Background
The traditional (Jewish) view of this psalm is that it was written by Moses while climbing into the cloud over Mount Sinai. He was said to have spoken these words as a protection from ‘the angels of destruction’. There are apparently many similarities to phrases used by Moses in Deuteronomy.
The Septuagint (Greek) version of the Old testament attributes the psalm to David, but this is uncertain.
For more background you can read the notes in Wikipedia or Spurgeon’s commentary.
Read through the passage from the NRSV here and also from the NIV here. Feel free to read the psalm in your own preferred version too, of course.
Questions to reflect on and bring to our discussion
What impact does this psalm have on you when you read it?
What do you understand as the 'shadow of the almighty' for your life? Is it a place, or a state of mind, or something else?
This psalm uses lots of images about God, for example 'fortress'. Make a note of the images used in this passage to describe God, and consider which are most helpful to you, and which least helpful.
What other images help you to understand God's relationship with you?
The psalm uses a lot of imagery to describe things that may harm us. The psalm was written at least about 3 000 years ago, possibly long before then, in a very different culture. Take some of the images in this psalm and suggest what 21st Century images (or characters or situations) could replace the images in tis psalm.
How helpful do you find the imagery in the Bible? Does it improve your understanding or does it confuse you?