I’ve been slowly working through the book of Psalms as part of my quiet times recently, one a day, and am rediscovering this wonderful collection of writings. To date, I’ve been most enamoured with Psalm 46. The Psalms have long been precious to me – as a teenager, wrestling with depression, I wrote out Psalm 139 and pinned it on the wall above my bed – and so it is a joy to return to them again a little older. Psalm 46, in my limited view, seems to offer nearly everything you could hope for:
“God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.“
Psalm 46 seems to me to cover a wide range of emotions, historical hints and events, and some of the grand themes of Scripture. Rooted in worship, aware of pain, looking forward, hopeful, recognising reality, with an invitation to hear God speak and to be still, Psalm 46 is powerful. I *think* it is my favourite Psalm. I hope to unpack that in a few little posts over the next month or so.
Psalm 46: Refuge and Strength – Thomas Creedy's Blog
[…] I recently shared how Psalm 46 is becoming one of my favourite Psalms. In today’s short reflection I want to start to share why this is. Regular readers should note that I’m not attempting to do proper theology or exegesis of this Psalm, but merely share how and why I’ve found it so powerful recently. […]
Psalm 46: Come, Behold! – Thomas Creedy's Blog
[…] blogged recently about how Psalm 46 is perhaps my favourite Psalm – and shared about the reassurances of verses 1-3, and the wonderful vision of verses 4-7. In […]