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Psalm 46. Psalm 46. In the Sunday school hour, Pastor
Porter was teaching from the Confession of Faith in Chapter
2, speaking about God, specifically His omnipotence. That means His
ability is all his power, his ability to do all his holy will.
One of the things that he pointed out is that sometimes people
challenge the Christian God. They say, well, he can't make
a rock so big that he can't pick it up. Well, that's a contradiction.
The Bible teaches us that God does everything that he determines
to do. He has omnipotence with reference
to the expression of his desire to affect something. There are,
of course, as Pastor Porter pointed out, certain things that God
cannot do. God cannot lie. God cannot deny
himself. And if you are paying attention,
you ought to rejoice in the reality of stanza six, another area that
God cannot, with reference to his people. The soul that on
Jesus hath leaned for repose I will not, I will not desert
to his foes. That soul, though all hell, should
endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake. I'll never, no never, no never
forsake." That is, as John Murray says, a divine cannot. There
are cannots that God has and we ought to be very thankful
for. That once he enters into saving union with his people,
he cannot lose them. He will not let them go. He will
secure unto them, or he will secure for them, that blessed
reality of eternity with the Triune God. Psalm 46, beginning
in verse 1. 2. The chief musician, a psalm
of the sons of Korah, a song for Alamoth. That is technically
verse 1. Those subscriptions that you
find are in the Hebrew Psalter. We will treat verse 1 as our
English version, however, has it here. If I mention verse 1
in the course of exposition, I'm not referring to the subscription.
We're following the English versions here. So to the chief musician,
a psalm of the sons of Korah, a song for Alamoth. God is our
refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble. Therefore
we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though
the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though
its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with
its swelling. Selah. There is a river whose
stream shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the
tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She
shall not be moved. God shall help her just at the
break of dawn. The nations raged. The kingdoms
were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth
melted. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come behold the works
of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease
to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the
spear in two. He burns the chariot in the 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 refuge.
Selah. Let us pray. Father, thank you
for the words of this psalm. I pray now the Spirit would guide
us and instruct us and comfort and encourage us. May the Word
of God be our feast this morning, and may you be our portion, and
may you be our lot. We pray for divine aid. We pray
for divine help. We pray, God, for those things
that we stand in need of. And we ask these things through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, if you've been in
this church for any amount of time, Psalm 46 is probably not
a stranger to you. It is a very powerful psalm. It is one that we have considered
several times over the years. In terms of its specific application,
temporally or within history, commentators wonder what the
psalmist was reflecting on specifically. John Gill makes this observation
in terms of its specific historical application. He says, but it
seems rather, the Psalm 46, to be a prophecy of the church in
gospel times. and is applicable to any time
of confusion and distress the nations of the world may be in
through any kind of calamity, when those that trust in the
Lord have no reason in the least to be afraid." Jonathan Edwards
says, "...this psalm seems to be a song of the church in a
time of great revolutions and desolations in the world. Therefore,
the church glories in God as her refuge, and strength, and
present help, even in times of the greatest troubles and overturnings."
That's a very appropriate way to set this psalm into context. It is for us, and as the psalmist
mentions here, or gives a couple of examples which we'll look
at in just a moment, he speaks of cosmic upheaval, he speaks
of national crises, he speaks of what we might consider to
be the large ticket items with reference to calamity and distress
and trial. Well, the observant Christian
realizes that if the larger, God is there in the smaller as
well. He is with us in our individual
lives. He deals with the details of
our lives. He is conscious of his people and he is always,
as the psalmist describes here, our refuge and our strength a
very present help in trouble. I'm inclined to agree with Martin
Luther. Matthew Henry said this, it is
said of Luther that when he heard any discouraging news he would
say, let us sing the 46th song. And it's with that in view that
I want to expound this particular psalm under four considerations
this morning. First, the statement concerning
God's presence. Secondly, the contrast to demonstrate
God's power. Thirdly, the invitation to consider
God's works. And fourthly, the command to
rest in God's sovereignty. If you've missed all that, Hopefully
you'll pick it up the next time around. Note, first of all, the
statement concerning God's presence. And this is everything for the
believer. This is what we have in our religion. The heathen
have their idols with eyes that don't see. The heathen have their
idols with ears that do not hear. They have their idols with tongues
that do not speak. But our God is in the heavens
and He does whatever He pleases. And one of the things that He
promises for His people is to be with His people. When the
psalmist speaks of trouble and trial in Psalm 23, he says, Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou
art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. When the apostles of our Lord
Jesus Christ consider the various sufferings and difficulties that
perplex the church, they're always mindful of this reality that
God is with them. You have to notice this in this
particular song of Zion. Three times in verses 1, 7, and
11, it is highlighted for us that God is there. in the midst
of suffering, in the midst of trial, in the midst of perplexity,
in the midst of difficulty. Notice, God is our refuge and
strength, a very present help in trouble. Note the presupposition
as well, what the psalmist assumes for the sake of argument. A very
present help in trouble. There's a class of preachers
out there, they're called the health, wealth and prosperity
guys, that teach us or tell us or lie to us that there's never
trouble in the Christian life. And if there is trouble in the
Christian life, it's because of our lack of faith. You're
a child of the King, and as a child of the King, you ought not to
undergo any hardship, or any woe, or any difficulty whatsoever. And if you do, it's your fault.
You know, it's interesting that God, the King, has told His children
that in this world, you will have tribulation. In this world,
there will be suffering. In this world, there will be
trial. The encouragement isn't that you need to buck up. It
isn't that you need to pull up your bootstraps. It's to be of
good cheer, for I, Christ, have overcome the world. The psalmist
assumes the reality of trouble in the Christian life. The psalmist
knows this in his own experience. This is a self-evident fact that
within life, and specifically within the Christian life, we
are not immune to the trials and the sorrows and the difficulties.
But what we have that the heathen doesn't have is a very present
help in trouble. We have a refuge, we have a strength,
we have divine aid. We have one who girds us up and
sees us through this. Notice in verse 7, the Lord of
hosts. This is the covenant God. This
is Yahweh. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. You've probably heard those two
words put together before, covenant and theology. And people begin
to think, oh, that's just heady academic stuff that they study
in seminary and it has no earthly value. Covenant theology is the
stuff of the Christian life. This is the stuff of biblical
comfort and encouragement and strength. It's because of the
New Covenant, it's because of the Covenant of Grace that we
can get out of bed every day and praise God Most High. It
is because Jesus has undertaken, as the second Adam, on behalf
of all the Father has given Him, that we have the sure foundation
upon which to live this life." So the old boys, as we refer
to here, I'm not trying to be cheeky, but as we see in the
older men, they understood that covenant theology was something
of encouragement. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. And that is repeated again
in verse 11. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. I want us as well, while we're
considering this statement concerning God's presence, to consider this.
What is it that helps the soul in times of trial? Certainly the Church of Christ
is a great boon. It is a great encouragement when
the people of God come to us and embrace us and extend their
hands to us and say, you know, we've been praying for you. That's
blessed! But what is that chief blessing?
to know God is with us. You've got to understand with
this psalm, it is a psalm that is penned in the midst of trouble. And where does the psalmist find
his comfort and encouragement? He finds it in his God. In other
words, theology, what we know concerning God, affects the way
that we deal with things in this earth. The people who know their
God, the people who understand their God, the people who have
beheld their God, are the self-same people that find rest and contentment
in their God. They're able to sing, whatever
my God ordains is right, and know it to be the truth. They're
able to sing that Cooper hymn, number 21. You guys know about
Cooper? His brother struggled. Cooper
was not the peppy, upbeat, praise leader of the modern evangelical
church. He didn't have his act together.
He wasn't the positivist. He was the guy that others would
come to and say, what's the matter? He was the brother that was melancholy
and down and distressed and tried. Many of you may not know that
John Newton was a friend of William Cooper. We're all familiar with
Newton. He penned Amazing Grace, how
sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but
now I'm found, was blind but now I see. You know the story
of Newton? Newton was a slave trader. Newton
was a bad man. He was a blasphemer and a wretch
and his mother always prayed for him. One day God gets a hold
of Newton. And he had a friend in Cooper
and he was distressed for his brother. It's like when we see
someone suffering or we see someone down. It's distressing, it's
sorrowful, it's grieving, isn't it? Newton in one point says,
you know, we need to write a hymn book together. What a great remedy.
You want to deal with depression or melancholy, write a hymn book.
Hard to be depressed when you're considering the glories of God
most high. That was great counsel from Newton.
He didn't say you need to go away and sit by yourself and
just be sad and depressed. No, come, let's write hymns together. So when we sing, God moves in
a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. This was not penned
by some praise leader who has a perfect life, a perfect wife,
2.5 perfect children, a minivan, and a good job. That's not who
Cooper was. Cooper was a brother you'd have
to hug every Lord's Day when you saw him, and probably every
Monday to Saturday as well. Yet what did he know? Behind
the frowning providence, God hides a smiling face. In the
midst of his troubles, in the midst of his sorrow, in the midst
of his melancholy, he knew his God. And he knew that maybe,
just maybe, even though all these things were against him, he knew
that beyond those clouds of frowning providence, God held a smiling
face. What brings comfort to the people
of God? We can all learn a lesson in
events and trials and troubles and sorrows and circumstances.
We need to understand there's something about knowing God. It's not just so we can sit up
there and listen to words and go, wow, I'm advancing in my
theological perception. There's nothing wrong with advancing
in your theological perception by all means. There's something
very beautiful about advancing in your humility before the living
and true God and knowing that above all things, his presence
is what I seek. God is our refuge. John Gill says, whether inward
or outward, of soul or body, the Lord helps his people under
it to bear it. and he helps them out of it in
the most proper and seasonable time. They are poor, helpless
creatures in themselves, nor can any other help them but the
Lord, who made heaven and earth, and he helps them presently,
speedily, and effectually. Notice what the psalmist points
out as he considers this idea of God's presence. He is our
refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. Spurgeon says, this is the reason
for all Zion's security and for the overthrow of her foes. The
Lord rules the angels, the stars, the elements, and all the hosts
of heaven, and the heaven of heavens are under his sway. That's
the God who's present with His people. That's why the psalmist
can say He's a refuge. You know what a refuge is? A
refuge could be this building if a hailstorm came down. What
are you going to do if golf ball-sized hailstones start coming down
on you in Wellington? You're going to seek refuge.
You're going to flee. You're going to get safety. You're
going to find comfort. That's how the psalmist describes
God. What do we do in sorrow? What
do we do in trial? What do we do in hardship? We
seek safety! We seek refuge! We seek comfort! And the Psalter says we do it
in our God, and that He is a very present help in trouble. That's
a statement concerning God's presence. Notice, secondly, the
contrast to demonstrate His power. Verses 2-6. What does the psalmist say? In
essence, though the world around you is falling down, though the
mountains crumble, though the seas overflow, though there's
chaos all around, yet God is on His holy throne of Zion. God
is in the midst of His people. You see, these external forces,
whether it be national crises, whether it be cosmic upheaval,
whether it be stars falling, whether it be the ground opening,
whether it be the rivers raging, God is not shaken, God is not
moved, God is not thrown off His throne. That's what the sense
of the text is. Notice in verse 2, Therefore
we will not fear. God is with us, therefore we
will not fear. Even though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though
its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with
its swelling, Selah." And I've often thought when people say,
yeah, we bought a house up on Promontory. I say, well, you're
out of the floodplain. It's a concern to some of us
who are... Actually, it's not. I don't ever
think about getting flooded. I don't want to lie. That's the
least of my thoughts. You know, there's going to be
this overwhelming flood. You know, a flood. What if the rivers did
swell? What if the rain did a chilliwack
and just kept coming? It's almost hard to imagine rain
in the midst of a heat spell like this, isn't it? It rains
here? Yes, it rains a lot. What if it just kept raining?
And what if all the rivers and the lakes overflowed? And what
if the water started to rise? We would fret. There would be
some concern. We've got to get our stuff to
higher ground. I mean, we're North Americans and we've got
stuff. You can't leave stuff in the water. You've got to pick
the stuff up and you've got to take it to higher ground. You see, what
the psalmist is painting here is a reality. These are things
that cause people to fear. These are real-life threats.
These are real-life difficulties. He's not dealing in theory. He's
dealing in reality. And he says, even though all
these things may happen, even though you may see cosmic upheaval,
even though nations may war against nations, notice what he says
in verse 4. There is a river whose streams
shall make glad the city of God. the holy place of the tabernacle
of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she
shall not be moved. God shall help her just at the
break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms
were moved. He uttered His voice, the earth
melted." This is a common occurrence in biblical revelation. A very
common occurrence in the writing of Scripture. The psalmist, the
prophet, the seer, John, in the book of Revelation, show us what's
going on on earth. And then it moves the scene to
what is going on in heaven. And what is the psalmist? And
what are the prophets? And what is John the Apostle
telling us? That you need to look past the
current trial. You need to look past the current
sorrow. You need to look past the current
trouble. to this place where God sits. That's the emphasis of the text.
This is what the Psalter wants you to get. Though these things
occur on earth, you've got to have a Godward perspective. Though
you ache, though you grieve, though there's hardship, though
there's trial, that has not enthroned God, and God has covenanted to
be your God. He has covenanted that you will
be His person, and He has never ever going to forsake you. That's
what the psalmist wants you to get. Calvin says, it is an easy
matter to manifest the appearance of great confidence so long as
we are not placed in imminent danger. See, it's very easy for
me to say I'm not concerned about a flood when it's 95 degrees
out and there's not a drop of water to be seen. It's easy to
say, well, I'm resting in my God when my wife is healthy,
when my kids are healthy, when my job is secure. This is the
gist of what Calvin says. It is an easy matter to manifest
the appearance of great confidence so long as we are not placed
in imminent danger, but if in the midst of a general clash
of the whole world, which is what's being described in the
Psalter here in verses 2 and 3, He says, but in the great midst
of a general clash of the whole world, our minds continue undisturbed
and free of trouble? This is an evident proof that
we attribute to the power of God the honor which belongs to
Him. So when the floods rise, when
the rain doesn't stop, when your stuff is floating down the Fraser,
we still know of Jacob is our refuge." That's
what the psalmist is saying. We just sang this from one of
the prophets. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I
will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous
right hand. How could the hymn writer, of
number 80, write what he did. Because Isaiah, the prophet spoke
Isaiah 41 verse 10. Fear not, for I am with you.
You know, that's an interesting context as well. The prophets
describing governmental crises. He's describing the ascendance
of world empires and the declension of other empires. He describes
in verse 3 of chapter 41, some of the old commentators said
it was Abraham. It's better to understand it
as being Cyrus. Chapters 41 to 44, Isaiah is talking about Cyrus,
king of Persia. God the Lord raised up Cyrus,
king of Persia. God the Lord calls Cyrus his
Messiah, his anointed one, his chosen one. Why was Cyrus anointed,
chosen, and raised up by God? To smash the Babylonian Empire. God uses means, and he used Cyrus
and the Persians to smash the Babylonians. What happens when
Cyrus smashes the Babylonians? The people of Judah are free
to return to their home. You remember it was Cyrus that
issued the decree that the people of Judah could return. The people
of Judah could rebuild their temple. Pagans even funded the
rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. That's our God. That's the majesty
that he describes. So when the prophet announces
that Cyrus is coming, verse 10 is a fear not to his people.
Though Cyrus is raised up, his target is not my covenant people.
His target is not my Israel. His target is the enemy of Israel,
so fear not. Be not dismayed. This is the
context in which he speaks this. For I am your God. I will strengthen
you. Yes, I will help you. I will
uphold you with my righteous right hand. And then I mentioned the book
of Revelation does this very same thing. Remember the point. The contrast to demonstrate God's
power. Think about the book of Revelation
and don't think about monsters and bad things in the end times
and the gloom and the doom that you've probably associated at
one time or another with the book of Revelation. You know
what the main idea in the book of Revelation is? Christ is on
his throne. He is King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. You take that to the book of
Revelation and you'll have a happy day when you read that book.
What happens in chapters 2 and 3? Chapters 2 and 3, John is commanded
to write letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor. Do those
seven letters contain instructions for how to have a happy life?
Do they contain instructions on how to be a better you? Do
they contain instructions on how to say a prayer and get everything
you've ever wanted? No. Those instructions, those
letters, commend the churches for the good that they do and
condemn the churches for the bad that they do. And pretty
much in most instances we find that the church on earth suffers.
There's trial, there's difficulty, there's sorrow, there's trouble,
there's perplexity. Isn't it interesting that on
the heels of chapters 2 and 3 come chapter 4? You say, well yeah,
Butler, that's just counting. 2, 3, and then 4. I get that
mathematically. But in terms of the context and
the flow of the argument, we look at the chaos and the trial
and the trouble and the death on the earth that affects the
Church of Jesus Christ, and then in chapters 4 and 5, where are
we ushered to? The throne room of God. In the
midst of the calamity, in the midst of the sorrow, in the midst
of suffering, in the midst of trial, in the midst of trouble,
there is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the
midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall
help her just at the break of dawn. That's what 4 and 5 do
in response to chapters 2 and 3. Going on, there's difficulty,
trial, travail, and problems on the earth in Revelation chapter
6. What happens in 7? We're given a view of the 144,000
who are sealed by God, who are praising God. What happens in chapters 13 and
14? 13 is that notorious chapter with the two beasts. We see the
beast arising from the sea. We see a beast arising from the
land. We see these beasts and they're formidable and they're
mean and they're vicious and they're unkind. And the people
of the world are following them and marching after them and marked
with this mark. What happens in chapter 14? We
see the Lamb with His fair army standing on Mount Zion. Do you
see a recurring theme here? In the midst of sorrow, in the
midst of trouble, in the midst of calamity, in the midst of
trial, in the midst of difficulty, you need to look to God. You
have to, brethren. You have to, believer. You have
to, suffering saint. You cannot allow these things
to get you mired into this place. You need to realize that what
God has purposed, as difficult as it may be and as much as it
may sting and as hard as it may be to process, is for my good. He's wise and I'm not. You've
done this with your kids. Your kids ask for something and
you say, no, I don't want you to have that. And they get a
frown, and they get sad if they're five. They get a frown, and they
get sad if they're 15. They get obnoxious and downright
nasty if they're 18, and you want to administer some reproof
and rod. But you know the withholding
of that particular is going to do them good. It's tough, isn't
it? Most people don't say, hey, I
love that I don't get to give good things to my kids. No, I
know that if they have this good thing, they're going to ruin
themselves with it. That's just one example. This
is a fundamental precept with reference to theology. God is
wise and we're not. And he has undertaken to do all
things well for his people. Verne Poitras comments on the
revelation passages, that connection between chapters two and three
and four and five. He says, when God's people are
beset by temptation or persecution. Chapters 2 and 3. Listen, I know
it's hot. I know I'm asking you to think. But I'm hoping that this will
bring some encouragement and some balm. When God's people
are beset by temptation or persecution, He says, a revelation of God's
character and glory is the best It is, isn't it? Naked I came
into this world and naked I will depart. The Lord gives, the Lord
takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Now before we forget who penned
that, let's remind ourselves. He was not the hip and up-and-coming
mega-pastor. He wasn't the guy who had the
New York Times bestseller. He didn't put his hand in his
holy jeans, and I don't mean holy H, I mean holy H, but O-L-E-Y,
with his holes in his jeans, sipping his latte and telling
everybody how good life is with Jesus. Life can be very difficult with
Jesus, can't it? He told us, John 16, 33, in this
world, you will have tribulation. The Master told us that. Job lost everything. Didn't he? He was stripped away from Him in
a moment. When a man like that says what
he says in Job 1.21, we better pay attention. We better listen. We've got to understand that
this is the pathway and the means by which I get through these
trials and I get through these difficulties and I find comfort
and strength and refuge in my God. When God's people are beset by
temptation or persecution, a revelation of God's character and glory
is the best remedy. Poitras goes on to say his power
guarantees the final victory. His justice guarantees vindication
of the right and his goodness and magnificence guaranteed blessing
and comfort. The blood of the lamb demonstrates
that solid redemption has already been accomplished. Even in the
midst of trials and persecutions, God is still the ruler. He controls everything. That's where we need to go. Thirdly,
in the psalm, an invitation to consider God's works. We won't
spend a lot of time here. I want to make sure we find time
for that last point. But notice in verses 8 and 9,
come. That's what the psalmist says, come. What should you do
on the Sabbath day when your heart is sorrowful? What should
you do on the Lord's day when your heart is grieving? You should
come. You should come to the house of God. You should come
to the place where the Word of God is primary. You should come
to the place where the Word of God is central. You should come
to the place where you can, in the language of verse 8, Behold
the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth.
He makes the war cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the
bow and cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariot in the fire. You see, the psalmist wants to
take you by the hand and run you through the Bible. And he
wants you to say, look at how Gideon got victory over the Midianites. Have you ever pondered for a
moment how 300 men who lapped water out of a river like dogs
were able to defeat 120,000 troops? Have you ever considered that
fact? Has it ever dawned on you that there was something beyond
those 300 men who lapped water like a dog, but it was their
God who saw them through the victory? Or what about young
David? How is he going to take down
Goliath? How is he going to beat this monster? How is he going
to do it when he can't even wear Saul's armor? He says, I just
don't feel right in this. I'm going to take it off. He
goes to the brook, and he selects five smooth stones. He's not
a presumptuous man. He trusts his God, but he doesn't
presume. He selects five smooth stones.
He goes out into battle. He whips that sling, and it hits,
or the rock hits Goliath right in his big head. Have you ever
stopped for a moment and wondered, how did that work? Is that a
school of strategy that we haven't considered? Certainly, David
was a strong lad. Certainly, David was able to
kill lions and bears with his bare hands. He wasn't some little
90-pound weakling. He had some strength to him.
And certainly, the means were employed. He launched that rock,
but it found its place right in the head of that man, and
he fell down. Do you ever look beyond David to see a greater
than David sitting at the right hand of the throne of God Most
High, who's orchestrating and ruling and governing all these
things? You see, the psalmist is saying,
behold, come, let's walk through the pages of Scripture. Let us
consider how the Lord comes to His people. Let us see how He
aids them. Let us see how He comforts sufferers. Let us go to the second epistle
of Corinthians. Let us look for a moment at the
Apostle Paul. Let us see this man who has a
thorn given to him to buffet his flesh. He prays three times
that the Lord would take it away, but the Lord says, My grace is
sufficient for you. My power is made manifest in
your weakness. You see, the psalmist is saying,
behold what God is. And the way that you do that
in this new covenant setting, in the Church of Jesus Christ,
is through the Scriptures. You need to comfort your heart.
You need to strengthen your soul. You need to come and know these
stories. And you need to understand who God is. I love the imagery. Come, behold the works of Yahweh. This will bring encouragement.
This will bring strength. This will bring help and fortitude. There's young people in our midst,
either engaged to be married or brand-newly married. Come, behold the works of God. What's the strongest and most
sure foundation upon which to build a marriage? It is on the
works of God. Spurgeon says, the joyful citizens
of Zion are invited to go forth and view the remains of their
enemies that they may mark the prowess of Jehovah and the spoil
which his right hand has won for his people. It were well
if we also carefully noted the providential dealings of our
covenant God and were quick to perceive his hand in the battles
of his church. Whenever we read history, it
should be with this verse, sounding in our ears. Come, behold the
works of the Lord." And then notice, fourthly and finally,
the command to rest in God's sovereignty. I suspect that verse
10 is probably the most familiar verse in the entirety of the
Psalm. You say, why didn't you just
focus on verse 10? Because it finds strength. finds contextual fortitude, it
finds contextual beauty in the context. What happens in the
midst of tumult, in the midst of trial, in the midst of suffering,
in the midst of calamity? What is our God's instruction
to us? Be still. That's just contrary,
isn't it? We don't want to be still. We
want to do. We want to fret. Some of us want
to de-skin and de-fingernail our digits. Some of us want to
knock our knees together. Some of us want to run. Some
of us want to hide. Some of us want to check out.
Some of us want to go away and check out. I don't mean suicide.
I mean leave the scene or situation. What does God's Word say to us
in the midst of the trial, of the sorrow, of the trouble, of
the difficulty? He commands us to be still. Be still. Be still. Submit to His rule. Bow before
Him. Resolve to receive His counsel
and government. Again, John Gill says it this
way. Not that they should be like sticks and stones. Be still doesn't mean become
like a stick or a stone. Unconscious, unaware, or unfeeling
or uncaring. That's not the gist. not that
they should be like sticks and stones, stupid, indolent, and
unconcerned at the commotions that were in the earth, and be
unaffected with the judgments of God, and be wholly silent
and inactive, but that they should not be fearful, nor fretful and
impatient, or restless and tumultuous, but be quiet and easy, resign
to the will of God, and live in an assured expectation of
the appearance of divine providence in their layout. In other words,
be still and know that God has not forgotten Romans 8, 28. This is a tendency or a temptation,
isn't it? A difficulty strikes us. Where
is God? Has he abandoned me? Has he forgotten
me? Is he finished with me? Perhaps
Reformed theology is wrong. Perhaps there is no fifth point
of Calvinism. Perhaps he's done. Perhaps he's
moved on. Perhaps he has made someone else
his project. The psalmist says, do not entertain
such thoughts, but rather be still. Do not fear, do not be
fretful, do not be impatient. As hard as that may be, you need
to understand the goodness, the kindness, the mercy, and the
benevolence of God. He and His providence will come
to your aid and to your rescue. And isn't the instruction something
I mentioned earlier? Be still and know that I am God. Not be still and know how to
interpret the book of Revelation, though that's very important.
Be still and know all of your catechism. That's very helpful. Be still and be able to recite
paragraph for chapter two of our confession. Very helpful
stuff to fulfill what we are commanded to do. Be still and
know that I am God. Your rest, your comfort, your
strength comes in the knowledge of who God is. Theology, absolutely
crucial for living the Christian life. And just before we leave
and move into some final thoughts, note the blessedness of the command.
What do the world religions command? What does Scientology say if
a calamity hits? I don't know if calamities hit
in their sort of worldview, but I know that's a money sort of
religion. Give and you will be blessed. That's unfortunately
the health, wealth, and prosperity thing. Give and you'll get everything.
Give as a pathway to blessing. What's God say? Be still and
know me. Isn't that a beautiful command?
Isn't that a great command? Isn't that a most glorious thing?
What are you commanded in your religion? Christianity often
gets a bum rap. Oh, you Christians, you never
have any fun, you're always this, you're always that, whatever.
What religion tells you to rest in the God of heaven and earth?
What religion tells you to be still and not fretful and not
fearful, but to come and submit to the government of your good
God? Pastor Kim read this morning, let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let
the rich man glory in his riches, but let him who glories glory
in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord
exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth,
for in these I delight, says the Lord." That's the nature
of our command in Psalm 46 verse 10. Be still and know that I
am God. Imagine that as a coping mechanism. People say, what are you doing
to deal with your grief? Are you going to the support
groups? Are you going to the doctors? Are you going to the
psychologist? I'm not here necessarily to say
all of that is wrong. But imagine if we said, I'm being
still and knowing my God. That's it. That's how you cope.
That's everything. That's how anyone copes. It's
the power of God in his gospel. It is the mercy of God demonstrated
in scripture. It is the goodness of God manifested
to me in the midst of trial and trouble and suffering. I am to
be still and I am to know this God. Well, brethren, as we conclude,
we ought to realize, and I don't think this is a surprise to anybody
here, there is trouble in the life of believers. There is. There's difficulty. There's trial. But you say, I'm a Christian. I have Jesus in my life. Remember
that instance in Matthew chapter 8, when the disciples are on
the Sea of Galilee and the storm comes and the ship is rocked?
Who's in the boat with them? Christ. So we see that Christ
in our midst does not necessarily remove all of the trials of life. Christ in our midst sustains
us through all of the trials of life. That's what we need
to appreciate. There is hardship, there is difficulty,
there is sorrow in the Christian life. And it's tough, and we
grieve, and we're supposed to grieve. The church is told by
Paul, we're to rejoice with those who rejoice. That's easy to do,
isn't it? Somebody comes in and they say,
oh, my child was converted to Christ, or somebody comes in
and they say, oh, I got a promotion in my workplace, or oh, this
problem that we were dealing with is resolved, and it's easy
to rejoice with those who rejoice. It's hard to sorrow with those
who sorrow because it hurts. We do it. We come alongside of
them. We're concerned for them. We
express that. We love them. There's no magic
bullet. There's no Words that we can
say to take away all pain in the Christian life. There's trial,
there's hardship, there's persecution. Read the last part of Hebrews
11 if you doubt that for a moment. Read the life and ministry of
the Apostle Paul. Read the prophets. Read the psalmists. Read about these men. See what
they underwent. Read some church history. Read
of Polycarp in the early church. Who would want to just burn an
old man? They want to burn an old man who's a Christian, who's
faithful. who won't recant his faith in
the living God so that he can bow to Caesar. The Christian
church is marked by these very issues and situations, so we
need to understand that. Secondly, we need to understand
the direct connection between knowledge and comfort. The more
we know our God, the more comfort we will have in our God. I like
to think that the more my wife knows me, the more comfort and
happiness she has. I must admit, I don't always
think that's the case. It is always the case with God.
The more you know Him, the more you understand Him, the more
you search His Word, the more you draw nigh unto Him through
the means He's ordained, you will always find comfort. Thirdly, just a couple of texts
to read as a means of comfort. We say, Though troubles assail
us and dangers affright, Though friends should all fail us and
foes all unite, Yet one thing secures us, whatever be tied,
The promise assures us the Lord will provide. I've read this
already, but it bears repeating. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned
for repose, I will not, I will not, desert to his foes. That
soul, though all hell, should endeavor to shake, I'll never,
no never, no never forsake. I'll never, no never, no never
forsake. Consider Deuteronomy 1, 29 to
31. Then I said to you, Moses exhorting
the children of Israel. It's another myth that we find
today. Oh, the Old Testament God, he's
wrathful and he's angry and he's full of judgment. The Old Testament
God is as much full of grace, mercy, kindness, love, goodness
as we find in the New Testament. Listen to what Moses says to
the children of Israel. Do not be terrified or afraid
of them. The Lord your God who goes before
you, He will fight for you according to all He did for you in Egypt
before your eyes and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your
God carried you as a man carries his son. You see the image? What happens when your kid falls?
What happens when blood is streaming down his leg? What happens when
he hurts himself? You pick him up and you carry
him into the house, don't you? You don't just say, knuckle under,
suck it up, get up, kid. I'm talking about a painful injury.
We don't want to make our little boys Nancy's. If they can suck
it up and we can teach them to deal with a little bit of hardship,
that's not necessarily an evil thing. But if they're gashing
and bleeding and agonizing, pick them up! Carry them in! Deal with their wound and tend
to them and love them. That's the picture that we find.
Israel in the wilderness thought this was a time of punishment,
thought it was a time of torment, a time of torture. God's brought
us out here to kill us. We were better off in Egypt where
we had leeks and melons and onions and cucumbers. We had everything
in Egypt. Yeah, but you were slaves to a vile wretch and you
couldn't worship your God in spirit and truth. Look at how
Moses depicts for us the wilderness life. The Lord your God who goes
before you, he will fight for you according to all he did for
you in Egypt before your eyes. And in the wilderness where you
saw how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son
in all the way that you went until you came to this place. And then of course, these things
I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the
world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have
overcome the world." I hope that you too are encouraged with the
Word of God. That's my hope and prayer for
Daniel and Ellie this morning. My hope and prayer for our church
as a whole. We will be encouraged in our
God. We would be encouraged and strengthened because God is our
refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. And if you are
here this morning and you are not a believer in Jesus Christ,
let me just quote one more time that old Baptist brother, John
Gill. He says in his first statement concerning exposition of verse
10, God is our refuge and strength. I'm sorry, in verse one, that
is Christ who is God as well as man, is the refuge for souls
to fly onto for safety. What you need this morning is
Christ. He is a refuge. He is a strength. He is a very present help in
the time of trouble. Your trouble is sin your trouble
is rebellion against God, your trouble is that He is angry with
the wicked each and every day, and the only way, the only means,
the only hope of escape is to believe on Him, to come to Christ,
to believe the Gospel, and the Scripture says you will be saved.
Well, let us pray. Father, thank You for Your Word,
thank You for this psalm that, as the old brothers teach us,
are for Gospel times, or is for Gospel times, We thank you that
you speak words of comfort to our hearts. We thank you that
in sorrow, in trouble, in grief, you are there. You are present.
You are the God of Jacob. You are our covenant Lord. You
have purpose to deal graciously and mercifully and well with
your people, even in the midst of the sorrows and trials. God,
I pray that today you would speak comfort to our hearts, that you
would encourage us in the faith, that you would build us up, that
you would strengthen us. and that you would go with us
now, Lord God most high. And we ask through Jesus Christ,
our Lord. Amen.
