Psalm 46

 

This week we are playing with and praying Psalm 46.  Recall from yesterday that you paused after each stanza, I encouraged you to notice where you are placing the emphasis.  I invite you to the same way of reading today.  Notice which words leap off the page/screen on this day, especially if it is different from yesterday.  I encourage you to read aloud ~ leaning in/listening for YOUR voice to get caught up in this Holy Hebrew hymn.  Today, we read/sing from the Message translation.

God is a safe place to hide,
    ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
    courageous in seastorm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans,
    the tremors that shift mountains.

    Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us. Pause

River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city,
    this sacred haunt of the Most High.
God lives here, the streets are safe,
    God at your service from crack of dawn.
Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten,
    but Earth does anything he says.

    Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us. Pause

Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
    God plants flowers and trees all over the earth,
Bans war from pole to pole,
    breaks all the weapons across his knee.
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
    loving look at me, your High God,
    above politics, above everything.”

    Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,

    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us. Pause

Where do you long for protection as you stand on the cliff-edge of life?  Where do you wrestle with God right now?  How might this moment of paying attention to God’s marvels and mystery leave a lingering impression upon the hours to come today?  Let these questions sink and settle and sing to your soul.

God who splashes and stirs and swims in the sea called, “Life”, help us when the waters foam with white-caps and cause our stomachs to do somersaults amid the rapids we traverse. Let the stillness of being wrapped in Your sacredness here and now, extend to then and there every moment today.  Amen.