Skip to main content

A Psalm for (a stormy) Sunday

A reblog/revamp today based on Psalm 46. I previously published it in a slightly different form, on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks 2 years ago. We're using it in Belfast South Methodist this morning as part of worship.







God is our strength and a safe place to hide,
In time of trouble he’s always there to help.
So we will not fear, even if the earth should shake
And mountains be reduced to rubble,
though the seas rage and roar
and cities be swept away in the surge.
Pause

The River of Life sustains the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is within her walls, so she will stand;
God will ride to her rescue with the rising sun.
Nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms fall; 
The Almighty I AM speaks, and the whole earth dissolves .
The Almighty I AM is always with us;
The God of promise is our protector.
Pause

Come and see what the Almighty I AM can do, 
Sweeping away what we thought to be indestructible.
He will bring war to an end
From one end of the world to another;
Putting weapons beyond use eternally
And disarming hearts and minds.

Stop. Be still. Know that the Almighty I AM is God;
I will be exalted among all nations, 
I will be exalted over all the earth.
The Almighty I AM is always with us;
The God of promise is our protector. 
Psalms 46:1-11

Shalom


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Woman of no Distinction

Don't often post other people's stuff here... But I found this so powerful that I thought I should. It's a performance poem based on John 4: 4-30, and I have attached the original YouTube video below. A word for women, and men, everywhere... "to be known is to be loved, and to be loved is to be known." I am a woman of no distinction of little importance. I am a women of no reputation save that which is bad. You whisper as I pass by and cast judgmental glances, Though you don’t really take the time to look at me, Or even get to know me. For to be known is to be loved, And to be loved is to be known. Otherwise what’s the point in doing either one of them in the first place? I WANT TO BE KNOWN. I want someone to look at my face And not just see two eyes, a nose, a mouth and two ears; But to see all that I am, and could be all my hopes, loves and fears. But that’s too much to hope for, to wish for, or pray for So I don’t, not anymore. Now I keep to myself And by that

Psalm for Harvest Sunday

A short responsive psalm for us as a call to worship on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, and given that it was pouring with rain as I headed into church this morning the first line is an important remembrance that the rain we moan about is an important component of the fruitfulness of the land we live in: You tend the land and water it And the earth produces its abundance. You crown each year with your bounty, and our storehouses overflow with your goodness. The mountain meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are filled with corn; Your people celebrate your boundless grace They shout for joy and sing. from Psalm 65

Living under the Empire... (2) Where is Babylon?

We were driving back from school last week, talking about books that we had been reading and my younger son, Ciaran, asked me "Where is Babylon?" I have to confess that my history is better than my geography, and I said that it no longer exists as an inhabited city, but its ruins were to the north west of the current capital of Iraq, Baghdad. When I checked however, I discovered that it is actually about 50 miles south of Baghdad and the modern town is the administrative centre of the province of Babil... But just as the modern city is but a shadow of the historic capital of 2 ancient empires, first under Hammurabi in the 18th century BCE and then the "Neo-Babylonian" empire (under Nebuchadnezzar etc) in the 6th century BCE, so the earthly Babylonian empire/s was/were fleeting in comparison to the enduring metaphorical idea of Babylon. The original Empire under Hammurabi was probably the ultimate origin of some of the early Biblical stories, including the &quo