Psalm 46
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 46
God’s Defense of His City and People
To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present[a] help in trouble.(A)
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea,(B)
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah(C)
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.(D)
5 God is in the midst of the city;[b] it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.(E)
6 The nations are in an uproar; the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice; the earth melts.(F)
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.[c] Selah(G)
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.(H)
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.(I)
10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations;
I am exalted in the earth.”(J)
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.[d] Selah
Psalm 46
The Message
46 1-3 God is a safe place to hide,
ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
courageous in seastorm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans,
the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
4-6 River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city,
this sacred haunt of the Most High.
God lives here, the streets are safe,
God at your service from crack of dawn.
Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten,
but Earth does anything he says.
7 Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,
Bans war from pole to pole,
breaks all the weapons across his knee.
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything.”
11 Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
Mark 4:35-41
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jesus Stills a Storm
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.(A) 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And waking up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be silent! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”(B) 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
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Mark 4:35-41
The Message
The Wind Ran Out of Breath
35-38 Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”
39-40 Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?”
41 They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”
Read full chapterNew Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson