God Is Present and the City is Secure

The Sovereignty of God
The Alpha and Omega

Living Waters

Psalm 46  The Message

A Song of the Sons of Korah

46 ^1-3 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.

^4-6 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.

⁷ Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

^8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
    He 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.”

¹¹ Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

For Reflection

Water: the symbol of purity, of purification, and of turmoil, and fearsome power.

Every day we stand before the awesome power and turmoil of the seas of life.  We, like Jacob, wrestle with the demons of the deep. And God, our protecting father, our shield against all life's demons, more powerful than the seas, is armed not with swords, but with reels baited with grace, forgiveness, compassion and love.  God, the peacemaker, reunites the disparate, reconciles the deviants, accepts the unacceptable and resolves all conflict.  God the peacemaker smooths the rough seas of life.

Pray

prayers of praise.  Pray prayers of thanksgiving.  Pray that all will accept the fertile grace of God.  With God surrounding you, pray that you will meet the tumultuous seas of life fearlessly.