New Lead Pastor Andrew Watkins has recorded a timely message for us from Psalm 46 entitled “A Mighty Fortress is Our God"
Andrew Watkins: 0:00
Hey, BCC! This is obviously not how I had hoped to be opening God's word with you this weekend. I've been so excited for the past few weeks to come back and spend the weekend with you and to open God's word. But as I'm sure you're aware, the Corona virus is spreading around the world and really our country, too. And it's disrupting people's everyday lives. That's not necessarily a reason for panic, but our elders have decided it will be the most wise and prudent for me to stay here in North Carolina with my family and not travel this weekend, so thankfully, technology allows me to still get to open God's word with you wherever you are listening to this. So, as you know, I like to say, if you would grab your Bibles, you're smart phones, your tablets or whatever it is that you used to get your eyes on God's word and meet me in Psalm 46 right now. Again, if you don't have a Bible, you heard me say this before, go ahead and you can actually google it - use your phone or whatever you have and you can just Google Psalm 46. I will be reading in a minute here from the English Standard Version.
Andrew Watkins: 0:00
Here's what Psalm 46 says. "God is our refuge and strength, a
very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not
fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved
into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah Here's what Psalm 46 says. "God is our refuge and strength, a
very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not
fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved
into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 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 her; she
shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations
rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the
earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our
fortress. Selah 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 her; she
shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations
rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the
earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our
fortress. Selah Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought
desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with
fire. "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the
nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" The LORD of hosts is with
us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah"
Andrew Watkins: 1:07
Well, God's people have always looked to the Psalms for comfort and encouragement in hard times. Some of the Psalms are definitely more encouraging than others. But really, in many people's minds, the Psalms have almost become synonymous with comfort. Maybe you even have a personally favorite Psalm that God used in a particularly difficult time in your life, and you hold on to that Psalm to this day to remind you of God's faithfulness in that time. For my grandfather, it was Psalm 34. My grandfather had many different jobs in his lifetime, but for a very short time, he was a bread delivery man in Baltimore City, Maryland. One particular morning, he actually found himself literally tied up and bound and gagged in the back of his delivery truck as bank robbers were in a bank doing what bank robbers do about to come out and use his delivery truck as their getaway vehicle. It was, as he was tied up there in the back of that truck, that God brought the words of Psalm 34 to his mind. "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles." My grandfather told that story many times, and he would always say that he held on to that that verse that that truth from God like a life raft in the middle of the storm. Thankfully, a Baltimore City Police officer happened to wander by and noticed that the bank robbers had double parked his truck. And so he was fortunately saved there For me, it's Psalm 121. "I will lift up my eyes to the hills for where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth." I'd memorized those words as a child, and then God brought them back to my mind around noon on August 26, 2016 as I was sitting alone in a hospital room as Veronica was immediately whisked away to have an emergency C-section about a month before Silas was expected to be born and really with only a few minutes to spare for both her and his lives. For Martin Luther, it was Psalm 46. If you're familiar with church history at all you know that that Martin Luther is the man that kicked off the Protestant Reformation by nailing 95 Theses or doctrinal complaints against the Roman Catholic Church to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church on October 31st 1517. Many people know that Martin Luther loved the books of Romans and Galatians, but he also loved the Psalms. He called them the Bible in miniature. Obviously, the stand that he took against the Roman Catholic Church angered a lot of people in power and really, for the rest of his life, he faced trial after trial after trial. He would always come back to the 46th Psalm for comfort and encouragement in those times. Philip Malanchthon, who was his friend and fellow reformer, said that many times when Martin Luther was discouraged and down, he would look at Philip and say, Come, Philip, let's sing the 46th Psalm together. No, Psalms don't just comforting encourages in some cheesy, superficial way. They lift our eyes to God in the middle of a storm. They remind us that there really is hope in God when it seems like there is no hope. Maybe that's you right now. Maybe you need encouragement. You need your eyes lifted towards God as we are fearful of everything that we're hearing on the news, and as we look around us. Maybe you need to adopt a Psalm to hold onto for dear life in the middle of the storm. And I would just suggest that maybe Psalm 46 is a great place to start there. So before we jump into the actual text, Here's our big idea - Our one sentence overarching theme of this passage that ties it all together. Our big idea is that God's people can face trials with courage because of who God is. Again, God's people can face trials with courage because of who God is. So as we look at the Psalm, we're gonna see three reasons that we can confidently anchor our hope and confidence in God. So here we go. We can face trials with courage because number one: God is present. Because God is present. Look back with me one more time. We're gonna read these 1st 3 verses. It says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at it's swelling." What in the world does that mean. Like, how would you react if suddenly the earth started crumbling right in front of you and mountains just fell over into middle of the ocean. Well, imagine that you have finally saved up money and you have booked your dream vacation on Alaskan cruise. And this is gonna be the vacation of the lifetime. You can't wait to get to take in those beautiful, snow capped mountains in Alaska from the distance and the warmth and the comfort and the security of your private balcony on a luxury cruise ship. So you get into an airplane over there, all the international airport, and you fly across the Seattle and you aboard this cruise ship. And as you get close to the to the Alaskan coastline, you see these views that are everything that you hoped they would be. And you're standing on the balcony and you're you're enjoying those views. But suddenly you start hearing this terrible rumble unlike anything that you've ever heard before. And then suddenly that the closest mountain just falls apart and falls into the ocean. And then, just a few seconds later, those calm, glassy waters that made the ship seems so stable are now roaring and foaming, and the waves are making the cruise ship feel like it's just gonna topple over at any second. You're probably listening to that and you're thinking that's crazy, like that kind of stuff only happens in movies, and the reason is because mountains don't fall apart. They're permanent balance. Don't just fall apart like that. It's hard for us to imagine the world falling apart like that, but when we bring things a little closer to home it's not so hard to imagine the world falling apart. See, right now we know what it's like to turn on the news and be anxious about the spread of a virus that is getting closer and closer by zip code and street to our house. We know what it's like to get a phone call from the doctor and to hear him say, Listen, you know those tests we did last week, something showed up, and I need you to come in for a biopsy. We know what it's like, too, then endure the sleepless nights as we wait for the test results and then to sit in his office and have him look us in the eye and say the two words that we dreaded the most stage for. We know what it's like to experience the feelings of betrayal by the people that we should have been able to trust. So in so many ways, we really do understand what it means for the earth to give way and the mountains to be moved into the heart of the sea for the things that our lives that should have been so stable to come crashing down around us, and it's times like that that psalms like this were written for times like what we're experiencing right now. So how can we face trials like that with courage? Where the psalmist begins? With this incredible statement about God, he says in verse one. God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. There's so much comfort and encouragement in that verse. The point here isn't to just generally acknowledge God's strength. The point is that it's it's personal, is that God is our refuge and got his our strength and got his our present help in trouble. It's personal for God's people. God is with his people in a trial in a way that that he isn't with people that aren't his. So the question is, how What's God like in the middle of a trial? It says that God is our refuge and strength. If you're like me, when you try to picture what a refuge and strength is, you may be imagined. This massive castle with a moat and a drawbridge and high walls that you can run to for safety and and feel so secure. That's a great picture. Tohave of God and what he is is our refuge and strength in one sense. But another sense, it's also maybe not the best picture. See it. God is not absent in our trials. God is not some distant, far away fortress that we have to try to make it to try toe drive, to try to travel to to suddenly get into our safe place with him. No God is present. These 1st 3 verses were telling us that we can face trials with courage because God is present with us. Too often, I'm afraid that we tend to view God like we view our phone chargers. See, we tend to view like he's off somewhere else, and and that when times get tough, we better go plug into him and recharge or or else if we don't, then things you're gonna start getting even worse for us. Because not like that. Yes, we should prioritize spending time in God's word and and meeting with him daily. Yes, we should prioritize gathering together with his people and coming to worship him on a Sunday morning. But friends, if if all we view God as is a distant phone charger that we have to run to somewhere to connect to. Then we're cheapening who got ISS. His God is with us. No god, not our phone charger to give us more energy to navigate our way out of a trial. He is our refuge and strength, and he protects his people. He gives us courage in the middle of the trial with his presence. The second half of verse one here says that he is a very present help in trouble. If you were to read this in the original Hebrew, you would see that this is one of those times that because the difference of languages, it doesn't exactly smoothly translate from Hebrew into English. So the translator's here. They decided to use the word present to convey this, and that's certainly true of what the Hebrew text is telling us. But I like to dig in and see, even if it's a little wooden and uncomfortable of what what it's actually saying. And so if you look at the original Hebrew, what it literally says is that God is a very able to be found help in trouble, literally that God is a very findable help in trouble. I love this picture. This almost is basically saying that that finding God are seeking God in the middle of a trial is like playing hide and seek with a three year old. Maybe you're listening to me Say that and you're like, What? That sounds like a really terrible way to talk about God, but But let me explain. See my son Silas. Now he's three years old, and we've tried to explain to him the concept of hide and go seek. But to be honest, he really still doesn't grasp the concept. He still thinks that a cz long as he can't see you, Then you can't see him. So wherever he's at any given moment, then he's He's safe. He's hiding there, so usually go behind behind some thin little tree and you can totally see, like 95% of him. And just on the chance that he does actually hide well, really, all you have to do is just call it. Hey, where's Silas? And he'll just jump out from wherever he is and say, Here I am. That's God in the middle of a trial. My thing is, God's not playing hide and seek cuts, not hiding he is present and he is calling out to his people when we need him the most. When we are facing a trial here I am. I'm with you. Yes, God is that massive fortress that we desperately want to run to in the middle of a trial. But he's right here with us. So as we turn on the news and a virus gets closer to home, or as we see that name pop up on a caller, I d. With a meeting that so dreaded comes where the lonely nights won't end. We can have courage. Why? Because God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore, because of who got is because what we just read about him. Because he is present with us, we will not fear even one of virus is spreading. Even though the mountains air falling into the heart of the sea. We will not fear because God is with us. He is our refuge and strength. The question is, Is God your refuge and strength? Or do you run to something else for comfort and security in the middle of a trial? When you get that phone call that knocks the wind out of you. Do you turn to God in that time, or do you honestly turn to yourself or someone else or something else, too? Try to find out what the best thing to do is. See, the fact that it says that God is our help in trouble means that he is there to do for us what no one else or nothing else can do. He's there to do what we cannot do for ourselves because he is our help. But the fact that God is present isn't the only source of courage for us. In Psalm 46 lots of people in things can be present with us in the middle of a trial. But ultimately God has the only power to do anything about it. So in verses 437 we see that we can face trials with courage because number two God is powerful because God is powerful. Look back with me. It versus 437 It says this 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 her. She shall not be moved. God will help her. When the morning dawns, the nation's rage kingdoms totter, he utters his voice. The earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The god of Jacob is our fortress. Well, in the first few verses, the Psalmist use a natural disaster. Illustration toe remind us that God is present with us. But in these verses now he's shifting to the illustration of a city under attack. Most commentators agree that that this psalm was not written just on some rough day for God's people, but it was written when the city of Jerusalem was under siege by the bison, aka Ruben the Assyrian Army. Putting a city under siege was a very common tactic in ancient warfare, but it was definitely taking the long way invading armies. What they would do when they would put someone under siege is they would show up, and they would surround the city and and cut off all of the entrances and exits and all of their sources of supplies and food and water. And then they would just wait rate for the people to either give up or surrender. So that's why most major cities, especially ancient ones are built on bodies of water. Soapy Paris is built on the Seine River, London's on the River Thames, New York's on the Hudson River, Jerusalem. On the other hand, it doesn't have a river, the Jordan rivers 21 miles away. But the only real water source here in Jerusalem is the G on spring that people could use to fill up a short term supply. But it really wasn't enough for everyone. And Kingston, accurate knew that you could actually go back to Second Kings 18 and 19 to read this story. But once the Assyrian army had Jerusalem under siege, soon aka have sent a messenger. Drew King has a chi and the people in Jerusalem and basically said, Look, I've got you right where I want you, so just go ahead and give up. Now, don't let Hezekiah talk you into trusting the Lord, because God's not gonna come help you Here. Let me just give you a sneak preview of how bad things were going to get for you. See, eventually you're gonna run out of food and water. You start eating each other and literally again in second kings 18 and 19. It says that He says you're gonna end up drinking your own urine, so go ahead and give up now. But again, God's not coming to help you. So just you know, whenever you're ready, you come let me know. Then when we look back, it's some 46 after understanding the historical context there, and we read that there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God we're like, um no, there's not. Whoever wrote this song must have been seriously geographically challenged because we could just do a quick Google search and find out that there is not a river in Jerusalem where the psalmist wasn't geographically challenged. But he did understand that God is powerful and he can work even when everything seems impossible. He understood that not every problem requires a physical solution. He understood that the people stuck in Jerusalem here ultimately didn't need God to just magically dropped a river in the middle of Jerusalem is helpful is that might have been no. They needed his presence in his power to meet them in their time of trial and got himself. Is that river? Look at what else he says about the City of God in Verse five. It says that God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved cards in the midst of her. This psalmist understands that the city is under siege. Times you're tough. Things are getting bad. People can't escape. They know they're going to run out of supplies eventually. But God is with them again. He's present, and because he's present this city, his people will not be moved. What an amazing picture. You're awesome. God says that God will help her. When the morning dawns, the nation's raged. The Three kingdoms totter. It's interesting to note that the the Hebrew word that saying here that that God will not be moved is the same word from verse to that says, the mountains are being moved into the heart of the sea, and also here that the kingdom's heir tottering See these giant rocks that we think are so permanent and these kingdoms that we think are so powerful they're all tottering. But the God who put them there is not budging. He will not be moved, and he says he utters his voice and the earth melts. Wow! Back for some more context in Second Kings again. Here we have the Assyrians in the Israel lights, one kingdoms raging and hoping to topple the other. The army's air in place. The threats have been sent, but Hezekiah didn't give in. He did tell the people to trust in the Lord, and then he went and did what every godly leaders should do. In the middle of the trial. He got on his face before God and prayed and cried out for his people. He ran to God's presence for help and Second Kings, 1934. God told Isaiah to tell Hezekiah. This says that God says I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David gods like, Oh, I'm coming. See, It's my glory and my name that's at stake here, and I'm not. I'm going to show up on just make it clear to Kingston accurate. But there is not a ruler or a country or anything on Earth that is as powerful as I am and that I am with my people and I am for my people. And Second King says that that night God sent one Angel one on Army of Angels. Not a few 1000 angels, one angel to kill 185,000 Syrian soldiers in their own camp in Kingston. Accurate. Woke up the next morning and saw what had happened, and he just packed up and went home. Morning had dawned and got it helped his people. He was with them and he was for them and he showed them just how powerful he really is. Maybe you look at the first part of Verse six where it says that the nation's air raging and kingdoms or Todd and you're like, You know what? Honestly, not much has changed. You know, most nights again, all we need to do is turn on the evening news to see that that we are living in a constantly unstable world. To be honest, that we live. We're privileged to live in what is probably the most stable nation in the history of the world. But right now we are facing political division to the point where, quite honestly, sometimes I wonder if if two people with opposing views can have a a friendly conversation where worried justifiably so about the spread of the corona virus are economy is tottering, wondering what's gonna happen next. We can take a map of the world and talk about just almost any nation and point at nations that literally are Tom Umberg, where governments are falling and point to the fact that this is this is a reality. Why? Because we live in a broken world. This is not how God designed it to be. There was a river in the Garden of Eden, and we lost it because we sinned against a holy God, the creator of the universe that said, Listen, don't eat from that tree over there. I know what's best for you, so just obey me. But we disobeyed. And now it's clear that we really do need God to be our very present help in trouble. We live in a world of trouble and trials and pain and suffering and fear. So the question that we ask ourselves is, it has to be Well, how do I not taught her? How can I live in this time and place? And when everything seems to be falling apart around me, and how can I live? Stay Billy that way. And the answer, you can't you don't have enough power. I don't have enough power. None of us have enough power tow. Walk through this life unfazed and in complete control. So we must be in God. He must be our refuge and strength. He is our only hope and he will not be moved. Just think about how Verse six describes the power of God again. He utters his voice and the earth melts. I think of all the military power that man has stored up. Think of all the cities that man has built of all the technology that man has developed and how permanent and stable, we think that all of that is and it says that all God has to do is utter one word and poof, gone, destroyed, done for I don't know about you, but I want to be on God's side. I don't like my chances of being against a God that has that kind of power and awesomeness. But I love the comfort encourage that comes with knowing that the all powerful god of the universe is with me and for me, in the middle of a time when the world seems to be falling apart. Listen friends when you've turned from your sins and placed your faith in Jesus alone for salvation. This river that makes glad the city of God is not some distant hope. It's a present reality. It's God himself who has come to live in us, Jon, 7 37 through nine, says. This says, On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out. If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said out of his heart, will flow rivers of living water. Now this, he said about the spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive. For as yet, the spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Jesus was pointing forward to when the Holy Spirit would come and live in us. And Charles Spurgeon, one of my heroes, said that the Holy Spirit in us is like a smoothly flowing fertilizing, full and never failing river that yields refreshment and consolation to believers. Whatever you're facing right now, whatever has you lying awake at night, whatever. Has you worried? I can promise you that's not too big or too much or too strong for God. He spoke. The world's into existence and with one world with one word, he can melt it away. The Lord of hosts is with us. The god of Jacob is our fortress. He has power over everything in that that can help us face trials with courage because he's right there with us. But not only can we face trials with courage because God is present and God is powerful. But we can also face trials with courage Because God is pre eminent because God is pre eminent. Look back one more time with me. At Psalm 46 we read this third stanza here says from versus eight through 11 Come behold the works of the Lord. How he has brought desolation is on the earth. He makes war seats to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spirit. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. The first command that we see in this entire som is in verse eight. Come, behold the works of the Lord. Lift your eyes. Look to him. Just look at what he's doing around us. Look at how powerful he is. Who tired of all those nations raging and kingdoms tottering. We'll just wait because one day God's gonna put an end to all of that. Says he makes war cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. He's gonna bring peace on Earth. It could be confident and encouraged by that. And it's gonna be totally unlike anything that we've ever seen. God's gonna make war stop forever, and that's something that man has never been able to do. And it's It's certainly not for lack of trying. I just think of all the ways that that man has tried to make wars cease and to bring peace Normally, what happens is that the leaders of nations or armies, they get together around a table and they try to work out a deal that's gonna make everyone happy, said They sit down, they try to do that and they hope toe make the fighting stopped for a little bit. And so we hear about these ceasefires and peace treaties all the time in the Middle East, and really, it feels like it's only a few days or a few weeks before the fighting starts again. The bullets start flying again of sitting down and negotiating table doesn't work. Basically, the only other option for armies is to just keep fighting until one side decides to give up and surrender, or or maybe come to the negotiating table of that point. Then, really, it's just a few decades as they rebuild, and then the fighting is back at it again. That's not how God's gonna bring peace. No, he's gonna end wars once and for all. And when he obliterates everyone's weapons for good, one commentator said, This about this passenger says the outcome is peace, but the process is judgment. These were there not set in the context of gentle persuasion, but in a world that is devastated and forcibly disarmed. Basically, when God's ready, when the time has come, he's gonna take all of the aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons and missiles and tanks and fighter jets and snap them in half. Just like that, she's not going to be a battle. It's not gonna be a negotiation, just the preeminent god of the universe, doing what no one else can do and putting an end to all the fighting and carnage and destruction and tragedy of war. That's her. God, that's our hope. That's our refuge and strength. The first verse nine verses of some 46 Again Psalm isjust reminding us how awesome God is and and telling them so we can have courage because of what I'm telling you about about God with an inverse 10. Basically, God takes the microphone and speaks for himself. You'll see the quotation marks there, and he says, Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. I have a feeling that I'm about to ruin this verse for some of you. They're listening right now. See some 46 10 is what I would maybe call a coffee mug and greeting card verse. Uh, I'm not against putting Bible verses on coffee mugs and greeting cards, but the danger of when we do that as we rip a verse out of its context and really, we lose its larger meaning. We lose what God is saying in its surrounding context. And so when we take a verse like some 46 10 and and slap it on a coffee mug, really, the tone becomes, Oh, you're you're feeling a little down today. You're having a rough day, then just got on the back porch and put some quiet music on light a candle. Just close your eyes. Relax. Just know that it's gonna be okay. That's that's the tone that we bring when we take it out of context and do that. But But this is not the tone of this verse in the passage. This verse is actually rebuke. When God says, Be still and know that I am God, it's basically saying, Knock it off. Stop fighting. For those of you that aren't saved, stop fighting against me. And for those of you that are saved, stop fighting for yourselves and let me fight for you. This is a warning to all those that have not turned from their sins and and placed their faith in Jesus for salvation alone that it's not too late. But one day it will be apart from Jesus. We are God's enemies. We are his enemies that are fighting against him. And we will face destruction and then punishment in eternity in hell. But God made a way for us to be reconciled to him through his son Jesus. By sending his son to die on the cross in our place, You wonder will. Then where is just It's gonna be accomplished. How? How does this all work out? No, Make no mistake. Justice will be accomplished. Justice will be happening against horse in the question is, will it happen in eternity in hell? Or will it have happened by placing all of your sins on Jesus on the cross and then God pouring out his wrath on his son in your place and then putting your faith in him? Salvation is a free gift that you can have if you just turn from your sins and place your faith in Jesus. But this is also rebuked. For those of us that are God's people that have placed our faith in Jesus. It's a call for those of us that are followers of Jesus. But air so tempted when trials come to figure things out on our own and turn to ourselves or to something else for refuge and strength. It's a call for us to be still. Put your hands down, stop fighting for yourselves and let me fight for you. Stop taking matters into your own hands. Stop exalting yourself and your own plans like your plans are better than God's. Let's be clear. There is a time and a place for us to act. But until he's made that extremely clear, her job is to keep her hands off of what he's doing and let him work how he sees fit. That's always a better plan than trying to handle things on our own and making things worse. God's command here to be still and know that I am God. Remember that I will be exalted. Remember that I'm pre eminent over everything. You might think that you have a better solution to whatever it is that you're facing, but but God's plan is better. We can have courage in the middle of trials, not because he is not just because he is present and he's powerful, but because he is pre eminent, he's better his greater. My confidence belongs in him. The third stands of this psalm ends the same way that the 2nd 1 did by saying that the Lord of Hosts, the all powerful god of the universe, is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Why, Jacob? And we know that so many times, especially the Old Testament God has referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But but of those three patriarchs, why on Earth with the Psalmist? End this song by saying that we have the God of Jacob is our fortress. Especially not by using Jacob's new name of Israel that God gave him. It's about grace. Save all the patriarchs of Israel. We could say that Jacob was the biggest screwup. He was a deceiver. Is it cheater? He was a liar. He was, ah, swindler. He's a guy that we can look at and be like what was wrong with him? What was his deal? Why couldn't he get his act together when gods being so faithful to him? The point is that even after Hall that Jacob had done God Waas still faithful God was still his fortress, even though he couldn't get his act together. And how encouraging is that for us? Even when we mess up as God's people God still gracious, his mercies are new every morning he's still our fortress and life's most difficult in trying moments. Even when we mess up, we can still have courage in trials because we know that God's not gonna turn his back on his people. Martin Luther turned to Psalm 46 countless times in his life for strength and encouragement in trials when he needed to be reminded that God is present and powerful and pre eminent, something we can relate to very much with what's in the news right now. One of Martin Luther's most desperate times was in 15 27 when the black plague was sweeping across Europe and Germany, and it almost killed his son in the middle of all those emotions that any of us that have kids can understand and relate to, of of the fears and the anxieties and and what is tomorrow gonna hold in the middle of all that Martin Luther open to Psalm 46 wrote these words familiar words. I'm not gonna sing them for you, but listen to these words. A mighty fortress is our god a bulwark never failing our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing for still our ancient foe doth seek to work us Woe. His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate on Earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength, confide hush driving would be losing. We're not the right men on the side. The man of God's own choosing. Just ask you that. Maybe Christ Jesus! It is he, Lord Sabah off! The Lord of hosts his name from age to age the same and he must win the battle. And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The Prince of Darkness grim we tremble. Not for him his rage we can endure for low. His doom is sure one little word shall fell him. That word above all earthly powers. No thanks to them abideth the spirit and the gifts are ours through him. Who with us side if let goods and kindred go this mortal life also the body they may kill God's truth. Abideth still, his kingdom is forever. The tone of a mighty fortress is our goddess so bold and confident in the face of trials. Because Martin Luther knew that he could face trials with courage, not because he was some great feel loading her famous reformer or, ah, great hymn writer. But because God is present and powerful and pre eminent because of who God is friends, no matter what you're facing right now, if you're a follower of Jesus, God is your refuge and strength. Trust him. Cling to him. He is a very present help in trouble and he will not be moved. He's our refuge and strength, so we will not fear father again. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the comfort that it brings us the truce, that it teaches us about you, the manner in which it lift our eyes to you when we so desperately need. And Father, we pray now for the people that are being affected by illness. We ask that you would huell them. Would you protect the people of BCC from this corona virus? Would you encourage them in any trial that they may be facing to remind them of who you are. Can we thank you for all that you are and all that you've done for us. It's in your some Jesus name, Amen.
Andrew Watkins: 0:00
Well, God's people have always looked to the psalms for comfort and encouragement in hard times. Some of the Psalms air definitely Maur encouraging than others. But really, in many people's minds, the sums have almost become synonymous with comfort. Maybe you even have a personally favorite song that God used in a particularly difficult time in your life, and you hold on to that song to this day toe remind you of God's faithfulness in that time. For my grandfather, it was Psalm 34. My grandfather had many different jobs in his lifetime, but for a very short time. He was a bread delivery man in Baltimore City, Maryland. One particular morning, he actually found himself literally tied up and bound and gagged in the back of his delivery truck as bank robbers were in a bank doing what bank robbers do about to come out and use his delivery truck as their getaway vehicle. It was, as he was tied up there in the back of that truck, that God brought the words of some 34 to his mind. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. My grandfather told that story many times, and he would always say that he held on to that that verse that that truth from God like a life raft in the middle of the storm. Thankfully, a Baltimore City Police officer happened toe wander by and noticed that the bank robbers had double parked his truck. And so he was fortunately saved there For me. It's someone 21. I will lift up my eyes to the hills for where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth I've memorised those words as a child, and then God brought them back to my mind around noon on August 26 2016 as I was sitting alone in a hospital room as Veronica was immediately whisked away to have an emergency C section about a month before Silas was expected to be born and really with only a few minutes to spare for both her and his lives. For Martin Luther, it was Psalm 46. If you're familiar with church history, it all you know that that Martin Luther is the man that kicked off the Protestant Reformation by nailing 95 fi Caesar or doctoral complaints against the Roman Catholic Church to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church on October 13 or 31st 15 17. Many people know that Martin Luther loved the books of Romans in Galatians, but he also loved the Psalms. He called them the Bible in miniature. Obviously, the stand that he took against the Roman Catholic Church angered a lot of people in power and really, for the rest of his life, he faced trial after trial after trial, he would always come back to the 46 for comfort and encouragement in those times. Philip Lengthen, who is his friend and fellow reformer, said that many times when Martin Luther was discouraged and down, he would look at Philip and say, Come, Philip, let's sing the 46th Psalm together. No psalms, don't just comforting encourages in some cheesy, superficial way. They lift our eyes to God in the middle of a storm. They remind us that there really is hope in God when it seems like there is no hope. Maybe that's you right now. Maybe you need encouragement. You need your eyes lifted towards God as we are fearful of everything that we're hearing on the news. And as we look around us, maybe you need to adopt a sum toe hold onto for dear life in the middle of the storm. And I would just suggest that maybe some 46 is a great place to start there before we jump into the actual text. Here's our big idea. Are one sentence overarching theme of this passage that ties it all together are big idea is that God's people can face trials with courage because of who God is again, God's people can face trials with courage because of who God is. So as we look at the song, we're gonna see three reasons that we can confidently anchor our hope and confidence in God. So here we go. We can face trials with courage because number one God is present because God is present. Look back with me one more time. We're gonna read these 1st 3 verses says God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way. Though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at it's swelling. Where in the world does that mean Like, how would you react if suddenly the earth started crumbling right in front of you and mountains just fell over into middle of the ocean. Well, imagine that you have finally saved up money and you have booked your dream vacation on Alaskan cruise. And this is gonna be the vacation of the lifetime. You can't wait to get to take in those beautiful, snow capped mountains in Alaska from the distance and the warmth and the comfort and the security of your private balcony on a luxury cruise ship. So you get into an airplane over there, all the international airport, and you fly across the Seattle and you aboard this cruise ship. And as you get close to the to the Alaskan coastline, you see these views that are everything that you hoped they would be. And you're standing on the balcony and you're you're enjoying those views. But suddenly you start hearing this terrible rumble unlike anything that you've ever heard before. And then suddenly that the closest mountain just falls apart and falls into the ocean. And then, just a few seconds later, those calm, glassy waters that made the ship seems so stable are now roaring and foaming, and the waves are making the cruise ship feel like it's just gonna topple over at any second. You're probably listening to that and you're thinking that's crazy, Like that kind of stuff on Lee happens in movies, and the reason is because mountains don't fall apart. They're permanent balance. Don't just fall apart like that. It's hard for us to imagine the world falling apart like that, but when we bring things a little closer to home it's not so hard to imagine the world falling apart. See, right now we know what it's like to turn on the news and be anxious about the spread of a virus that is getting closer and closer by zip code and street to our house. We know what it's like to get a phone call from the doctor and to hear him say, Listen, you know those tests we did last week, something showed up, and I need you to come in for a biopsy. We know what it's like, too, then endure the sleepless nights as we wait for the test results and then to sit in his office and have him look us in the eye and say the two words that we dreaded the most stage for. We know what it's like to experience the feelings of betrayal by the people that we should have been able to trust. So in so many ways, we really do understand what it means for the earth to give way and the mountains to be moved into the heart of the sea for the things that our lives that should have been so stable to come crashing down around us, and it's times like that that psalms like this were written for times like what we're experiencing right now. So how can we face trials like that with courage? Where the psalmist begins? With this incredible statement about God, he says in verse one. God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. There's so much comfort and encouragement in that verse. The point here isn't to just generally acknowledge God's strength. The point is that it's it's personal, is that God is our refuge and got his our strength and got his our present help in trouble. It's personal for God's people. God is with his people in a trial in a way that that he isn't with people that aren't his. So the question is, how What's God like in the middle of a trial? It says that God is our refuge and strength. If you're like me, when you try to picture what a refuge and strength is, you may be imagined. This massive castle with a moat and a drawbridge and high walls that you can run to for safety and and feel so secure. That's a great picture. Tohave of God and what he is is our refuge and strength in one sense. But another sense, it's also maybe not the best picture. See it. God is not absent in our trials. God is not some distant, far away fortress that we have to try to make it to try toe drive, to try to travel to to suddenly get into our safe place with him. No God is present. These 1st 3 verses were telling us that we can face trials with courage because God is present with us. Too often, I'm afraid that we tend to view God like we view our phone chargers. See, we tend to view like he's off somewhere else, and and that when times get tough, we better go plug into him and recharge or or else if we don't, then things you're gonna start getting even worse for us. Because not like that. Yes, we should prioritize spending time in God's word and and meeting with him daily. Yes, we should prioritize gathering together with his people and coming to worship him on a Sunday morning. But friends, if if all we view God as is a distant phone charger that we have to run to somewhere to connect to. Then we're cheapening who got ISS. His God is with us. No god, not our phone charger to give us more energy to navigate our way out of a trial. He is our refuge and strength, and he protects his people. He gives us courage in the middle of the trial with his presence. The second half of verse one here says that he is a very present help in trouble. If you were to read this in the original Hebrew, you would see that this is one of those times that because the difference of languages, it doesn't exactly smoothly translate from Hebrew into English. So the translator's here. They decided to use the word present to convey this, and that's certainly true of what the Hebrew text is telling us. But I like to dig in and see, even if it's a little wooden and uncomfortable of what what it's actually saying. And so if you look at the original Hebrew, what it literally says is that God is a very able to be found help in trouble, literally that God is a very findable help in trouble. I love this picture. This almost is basically saying that that finding God are seeking God in the middle of a trial is like playing hide and seek with a three year old. Maybe you're listening to me Say that and you're like, What? That sounds like a really terrible way to talk about God, but But let me explain. See my son Silas. Now he's three years old, and we've tried to explain to him the concept of hide and go seek. But to be honest, he really still doesn't grasp the concept. He still thinks that a cz long as he can't see you, Then you can't see him. So wherever he's at any given moment, then he's He's safe. He's hiding there, so usually go behind behind some thin little tree and you can totally see, like 95% of him. And just on the chance that he does actually hide well, really, all you have to do is just call it. Hey, where's Silas? And he'll just jump out from wherever he is and say, Here I am. That's God in the middle of a trial. My thing is, God's not playing hide and seek cuts, not hiding he is present and he is calling out to his people when we need him the most. When we are facing a trial here I am. I'm with you. Yes, God is that massive fortress that we desperately want to run to in the middle of a trial. But he's right here with us. So as we turn on the news and a virus gets closer to home, or as we see that name pop up on a caller, I d. With a meeting that so dreaded comes where the lonely nights won't end. We can have courage. Why? Because God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore, because of who got is because what we just read about him. Because he is present with us, we will not fear even one of virus is spreading. Even though the mountains air falling into the heart of the sea. We will not fear because God is with us. He is our refuge and strength. The question is, Is God your refuge and strength? Or do you run to something else for comfort and security in the middle of a trial? When you get that phone call that knocks the wind out of you. Do you turn to God in that time, or do you honestly turn to yourself or someone else or something else, too? Try to find out what the best thing to do is. See, the fact that it says that God is our help in trouble means that he is there to do for us what no one else or nothing else can do. He's there to do what we cannot do for ourselves because he is our help. But the fact that God is present isn't the only source of courage for us. In Psalm 46 lots of people in things can be present with us in the middle of a trial. But ultimately God has the only power to do anything about it. So in verses 437 we see that we can face trials with courage because number two God is powerful because God is powerful. Look back with me. It versus 437 It says this 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 her. She shall not be moved. God will help her. When the morning dawns, the nation's rage kingdoms totter, he utters his voice. The earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The god of Jacob is our fortress. Well, in the first few verses, the Psalmist use a natural disaster. Illustration toe remind us that God is present with us. But in these verses now he's shifting to the illustration of a city under attack. Most commentators agree that that this psalm was not written just on some rough day for God's people, but it was written when the city of Jerusalem was under siege by the bison, aka Ruben the Assyrian Army. Putting a city under siege was a very common tactic in ancient warfare, but it was definitely taking the long way invading armies. What they would do when they would put someone under siege is they would show up, and they would surround the city and and cut off all of the entrances and exits and all of their sources of supplies and food and water. And then they would just wait rate for the people to either give up or surrender. So that's why most major cities, especially ancient ones are built on bodies of water. Soapy Paris is built on the Seine River, London's on the River Thames, New York's on the Hudson River, Jerusalem. On the other hand, it doesn't have a river, the Jordan rivers 21 miles away. But the only real water source here in Jerusalem is the G on spring that people could use to fill up a short term supply. But it really wasn't enough for everyone. And Kingston, accurate knew that you could actually go back to Second Kings 18 and 19 to read this story. But once the Assyrian army had Jerusalem under siege, soon aka have sent a messenger. Drew King has a chi and the people in Jerusalem and basically said, Look, I've got you right where I want you, so just go ahead and give up. Now, don't let Hezekiah talk you into trusting the Lord, because God's not gonna come help you Here. Let me just give you a sneak preview of how bad things were going to get for you. See, eventually you're gonna run out of food and water. You start eating each other and literally again in second kings 18 and 19. It says that He says you're gonna end up drinking your own urine, so go ahead and give up now. But again, God's not coming to help you. So just you know, whenever you're ready, you come let me know. Then when we look back, it's some 46 after understanding the historical context there, and we read that there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God we're like, um no, there's not. Whoever wrote this song must have been seriously geographically challenged because we could just do a quick Google search and find out that there is not a river in Jerusalem where the psalmist wasn't geographically challenged. But he did understand that God is powerful and he can work even when everything seems impossible. He understood that not every problem requires a physical solution. He understood that the people stuck in Jerusalem here ultimately didn't need God to just magically dropped a river in the middle of Jerusalem is helpful is that might have been no. They needed his presence in his power to meet them in their time of trial and got himself. Is that river? Look at what else he says about the City of God in Verse five. It says that God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved cards in the midst of her. This psalmist understands that the city is under siege. Times you're tough. Things are getting bad. People can't escape. They know they're going to run out of supplies eventually. But God is with them again. He's present, and because he's present this city, his people will not be moved. What an amazing picture. You're awesome. God says that God will help her. When the morning dawns, the nation's raged. The Three kingdoms totter. It's interesting to note that the the Hebrew word that saying here that that God will not be moved is the same word from verse to that says, the mountains are being moved into the heart of the sea, and also here that the kingdom's heir tottering See these giant rocks that we think are so permanent and these kingdoms that we think are so powerful they're all tottering. But the God who put them there is not budging. He will not be moved, and he says he utters his voice and the earth melts. Wow! Back for some more context in Second Kings again. Here we have the Assyrians in the Israel lights, one kingdoms raging and hoping to topple the other. The army's air in place. The threats have been sent, but Hezekiah didn't give in. He did tell the people to trust in the Lord, and then he went and did what every godly leaders should do. In the middle of the trial. He got on his face before God and prayed and cried out for his people. He ran to God's presence for help and Second Kings, 1934. God told Isaiah to tell Hezekiah. This says that God says I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David gods like, Oh, I'm coming. See, It's my glory and my name that's at stake here, and I'm not. I'm going to show up on just make it clear to Kingston accurate. But there is not a ruler or a country or anything on Earth that is as powerful as I am and that I am with my people and I am for my people. And Second King says that that night God sent one Angel one on Army of Angels. Not a few 1000 angels, one angel to kill 185,000 Syrian soldiers in their own camp in Kingston. Accurate. Woke up the next morning and saw what had happened, and he just packed up and went home. Morning had dawned and got it helped his people. He was with them and he was for them and he showed them just how powerful he really is. Maybe you look at the first part of Verse six where it says that the nation's air raging and kingdoms or Todd and you're like, You know what? Honestly, not much has changed. You know, most nights again, all we need to do is turn on the evening news to see that that we are living in a constantly unstable world. To be honest, that we live. We're privileged to live in what is probably the most stable nation in the history of the world. But right now we are facing political division to the point where, quite honestly, sometimes I wonder if if two people with opposing views can have a a friendly conversation where worried justifiably so about the spread of the corona virus are economy is tottering, wondering what's gonna happen next. We can take a map of the world and talk about just almost any nation and point at nations that literally are Tom Umberg, where governments are falling and point to the fact that this is this is a reality. Why? Because we live in a broken world. This is not how God designed it to be. There was a river in the Garden of Eden, and we lost it because we sinned against a holy God, the creator of the universe that said, Listen, don't eat from that tree over there. I know what's best for you, so just obey me. But we disobeyed. And now it's clear that we really do need God to be our very present help in trouble. We live in a world of trouble and trials and pain and suffering and fear. So the question that we ask ourselves is, it has to be Well, how do I not taught her? How can I live in this time and place? And when everything seems to be falling apart around me, and how can I live? Stay Billy that way. And the answer, you can't you don't have enough power. I don't have enough power. None of us have enough power tow. Walk through this life unfazed and in complete control. So we must be in God. He must be our refuge and strength. He is our only hope and he will not be moved. Just think about how Verse six describes the power of God again. He utters his voice and the earth melts. I think of all the military power that man has stored up. Think of all the cities that man has built of all the technology that man has developed and how permanent and stable, we think that all of that is and it says that all God has to do is utter one word and poof, gone, destroyed, done for I don't know about you, but I want to be on God's side. I don't like my chances of being against a God that has that kind of power and awesomeness. But I love the comfort encourage that comes with knowing that the all powerful god of the universe is with me and for me, in the middle of a time when the world seems to be falling apart. Listen friends when you've turned from your sins and placed your faith in Jesus alone for salvation. This river that makes glad the city of God is not some distant hope. It's a present reality. It's God himself who has come to live in us, Jon, 7 37 through nine, says. This says, On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out. If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said out of his heart, will flow rivers of living water. Now this, he said about the spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive. For as yet, the spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Jesus was pointing forward to when the Holy Spirit would come and live in us. And Charles Spurgeon, one of my heroes, said that the Holy Spirit in us is like a smoothly flowing fertilizing, full and never failing river that yields refreshment and consolation to believers. Whatever you're facing right now, whatever has you lying awake at night, whatever. Has you worried? I can promise you that's not too big or too much or too strong for God. He spoke. The world's into existence and with one world with one word, he can melt it away. The Lord of hosts is with us. The god of Jacob is our fortress. He has power over everything in that that can help us face trials with courage because he's right there with us. But not only can we face trials with courage because God is present and God is powerful. But we can also face trials with courage Because God is pre eminent because God is pre eminent. Look back one more time with me. At Psalm 46 we read this third stanza here says from versus eight through 11 Come behold the works of the Lord. How he has brought desolation is on the earth. He makes war seats to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spirit. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. The first command that we see in this entire som is in verse eight. Come, behold the works of the Lord. Lift your eyes. Look to him. Just look at what he's doing around us. Look at how powerful he is. Who tired of all those nations raging and kingdoms tottering. We'll just wait because one day God's gonna put an end to all of that. Says he makes war cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. He's gonna bring peace on Earth. It could be confident and encouraged by that. And it's gonna be totally unlike anything that we've ever seen. God's gonna make war stop forever, and that's something that man has never been able to do. And it's It's certainly not for lack of trying. I just think of all the ways that that man has tried to make wars cease and to bring peace Normally, what happens is that the leaders of nations or armies, they get together around a table and they try to work out a deal that's gonna make everyone happy, said They sit down, they try to do that and they hope toe make the fighting stopped for a little bit. And so we hear about these ceasefires and peace treaties all the time in the Middle East, and really, it feels like it's only a few days or a few weeks before the fighting starts again. The bullets start flying again of sitting down and negotiating table doesn't work. Basically, the only other option for armies is to just keep fighting until one side decides to give up and surrender, or or maybe come to the negotiating table of that point. Then, really, it's just a few decades as they rebuild, and then the fighting is back at it again. That's not how God's gonna bring peace. No, he's gonna end wars once and for all. And when he obliterates everyone's weapons for good, one commentator said, This about this passenger says the outcome is peace, but the process is judgment. These were there not set in the context of gentle persuasion, but in a world that is devastated and forcibly disarmed. Basically, when God's ready, when the time has come, he's gonna take all of the aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons and missiles and tanks and fighter jets and snap them in half. Just like that, she's not going to be a battle. It's not gonna be a negotiation, just the preeminent god of the universe, doing what no one else can do and putting an end to all the fighting and carnage and destruction and tragedy of war. That's her. God, that's our hope. That's our refuge and strength. The first verse nine verses of some 46 Again Psalm isjust reminding us how awesome God is and and telling them so we can have courage because of what I'm telling you about about God with an inverse 10. Basically, God takes the microphone and speaks for himself. You'll see the quotation marks there, and he says, Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. I have a feeling that I'm about to ruin this verse for some of you. They're listening right now. See some 46 10 is what I would maybe call a coffee mug and greeting card verse. Uh, I'm not against putting Bible verses on coffee mugs and greeting cards, but the danger of when we do that as we rip a verse out of its context and really, we lose its larger meaning. We lose what God is saying in its surrounding context. And so when we take a verse like some 46 10 and and slap it on a coffee mug, really, the tone becomes, Oh, you're you're feeling a little down today. You're having a rough day, then just got on the back porch and put some quiet music on light a candle. Just close your eyes. Relax. Just know that it's gonna be okay. That's that's the tone that we bring when we take it out of context and do that. But But this is not the tone of this verse in the passage. This verse is actually rebuke. When God says, Be still and know that I am God, it's basically saying, Knock it off. Stop fighting. For those of you that aren't saved, stop fighting against me. And for those of you that are saved, stop fighting for yourselves and let me fight for you. This is a warning to all those that have not turned from their sins and and placed their faith in Jesus for salvation alone that it's not too late. But one day it will be apart from Jesus. We are God's enemies. We are his enemies that are fighting against him. And we will face destruction and then punishment in eternity in hell. But God made a way for us to be reconciled to him through his son Jesus. By sending his son to die on the cross in our place, You wonder will. Then where is just It's gonna be accomplished. How? How does this all work out? No, Make no mistake. Justice will be accomplished. Justice will be happening against horse in the question is, will it happen in eternity in hell? Or will it have happened by placing all of your sins on Jesus on the cross and then God pouring out his wrath on his son in your place and then putting your faith in him? Salvation is a free gift that you can have if you just turn from your sins and place your faith in Jesus. But this is also rebuked. For those of us that are God's people that have placed our faith in Jesus. It's a call for those of us that are followers of Jesus. But air so tempted when trials come to figure things out on our own and turn to ourselves or to something else for refuge and strength. It's a call for us to be still. Put your hands down, stop fighting for yourselves and let me fight for you. Stop taking matters into your own hands. Stop exalting yourself and your own plans like your plans are better than God's. Let's be clear. There is a time and a place for us to act. But until he's made that extremely clear, her job is to keep her hands off of what he's doing and let him work how he sees fit. That's always a better plan than trying to handle things on our own and making things worse. God's command here to be still and know that I am God. Remember that I will be exalted. Remember that I'm pre eminent over everything. You might think that you have a better solution to whatever it is that you're facing, but but God's plan is better. We can have courage in the middle of trials, not because he is not just because he is present and he's powerful, but because he is pre eminent, he's better his greater. My confidence belongs in him. The third stands of this psalm ends the same way that the 2nd 1 did by saying that the Lord of Hosts, the all powerful god of the universe, is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Why, Jacob? And we know that so many times, especially the Old Testament God has referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But but of those three patriarchs, why on Earth with the Psalmist? End this song by saying that we have the God of Jacob is our fortress. Especially not by using Jacob's new name of Israel that God gave him. It's about grace. Save all the patriarchs of Israel. We could say that Jacob was the biggest screwup. He was a deceiver. Is it cheater? He was a liar. He was, ah, swindler. He's a guy that we can look at and be like what was wrong with him? What was his deal? Why couldn't he get his act together when gods being so faithful to him? The point is that even after Hall that Jacob had done God Waas still faithful God was still his fortress, even though he couldn't get his act together. And how encouraging is that for us? Even when we mess up as God's people God still gracious, his mercies are new every morning he's still our fortress and life's most difficult in trying moments. Even when we mess up, we can still have courage in trials because we know that God's not gonna turn his back on his people. Martin Luther turned to Psalm 46 countless times in his life for strength and encouragement in trials when he needed to be reminded that God is present and powerful and pre eminent, something we can relate to very much with what's in the news right now. One of Martin Luther's most desperate times was in 15 27 when the black plague was sweeping across Europe and Germany, and it almost killed his son in the middle of all those emotions that any of us that have kids can understand and relate to, of of the fears and the anxieties and and what is tomorrow gonna hold in the middle of all that Martin Luther open to Psalm 46 wrote these words familiar words. I'm not gonna sing them for you, but listen to these words. A mighty fortress is our god a bulwark never failing our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing for still our ancient foe doth seek to work us Woe. His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate on Earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength, confide hush driving would be losing. We're not the right men on the side. The man of God's own choosing. Just ask you that. Maybe Christ Jesus! It is he, Lord Sabah off! The Lord of hosts his name from age to age the same and he must win the battle. And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The Prince of Darkness grim we tremble. Not for him his rage we can endure for low. His doom is sure one little word shall fell him. That word above all earthly powers. No thanks to them abideth the spirit and the gifts are ours through him. Who with us side if let goods and kindred go this mortal life also the body they may kill God's truth. Abideth still, his kingdom is forever. The tone of a mighty fortress is our goddess so bold and confident in the face of trials. Because Martin Luther knew that he could face trials with courage, not because he was some great feel loading her famous reformer or, ah, great hymn writer. But because God is present and powerful and pre eminent because of who God is friends, no matter what you're facing right now, if you're a follower of Jesus, God is your refuge and strength. Trust him. Cling to him. He is a very present help in trouble and he will not be moved. He's our refuge and strength, so we will not fear father again. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the comfort that it brings us the truce, that it teaches us about you, the manner in which it lift our eyes to you when we so desperately need. And Father, we pray now for the people that are being affected by illness. We ask that you would huell them. Would you protect the people of BCC from this corona virus? Would you encourage them in any trial that they may be facing to remind them of who you are. Can we thank you for all that you are and all that you've done for us. It's in your some Jesus name, Amen.
Andrew Watkins: 0:00
father. Even though this is being recorded early, we know that your word is not bound by time or distance, but it is living an active father. There's so many people right now that are anxious and concerned about the spread of this Corona virus, and just ask that you would comfort them and encourage them. Remind us that you are our refuge and strength. Why would you again be encouraging your people? Right now? It's in your son's name. We pray. Amen. Well, God's people have always looked to the psalms for comfort and encouragement in hard times. Some of the Psalms air definitely Maur encouraging than others. But really, in many people's minds, the sums have almost become synonymous with comfort. Maybe you even have a personally favorite song that God used in a particularly difficult time in your life, and you hold on to that song to this day toe remind you of God's faithfulness in that time. For my grandfather, it was Psalm 34. My grandfather had many different jobs in his lifetime, but for a very short time. He was a bread delivery man in Baltimore City, Maryland. One particular morning, he actually found himself literally tied up and bound and gagged in the back of his delivery truck as bank robbers were in a bank doing what bank robbers do about to come out and use his delivery truck as their getaway vehicle. It was, as he was tied up there in the back of that truck, that God brought the words of some 34 to his mind. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. My grandfather told that story many times, and he would always say that he held on to that that verse that that truth from God like a life raft in the middle of the storm. Thankfully, a Baltimore City Police officer happened toe wander by and noticed that the bank robbers had double parked his truck. And so he was fortunately saved there For me. It's someone 21. I will lift up my eyes to the hills for where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth I've memorised those words as a child, and then God brought them back to my mind around noon on August 26 2016 as I was sitting alone in a hospital room as Veronica was immediately whisked away to have an emergency C section about a month before Silas was expected to be born and really with only a few minutes to spare for both her and his lives. For Martin Luther, it was Psalm 46. If you're familiar with church history, it all you know that that Martin Luther is the man that kicked off the Protestant Reformation by nailing 95 fi Caesar or doctoral complaints against the Roman Catholic Church to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church on October 13 or 31st 15 17. Many people know that Martin Luther loved the books of Romans in Galatians, but he also loved the Psalms. He called them the Bible in miniature. Obviously, the stand that he took against the Roman Catholic Church angered a lot of people in power and really, for the rest of his life, he faced trial after trial after trial, he would always come back to the 46 for comfort and encouragement in those times. Philip Lengthen, who is his friend and fellow reformer, said that many times when Martin Luther was discouraged and down, he would look at Philip and say, Come, Philip, let's sing the 46th Psalm together. No psalms, don't just comforting encourages in some cheesy, superficial way. They lift our eyes to God in the middle of a storm. They remind us that there really is hope in God when it seems like there is no hope. Maybe that's you right now. Maybe you need encouragement. You need your eyes lifted towards God as we are fearful of everything that we're hearing on the news. And as we look around us, maybe you need to adopt a sum toe hold onto for dear life in the middle of the storm. And I would just suggest that maybe some 46 is a great place to start there before we jump into the actual text. Here's our big idea. Are one sentence overarching theme of this passage that ties it all together are big idea is that God's people can face trials with courage because of who God is again, God's people can face trials with courage because of who God is. So as we look at the song, we're gonna see three reasons that we can confidently anchor our hope and confidence in God. So here we go. We can face trials with courage because number one God is present because God is present. Look back with me one more time. We're gonna read these 1st 3 verses says God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way. Though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at it's swelling. Where in the world does that mean Like, how would you react if suddenly the earth started crumbling right in front of you and mountains just fell over into middle of the ocean. Well, imagine that you have finally saved up money and you have booked your dream vacation on Alaskan cruise. And this is gonna be the vacation of the lifetime. You can't wait to get to take in those beautiful, snow capped mountains in Alaska from the distance and the warmth and the comfort and the security of your private balcony on a luxury cruise ship. So you get into an airplane over there, all the international airport, and you fly across the Seattle and you aboard this cruise ship. And as you get close to the to the Alaskan coastline, you see these views that are everything that you hoped they would be. And you're standing on the balcony and you're you're enjoying those views. But suddenly you start hearing this terrible rumble unlike anything that you've ever heard before. And then suddenly that the closest mountain just falls apart and falls into the ocean. And then, just a few seconds later, those calm, glassy waters that made the ship seems so stable are now roaring and foaming, and the waves are making the cruise ship feel like it's just gonna topple over at any second. You're probably listening to that and you're thinking that's crazy, Like that kind of stuff on Lee happens in movies, and the reason is because mountains don't fall apart. They're permanent balance. Don't just fall apart like that. It's hard for us to imagine the world falling apart like that, but when we bring things a little closer to home it's not so hard to imagine the world falling apart. See, right now we know what it's like to turn on the news and be anxious about the spread of a virus that is getting closer and closer by zip code and street to our house. We know what it's like to get a phone call from the doctor and to hear him say, Listen, you know those tests we did last week, something showed up, and I need you to come in for a biopsy. We know what it's like, too, then endure the sleepless nights as we wait for the test results and then to sit in his office and have him look us in the eye and say the two words that we dreaded the most stage for. We know what it's like to experience the feelings of betrayal by the people that we should have been able to trust. So in so many ways, we really do understand what it means for the earth to give way and the mountains to be moved into the heart of the sea for the things that our lives that should have been so stable to come crashing down around us, and it's times like that that psalms like this were written for times like what we're experiencing right now. So how can we face trials like that with courage? Where the psalmist begins? With this incredible statement about God, he says in verse one. God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. There's so much comfort and encouragement in that verse. The point here isn't to just generally acknowledge God's strength. The point is that it's it's personal, is that God is our refuge and got his our strength and got his our present help in trouble. It's personal for God's people. God is with his people in a trial in a way that that he isn't with people that aren't his. So the question is, how What's God like in the middle of a trial? It says that God is our refuge and strength. If you're like me, when you try to picture what a refuge and strength is, you may be imagined. This massive castle with a moat and a drawbridge and high walls that you can run to for safety and and feel so secure. That's a great picture. Tohave of God and what he is is our refuge and strength in one sense. But another sense, it's also maybe not the best picture. See it. God is not absent in our trials. God is not some distant, far away fortress that we have to try to make it to try toe drive, to try to travel to to suddenly get into our safe place with him. No God is present. These 1st 3 verses were telling us that we can face trials with courage because God is present with us. Too often, I'm afraid that we tend to view God like we view our phone chargers. See, we tend to view like he's off somewhere else, and and that when times get tough, we better go plug into him and recharge or or else if we don't, then things you're gonna start getting even worse for us. Because not like that. Yes, we should prioritize spending time in God's word and and meeting with him daily. Yes, we should prioritize gathering together with his people and coming to worship him on a Sunday morning. But friends, if if all we view God as is a distant phone charger that we have to run to somewhere to connect to. Then we're cheapening who got ISS. His God is with us. No god, not our phone charger to give us more energy to navigate our way out of a trial. He is our refuge and strength, and he protects his people. He gives us courage in the middle of the trial with his presence. The second half of verse one here says that he is a very present help in trouble. If you were to read this in the original Hebrew, you would see that this is one of those times that because the difference of languages, it doesn't exactly smoothly translate from Hebrew into English. So the translator's here. They decided to use the word present to convey this, and that's certainly true of what the Hebrew text is telling us. But I like to dig in and see, even if it's a little wooden and uncomfortable of what what it's actually saying. And so if you look at the original Hebrew, what it literally says is that God is a very able to be found help in trouble, literally that God is a very findable help in trouble. I love this picture. This almost is basically saying that that finding God are seeking God in the middle of a trial is like playing hide and seek with a three year old. Maybe you're listening to me Say that and you're like, What? That sounds like a really terrible way to talk about God, but But let me explain. See my son Silas. Now he's three years old, and we've tried to explain to him the concept of hide and go seek. But to be honest, he really still doesn't grasp the concept. He still thinks that a cz long as he can't see you, Then you can't see him. So wherever he's at any given moment, then he's He's safe. He's hiding there, so usually go behind behind some thin little tree and you can totally see, like 95% of him. And just on the chance that he does actually hide well, really, all you have to do is just call it. Hey, where's Silas? And he'll just jump out from wherever he is and say, Here I am. That's God in the middle of a trial. My thing is, God's not playing hide and seek cuts, not hiding he is present and he is calling out to his people when we need him the most. When we are facing a trial here I am. I'm with you. Yes, God is that massive fortress that we desperately want to run to in the middle of a trial. But he's right here with us. So as we turn on the news and a virus gets closer to home, or as we see that name pop up on a caller, I d. With a meeting that so dreaded comes where the lonely nights won't end. We can have courage. Why? Because God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore, because of who got is because what we just read about him. Because he is present with us, we will not fear even one of virus is spreading. Even though the mountains air falling into the heart of the sea. We will not fear because God is with us. He is our refuge and strength. The question is, Is God your refuge and strength? Or do you run to something else for comfort and security in the middle of a trial? When you get that phone call that knocks the wind out of you. Do you turn to God in that time, or do you honestly turn to yourself or someone else or something else, too? Try to find out what the best thing to do is. See, the fact that it says that God is our help in trouble means that he is there to do for us what no one else or nothing else can do. He's there to do what we cannot do for ourselves because he is our help. But the fact that God is present isn't the only source of courage for us. In Psalm 46 lots of people in things can be present with us in the middle of a trial. But ultimately God has the only power to do anything about it. So in verses 437 we see that we can face trials with courage because number two God is powerful because God is powerful. Look back with me. It versus 437 It says this 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 her. She shall not be moved. God will help her. When the morning dawns, the nation's rage kingdoms totter, he utters his voice. The earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The god of Jacob is our fortress. Well, in the first few verses, the Psalmist use a natural disaster. Illustration toe remind us that God is present with us. But in these verses now he's shifting to the illustration of a city under attack. Most commentators agree that that this psalm was not written just on some rough day for God's people, but it was written when the city of Jerusalem was under siege by the bison, aka Ruben the Assyrian Army. Putting a city under siege was a very common tactic in ancient warfare, but it was definitely taking the long way invading armies. What they would do when they would put someone under siege is they would show up, and they would surround the city and and cut off all of the entrances and exits and all of their sources of supplies and food and water. And then they would just wait rate for the people to either give up or surrender. So that's why most major cities, especially ancient ones are built on bodies of water. Soapy Paris is built on the Seine River, London's on the River Thames, New York's on the Hudson River, Jerusalem. On the other hand, it doesn't have a river, the Jordan rivers 21 miles away. But the only real water source here in Jerusalem is the G on spring that people could use to fill up a short term supply. But it really wasn't enough for everyone. And Kingston, accurate knew that you could actually go back to Second Kings 18 and 19 to read this story. But once the Assyrian army had Jerusalem under siege, soon aka have sent a messenger. Drew King has a chi and the people in Jerusalem and basically said, Look, I've got you right where I want you, so just go ahead and give up. Now, don't let Hezekiah talk you into trusting the Lord, because God's not gonna come help you Here. Let me just give you a sneak preview of how bad things were going to get for you. See, eventually you're gonna run out of food and water. You start eating each other and literally again in second kings 18 and 19. It says that He says you're gonna end up drinking your own urine, so go ahead and give up now. But again, God's not coming to help you. So just you know, whenever you're ready, you come let me know. Then when we look back, it's some 46 after understanding the historical context there, and we read that there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God we're like, um no, there's not. Whoever wrote this song must have been seriously geographically challenged because we could just do a quick Google search and find out that there is not a river in Jerusalem where the psalmist wasn't geographically challenged. But he did understand that God is powerful and he can work even when everything seems impossible. He understood that not every problem requires a physical solution. He understood that the people stuck in Jerusalem here ultimately didn't need God to just magically dropped a river in the middle of Jerusalem is helpful is that might have been no. They needed his presence in his power to meet them in their time of trial and got himself. Is that river? Look at what else he says about the City of God in Verse five. It says that God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved cards in the midst of her. This psalmist understands that the city is under siege. Times you're tough. Things are getting bad. People can't escape. They know they're going to run out of supplies eventually. But God is with them again. He's present, and because he's present this city, his people will not be moved. What an amazing picture. You're awesome. God says that God will help her. When the morning dawns, the nation's raged. The Three kingdoms totter. It's interesting to note that the the Hebrew word that saying here that that God will not be moved is the same word from verse to that says, the mountains are being moved into the heart of the sea, and also here that the kingdom's heir tottering See these giant rocks that we think are so permanent and these kingdoms that we think are so powerful they're all tottering. But the God who put them there is not budging. He will not be moved, and he says he utters his voice and the earth melts. Wow! Back for some more context in Second Kings again. Here we have the Assyrians in the Israel lights, one kingdoms raging and hoping to topple the other. The army's air in place. The threats have been sent, but Hezekiah didn't give in. He did tell the people to trust in the Lord, and then he went and did what every godly leaders should do. In the middle of the trial. He got on his face before God and prayed and cried out for his people. He ran to God's presence for help and Second Kings, 1934. God told Isaiah to tell Hezekiah. This says that God says I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David gods like, Oh, I'm coming. See, It's my glory and my name that's at stake here, and I'm not. I'm going to show up on just make it clear to Kingston accurate. But there is not a ruler or a country or anything on Earth that is as powerful as I am and that I am with my people and I am for my people. And Second King says that that night God sent one Angel one on Army of Angels. Not a few 1000 angels, one angel to kill 185,000 Syrian soldiers in their own camp in Kingston. Accurate. Woke up the next morning and saw what had happened, and he just packed up and went home. Morning had dawned and got it helped his people. He was with them and he was for them and he showed them just how powerful he really is. Maybe you look at the first part of Verse six where it says that the nation's air raging and kingdoms or Todd and you're like, You know what? Honestly, not much has changed. You know, most nights again, all we need to do is turn on the evening news to see that that we are living in a constantly unstable world. To be honest, that we live. We're privileged to live in what is probably the most stable nation in the history of the world. But right now we are facing political division to the point where, quite honestly, sometimes I wonder if if two people with opposing views can have a a friendly conversation where worried justifiably so about the spread of the corona virus are economy is tottering, wondering what's gonna happen next. We can take a map of the world and talk about just almost any nation and point at nations that literally are Tom Umberg, where governments are falling and point to the fact that this is this is a reality. Why? Because we live in a broken world. This is not how God designed it to be. There was a river in the Garden of Eden, and we lost it because we sinned against a holy God, the creator of the universe that said, Listen, don't eat from that tree over there. I know what's best for you, so just obey me. But we disobeyed. And now it's clear that we really do need God to be our very present help in trouble. We live in a world of trouble and trials and pain and suffering and fear. So the question that we ask ourselves is, it has to be Well, how do I not taught her? How can I live in this time and place? And when everything seems to be falling apart around me, and how can I live? Stay Billy that way. And the answer, you can't you don't have enough power. I don't have enough power. None of us have enough power tow. Walk through this life unfazed and in complete control. So we must be in God. He must be our refuge and strength. He is our only hope and he will not be moved. Just think about how Verse six describes the power of God again. He utters his voice and the earth melts. I think of all the military power that man has stored up. Think of all the cities that man has built of all the technology that man has developed and how permanent and stable, we think that all of that is and it says that all God has to do is utter one word and poof, gone, destroyed, done for I don't know about you, but I want to be on God's side. I don't like my chances of being against a God that has that kind of power and awesomeness. But I love the comfort encourage that comes with knowing that the all powerful god of the universe is with me and for me, in the middle of a time when the world seems to be falling apart. Listen friends when you've turned from your sins and placed your faith in Jesus alone for salvation. This river that makes glad the city of God is not some distant hope. It's a present reality. It's God himself who has come to live in us, Jon, 7 37 through nine, says. This says, On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out. If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said out of his heart, will flow rivers of living water. Now this, he said about the spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive. For as yet, the spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Jesus was pointing forward to when the Holy Spirit would come and live in us. And Charles Spurgeon, one of my heroes, said that the Holy Spirit in us is like a smoothly flowing fertilizing, full and never failing river that yields refreshment and consolation to believers. Whatever you're facing right now, whatever has you lying awake at night, whatever. Has you worried? I can promise you that's not too big or too much or too strong for God. He spoke. The world's into existence and with one world with one word, he can melt it away. The Lord of hosts is with us. The god of Jacob is our fortress. He has power over everything in that that can help us face trials with courage because he's right there with us. But not only can we face trials with courage because God is present and God is powerful. But we can also face trials with courage Because God is pre eminent because God is pre eminent. Look back one more time with me. At Psalm 46 we read this third stanza here says from versus eight through 11 Come behold the works of the Lord. How he has brought desolation is on the earth. He makes war seats to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spirit. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. The first command that we see in this entire som is in verse eight. Come, behold the works of the Lord. Lift your eyes. Look to him. Just look at what he's doing around us. Look at how powerful he is. Who tired of all those nations raging and kingdoms tottering. We'll just wait because one day God's gonna put an end to all of that. Says he makes war cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. He's gonna bring peace on Earth. It could be confident and encouraged by that. And it's gonna be totally unlike anything that we've ever seen. God's gonna make war stop forever, and that's something that man has never been able to do. And it's It's certainly not for lack of trying. I just think of all the ways that that man has tried to make wars cease and to bring peace Normally, what happens is that the leaders of nations or armies, they get together around a table and they try to work out a deal that's gonna make everyone happy, said They sit down, they try to do that and they hope toe make the fighting stopped for a little bit. And so we hear about these ceasefires and peace treaties all the time in the Middle East, and really, it feels like it's only a few days or a few weeks before the fighting starts again. The bullets start flying again of sitting down and negotiating table doesn't work. Basically, the only other option for armies is to just keep fighting until one side decides to give up and surrender, or or maybe come to the negotiating table of that point. Then, really, it's just a few decades as they rebuild, and then the fighting is back at it again. That's not how God's gonna bring peace. No, he's gonna end wars once and for all. And when he obliterates everyone's weapons for good, one commentator said, This about this passenger says the outcome is peace, but the process is judgment. These were there not set in the context of gentle persuasion, but in a world that is devastated and forcibly disarmed. Basically, when God's ready, when the time has come, he's gonna take all of the aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons and missiles and tanks and fighter jets and snap them in half. Just like that, she's not going to be a battle. It's not gonna be a negotiation, just the preeminent god of the universe, doing what no one else can do and putting an end to all the fighting and carnage and destruction and tragedy of war. That's her. God, that's our hope. That's our refuge and strength. The first verse nine verses of some 46 Again Psalm isjust reminding us how awesome God is and and telling them so we can have courage because of what I'm telling you about about God with an inverse 10. Basically, God takes the microphone and speaks for himself. You'll see the quotation marks there, and he says, Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. I have a feeling that I'm about to ruin this verse for some of you. They're listening right now. See some 46 10 is what I would maybe call a coffee mug and greeting card verse. Uh, I'm not against putting Bible verses on coffee mugs and greeting cards, but the danger of when we do that as we rip a verse out of its context and really, we lose its larger meaning. We lose what God is saying in its surrounding context. And so when we take a verse like some 46 10 and and slap it on a coffee mug, really, the tone becomes, Oh, you're you're feeling a little down today. You're having a rough day, then just got on the back porch and put some quiet music on light a candle. Just close your eyes. Relax. Just know that it's gonna be okay. That's that's the tone that we bring when we take it out of context and do that. But But this is not the tone of this verse in the passage. This verse is actually rebuke. When God says, Be still and know that I am God, it's basically saying, Knock it off. Stop fighting. For those of you that aren't saved, stop fighting against me. And for those of you that are saved, stop fighting for yourselves and let me fight for you. This is a warning to all those that have not turned from their sins and and placed their faith in Jesus for salvation alone that it's not too late. But one day it will be apart from Jesus. We are God's enemies. We are his enemies that are fighting against him. And we will face destruction and then punishment in eternity in hell. But God made a way for us to be reconciled to him through his son Jesus. By sending his son to die on the cross in our place, You wonder will. Then where is just It's gonna be accomplished. How? How does this all work out? No, Make no mistake. Justice will be accomplished. Justice will be happening against horse in the question is, will it happen in eternity in hell? Or will it have happened by placing all of your sins on Jesus on the cross and then God pouring out his wrath on his son in your place and then putting your faith in him? Salvation is a free gift that you can have if you just turn from your sins and place your faith in Jesus. But this is also rebuked. For those of us that are God's people that have placed our faith in Jesus. It's a call for those of us that are followers of Jesus. But air so tempted when trials come to figure things out on our own and turn to ourselves or to something else for refuge and strength. It's a call for us to be still. Put your hands down, stop fighting for yourselves and let me fight for you. Stop taking matters into your own hands. Stop exalting yourself and your own plans like your plans are better than God's. Let's be clear. There is a time and a place for us to act. But until he's made that extremely clear, her job is to keep her hands off of what he's doing and let him work how he sees fit. That's always a better plan than trying to handle things on our own and making things worse. God's command here to be still and know that I am God. Remember that I will be exalted. Remember that I'm pre eminent over everything. You might think that you have a better solution to whatever it is that you're facing, but but God's plan is better. We can have courage in the middle of trials, not because he is not just because he is present and he's powerful, but because he is pre eminent, he's better his greater. My confidence belongs in him. The third stands of this psalm ends the same way that the 2nd 1 did by saying that the Lord of Hosts, the all powerful god of the universe, is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Why, Jacob? And we know that so many times, especially the Old Testament God has referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But but of those three patriarchs, why on Earth with the Psalmist? End this song by saying that we have the God of Jacob is our fortress. Especially not by using Jacob's new name of Israel that God gave him. It's about grace. Save all the patriarchs of Israel. We could say that Jacob was the biggest screwup. He was a deceiver. Is it cheater? He was a liar. He was, ah, swindler. He's a guy that we can look at and be like what was wrong with him? What was his deal? Why couldn't he get his act together when gods being so faithful to him? The point is that even after Hall that Jacob had done God Waas still faithful God was still his fortress, even though he couldn't get his act together. And how encouraging is that for us? Even when we mess up as God's people God still gracious, his mercies are new every morning he's still our fortress and life's most difficult in trying moments. Even when we mess up, we can still have courage in trials because we know that God's not gonna turn his back on his people. Martin Luther turned to Psalm 46 countless times in his life for strength and encouragement in trials when he needed to be reminded that God is present and powerful and pre eminent, something we can relate to very much with what's in the news right now. One of Martin Luther's most desperate times was in 15 27 when the black plague was sweeping across Europe and Germany, and it almost killed his son in the middle of all those emotions that any of us that have kids can understand and relate to, of of the fears and the anxieties and and what is tomorrow gonna hold in the middle of all that Martin Luther open to Psalm 46 wrote these words familiar words. I'm not gonna sing them for you, but listen to these words. A mighty fortress is our god a bulwark never failing our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing for still our ancient foe doth seek to work us Woe. His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate on Earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength, confide hush driving would be losing. We're not the right men on the side. The man of God's own choosing. Just ask you that. Maybe Christ Jesus! It is he, Lord Sabah off! The Lord of hosts his name from age to age the same and he must win the battle. And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The Prince of Darkness grim we tremble. Not for him his rage we can endure for low. His doom is sure one little word shall fell him. That word above all earthly powers. No thanks to them abideth the spirit and the gifts are ours through him. Who with us side if let goods and kindred go this mortal life also the body they may kill God's truth. Abideth still, his kingdom is forever. The tone of a mighty fortress is our goddess so bold and confident in the face of trials. Because Martin Luther knew that he could face trials with courage, not because he was some great feel loading her famous reformer or, ah, great hymn writer. But because God is present and powerful and pre eminent because of who God is friends, no matter what you're facing right now, if you're a follower of Jesus, God is your refuge and strength. Trust him. Cling to him. He is a very present help in trouble and he will not be moved. He's our refuge and strength, so we will not fear father again. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the comfort that it brings us the truce, that it teaches us about you, the manner in which it lift our eyes to you when we so desperately need. And Father, we pray now for the people that are being affected by illness. We ask that you would huell them. Would you protect the people of BCC from this corona virus? Would you encourage them in any trial that they may be facing to remind them of who you are. Can we thank you for all that you are and all that you've done for us. It's in your some Jesus name, Amen.
speaker 0: 39:26
Here's what Psalm 46 says says "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah. 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 her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when the morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolation is on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress sailor father. Even though this is being recorded early, we know that your word is not bound by time or distance, but it is living an active father. There's so many people right now that are anxious and concerned about the spread of this Corona virus, and just ask that you would comfort them and encourage them. Remind us that you are our refuge and strength. Why would you again be encouraging your people? Right now? It's in your son's name. We pray. Amen. Well, God's people have always looked to the psalms for comfort and encouragement in hard times. Some of the Psalms air definitely Maur encouraging than others. But really, in many people's minds, the sums have almost become synonymous with comfort. Maybe you even have a personally favorite song that God used in a particularly difficult time in your life, and you hold on to that song to this day toe remind you of God's faithfulness in that time. For my grandfather, it was Psalm 34. My grandfather had many different jobs in his lifetime, but for a very short time. He was a bread delivery man in Baltimore City, Maryland. One particular morning, he actually found himself literally tied up and bound and gagged in the back of his delivery truck as bank robbers were in a bank doing what bank robbers do about to come out and use his delivery truck as their getaway vehicle. It was, as he was tied up there in the back of that truck, that God brought the words of some 34 to his mind. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. My grandfather told that story many times, and he would always say that he held on to that that verse that that truth from God like a life raft in the middle of the storm. Thankfully, a Baltimore City Police officer happened toe wander by and noticed that the bank robbers had double parked his truck. And so he was fortunately saved there For me. It's someone 21. I will lift up my eyes to the hills for where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth I've memorised those words as a child, and then God brought them back to my mind around noon on August 26 2016 as I was sitting alone in a hospital room as Veronica was immediately whisked away to have an emergency C section about a month before Silas was expected to be born and really with only a few minutes to spare for both her and his lives. For Martin Luther, it was Psalm 46. If you're familiar with church history, it all you know that that Martin Luther is the man that kicked off the Protestant Reformation by nailing 95 fi Caesar or doctoral complaints against the Roman Catholic Church to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church on October 13 or 31st 15 17. Many people know that Martin Luther loved the books of Romans in Galatians, but he also loved the Psalms. He called them the Bible in miniature. Obviously, the stand that he took against the Roman Catholic Church angered a lot of people in power and really, for the rest of his life, he faced trial after trial after trial, he would always come back to the 46 for comfort and encouragement in those times. Philip Lengthen, who is his friend and fellow reformer, said that many times when Martin Luther was discouraged and down, he would look at Philip and say, Come, Philip, let's sing the 46th Psalm together. No psalms, don't just comforting encourages in some cheesy, superficial way. They lift our eyes to God in the middle of a storm. They remind us that there really is hope in God when it seems like there is no hope. Maybe that's you right now. Maybe you need encouragement. You need your eyes lifted towards God as we are fearful of everything that we're hearing on the news. And as we look around us, maybe you need to adopt a sum toe hold onto for dear life in the middle of the storm. And I would just suggest that maybe some 46 is a great place to start there before we jump into the actual text. Here's our big idea. Are one sentence overarching theme of this passage that ties it all together are big idea is that God's people can face trials with courage because of who God is again, God's people can face trials with courage because of who God is. So as we look at the song, we're gonna see three reasons that we can confidently anchor our hope and confidence in God. So here we go. We can face trials with courage because number one God is present because God is present. Look back with me one more time. We're gonna read these 1st 3 verses says God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way. Though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at it's swelling. Where in the world does that mean Like, how would you react if suddenly the earth started crumbling right in front of you and mountains just fell over into middle of the ocean. Well, imagine that you have finally saved up money and you have booked your dream vacation on Alaskan cruise. And this is gonna be the vacation of the lifetime. You can't wait to get to take in those beautiful, snow capped mountains in Alaska from the distance and the warmth and the comfort and the security of your private balcony on a luxury cruise ship. So you get into an airplane over there, all the international airport, and you fly across the Seattle and you aboard this cruise ship. And as you get close to the to the Alaskan coastline, you see these views that are everything that you hoped they would be. And you're standing on the balcony and you're you're enjoying those views. But suddenly you start hearing this terrible rumble unlike anything that you've ever heard before. And then suddenly that the closest mountain just falls apart and falls into the ocean. And then, just a few seconds later, those calm, glassy waters that made the ship seems so stable are now roaring and foaming, and the waves are making the cruise ship feel like it's just gonna topple over at any second. You're probably listening to that and you're thinking that's crazy, Like that kind of stuff on Lee happens in movies, and the reason is because mountains don't fall apart. They're permanent balance. Don't just fall apart like that. It's hard for us to imagine the world falling apart like that, but when we bring things a little closer to home it's not so hard to imagine the world falling apart. See, right now we know what it's like to turn on the news and be anxious about the spread of a virus that is getting closer and closer by zip code and street to our house. We know what it's like to get a phone call from the doctor and to hear him say, Listen, you know those tests we did last week, something showed up, and I need you to come in for a biopsy. We know what it's like, too, then endure the sleepless nights as we wait for the test results and then to sit in his office and have him look us in the eye and say the two words that we dreaded the most stage for. We know what it's like to experience the feelings of betrayal by the people that we should have been able to trust. So in so many ways, we really do understand what it means for the earth to give way and the mountains to be moved into the heart of the sea for the things that our lives that should have been so stable to come crashing down around us, and it's times like that that psalms like this were written for times like what we're experiencing right now. So how can we face trials like that with courage? Where the psalmist begins? With this incredible statement about God, he says in verse one. God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. There's so much comfort and encouragement in that verse. The point here isn't to just generally acknowledge God's strength. The point is that it's it's personal, is that God is our refuge and got his our strength and got his our present help in trouble. It's personal for God's people. God is with his people in a trial in a way that that he isn't with people that aren't his. So the question is, how What's God like in the middle of a trial? It says that God is our refuge and strength. If you're like me, when you try to picture what a refuge and strength is, you may be imagined. This massive castle with a moat and a drawbridge and high walls that you can run to for safety and and feel so secure. That's a great picture. Tohave of God and what he is is our refuge and strength in one sense. But another sense, it's also maybe not the best picture. See it. God is not absent in our trials. God is not some distant, far away fortress that we have to try to make it to try toe drive, to try to travel to to suddenly get into our safe place with him. No God is present. These 1st 3 verses were telling us that we can face trials with courage because God is present with us. Too often, I'm afraid that we tend to view God like we view our phone chargers. See, we tend to view like he's off somewhere else, and and that when times get tough, we better go plug into him and recharge or or else if we don't, then things you're gonna start getting even worse for us. Because not like that. Yes, we should prioritize spending time in God's word and and meeting with him daily. Yes, we should prioritize gathering together with his people and coming to worship him on a Sunday morning. But friends, if if all we view God as is a distant phone charger that we have to run to somewhere to connect to. Then we're cheapening who got ISS. His God is with us. No god, not our phone charger to give us more energy to navigate our way out of a trial. He is our refuge and strength, and he protects his people. He gives us courage in the middle of the trial with his presence. The second half of verse one here says that he is a very present help in trouble. If you were to read this in the original Hebrew, you would see that this is one of those times that because the difference of languages, it doesn't exactly smoothly translate from Hebrew into English. So the translator's here. They decided to use the word present to convey this, and that's certainly true of what the Hebrew text is telling us. But I like to dig in and see, even if it's a little wooden and uncomfortable of what what it's actually saying. And so if you look at the original Hebrew, what it literally says is that God is a very able to be found help in trouble, literally that God is a very findable help in trouble. I love this picture. This almost is basically saying that that finding God are seeking God in the middle of a trial is like playing hide and seek with a three year old. Maybe you're listening to me Say that and you're like, What? That sounds like a really terrible way to talk about God, but But let me explain. See my son Silas. Now he's three years old, and we've tried to explain to him the concept of hide and go seek. But to be honest, he really still doesn't grasp the concept. He still thinks that a cz long as he can't see you, Then you can't see him. So wherever he's at any given moment, then he's He's safe. He's hiding there, so usually go behind behind some thin little tree and you can totally see, like 95% of him. And just on the chance that he does actually hide well, really, all you have to do is just call it. Hey, where's Silas? And he'll just jump out from wherever he is and say, Here I am. That's God in the middle of a trial. My thing is, God's not playing hide and seek cuts, not hiding he is present and he is calling out to his people when we need him the most. When we are facing a trial here I am. I'm with you. Yes, God is that massive fortress that we desperately want to run to in the middle of a trial. But he's right here with us. So as we turn on the news and a virus gets closer to home, or as we see that name pop up on a caller, I d. With a meeting that so dreaded comes where the lonely nights won't end. We can have courage. Why? Because God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore, because of who got is because what we just read about him. Because he is present with us, we will not fear even one of virus is spreading. Even though the mountains air falling into the heart of the sea. We will not fear because God is with us. He is our refuge and strength. The question is, Is God your refuge and strength? Or do you run to something else for comfort and security in the middle of a trial? When you get that phone call that knocks the wind out of you. Do you turn to God in that time, or do you honestly turn to yourself or someone else or something else, too? Try to find out what the best thing to do is. See, the fact that it says that God is our help in trouble means that he is there to do for us what no one else or nothing else can do. He's there to do what we cannot do for ourselves because he is our help. But the fact that God is present isn't the only source of courage for us. In Psalm 46 lots of people in things can be present with us in the middle of a trial. But ultimately God has the only power to do anything about it. So in verses 437 we see that we can face trials with courage because number two God is powerful because God is powerful. Look back with me. It versus 437 It says this 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 her. She shall not be moved. God will help her. When the morning dawns, the nation's rage kingdoms totter, he utters his voice. The earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The god of Jacob is our fortress. Well, in the first few verses, the Psalmist use a natural disaster. Illustration toe remind us that God is present with us. But in these verses now he's shifting to the illustration of a city under attack. Most commentators agree that that this psalm was not written just on some rough day for God's people, but it was written when the city of Jerusalem was under siege by the bison, aka Ruben the Assyrian Army. Putting a city under siege was a very common tactic in ancient warfare, but it was definitely taking the long way invading armies. What they would do when they would put someone under siege is they would show up, and they would surround the city and and cut off all of the entrances and exits and all of their sources of supplies and food and water. And then they would just wait rate for the people to either give up or surrender. So that's why most major cities, especially ancient ones are built on bodies of water. Soapy Paris is built on the Seine River, London's on the River Thames, New York's on the Hudson River, Jerusalem. On the other hand, it doesn't have a river, the Jordan rivers 21 miles away. But the only real water source here in Jerusalem is the G on spring that people could use to fill up a short term supply. But it really wasn't enough for everyone. And Kingston, accurate knew that you could actually go back to Second Kings 18 and 19 to read this story. But once the Assyrian army had Jerusalem under siege, soon aka have sent a messenger. Drew King has a chi and the people in Jerusalem and basically said, Look, I've got you right where I want you, so just go ahead and give up. Now, don't let Hezekiah talk you into trusting the Lord, because God's not gonna come help you Here. Let me just give you a sneak preview of how bad things were going to get for you. See, eventually you're gonna run out of food and water. You start eating each other and literally again in second kings 18 and 19. It says that He says you're gonna end up drinking your own urine, so go ahead and give up now. But again, God's not coming to help you. So just you know, whenever you're ready, you come let me know. Then when we look back, it's some 46 after understanding the historical context there, and we read that there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God we're like, um no, there's not. Whoever wrote this song must have been seriously geographically challenged because we could just do a quick Google search and find out that there is not a river in Jerusalem where the psalmist wasn't geographically challenged. But he did understand that God is powerful and he can work even when everything seems impossible. He understood that not every problem requires a physical solution. He understood that the people stuck in Jerusalem here ultimately didn't need God to just magically dropped a river in the middle of Jerusalem is helpful is that might have been no. They needed his presence in his power to meet them in their time of trial and got himself. Is that river? Look at what else he says about the City of God in Verse five. It says that God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved cards in the midst of her. This psalmist understands that the city is under siege. Times you're tough. Things are getting bad. People can't escape. They know they're going to run out of supplies eventually. But God is with them again. He's present, and because he's present this city, his people will not be moved. What an amazing picture. You're awesome. God says that God will help her. When the morning dawns, the nation's raged. The Three kingdoms totter. It's interesting to note that the the Hebrew word that saying here that that God will not be moved is the same word from verse to that says, the mountains are being moved into the heart of the sea, and also here that the kingdom's heir tottering See these giant rocks that we think are so permanent and these kingdoms that we think are so powerful they're all tottering. But the God who put them there is not budging. He will not be moved, and he says he utters his voice and the earth melts. Wow! Back for some more context in Second Kings again. Here we have the Assyrians in the Israel lights, one kingdoms raging and hoping to topple the other. The army's air in place. The threats have been sent, but Hezekiah didn't give in. He did tell the people to trust in the Lord, and then he went and did what every godly leaders should do. In the middle of the trial. He got on his face before God and prayed and cried out for his people. He ran to God's presence for help and Second Kings, 1934. God told Isaiah to tell Hezekiah. This says that God says I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David gods like, Oh, I'm coming. See, It's my glory and my name that's at stake here, and I'm not. I'm going to show up on just make it clear to Kingston accurate. But there is not a ruler or a country or anything on Earth that is as powerful as I am and that I am with my people and I am for my people. And Second King says that that night God sent one Angel one on Army of Angels. Not a few 1000 angels, one angel to kill 185,000 Syrian soldiers in their own camp in Kingston. Accurate. Woke up the next morning and saw what had happened, and he just packed up and went home. Morning had dawned and got it helped his people. He was with them and he was for them and he showed them just how powerful he really is. Maybe you look at the first part of Verse six where it says that the nation's air raging and kingdoms or Todd and you're like, You know what? Honestly, not much has changed. You know, most nights again, all we need to do is turn on the evening news to see that that we are living in a constantly unstable world. To be honest, that we live. We're privileged to live in what is probably the most stable nation in the history of the world. But right now we are facing political division to the point where, quite honestly, sometimes I wonder if if two people with opposing views can have a a friendly conversation where worried justifiably so about the spread of the corona virus are economy is tottering, wondering what's gonna happen next. We can take a map of the world and talk about just almost any nation and point at nations that literally are Tom Umberg, where governments are falling and point to the fact that this is this is a reality. Why? Because we live in a broken world. This is not how God designed it to be. There was a river in the Garden of Eden, and we lost it because we sinned against a holy God, the creator of the universe that said, Listen, don't eat from that tree over there. I know what's best for you, so just obey me. But we disobeyed. And now it's clear that we really do need God to be our very present help in trouble. We live in a world of trouble and trials and pain and suffering and fear. So the question that we ask ourselves is, it has to be Well, how do I not taught her? How can I live in this time and place? And when everything seems to be falling apart around me, and how can I live? Stay Billy that way. And the answer, you can't you don't have enough power. I don't have enough power. None of us have enough power tow. Walk through this life unfazed and in complete control. So we must be in God. He must be our refuge and strength. He is our only hope and he will not be moved. Just think about how Verse six describes the power of God again. He utters his voice and the earth melts. I think of all the military power that man has stored up. Think of all the cities that man has built of all the technology that man has developed and how permanent and stable, we think that all of that is and it says that all God has to do is utter one word and poof, gone, destroyed, done for I don't know about you, but I want to be on God's side. I don't like my chances of being against a God that has that kind of power and awesomeness. But I love the comfort encourage that comes with knowing that the all powerful god of the universe is with me and for me, in the middle of a time when the world seems to be falling apart. Listen friends when you've turned from your sins and placed your faith in Jesus alone for salvation. This river that makes glad the city of God is not some distant hope. It's a present reality. It's God himself who has come to live in us, Jon, 7 37 through nine, says. This says, On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out. If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said out of his heart, will flow rivers of living water. Now this, he said about the spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive. For as yet, the spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Jesus was pointing forward to when the Holy Spirit would come and live in us. And Charles Spurgeon, one of my heroes, said that the Holy Spirit in us is like a smoothly flowing fertilizing, full and never failing river that yields refreshment and consolation to believers. Whatever you're facing right now, whatever has you lying awake at night, whatever. Has you worried? I can promise you that's not too big or too much or too strong for God. He spoke. The world's into existence and with one world with one word, he can melt it away. The Lord of hosts is with us. The god of Jacob is our fortress. He has power over everything in that that can help us face trials with courage because he's right there with us. But not only can we face trials with courage because God is present and God is powerful. But we can also face trials with courage Because God is pre eminent because God is pre eminent. Look back one more time with me. At Psalm 46 we read this third stanza here says from versus eight through 11 Come behold the works of the Lord. How he has brought desolation is on the earth. He makes war seats to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spirit. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. The first command that we see in this entire som is in verse eight. Come, behold the works of the Lord. Lift your eyes. Look to him. Just look at what he's doing around us. Look at how powerful he is. Who tired of all those nations raging and kingdoms tottering. We'll just wait because one day God's gonna put an end to all of that. Says he makes war cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. He's gonna bring peace on Earth. It could be confident and encouraged by that. And it's gonna be totally unlike anything that we've ever seen. God's gonna make war stop forever, and that's something that man has never been able to do. And it's It's certainly not for lack of trying. I just think of all the ways that that man has tried to make wars cease and to bring peace Normally, what happens is that the leaders of nations or armies, they get together around a table and they try to work out a deal that's gonna make everyone happy, said They sit down, they try to do that and they hope toe make the fighting stopped for a little bit. And so we hear about these ceasefires and peace treaties all the time in the Middle East, and really, it feels like it's only a few days or a few weeks before the fighting starts again. The bullets start flying again of sitting down and negotiating table doesn't work. Basically, the only other option for armies is to just keep fighting until one side decides to give up and surrender, or or maybe come to the negotiating table of that point. Then, really, it's just a few decades as they rebuild, and then the fighting is back at it again. That's not how God's gonna bring peace. No, he's gonna end wars once and for all. And when he obliterates everyone's weapons for good, one commentator said, This about this passenger says the outcome is peace, but the process is judgment. These were there not set in the context of gentle persuasion, but in a world that is devastated and forcibly disarmed. Basically, when God's ready, when the time has come, he's gonna take all of the aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons and missiles and tanks and fighter jets and snap them in half. Just like that, she's not going to be a battle. It's not gonna be a negotiation, just the preeminent god of the universe, doing what no one else can do and putting an end to all the fighting and carnage and destruction and tragedy of war. That's her. God, that's our hope. That's our refuge and strength. The first verse nine verses of some 46 Again Psalm isjust reminding us how awesome God is and and telling them so we can have courage because of what I'm telling you about about God with an inverse 10. Basically, God takes the microphone and speaks for himself. You'll see the quotation marks there, and he says, Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. I have a feeling that I'm about to ruin this verse for some of you. They're listening right now. See some 46 10 is what I would maybe call a coffee mug and greeting card verse. Uh, I'm not against putting Bible verses on coffee mugs and greeting cards, but the danger of when we do that as we rip a verse out of its context and really, we lose its larger meaning. We lose what God is saying in its surrounding context. And so when we take a verse like some 46 10 and and slap it on a coffee mug, really, the tone becomes, Oh, you're you're feeling a little down today. You're having a rough day, then just got on the back porch and put some quiet music on light a candle. Just close your eyes. Relax. Just know that it's gonna be okay. That's that's the tone that we bring when we take it out of context and do that. But But this is not the tone of this verse in the passage. This verse is actually rebuke. When God says, Be still and know that I am God, it's basically saying, Knock it off. Stop fighting. For those of you that aren't saved, stop fighting against me. And for those of you that are saved, stop fighting for yourselves and let me fight for you. This is a warning to all those that have not turned from their sins and and placed their faith in Jesus for salvation alone that it's not too late. But one day it will be apart from Jesus. We are God's enemies. We are his enemies that are fighting against him. And we will face destruction and then punishment in eternity in hell. But God made a way for us to be reconciled to him through his son Jesus. By sending his son to die on the cross in our place, You wonder will. Then where is just It's gonna be accomplished. How? How does this all work out? No, Make no mistake. Justice will be accomplished. Justice will be happening against horse in the question is, will it happen in eternity in hell? Or will it have happened by placing all of your sins on Jesus on the cross and then God pouring out his wrath on his son in your place and then putting your faith in him? Salvation is a free gift that you can have if you just turn from your sins and place your faith in Jesus. But this is also rebuked. For those of us that are God's people that have placed our faith in Jesus. It's a call for those of us that are followers of Jesus. But air so tempted when trials come to figure things out on our own and turn to ourselves or to something else for refuge and strength. It's a call for us to be still. Put your hands down, stop fighting for yourselves and let me fight for you. Stop taking matters into your own hands. Stop exalting yourself and your own plans like your plans are better than God's. Let's be clear. There is a time and a place for us to act. But until he's made that extremely clear, her job is to keep her hands off of what he's doing and let him work how he sees fit. That's always a better plan than trying to handle things on our own and making things worse. God's command here to be still and know that I am God. Remember that I will be exalted. Remember that I'm pre eminent over everything. You might think that you have a better solution to whatever it is that you're facing, but but God's plan is better. We can have courage in the middle of trials, not because he is not just because he is present and he's powerful, but because he is pre eminent, he's better his greater. My confidence belongs in him. The third stands of this psalm ends the same way that the 2nd 1 did by saying that the Lord of Hosts, the all powerful god of the universe, is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Why, Jacob? And we know that so many times, especially the Old Testament God has referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But but of those three patriarchs, why on Earth with the Psalmist? End this song by saying that we have the God of Jacob is our fortress. Especially not by using Jacob's new name of Israel that God gave him. It's about grace. Save all the patriarchs of Israel. We could say that Jacob was the biggest screwup. He was a deceiver. Is it cheater? He was a liar. He was, ah, swindler. He's a guy that we can look at and be like what was wrong with him? What was his deal? Why couldn't he get his act together when gods being so faithful to him? The point is that even after Hall that Jacob had done God Waas still faithful God was still his fortress, even though he couldn't get his act together. And how encouraging is that for us? Even when we mess up as God's people God still gracious, his mercies are new every morning he's still our fortress and life's most difficult in trying moments. Even when we mess up, we can still have courage in trials because we know that God's not gonna turn his back on his people. Martin Luther turned to Psalm 46 countless times in his life for strength and encouragement in trials when he needed to be reminded that God is present and powerful and pre eminent, something we can relate to very much with what's in the news right now. One of Martin Luther's most desperate times was in 15 27 when the black plague was sweeping across Europe and Germany, and it almost killed his son in the middle of all those emotions that any of us that have kids can understand and relate to, of of the fears and the anxieties and and what is tomorrow gonna hold in the middle of all that Martin Luther open to Psalm 46 wrote these words familiar words. I'm not gonna sing them for you, but listen to these words. A mighty fortress is our god a bulwark never failing our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing for still our ancient foe doth seek to work us Woe. His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate on Earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength, confide hush driving would be losing. We're not the right men on the side. The man of God's own choosing. Just ask you that. Maybe Christ Jesus! It is he, Lord Sabah off! The Lord of hosts his name from age to age the same and he must win the battle. And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The Prince of Darkness grim we tremble. Not for him his rage we can endure for low. His doom is sure one little word shall fell him. That word above all earthly powers. No thanks to them abideth the spirit and the gifts are ours through him. Who with us side if let goods and kindred go this mortal life also the body they may kill God's truth. Abideth still, his kingdom is forever. The tone of a mighty fortress is our goddess so bold and confident in the face of trials. Because Martin Luther knew that he could face trials with courage, not because he was some great feel loading her famous reformer or, ah, great hymn writer. But because God is present and powerful and pre eminent because of who God is friends, no matter what you're facing right now, if you're a follower of Jesus, God is your refuge and strength. Trust him. Cling to him. He is a very present help in trouble and he will not be moved. He's our refuge and strength, so we will not fear father again. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the comfort that it brings us the truce, that it teaches us about you, the manner in which it lift our eyes to you when we so desperately need. And Father, we pray now for the people that are being affected by illness. We ask that you would huell them. Would you protect the people of BCC from this corona virus? Would you encourage them in any trial that they may be facing to remind them of who you are. Can we thank you for all that you are and all that you've done for us. It's in your some Jesus name, Amen.