阅读经文 

3000多年以来，诗篇第四十六篇的话一直在激励和鼓舞神子民的心；在今天，当遇到患难时，我们仍然会转向这篇诗篇求助。请允许我与你分享我们的三次经历，看看这篇诗篇如何坚固我们忧伤的心灵。

第一，1963年11月22日传来惊人的新闻：“美国总统肯尼迪遇剌身亡了。”我们非常震惊，不知所措到说不出话来。我当时就读的神学院，举行了一个特别的聚会，聚会中我们的教授诵读诗篇第四十六篇：“神是我们的避难所，是我们的力量，是我们在患难中随时的帮助。”（诗 46:1）那些话大大坚固了我们软弱和受挫的心灵。

第二，在过去两年全球新冠病毒疫情肆虐期间，对我们当中很多困扰和孤单的心灵来说，诗篇第四十六篇所说的都是扣人心弦的话。面对令人焦虑的茫茫前路，以及与人隔离的生活状态，我们需要听神对我们说：“你们要休息，要知道我是神！”（参诗 46:10）以此来支撑和安抚我们的心灵。

第三，我探访了一位受人爱戴的母亲，他的儿子刚刚因交通意外去世。她哀伤的脸上带着充满泪水的微笑，迎接我进入她打扫整洁的家。她在倾诉，我在聆听。然后我们翻开诗篇第四十六篇——“神是我们的避难所，是我们的力量，是我们在患难中随时的帮助。”之后每当我探访她时，她时常都会提醒我，对她来说，诗篇第四十六篇是何等有力和宝贵。

“所以……我们也不害怕。……万军之耶和华与我们同在……”（参诗 46:2-7）

For more than 3,000 years the hearts of God's people have been encouraged and bolstered by the words of Psalm 46. In our troubled times we still turn to this psalm. May I share with you about three experiences when this psalm strengthened our troubled hearts?

First, the awful news on Novem­ber 22, 1963: "Presi­dent Kennedy has been shot." We were stunned, numbed into silence. At the seminary I was attending we had a special chapel service, and our professor read Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Those words made our weak and wounded hearts sturdier.

Second, during the past two years with the COVID-19 pan­demic, Psalm 46 spoke to many of our troubled and lonely hearts. In times of anxious uncertainty and isolation, we needed to hear God say, "Be still, and know that I am God," anchoring and calming our souls.

Third, I visited a dear mother whose son had just been killed in a car accident. A tearful smile lined her sad face as she welcomed me into her neatly kept home. She talked. I listened. Then we turned to Psalm 46—"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." In later visits she often reminded me how powerful and precious Psalm 46 was to her.

"Therefore we will not fear...The LORD almighty is with us..."