For the director of music.

Of the Sons of Korah.

According to alamoth.

A song.

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.

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 46 : “ever-present” (v.1)

The Psalmist says “God is our refuge and strength” (v.1). It’s a declaration of faith, not just for himself but for all his people (“our”, not “my”). Jehovah isn’t ‘on a break’ every so often; He is “ever-present” (v.1) and doesn’t miss a moment. Why?

Because we constantly need Him, our “ever-present help in trouble.” We don’t always feel (i.e. sense) His presence, due to our own dullness of spirit rather than absence on His part.

We pray a lot in faith (vv.1-9), and then occasionally, out of the blue, he replies, “be still, and know that I am God” (v.10).

He “will be exalted … in the earth” (v.10). And in you!

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READING

Psalm Forty Six

Read by David Suchet