"GOD is our strength and protection,
an ever-present help in affliction.
We will not fear, therefore;
though the earth be shaken
and the mountains plunge into the seas;...
There is a river whose streams bring joy to the City of GOD,
the holy place, where the Most High dwells.
GOD is within, the city cannot quake,
for GOD's help is upon it at the break of day.
For with us is YAHWEH of hosts,
the GOD of Jacob, our refuge.
Come, see the works of YAHWEH--
the marvelous things HE has done in the world."
- Psalm 46:2-3. 5-6. 8-9
(It always gives Israel a feeling of security, to remember that her GOD is lord of all the armies of heaven and earth. The same power controls the universe and subdues hostile nations. That is why the psalmist speaks in terms of cosmic catastrophe and is still confident. In a tottered world, there is one unshaken Rock, the GOD of Jacob. And meanwhile a life-giving string keeps Jerusalem, the center of this disturbed world, safe and prosperous, because where GOD is, there is peace. One may think of the baptismal water that washes round the city we call Church.
Our certainty does not rest on the Temple of GOD, but on the GOD of the Temple. It is good to pray with this psalm, if we want to cultivate this certainty rather than a false security.)
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