A New Psalm 46

We need not be afraid, 
though oil spills blacken the seas
and volcanoes spit ash into the skies, 
though the ground beneath our lives 
shakes and cracks, 
though tornadoes of tragedy 
rip up the roots of our world, 
though the seas of chaos 
engulf us beneath their waves.


God is our everpresent help.
God is our refuge and our strength. 


The peaceful streams of God's presence
water the roots of our spirits 
and flood the streets of our cities with joy.
God is always with us, 
and comes to us in hours of darkness 
as the dawning of a new day. Presidents and kings may cause
their petty skirmishes.
Dictators and regimes may topple
to the ground. But, when God speaks with hot breath the icy world melts.


God is our everpresent help.
God is our refuge and our strength.


Take a good look 
off into God's future 
and see the new world 
made by divine hands. 
That ol' Peacemaker 
has called a halt to all wars.
See, the rifles snap over God's knee.
Behold, God smashes 
stockpiles of nuclear weapons with a mighty fist 
and puts the match to a fleet of stealth bombers.
God shouts over the noise of battle,
" Stop the fighting! 
When the world obeys, 
they will know me 
as the God I am, 
Lover of justice and peace. 
When the world finally ceases 
its warring ways, 
then they will know, 
I am 
their refuge and their strength. 
I will be exalted 
over all the earth.

God is our everpresent help. 
God is our refuge and our strength.