Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Psalm 40 and Psalm 46

Today we come to the end of Psalm 46. You’re invited to test your memory of the whole Psalm and then focus on the verse that repeats in v.7 and v.11, “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress“, in light of Psalm 40.

Like Psalm 46, Psalm 40 is a declaration of absolute trust in the saving presence of the Lord. The two Psalms are deeply connected by the understanding that God is with us and saves us because of His mercy, and not by virtue of any goodness on our part. This is the underlying message of the statement, “The God of Jacob is our fortress”. Of all the patriarchs, Jacob was the least deserving. He was a conniving, scheming, back-stabbing young man. But God chose Jacob to carry God’s blessing despite his unworthiness, God pursued him, and God rescued Jacob in His great mercy. Ultimately, God’s mercy humbled and gradually transformed Jacob.

In Psalm 40:11-13, there is also a clear acknowledgment of the Psalmists’ unworthiness as he cries to God to have mercy on him and to “Save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me.” All of the ways he praises God for saving him were dependent on God’s mercy, love and faithfulness, and not on any goodness of his own.

May this be our attitude today. May we be ever mindful that the almighty and merciful “God of Jacob” is our fortress.
¹ God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.’

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

AMEN!