Psalm 46 (NRSV)
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Verse 1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Verse 2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
Verse 3though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah
Verse 4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
Verse 5God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.
Verse 6The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
Verse 7The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Verse 8Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
Verse 9He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
Verse 10"Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth."
Verse 11The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Devotion
Be still, and know that I am God! "Stop!" God says. "Desist!" God is the refuge, life, and strength of the world; God is our very present help in trouble. God is both the city and the river that makes the city glad, giving life and hope to who all who shelter there. And God is faithful — "trusty" — even as Luther once put it in his hymn, "A Mighty Fortress." See what works God is doing! God breaks the bow and shatters the spear, ending warfare in all the world. As we and all who suffer under the oppressor's rod cry out, "How long?" God comes to make such oppression cease. "Stop!" God says, to wars, to unjust kings, to us in our fretting and fighting. "Stop! Be still!" First to the people who were chosen and then to the nations — people like you and me — God proclaims, "I am God. I am for you."
Prayer
Exalt your name in all the earth, O God, by the working of your Spirit. Bring justice, mercy, and gladness to all who look to you for help. Amen.