46:4 a river. Ancient and present Jerusalem have no river. There was a river in Eden (Gen. 2:10), as well as a “river . . . of life” that flows from the throne of God in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1, 2).

the holy habitation. As the Israelites looked to the temple, they felt secure in the symbol of God’s protection. Later in their history the people regarded the temple as a kind of idol that would save them from the Babylonians (Jer. 7). In this psalm, however, their trust is faithful and obedient, prefiguring the security enjoyed by God’s people in the eternal city that is to come (Rev. 22:3).