Psalm Meditation 1105 Proper 16 August 22, 2021 Psalm 46 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. 6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah (NRSV) There are situations in which it is impossible to be still. There are times of great joy that need to be shouted from the rooftops, there are times of sadness that need to be wailed from the depths of our souls, there are times of rage that need to be raged wherever we are. These are but a few of the triumphs and traumas that are not meant to be held in or suffered in silence. These are not the times, places, situations in which we are to “Be still, and know that I am God!” After we have expressed our joy, sadness, or rage, when we are sitting exhausted from the height and depth of our emotion, we can experience the presence of God in the stillness. When we sense that God is with us in the stillness, we can trace that presence back into our emotional experience as well. We can see, we can know that God is no stranger to heights and depth of emotion, that God is with us no matter what. From the stillness we learn that YHWH, the Lord, is with us in every time and place as a refuge. God as our refuge is not a hiding place, tempting as it can be to hide from the world in God. God is a refuge who calls us into the world secure in the knowledge that we are not alone, that we are never abandoned, that we have gifts to give to and receive from the world in which we live. Even as nations are in an uproar and realms totter, God is with us, inviting us to “Be still, and know that I am God!” August 16, 2021 LCM