psalms for the election

enjoy two of my favorite anti-empire psalms from the hebrew bible!

psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
therefore we will not fear, though the Earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the most high.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
the nations are in an uproar, the empires totter;
the Holy One utters, the Earth melts.
God is with us;
the God of our Ancestors is our refuge.

come, behold the works of God;
see what desolations God has brought on the Earth.
God makes wars cease to the end of the Earth;
God breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
God burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the Earth.”
God is with us;
the God of our Ancestors is our refuge.

psalm 146

hallelujah!
praise God, o my soul!
i will praise God as long as i live;
i will sing praises to my God all my life long!

do not put your trust in politicians
in mortals, in whom there is no help.
when their breath departs, they return to the Earth;
on that very day their plans perish.
blessed are those whose help is in God,
whose hope is in the most high their God,
who made heaven and Earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry;
who sets prisoners free;

God gives vision to the visionless,
lifts up those who are bowed down,
and loves the righteous.
God watches over the refugee
and upholds the orphan and the widow,
but brings the way of the wicked to ruin.

God will reign forever,
your God, o people, for all generations.
hallelujah!