God Is Our Refuge, Psalm 46:1 Family by Lamplight

What is painted

A mother, a father and their children sit shoulder to shoulder at a sturdy wooden table. In the middle, an oil lamp throws a circle of amber over their hands, a jug and a loaf. Behind them, drops run down the windowpanes and the night outside is a wash of cool blue. The contrast does all the work: cold glass, warm faces.

The verse sits across the top: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”, with the reference Psalm 46:1. The watercolor keeps its edges soft, so the family reads as any family, which is why people see their own in it.

A very present help

Psalm 46 is headed “for the sons of Korah”, a family of Levite singers in the temple. It imagines the worst: the earth removed, mountains carried into the sea, waters roaring. And yet the psalmist says “therefore will not we fear.” The reason is in verse 1, the line on this print.

“A very present help” could also be read as help that is always found, close at hand, right there in the trouble rather than after it. The psalm keeps returning to that nearness with a refrain in verses 7 and 11: “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

Martin Luther built his hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” on this psalm, and the same chapter holds the well known line “Be still, and know that I am God” (verse 10).

For a new home or a hard season

This is scripture wall art that belongs where a family actually gathers: over a dining table, in a kitchen nook, by the front door. It is a natural housewarming gift, and a kind one to send to a family going through illness, a move or a loss, since the painting shows people holding together rather than a verse alone.

It is printed to order in the US on heavyweight archival matte paper, and shipping inside the US is free. The print is sent unframed with blank paper around the artwork. Sizes range from 5x7 to 24x36 inches, plus metric and A sizes, and a digital version is offered too.

The painting belongs to a small group of Christian wall art prints in this series that show people rather than just places, and it tends to be the one families pick when they want to see themselves in the scripture. As a Christian poster for a kitchen or dining area, it reads clearly from across the room, and the rain on the glass gives it a cozy feel from fall through early spring.