Psalm 46

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

Psalm 46 is a type of poem that challenges form criticism’s assumptions. Gunkel has identified it as a subtype of the hymn, which he labels “Zion Songs.”1 Goldingay helpfully lays out the features of this psalm that overlap with other types and concludes that the psalm of trust is the best choice of categories.2 Indeed, the spirit of trust in God as refuge pervades the poem. More specifically, the plural pronouns and first common plural verbs point to the community psalm of trust, along with Psalms 90; 115; 123; 124; 125; and 126.3 The city of Jerusalem is not mentioned by name in Psalm 46, but its identification as the “city of God” is unmistakable. Other psalms celebrate Jerusalem, or Zion, as Israel’s theological center because of God’s presence there and his association with Jerusalem (48; 76; 84; 87; 122).

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