Lately, I have been thinking of Psalm 46, even before it showed up on Monday in my daily readings. It is a powerful psalm of God’s abiding presence and protection. We need not fear . . . It has been an encouraging meditation for me during these days of uncertainty and exhaustion.
As I prayed with the words, some of my paintings came to mind. Here is the psalm* with a series of paintings I did two years ago, thinking of climate change, both emotional and environmental.
Psalm 46
God is our refuge and our 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 upon 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, Holy Bible, New International Version
