Psalms 46:4 (WEB)

Passage

There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High.

Nearby Context

Psalms 46:2 Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;

Psalms 46:3 though its waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains tremble with their swelling. Selah.

Psalms 46:4 There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High.

Psalms 46:5 God is within her. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn.

Psalms 46:6 The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He lifted his voice, and the earth melted.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "river", "streams", "make", "city", "glad", "holy", "place", and "tents". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "river" and "streams", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "though its waters roar and are troubled..." into verse 5's "God is within her She shall not...", so "river" and "streams" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "river" and "streams" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.