Psalm 60: The Earthquake Psalm – for Christchurch

​ 
O God, have you rejected us??
Are you angry with us??
You have broken down our walls, our homes, our churches.
The earth shook, and shook, and shook some more.
The ground cracked and opened up,
hard ground turned to rivers of sludge.
The earth jumped and rocks flew through the air.
The land rolled and people staggered like they were drunk.
Our lives were broken, our children were terrified.
 
You brought us to this land, you set your city here,
named with your name,
your church in the centre.
Now it is smashed, a crumbling ruin, an eye-sore.
Have you rejected us, O God?
How can we fight against the ground we stand on?
Human help is useless when the land leaps.
 
All the earth is yours, and all the forces that shape it.
We are in your hand, even when it shakes.
We know that you love us - show it!
We know that you save us - help us through this.
We look to you for courage.
We trust you with our lives.

Psalm 60: Protect us, O God

 
O God, it feels like you’ve rejected us
and broken down our defences.

Are you angry with us?
Please, God, don’t be angry with us.

You have cracked our land open,
shaken it with violent quakes.

We’re in shock, we stumble around like drunks.
People have suffered hard.

Protect us, O God,
get us out of harm’s way.
Fly high your banner over us
and everyone will run to safety.

We cling to your promises,
we know you said: “You are my people.”
We are yours, we are your sign.

Protect us, O God,
shield us from enemy fire,
cut the enemy’s lies to shreds,
carve up the enemy territory.

In your name the walls will crumble;
we certainly can’t win this on our own
and human help is useless.

Lead us, Lord Jesus,
into victory over evil.
With you we find courage,
for you will never leave us!

Photos: Inside the Red Zone, Christchurch, March 2011. Photos by Chris Purdie