Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

The last verse of Psalm 48 is one of my personal favorites. It reads,
    This God is our God for ever and ever;
        he will be our guide even to the end (v. 14).

What a wonderful relationship, “God is our God.”  He is not an impersonal God in a cold universe, who abandons us to time and chance. He is a God who is close, he is our forever God. Kingdoms fall and worlds explode, but our God watches over us.  

“He will be our guide even to the end.”  What a wonderful view of our journey through life. God knows his way around the universe. He will be our outfitter and guide and companion and for all of our journey. 

How does the poet arrive at this glorious conclusion?  Psalm 48 takes us there in three movements.

The first tells us that God’s presence makes Jerusalem a city of safety and joy. The second movement describes the kings of the earth who assembled to conquer Jerusalem–but instead of attacking, they marvelled at the defences, they were immobilized with fear, they felt pain like a woman in childbirth, and they ran away. Such is the impact of God’s presence on his enemies. The third movement in the psalm celebrates God’s covenant with Israel, which makes the city a place of loving kindness, righteousness, and joy. 

Let’s pray. 

Lord, the poet experienced deep confidence in your presence in Jerusalem, the city of the great king, and in the temple, where he meditated on your great love. But my city and my church do not produce the same deep feelings in me. My church’s 1950’s architecture, its  troublesome sound system, the fading blue carpet, the hard wooden pews make me feel time-bound and insignificant. During the sermon, I look out the windows–thankfully my church has windows–and I welcome your presence in the falling snow in winter or the flower beds in summer.

But some Sundays you meet me there. Sometimes as music plays, I lift my hands and lose my anxious heart in your kind heart. Sometimes the sermon brings a word of truth and hope and confidence. Sometimes when I confess that, “I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed”, your forgiveness washes over me. Sometimes when I kneel at the rail and taste the bread and sip the wine, I feel your welcoming presence.

Lord, we know that the city of Jerusalem failed. The glory which entered the temple at Solomon’s dedication departed in Ezekiel’s vision. That temple was destroyed by Babylon, the temple built to replace it was destroyed by Rome. But Jerusalem reminds us forever that place is important in our religion. You meet us, God, not only in our hearts, but in the crossroads of life, in the places where people live and worship and do business. You were present in the fortified Jerusalem that the poet celebrated. You were present on the roads of Palestine where Jesus walked. You were present in the Roman empire where Paul travelled and was imprisoned. You are present in our cities and our churches. With the hymn writer we say,
Where cross the crowded ways of life,…
we hear your voice, O Son of Man.

You are present in the universe, God, in the world, in our hearts. Wherever two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, you are there. Wherever we look up from our labor, our meals, our video games or our rest, you are a welcoming and protecting presence. 

With the poet we say,
  You God are our God forever and ever.
      You will be our guide even to the end. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

Many years ago when I was experiencing severe depression, I memorized Psalm 46. One day, I was overwhelmed, full of fear and anxiety and darkness and despair, so I went for a walk and recited the psalm.

  God is our refuge and strength
    a very present help in trouble.
    Therefore we will not fear
      though the earth give way,
    and the mountains fall into the sea,
        though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging (vv. 1-3).

The poet’s picture of chaos mirrored my life: a rising storm, an earthquake, a threatening tsunami, and waves of the sea pounding the rubble of my life.  

But when I looked at the noonday sun, everything was quiet and peaceful, the air fresh and energizing. I stood in surprise, as Psalm 46 gave me its best gift, telling me that my dark feelings were a lie. Life was not hopeless and meaningless and black. God was present, making the sun shine, the sky blue, the grass green. At creation he overcame chaos to create world, and he still holds the universe in his loving hands. Perhaps he would hold me in his hands. Perhaps he would be my refuge and my strength, a very present help in trouble (v. 1). 

After describing the depths of chaos, Psalm 46 says,
    There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
      The holy place where the most high dwells.
    God is in the midst of her,
        She will not be moved (vv. 4-5). 

A light went on for me: God wanted to create that stream of gladness in my life. He wanted to shine his light in my dark corners. He wanted to shine a ray of hope into my despair with. He wanted to give me a vision of life bigger and more beautiful than the depression I felt. 

Let’s pray. 

God, when the forces of chaos threaten us, when the foundations of our world crumble, when the floods  overwhelm us and all seems lost, we ask you to be our refuge and strength. In the 9-11 crisis of our lives, strewn with wreckage from political and social and personal disasters, help us hear your voice over the storm. No waters of chaos can sweep us away; no darkness of disaster can dam your river of gladness. “You are in the midst of us, we will not be moved. You will help us when morning dawns” (v. 5). 

We live in the world Psalm 46 describes:
  Nations are in an uproar, kingdoms fall,
      you lift your voice, the earth melts (v. 6). 

Lord, lift your voice above the uproar of nations, above the tumult of waters, above the call of despair.
    Make wars cease
      to the ends of the earth (v. 9).
    Break the fighter planes, 
      sink the destroyers,
      burn the missiles with fire.

O Lord, you say,
    Be still and know that I am God (v. 10).

We rest from the chaos in the news, from the chaos of the changing climate, from the chaos of our own hearts. You are lord over the raging nations. You are lord over the blustering politicians. You are Lord over the military-industrial complex. You are Lord over the sickness and violence of our world. 

We calm our hearts.
We release our fear.
We breathe in your spirit.
We receive your presence.
The refuge and strength you give is more real than all the world’s sound and fury. 

   The Lord Almighty is with us,
      the God of Jacob is our refuge. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.