hebrews 12:2). His “heart” is the center of his existence. From there his life is governed. His heart is in constant fellowship with God. The word “glory” has the meaning of all the value of his inner being, all his feelings for God. He also feels secure as far as his “flesh” is concerned. “My heart”, “my glory”, and “my flesh” constitute the whole man, as the New Testament speaks of “spirit and soul and body” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Peter, in his speech in Acts 2, quotes this verse as Scripture proof for the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:25-31). This is not a concoction of the authors of this commentary, but it is the commentary of Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, on what is contained in this psalm. That is why it is necessary to quote the verses from Acts 2 here.

David writes this psalm ten centuries earlier than the time of Peter’s speech. He writes in the I-form. Yet he cannot write about himself. After all, he has died, been buried, and, when Peter quotes this scripture, still has not risen. David, then, is here a prophet writing about Another, the Lord Jesus.

No one but the Lord Jesus went His way without for a moment taking His eye off God, His Father. He always saw God, His Father, before Him. Also, He always knew Him beside Him (John 8:29). His fellowship with His God gave Him joy in His heart, which He expressed with His mouth, even in the time of His rejection (Matthew 11:25).

Through His fellowship with His God, He had hope with regard to rest for His body. He knew that He would die the sinner’s death, but He faced that death with the Father before and beside Him, looking forward to the joy that would come afterwards (Hebrews 12:2).

He knew that God would not abandon His soul to Sheol (Psalms 16:10). By Sheol is not meant the grave. By a grave we mean a place in which the body of a dead person is laid. The Hebrew word sheol does not refer to the body, but to the soul. Sheol is the place where the souls of the dead go immediately after death, the realm of the dead. In Peter’s quote, taken from the Septuagint – the Greek translation of the Old Testament – we read the word hades, the Greek translation of sheol (Acts 2:27).

Next, the quote says that God will not “abandon” Christ’s soul to Hades, i.e. to the realm of the dead. Christ was “the Holy One” of God Who lived in perfect faithfulness to the covenant as God’s godly man to His glory. He suffered the pains of death in His soul in the three hours of darkness on the cross under God’s judgment for all who believe in Him. After His death, His soul went to paradise (Luke 23:43). Every unbeliever will suffer in Hades and finally eternally in hell.

After Christ died, He was laid in a tomb, but His body did not “undergo decay”. That is, His body was not affected by the decay of death. Even in His death, He was “the Holy One” of God. Therefore, after a short stay in the tomb – “a short time” (Hebrews 2:9) – He was raised. As a result of His work, the New Testament believer knows that his spirit and soul are with the Lord immediately after his death (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23), while his body is in the grave. His body will again emerge from the grave at the coming of the Lord Jesus for His own, but renewed, and be united with his spirit and soul (1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:52).

After hearing Christ speak in the quotation of His death and the special preservation therein by God, we next hear how He speaks of life and joy (Psalms 16:11). Here He speaks of His resurrection. This is life and joy after He has passed through death. After the resurrection, ways of life are opened and revealed. Life in the resurrection is a life of joy, it is life with the eye fixed on the face of God. In the spiritual sense, this applies today to every believer who keeps his eye fixed on Christ. Such a person always walks on the way of life, even though it may lead through death.

This path of life is made known by God to the Lord Jesus and thereby to His own. The path of life is always the path through death. God raises from the dead. He is the origin of that path, for He is life, He is the living God, life is only in Him. It is not so much the path that leads to life as the path on which life is enjoyed. It is the path marked by life (cf. Psalms 25:9-10).

Life in the full sense of the word and joy belong together. On the path of life is “fullness of joy” because it is a path in the “presence” of God, indicating His constant presence. Only on that path, only in a life of fellowship with Him, there is fullness of joy. This is the case both in this life and in the life after this life.

This is also the case with the “pleasures” that are in His “right hand”. They are there “forever”. By “pleasures” is meant a vast array of pleasant things that will gladden our hearts again and again, without interruption. There is not a moment when this is not so. Both in the present and in the future, He is able – the right hand speaks of power – to give those pleasures to all who are associated with Him in the world of resurrection. His presence and His right hand represent His Person and His deeds, what He gives and what He does.

Psalms 46:6

Introduction

Psalms 17, like Psalms 16, is about David, whereby he is clearly a picture of the Lord Jesus. He is also a picture of the faithful remnant of Israel. Psalms 16 is about his inner, intimate, confidential and personal relationship with his God. This has been revealed through suffering, just as happens with pure gold that has been tested by fire.

We see this in perfection in the Lord Jesus in Whom through all suffering His complete trust in His God became visible. We see in His suffering Who God is to Him. In this He is an example for every believer, both now for us who belong to the church and for the faithful remnant in the future.

In Psalms 17 we see the pressure that is being exerted on David from outside. The same thing applies to the believing remnant and also to the Lord Jesus. Through that pressure, a sincere heart is revealed as one that is completely devoted to God. In the case of the Lord Jesus we recognize this in the description of Him in the Gospels.

Here it is more about the circumstances that are characterized by enemies surrounding the righteous. This is also what the faithful remnant will experience in the end time. We see in this psalm the Lord Jesus connected with the believing remnant. His experiences are shared by them. What He has experienced, they will, to some extent, experience. He is with them in the Spirit. In this psalm He teaches His own to trust in God as the God of the resurrection, the God Who will soon come to save them.

We can divide this psalm into three parts: 1. Psalms 17:1-5 are the basis of David’s prayer. In it he speaks of his righteousness; he expresses his uprightness. 2. Psalms 17:6-12 deal with oppression by the enemy. This section begins with a prayer followed by a description of the enemy. 3. Finally, Psalms 17:13-15. This section again begins with a prayer. David asks for destruction of the enemy and his deliverance. The enemy, both of David and of the Lord Jesus and the faithful remnant in the future, is the unbelieving part of the people. This unbelieving part, the apostate multitude, with the antichrist at its head, is supported by the restored Roman Empire, the European Union, or the beast coming out of the sea spoken of in Revelation 13 (Revelation 13:1-10).

We find the essence of this prayer of David in the middle of the psalm, in Psalms 17:8: “Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.”

Prayer for Justice

This psalm is “of David” (Psalms 17:1a). The psalm is called “a prayer”, which we also hear from beginning to end. Three other psalms of David are likewise so named (Psalms 86:1; Psalms 102:1; Psalms 142:1) and further only the one psalm of Moses (Psalms 90:1).

David calls the LORD’s attention with three powerful statements: “hear”, “give heed”, and “give ear to” (Psalms 17:1b). The matter at hand is “a just cause”. The word “cause” is not in the original and has been added. It is therefore possible to read the text this way: “Hear the right [strictly: righteousness]” (Darby Translation). ‘Hear’ also means ‘deal’. ‘Righteousness’ implies ‘according to Your covenant and/or Your promises’.

David is not speaking of others, but of himself. It may seem that he is trying to defend himself, but he is not. A just cause is only just if that cause is so judged by God. David is not concerned with restoring honor to himself or to assert himself, but with the honor of God which is at stake here.

This is about injustice in the world and among the people of God. David prays to the righteous Judge for justice. In Psalms 17:15 he expresses his confidence that he will see God’s face in righteousness, which means that God will act and deliver in righteousness.

He sees his cause as God’s cause. Therefore, he urgently asks God to hear him. He speaks of his “crying” to God. He cries out aloud, for his soul is in distress (Psalms 106:44; Psalms 142:6). What he wants to say he calls “my prayer”, indicating that he comes to God as a supplicant.

He adds that his prayer “is not from deceitful lips”. This is not posturing, but indicates that he approaches God with a clear conscience to present his cause to Him. It is the prayer of a righteous person (cf. James 5:16b), that is, of one who stands upright before God. He can approach God freely because there are no things in his life that are contrary to God’s holiness and because he is upright in his heart (1 John 3:21).

The point is not that he is sinless, but that he does not walk around with sins that he has not confessed. He has integrity and is sincerely devoted to the LORD. What he says is consistent with what is in his heart and also evident in his actions (Psalms 66:18). David also demonstrates this in Psalms 17:3-5.

He wants the LORD to confirm his innocence on the basis of righteous judgment with a judicial decision. To do this, he appeals to God’s “presence” (Psalms 17:2), that is, to God’s presence in his life. After all, God’s eyes “look with equity”, that is, He sees the right things and judges them according to what is consistent with law and justice. He will then see that according to truth and justice there is no sin in the sense of deceit or hypocrisy present with him. Then his justice can go out from God’s presence so that his adversaries are gagged.

Psalms 46:7

Introduction

Psalms 17, like Psalms 16, is about David, whereby he is clearly a picture of the Lord Jesus. He is also a picture of the faithful remnant of Israel. Psalms 16 is about his inner, intimate, confidential and personal relationship with his God. This has been revealed through suffering, just as happens with pure gold that has been tested by fire.

We see this in perfection in the Lord Jesus in Whom through all suffering His complete trust in His God became visible. We see in His suffering Who God is to Him. In this He is an example for every believer, both now for us who belong to the church and for the faithful remnant in the future.

In Psalms 17 we see the pressure that is being exerted on David from outside. The same thing applies to the believing remnant and also to the Lord Jesus. Through that pressure, a sincere heart is revealed as one that is completely devoted to God. In the case of the Lord Jesus we recognize this in the description of Him in the Gospels.

Here it is more about the circumstances that are characterized by enemies surrounding the righteous. This is also what the faithful remnant will experience in the end time. We see in this psalm the Lord Jesus connected with the believing remnant. His experiences are shared by them. What He has experienced, they will, to some extent, experience. He is with them in the Spirit. In this psalm He teaches His own to trust in God as the God of the resurrection, the God Who will soon come to save them.

We can divide this psalm into three parts: 1. Psalms 17:1-5 are the basis of David’s prayer. In it he speaks of his righteousness; he expresses his uprightness. 2. Psalms 17:6-12 deal with oppression by the enemy. This section begins with a prayer followed by a description of the enemy. 3. Finally, Psalms 17:13-15. This section again begins with a prayer. David asks for destruction of the enemy and his deliverance. The enemy, both of David and of the Lord Jesus and the faithful remnant in the future, is the unbelieving part of the people. This unbelieving part, the apostate multitude, with the antichrist at its head, is supported by the restored Roman Empire, the European Union, or the beast coming out of the sea spoken of in Revelation 13 (Revelation 13:1-10).

We find the essence of this prayer of David in the middle of the psalm, in Psalms 17:8: “Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.”

Prayer for Justice

This psalm is “of David” (Psalms 17:1a). The psalm is called “a prayer”, which we also hear from beginning to end. Three other psalms of David are likewise so named (Psalms 86:1; Psalms 102:1; Psalms 142:1) and further only the one psalm of Moses (Psalms 90:1).

David calls the LORD’s attention with three powerful statements: “hear”, “give heed”, and “give ear to” (Psalms 17:1b). The matter at hand is “a just cause”. The word “cause” is not in the original and has been added. It is therefore possible to read the text this way: “Hear the right [strictly: righteousness]” (Darby Translation). ‘Hear’ also means ‘deal’. ‘Righteousness’ implies ‘according to Your covenant and/or Your promises’.

David is not speaking of others, but of himself. It may seem that he is trying to defend himself, but he is not. A just cause is only just if that cause is so judged by God. David is not concerned with restoring honor to himself or to assert himself, but with the honor of God which is at stake here.

This is about injustice in the world and among the people of God. David prays to the righteous Judge for justice. In Psalms 17:15 he expresses his confidence that he will see God’s face in righteousness, which means that God will act and deliver in righteousness.

He sees his cause as God’s cause. Therefore, he urgently asks God to hear him. He speaks of his “crying” to God. He cries out aloud, for his soul is in distress (Psalms 106:44; Psalms 142:6). What he wants to say he calls “my prayer”, indicating that he comes to God as a supplicant.

He adds that his prayer “is not from deceitful lips”. This is not posturing, but indicates that he approaches God with a clear conscience to present his cause to Him. It is the prayer of a righteous person (cf. James 5:16b), that is, of one who stands upright before God. He can approach God freely because there are no things in his life that are contrary to God’s holiness and because he is upright in his heart (1 John 3:21).

The point is not that he is sinless, but that he does not walk around with sins that he has not confessed. He has integrity and is sincerely devoted to the LORD. What he says is consistent with what is in his heart and also evident in his actions (Psalms 66:18). David also demonstrates this in Psalms 17:3-5.

He wants the LORD to confirm his innocence on the basis of righteous judgment with a judicial decision. To do this, he appeals to God’s “presence” (Psalms 17:2), that is, to God’s presence in his life. After all, God’s eyes “look with equity”, that is, He sees the right things and judges them according to what is consistent with law and justice. He will then see that according to truth and justice there is no sin in the sense of deceit or hypocrisy present with him. Then his justice can go out from God’s presence so that his adversaries are gagged.

Psalms 46:8

A Righteous Prays

In these verses, David places himself before God and submits his inner self and his actions to Him. He draws God’s attention to what He knows about him. He testifies to his righteousness. In doing so, he gives his own assessment of what is in him and the deeds he has done and the ways he has gone. He can say that there is nothing that accuses him.

In Psalms 17:3, David speaks of three methods that God has used to see what is in his heart: God has “tried” him, “visited” him, and “tested” him. It is also possible to translate these three verbs in imperative: “Test my heart, search it by night, test me” (cf. Psalms 139:23). The result of the examination is certain: “You find nothing” or “You will find nothing”.

Having tried the heart is to examine it to see if it is pure in its motives. God has visited him at night, when he is alone and, as it were, face to face with God, when nothing distracts him. That is also the most appropriate opportunity to confront him with a sin if there were one. His whole person has been tested, which refers more to the circumstances that serve as a testing environment in which he is living.

David knows that the injustice done to him by wicked people has no ground whatsoever. God has also observed this with him, for He has found nothing after thorough examination. Therefore, he has the firm confidence that God’s assessment of his righteous case that he submits to Him will be in accordance with it.

The meaning of the last part of the verse – “I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress” – is that nothing more and nothing else has come out of his mouth than what he has thought. It implies that his thoughts and his words, by which he makes his thoughts known, are in complete harmony. He does not use his words to hide his true thoughts. He has no wrong, hidden thoughts. This is often the case with people, but not with David.

This too we see in perfection and always with the Lord Jesus, in Whom every word He speaks expresses exactly what He thinks. He is what He says (John 8:25). This is how it should be with every believer.

After David has spoken of his inner self, he then speaks of his actions (Psalms 17:4). In this, too, God will not be able to discover anything that could make his righteous cause a failure. David speaks of “the deeds of men”. It is not about sinful deeds, but about man’s general doings, his daily activities. In this he has been obedient to “the word of Your lips”, which is the Word of God.

That has kept him from going “the paths of the violent [literally: of the burglar or transgressor]”. The paths of the violent are the paths of the devil who is the violent, the burglar and transgressor. It is not so much about a path of violence but about a forbidden path, a path of disobedience, as a burglar goes. It is a path that causes harm others. People who live without God live for the devil and go his way. It is the path of “destruction and misery” (Romans 3:16). Only obedience to God’s Word keeps us from this. The Lord Jesus is the perfect example in this.

By being obedient to the word of God’s lips, David has held fast to the paths of God (Psalms 17:5). He has gone the way that God has gone before him. He has put his feet in His footsteps. As a result, his feet have not slipped. The way we go, we go step by step. God’s Word is a lamp to our feet, meaning that God’s Word gives light for every step we have to take. God’s Word is also a light to our path, which is the entire way we travel, with our eye fixed on the final goal (Psalms 119:105).

Psalms 46:9

A Righteous Prays

In these verses, David places himself before God and submits his inner self and his actions to Him. He draws God’s attention to what He knows about him. He testifies to his righteousness. In doing so, he gives his own assessment of what is in him and the deeds he has done and the ways he has gone. He can say that there is nothing that accuses him.

In Psalms 17:3, David speaks of three methods that God has used to see what is in his heart: God has “tried” him, “visited” him, and “tested” him. It is also possible to translate these three verbs in imperative: “Test my heart, search it by night, test me” (cf. Psalms 139:23). The result of the examination is certain: “You find nothing” or “You will find nothing”.

Having tried the heart is to examine it to see if it is pure in its motives. God has visited him at night, when he is alone and, as it were, face to face with God, when nothing distracts him. That is also the most appropriate opportunity to confront him with a sin if there were one. His whole person has been tested, which refers more to the circumstances that serve as a testing environment in which he is living.

David knows that the injustice done to him by wicked people has no ground whatsoever. God has also observed this with him, for He has found nothing after thorough examination. Therefore, he has the firm confidence that God’s assessment of his righteous case that he submits to Him will be in accordance with it.

The meaning of the last part of the verse – “I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress” – is that nothing more and nothing else has come out of his mouth than what he has thought. It implies that his thoughts and his words, by which he makes his thoughts known, are in complete harmony. He does not use his words to hide his true thoughts. He has no wrong, hidden thoughts. This is often the case with people, but not with David.

This too we see in perfection and always with the Lord Jesus, in Whom every word He speaks expresses exactly what He thinks. He is what He says (John 8:25). This is how it should be with every believer.

After David has spoken of his inner self, he then speaks of his actions (Psalms 17:4). In this, too, God will not be able to discover anything that could make his righteous cause a failure. David speaks of “the deeds of men”. It is not about sinful deeds, but about man’s general doings, his daily activities. In this he has been obedient to “the word of Your lips”, which is the Word of God.

That has kept him from going “the paths of the violent [literally: of the burglar or transgressor]”. The paths of the violent are the paths of the devil who is the violent, the burglar and transgressor. It is not so much about a path of violence but about a forbidden path, a path of disobedience, as a burglar goes. It is a path that causes harm others. People who live without God live for the devil and go his way. It is the path of “destruction and misery” (Romans 3:16). Only obedience to God’s Word keeps us from this. The Lord Jesus is the perfect example in this.

By being obedient to the word of God’s lips, David has held fast to the paths of God (Psalms 17:5). He has gone the way that God has gone before him. He has put his feet in His footsteps. As a result, his feet have not slipped. The way we go, we go step by step. God’s Word is a lamp to our feet, meaning that God’s Word gives light for every step we have to take. God’s Word is also a light to our path, which is the entire way we travel, with our eye fixed on the final goal (Psalms 119:105).

Psalms 46:10

A Righteous Prays

In these verses, David places himself before God and submits his inner self and his actions to Him. He draws God’s attention to what He knows about him. He testifies to his righteousness. In doing so, he gives his own assessment of what is in him and the deeds he has done and the ways he has gone. He can say that there is nothing that accuses him.

In Psalms 17:3, David speaks of three methods that God has used to see what is in his heart: God has “tried” him, “visited” him, and “tested” him. It is also possible to translate these three verbs in imperative: “Test my heart, search it by night, test me” (cf. Psalms 139:23). The result of the examination is certain: “You find nothing” or “You will find nothing”.

Having tried the heart is to examine it to see if it is pure in its motives. God has visited him at night, when he is alone and, as it were, face to face with God, when nothing distracts him. That is also the most appropriate opportunity to confront him with a sin if there were one. His whole person has been tested, which refers more to the circumstances that serve as a testing environment in which he is living.

David knows that the injustice done to him by wicked people has no ground whatsoever. God has also observed this with him, for He has found nothing after thorough examination. Therefore, he has the firm confidence that God’s assessment of his righteous case that he submits to Him will be in accordance with it.

The meaning of the last part of the verse – “I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress” – is that nothing more and nothing else has come out of his mouth than what he has thought. It implies that his thoughts and his words, by which he makes his thoughts known, are in complete harmony. He does not use his words to hide his true thoughts. He has no wrong, hidden thoughts. This is often the case with people, but not with David.

This too we see in perfection and always with the Lord Jesus, in Whom every word He speaks expresses exactly what He thinks. He is what He says (John 8:25). This is how it should be with every believer.

After David has spoken of his inner self, he then speaks of his actions (Psalms 17:4). In this, too, God will not be able to discover anything that could make his righteous cause a failure. David speaks of “the deeds of men”. It is not about sinful deeds, but about man’s general doings, his daily activities. In this he has been obedient to “the word of Your lips”, which is the Word of God.

That has kept him from going “the paths of the violent [literally: of the burglar or transgressor]”. The paths of the violent are the paths of the devil who is the violent, the burglar and transgressor. It is not so much about a path of violence but about a forbidden path, a path of disobedience, as a burglar goes. It is a path that causes harm others. People who live without God live for the devil and go his way. It is the path of “destruction and misery” (Romans 3:16). Only obedience to God’s Word keeps us from this. The Lord Jesus is the perfect example in this.

By being obedient to the word of God’s lips, David has held fast to the paths of God (Psalms 17:5). He has gone the way that God has gone before him. He has put his feet in His footsteps. As a result, his feet have not slipped. The way we go, we go step by step. God’s Word is a lamp to our feet, meaning that God’s Word gives light for every step we have to take. God’s Word is also a light to our path, which is the entire way we travel, with our eye fixed on the final goal (Psalms 119:105).

Psalms 46:11

Prayer for Protection

Here begins the second part of the psalm, which consists of Psa 17:6-12. In it, there is talk of oppression by the enemy. This section also begins with a prayer. The word “I” with which Psalms 17:6 begins has emphasis here. David says: “I, it is I who call upon You. I, who have just shown You my whole inner and outer self, by which You have seen that everything in it corresponds to Who You are.” He calls upon God because he knows that God hears him.

He asks God to show him “wondrously” His “lovingkindness” (Psalms 17:7). This is a beautiful expression. Every display of God’s lovingkindness to us is a wonder. Do we also have an eye for that and bow down in worship to Him for it? The first wonder of God’s lovingkindness is that He has saved us (Titus 3:4-6). After that, He has shown us countless more wonders of His lovingkindness. Has He not often helped us in His lovingkindness in all kinds of situations, for which we ourselves saw no solution and for which we then resorted to Him?

Here it is about a situation where David is surrounded by people who rise up against God’s right hand [the context makes it clear that this is meant here]. It points to the audacity of these rebels, for they rise up against the power of God, of whom the right hand speaks. With His right hand, God supports and delivers His own (Psalms 18:35; Psalms 139:10). By this David is saying to God that he realizes that his enemies do not rise up against him, but against the strong God. We can also apply the “right hand” to the Messiah. He is at God’s right hand and He is the power of God (Hebrews 1:3; 1 Corinthians 1:24).

For himself, he asks for protection. For that, he boldly appeals to God’s lovingkindness, reminding God how precious he is to Him. He describes this preciousness by speaking of himself as the “apple of the eye” (Psalms 17:8; cf. Zechariah 2:8). The request for its protection also includes the request to be able to continue to see everything clearly.

The apple of the eye is the pupil of the eye. The Hebrew word means ‘little man, daughter of the eye’. This is because your image is reflected by the pupil when you look at it. That David is the apple of God’s eye means that David is reflected in the apple of God’s eye, God’s pupil. This, in turn, is because the LORD does not lose sight of him and constantly protects him.

The apple of his eye is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable parts of the body. He therefore makes an additional appeal for God’s protection asking that God hides him “in the shadow” of His “wings” (Psalms 36:7; Psalms 57:1b; Psalms 63:7; Psalms 91:4; cf. Rth 2:12; Isaiah 49:2; Isaiah 51:16; Matthew 23:37). In addition to protecting what is precious, it is also about protecting and securing what is defenseless.

These pictures illustrate the love of God in His acts of care and protection for those who are dear and precious to Him. Moses uses both of these pictures in the song he teaches God’s people. In doing so, he wants to teach them about their preciousness to God and the love and care God has lavished on them because of it (Deuteronomy 32:10-11).

David presents himself to God in his preciousness and vulnerability because of “the wicked” who “despoil” him and his “deadly enemies who surround” him (Psalms 17:9). He is in mortal danger. The wicked are out to despoil him. His deadly enemies have surrounded him, making him feel like a surrounded, besieged city (cf. 2 Kings 6:14), from which every way out has been cut off.