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You can turn with me in your
Bibles to Psalm 46. We'll return to our exposition of John's Gospel,
God willing, next Sunday morning. But this morning we're gonna
consider Psalm 46. It was said of Martin Luther
that when he heard any discouraging news, he would say, let us sing
the 46th Psalm. We have looked at this in recent
history within the last two years. If the government keeps throwing
curve balls at us, most likely we'll hear it again. over and
over and over again. Tyranny, martial law, and the
potential for World War III seem as good as a reason to reconsider
Psalm 46 as anything that we have seen in our lifetime. So
I'll read the passage, we'll pray, and then we'll look in
detail at Psalm 46. To the chief musician, a psalm
of the sons of Korah, a song for Alamoth, God is our refuge
and strength, a 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 most 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. Well, let us pray. Our Father,
we thank you for the Psalter. We thank you for the great instruction
concerning who our God is and what our God does. And may these
things encourage our weary hearts this morning. May you strengthen
us with might in the inner man, and may we glorify you through
perseverance and faithfulness. We think of the situation in
Eastern Europe, and our hearts go out to the people in Ukraine.
We know this is a very convoluted, difficult thing going on in that
part of the world, and we just pray for a cessation of war.
We pray for peace. We pray, God in heaven, that
you would be merciful. in this situation. Again, give
wisdom to those in high places politically and grant them the
ability to see things in a way that is most helpful. As well,
our Father, we see the various things going on again in our
own country. We just ask that you would give us grace and help
and strength, and whatever may come tomorrow, may we nevertheless
respond in a posture that is fitting for the people of God.
May we know that you are over all things and may we know that
you are sovereign in your dispensations. May we as well trust in you and
in your provision and in your comfort and in what you provide
to your saints. Forgive us now for our sins and
unrighteousness, settle our minds and hearts under the blessed
impression of this psalm and we pray that you would be glorified
as we consider who you are. And we ask in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, it's always hard or difficult
to pinpoint what was going on at the time that the psalmist
wrote a particular psalm. John Gill says with reference
to the composition of this one, it seems rather 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." And that's one
of the emphases or overarching concerns of the psalm, is that
everything around us is chaotic, and everything around us may
seem to be falling apart, and everything around us is a challenge. Nevertheless, God is in the midst
of His people. We are to rest in Him. We are
to acknowledge His sovereignty. As a Reformed church, we confess
the sovereignty of God. We love that doctrine. We considered
it a bit in our last hour. It does not depend upon him who
wills or upon him who runs, but on God who shows mercy. Romans
9, 16. God's sovereign and who he saves. We saw Ephesians 1-4, He chose
us in Him before the foundation of the world. Not because we
were holy and blameless, but that we might become holy and
blameless. As Gil says, election does not
find us in Christ, election puts us in Christ. or Paul's extolling
of the glory of God with reference to salvation in Romans chapter
8. But there are times when Reformed people, understanding sovereignty
when it comes to the salvation of individual sinners, forget
sovereignty when it comes to war. when it comes to pandemic,
when it comes to tyranny, when it comes to overreach on the
part of the government. We need to trust in God even
when everything around us argues otherwise. And that's the emphasis
in Psalm 46. The psalmist wants the people
of God in a time of tumult to find their solace or their refuge
or their comfort in God most high. And to that end, he sets
forth four things. First, he gives us an assurance
of God's presence. You see that in verses one and
seven and 11. Secondly, he underscores a demonstration
of God's power in verses two to six. Thirdly, he gives us
an invitation to consider God's works. Right? In the midst of
chaos, what do we need to do? We need to fill our hearts and
minds with what God does in the midst of chaos. And then fourthly
and finally, he has a command to rest in God's sovereignty.
Now, typically we take verse 10 as only appropriate for the
church. It's only a comforting text for
the people of God. I'll argue it functions in two
ways. It comforts the people of God, but it puts the nations
on standby. It is a command to the heathen. It is a command to the pagan.
It is an assurance of His sovereign power even over them. They need to be still. They need
to know that He is God and that He will in fact be exalted among
the nations and in the earth. So let's look first at the assurance
of God's presence. Notice, the Lord is our refuge
and our strength. That's how it starts off. God
is our refuge and our strength. He wants the people of God to
find their comfort and their consolation in the Lord. We're
not going to find stability in the midst of chaos in our own
unstable hearts. We're not going to find calm
and peace in our own wretched hearts. We need to look to God.
We need to find our solace in Him. Turn over for just a moment
to Jeremiah chapter 9, where God, through the prophet, tells
man what is most important. And I think the same sort of
thing is going on in Psalm 46. In Jeremiah 9 at verse 23, we
read, Thus says the Lord, 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 lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight, says the Lord. In other words, in
times of trouble, in times of safety, in times of peace, whatever
the time may be, your ultimate peace and confidence isn't going
to come from yourself. You must go outside of yourself.
You must cast the eye of faith upon the living and true God.
And notice the perfections that are indicated here. He exercises
loving kindness. That's a big one in the church
today. We all love the loving kindness of God. But notice it
goes on to say judgment or justice. The people of God rejoice in
the justice of God. The people of God rejoice in
the judgments of God. The people of God rejoice when
God repays with tribulation those who troubled them on earth. We
looked at several passages last Sunday. Revelation 19, after
the judgment of the great harlot and of the false prophet, there's
this fourfold hallelujah in heaven celebrating the justice of God.
You see in Revelation 6, those souls under the altar, crying
out for vengeance. How long, Lord God, until you
avenge our blood? And they are given that assurance
that the Lord Most High will act with reference to that particular
task. So the justice, the judgment,
and the righteousness and goodness of God are all perfections of
our God, and we extol Him for each and every one. So back to
Psalm 46. The Lord is our refuge and our
strength. This psalm, along with Psalms
47 and 48, are songs of triumph, and they're classified as the
songs of Zion. This is why it's good to sing
the Psalms, to get this in our minds, to get this in our hearts,
to get this in our lives, so that when troubles come, we have
recourse to the true and living God. So God is our refuge and
strength. And then notice, it says, He
is a very present help in trouble. The margin has an abundantly
available help. You know, when we are overcome
by distress or hardship or pain or suffering, who do we cry out
to? What's our first recourse? Do
we go first to God or do we go first to someone else? You know,
God will come to you after we've explored the doctors and after
we've gone to our spouses. It's not wrong to talk to people,
it's not wrong to get consultation, but our first recourse is into
God, or is with God himself, because he's a very present help
in trouble. The idea is as well, is that
he is well-proved. Again, 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 presently, speedily, and effectually. So I'm not sure we always trust
that experientially. We start to fall apart, we become
unraveled, throw a bit of tyranny at us, and we lose our minds.
Now, to be faithful to what's happening, it's our first bout
with tyranny, so I guess we have a bit of a learning curve there.
So it may be a bit of time for adjustment and that sort of thing.
But the point is, is don't lose sight of verse 1. God is our
refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, a well-proven,
a well-tried and proven God that is there for His saints. And
this is where familiarity with the Word of God as a whole is
most helpful. I mentioned Asaph, the psalms
ascribed to Asaph. Those psalms are of a melancholy
spirit. Those psalms are composed by
a man who is kind of a glass half-empty sort of a fellow.
Those psalms, he sees the sorrows and the hardships and the aches
and the pains of God's people while he sees what appears to
be the triumph of the wicked. It perplexed him. It vexed him. But in the absence of an immediate
imposition of God's power to destroy the enemies, he goes
back in redemptive history and he refreshes himself with reference
to the written word of the living and true God. That's where We
find God. That's where we know God. That's
where we learn of God. It is in the scriptures of both
the Old and the New Testaments. And these psalmists practiced
what they preached. And then notice, he emphasizes
God's presence among his people. in three verses. So verse one,
he is a very present help in trouble. You see it again at
verse seven, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob
is our refuge. And then again in verse 11, the
Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. If
I was going to give you a quiz and I asked the question, what
do you think the main emphasis in Psalm 46 is? Well, the Lord
of God is with us. He is our refuge. He is our shield.
He is our protector. He is our defender. Not just
in the good times. It's easy to see God in the midst
of His people in the good times. It's easy to praise God. at a
new job rate or at a raise in your job. It's easy to praise
God when your relationships are all going right along and going
quite well. It's easy to praise God when
your child makes a confession or a profession of faith. It's
not always the case when that child rejects the gospel, when
that child goes wayward, when that child wanders into the far
country. It's a bit more of a different
scenario. We as God's people can be fair
weather fans. We as God's people can praise
Him and show our gratitude to Him as long as things are going
well. But the moment things aren't
going well, then we say, well, you know, God, He's forgotten
about us or He just doesn't care. Perhaps He's busy. No, the emphasis
by the psalmist is that the Lord is with His people. The Lord
is with his people. What does Paul say in Romans
chapter 8? He says, there is nothing that can separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. There
is nothing that gets betwixt, to use an old Puritan word, God
and his people. Jesus teaches that in John 10.
There is nobody who can pluck you out of the hand of a sovereign
God. Again, we rejoice in that salvificly,
but we need to rejoice in that temporally, practically. It is
the case that whatever life throws at us, whatever agency throws
something at us, God is not thrown off His throne. God is not thrown
off His game. God is always there in the midst
of His people. Spurgeon again says that this
is the reason for all Zion's security and 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. Brethren, that's the way
we need to think about life in this present world. You see the
divine warrior come to Joshua's aid during a southern campaign.
In the book of Joshua, they go in to conquer the land. You see
this coalition of Amorite kings gathering together to resist
God's people. Do they get shaken? Do they get
routed? Do they get taken unawares? No,
God fights for them. God sends hailstones to destroy
and decimate them. Judges chapter 7 is a very intriguing
study in the sovereign power of God in the temporal sphere.
Again, we all know that God changes the heart. We all know that God
grants the graces of faith and repentance such that sinners
can close with Him. But do we all rejoice in God's
intervention at the time of the Midianite incursion among the
people of God in Israel? You've got Gideon leading the
armies. You've got Gideon with a very tiny army. And then you've
got this, again, a big coalition of Midianite and I think Amorite
warriors at that particular time. You know what God does? God so
confounds the enemy that they take out their swords and they
kill each other. They turn against one another
and they decimate their own armies via His intervention. And the
people of God rejoice in that, not because they're bloodthirsty,
crazed sadists, but because God Most High vindicates His bride. God Most High is our present
aid. God Most High is in the midst
of the chaos, and God Most High delivers his people. You've got
David in the Valley of Elah, and David bests that Philistine
giant by falling him with a stone, one smooth stone, puts it in
the forehead of that man and knocks him dead, and then takes
the sword from him and cuts his head off. Well, why does he do
that? He does that in light of the promise of Genesis 3.15.
It was typical. It was pointing forward to what
Christ would ultimately do to the devil. But it was so that
all the earth may know that there's a God in Israel. And so that
the Israelites themselves would know they can trust this God.
They don't have to cower in fear behind Saul's skirts. while Goliath
is out there taunting them. Remember, the first recorded
words of David is when he comes out and he says, who is this
Philistine taunting the armies, this uncircumcised Philistine
taunting the armies of the living God? For David, he's like, what
is happening here? Saul and his armies are afraid. You're cowering in fear. David
comes from having dealt with animals and protecting the sheep.
And he says, I'm ready to do this. Not because I'm great,
but because God is great. That's the emphasis we find in
scripture. He is the Lord of hosts, which
underscores that he's the divine warrior. But then it tells us
he is the God of Jacob that is our refuge. That shows us covenantal
fidelity. It shows his veracity, his truthfulness,
his commitment to his people. He's both divine warrior and
He is a present Savior and aid for all those who find their
refuge in Him. Now notice, secondly, the demonstration
of God's power. Note verse 2. It's an implication.
It's an implication of verse 1. God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Notice verse 2. Therefore, we
will not fear. You see that connection? Because
God is what he just said he is, therefore, it should affect us
in this particular way. We're not supposed to fear. We're
not supposed to tremble. We're not supposed to conduct
ourselves the way Saul and his armies did in the threat of this
Philistine giant. We're not supposed to be afraid.
Now, brethren, again, the unknown and the mystery and the, again,
curve balls, the seizure of bank accounts. I mean, that's not
happy news, is it? So there is that sense where
there's a bit of trepidation, but if we understand what verse
1 asserts, then verse 2 should naturally follow. It is a just
and necessary consequence from the statement that God is our
refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, he
says, we will not fear. And then he highlights this contrast. He shows the chaos on earth,
and then he shows us the peace of Zion. Notice the chaos on
earth. Now there are commentators and
they try to explain the rivers and all of the tumults and all
that sort of thing. But again, I think the big picture
is contrast. You've got the chaos of the world
and then you've got the calm dignity of God's throne room. That's the contrast that the
psalmist is setting forth. Notice the chaos on earth, verses
2, 3, and 6. There is disturbances in the
natural order. Notice in verse 2, 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. Boy, I'd love to take everybody
committed to green energy, everybody committed to climate change,
everybody committed to the worship of the creature rather than the
Creator, and point them to the Creator. Should the earth itself
dissolve, it does not affect God. Should the earth implode,
it doesn't dethrone God. Should the earth find itself
in a nightmarish mess, unfortunately at times led by persons, nevertheless,
God is in control. So he points to the natural phenomena
to underscore that implication. Therefore, we will not fear,
even though the earth be removed, even though the mountains be
carried into the midst of the sea, even though its waters roar
and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Remember
Jesus walking on the waves, walking on the water. He says that very
thing, Lord, save us, we are perishing. The one who has the
ability to walk on the water is the one who has the ability
to preserve his disciples in the midst of the storm. He is
the ruler over the waves. And as a result, he is worthy
of our trust, worthy of our adoration, worthy of our confidence, worthy
of our refuge. So he says that though this phenomenon
may occur, that we will still not fear. But then notice with
reference to the nations, look at verse six. It says, the nations
raged, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice, the earth
melted. This is still connected to the
implication of verse two. God is our refuge and strength,
the very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear.
Verse six, the nations raged, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered
his voice, the earth melted. See again, brethren, it may not
happen tomorrow. It may not happen next week,
not a prophet or the son of a prophet, and I certainly wouldn't try
to get in the minds of the people that are making decisions, but
there might not be immediate vindication. There might not
be immediate deliverance. There might be a season and a
period where we know experientially what Paul says in 2 Timothy 3.
All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. And obviously, that's one of
the assumptions in this psalm, isn't it? The psalmist isn't
treating some Pollyanna sort of world where everything is
just roses and bluebirds and milk and honey. He is dealing
with calamity. He is dealing with pressure.
He is dealing with hardship. Our Lord makes the same acknowledgment
in John's Gospel. He said, in this world you will
have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the
world. Remember Paul's preaching on the way back to Antioch after
that first missionary journey. He gets stoned outside of Derbe. That means they took rocks and
threw them at him. I know stoned has a different
connotation in the 21st century. But in that context, they stoned
him to within inches of his life. So much so that persons thought
he was dead, and they left him for dead. But Paul gets up, and
the next day he goes about 50 miles to preach the gospel some
more. And one of the texts that he preaches is, through many
tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. They didn't have
to raise their hand and have a question time. Paul, what do
you mean by that? He had just been stoned. He says
in Galatians 6, from now on, let nobody trouble me, for I
bear in my body the brand marks of Jesus. See, the whip and the
stone leave scars. It leaves the obvious evidence
that one has met with some sort of a challenge. And nevertheless,
Paul is able to say that through many tribulations, we must enter
the kingdom of heaven. So back to Psalm 46, it's not
just the natural phenomena, it's not just the tumults, it's not
just the earthquakes, it's not just the fires, it's not just
the flooding, but it's the people. Sometimes you're probably inclined
to think with me, life would be a whole lot better if nobody
was in the world. I mean, we'd have beauty and
joy and happiness. It's man that typically mars
it and messes it up. But he doesn't just stop with
the natural phenomena, he shines the light upon the nations. Verse
6, the nations raged, the kingdoms were moved, he uttered his voice
and the earth melted. There is this definitive contrast
between what we see in terms of chaos in the world and what
we see in terms of dignity and calm in the throne room of God.
And that peace of Zion is described there in verses 4 to 6. Notice,
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 unmoved. He uttered His voice, the earth
melted. You've got this natural phenomena that's not always sort
of accommodating to human habitation. But then you've got the nations
raging one with another, wars and rumors of wars and those
sorts of things. But does this shake God? Does
this dethrone God? Does this remove God? Does God
somehow think, oh, I've lost control over this. I need to
regain control. Everything that happens is as
a result of God's decree. It is the fact that he has decreed
whatsoever comes to pass according to his own purposes and for his
own glory. And the psalmist is filled with
that mindset in terms of God's providence, and he sets it forth
here. But it's not just here. Look
at Psalm 48. Look at verses 1 to 3. Great is the Lord and greatly
to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain,
beautiful in elevation. The joy of the whole earth is
Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great
king. God is in her palaces. He is known as her refuge. So
there the psalmist again portrays the calm dignity of God's throne
room. There's no contrast at that particular
point in terms of the chaos on earth. Go to Psalm 2 to see something
of that. Psalm 2, you see the mutinous
rage of man who do not want God and His Christ to rule over them.
Notice in Psalm 2 verse 1, why do the nations rage and the people
plot a vain thing? Good question, isn't it? Why
do they do that? Don't you know that God is God?
Have you ever had a kid where you wanted to kind of assert
that authority? Why are you doing this? You know
that I have authority in this particular venture, don't you?
You know that most likely I'm going to win this exchange, don't
you? I mean, after all, there's a
fifth commandment to provide the context for that, and there
is the the emphasis of the Apostle Paul, children obey your parents
and the Lord. So you see your children doing things and at
times you're just perplexed and puzzled and you wonder, why do
they do that? That's kind of the mindset of David. Why do
the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? You do know
that that's an exercise in folly. You're not actually going to
win. You're not actually going to be successful. You're not
actually going to throw off the fetters of Yahweh and His Christ.
You're on a fool's errand. So he says, why do the nations
rage, and the people plot a vain thing? He describes their conduct. The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against
His anointed, saying, Let us break their bonds and pieces,
and cast away their cords from us. It's pretty horrific scene,
isn't it? They're all standing there raising
their fists at Yahweh and his Christ saying, we will not have
this one to rule over us. Boy, if there was no rest of
Psalm 2, we might be pretty perplexed and pretty sad at this point.
But notice verse four, he who sits in the heavens shall laugh.
The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then he shall speak to them in
his wrath and distress them in his deep displeasure. Yet I have
set my king on my holy hill of Zion. See, while the nations
rage and the peoples plot a vain thing, Yahweh doesn't say, uh-oh,
this has spun out of control pretty quickly. No, He sits in
the heavens and He laughs. He holds them in derision. He
will speak to them in His wrath, and the means by which He deals
with them is the appointment of His Son as the mediator to
both save and to damn, to both save and to judge, to both save
and to destroy. Notice the Messiah speaks in
verse seven, I will declare the decree. The Lord has said to
me, you are my son, today I begotten you. Ask of me and I will give
you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for
your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, you
shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. You see what
the contrast is? The rage and the mutiny of the
nations, and then Yahweh holds them in derision. Yahweh appoints
His Son, the Lord Jesus, to conduct a ministry of salvation and a
ministry of judgment. You see how God responds to this. And think Great Commission. Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Why do you
think Jesus says that? Because the Father has given
him control and sovereignty over the nations. Verse 8, ask of
me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the
ends of the earth for your possession. So David contemplating this,
David reflecting upon this, it now leads David to the practical
application. Not to Israelites. but to those
kings and judges that surround the nation. Verse 10, Now therefore,
be wise, O kings, be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve
the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, when his wrath is
kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put
their trust in him. So back to Psalm 46. The obvious
contrast is between chaos on earth Just the natural phenomena,
the tumults of the nature around us, but the rage of the nations.
But that doesn't shake God. That doesn't strip God of His
authority or sovereignty. That does not cause God to bite
His fingernails and wonder what His next move is. And so the
psalmist wants us to focus on that. The psalmist wants us to
understand that. You see the same sort of progression
in Revelation 2-5. In Revelation 2 and 3, John is
told to write to the churches of Asia Minor. And each of these
seven churches have challenges. Each of these seven churches
are being targeted by the civil state, by false religionists,
and at times by internal threat, persons within doing foolish
things. And then the scene shifts. We
come out of Revelation 2 and 3 with the chaos on earth to
the calm dignity of the throne room in Revelation 4 and 5. What's
the emphasis? While all this happens down here,
it doesn't shake up there. And while there is this chaos
and tumult that you are currently embroiled in, you've got divine
aid. You've got the Lord God of hosts
with you. You've got the God of Jacob as
your refuge. You don't have to fret and fear
and worry. You can actually live in light
of verse 2 in Psalm 46. Therefore, we will not fear.
One commentator on the book of Revelation says, when God's people
are beset by temptation or persecution, a revelation of God's character
and glory is the best remedy. Here's the point of the sermon,
okay? You need to know God. You need to understand God. You need to see God. The church
today is choking on practicality. The church today is choking on
10 principles for how to raise your kids. I'm not necessarily
saying that it's wrong to have ten principles to raise your
kids. But when we do that to the neglect
of what Jesus says is eternal life in John 17 3, then we have
missed the boat. We need to know God. We need
to know Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We need to know His perfections,
His authority, His glory, His power, His majesty, His omnipotence,
His sovereignty. Those are things that encourage
the people of God. That's the point of this Psalm.
That's the point of Psalm 2. That's the point of the trajectory
in Revelation 2-5. You need to focus on the one
who has absolute and unrivaled authority. Don't fret. Don't fear. Don't tremble. Don't
be paralyzed. Don't be so afraid to ever go
out with reference to our God. Your God has you in the palm
of his hand, every step of the way, every moment of every day. That's why he's able to say,
therefore, we will not fear. Back to Poythras. He says, when
God's people are beset by temptation or persecution, a revelation
of God's character and glory is the best remedy. His power
guarantees the final victory. His justice guarantees vindication
of the right. And His goodness and magnificence
guarantee blessing and comfort. The blood of the Lamb demonstrates
that a solid redemption has already been accomplished. Even in the
midst of trials and persecution, God is still the ruler. He controls everything. That's
the point. The same thing is seen later
in Revelation 13 and 14. If you're a prophecy buff, you'll
know Revelation 13. It's the passage about the beast. There's actually two beasts.
One comes from the sea and one comes from the land. I take it
as one being a political enemy of the church and the other being
a religious enemy of the church. But the way that the seer composes
his narrative, the beast is a pretty beastly character. Pretty scary,
pretty much has a lot of people following after him. The world
will follow after him. You know what John then moves
to the land on Mount Zion with his fair army. What's his point? His point is that if you only
look at the beastly conduct of civil religious leaders, if you
only look at the misery and the pain and the destruction, and
you never look Godward, you're going to fear. You're going to
be filled by and ruled by trepidation. You're going to be afraid of
your own shadow. You've got to get a Godward perspective
in the midst of the chaos. If you do not, I'm not suggesting
you're gonna lose your salvation, or you were never saved to begin
with, but the people that know their God engage in great exploits
for Him. The people who know their God
walk confidently. What does the psalmist say in
23? though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil." What a blessed declaration. Why is that? Because
thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Notice
that the psalmist doesn't say there's no valley of the shadow
of death for God's people. Notice that he doesn't say Benny
Hinn and Kenneth Copeland are right. All it is is health, wealth,
and prosperity. He acknowledges the valley of
the shadow of death. But he also expresses his faith,
yea though I walk through it. The people of God never ever
believe they're gonna be done in by that valley of death. They
know it is a portal, they know it is a passageway, and they
know that on the other side is a blessed Christ to receive them
into glory. Remember the stoning martyrdom
of Stephen. Stephen is filled with the Spirit. He gazes into the heavens and
he sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand. Now the book of Hebrews emphasizes
that after the priestly work of our Lord Jesus, he sat down.
See, the Levitical priests, when they went in, they did their
thing on the Day of Atonement, and then they got out. They didn't
sit down. They didn't hang out. They were
in the Holy of Holies for a specified amount of time. They did what
they were supposed to do, and they got out. They wouldn't have
sat down in the Holy of Holies. They wouldn't have put their
feet up and had a coffee. That just wouldn't have happened.
So in Hebrews, it emphasizes the fact that Jesus, the high
priest, sits down. Why? To underscore that his work
is completed. To underscore that the work of
atonement has been wrought and that now it is applied to his
people. So why is he standing at the
right hand of the glory of God in Stephen's vision? Well, I
think there's two responses there. In the first place, he is showing
that he is actually the judge. Remember, Stephen is under the
scrutiny of the Sanhedrin, the highest religious and political
court in Israel at that time. So they are judging Stephen.
Jesus' standing is showing that he's presiding and that he is
actually the judge over this particular affair. But it's also
a great encouragement for Stephen, because he's standing there ready
to receive this man when he breathes his last, when he falls asleep. It's the most blessed word used
for Stephen after he's been brutally bashed by stones to death. It
tells us, or Luke tells us, that he slept. That's because Christ
received him. See, brethren, when you understand
who God is, when you know His perfections, when you know His
names, when you get the triunity of God down, when you get those
things, there is a world of comfort in that for the heart that is
tried. And that's the psalmist's point.
Notice thirdly, he gives us an invitation to consider God's
works. This is what I meant earlier. There might not be immediate
delivery. There might not be an immediate imposition of power
from on high. Look at the children of Israel.
They were in bondage for a long time, right? They had the promises
in Abraham, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. God
says to Abraham, I'm going to give you this land. It's going
to be a beautiful land. It's going to flow with milk
and honey. It's going to be filled with all the good things that
everybody would want. It took 400 years for that promise
to be fulfilled. It took several generations for
that promise to come to fruition. So how do the people of God encourage
their own hearts in the midst of what appears, it's not, but
what appears to be silence with reference to heaven? Asaph again
is a good guide. So are the sons of Korah. Now
David is the one responsible for the entirety of the Psalter.
So if I say David That's what I mean. If he didn't write it
himself, he made sure it was consistent with his theology.
But notice what he says in verses 8 and 9. 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. So you see, in the absence of
an immediate imposition of divine power from on high, where does
the saint go? Does he go to the hospital? Does he go to an inner room and
just wait it out? He goes to his Bible, he reads
the Exodus and sees how God vindicates his people and delivers them
with his mighty right arm. He studies and sees the frogs
and the livestock and he sees the boils and he sees the various
things that God did do to the Egyptians to free Israel from
that bondage. He goes on into Samuel and he
sees the exploits of David. David is anointed king in 1 Samuel
chapter 16. And then the real trouble begins
for David. As soon as the spirit comes upon
David, his life becomes very difficult. When he's out dealing
in the wilderness, protecting his sheep, yeah, he's got to
deal with lions and bears. But you know, men at times are
worse than lions and bears. Lions and bears kill you instinctually. Lions and bears just want to
eat. It's men who despise you. It's men who loathe you. It's
men who hate you. David is hunted by Saul. David
is confronted with Philistines. David has to flee more times
than not. So what do we do in the absence
of divine imposition from on high? We read about David. We
go to the psalter, we read the book of Acts, we see how the
church dealt with persecution, we see how they prayed to God
in the midst of those particular hardships. That's what steadies
the soul. Why? Because this book leads
us to an understanding of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without
which we will fear, without which we will be paralyzed, without
which we won't obey what God says through Paul in Philippians. You know what our job right now
is? Our job right now, in the midst of chaos, tumult, hardship,
affliction, oppression, persecution, whatever it is anybody ever throws
at us, we're to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation,
and we're to hold forth the word of truth. were to do what the
psalmist does in verse 8. Notice, come, behold the works
of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth. He is inviting
people to consider who God is. Were to shine his lights in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation, holding forth the
word of truth. Why? So we can tell sinners to
look at God. So we can tell sinners to understand
themselves before a holy God. And we can tell sinners of the
provision of God in the gospel of his son and salvation by grace
through faith in our Lord Jesus. That's our job. That doesn't
change. That's the task. Now remember,
in Philippi, that was the Roman Empire, and it was probably the
early 60s that Paul wrote Philippians, and the early 60s is when Nero
starts to wig out. Nero wasn't so bad when Paul
writes Romans in 55, but by the time the 60s come, Nero's a nut. He is certifiably a nut. John Fox referred to him as a
beast. Do you know that Nero would burn
Christians as human lanterns or lanterns for his garden parties?
Nero had sick fascinations with a whole lot of things. But in
the midst of that, Paul doesn't say, okay, now everybody head
out of Philippi. Everybody leave the empire. I said last night,
if you're inclined to leave Canada, If you're inclined to go to Montana
or what's the other one, New Mexico, offering asylum to Canadians
at that time, that's between you and God. That is absolutely
positively between you and the Lord Most High. Scripture doesn't
tell you you have to live in Canada or you have to live in
British Columbia. That's between you and God. But
what Paul does not say is you can have freedom to just bail. No, he says, wherever you are
in the midst of the trial, in the midst of the travail, shine
as lights. If you go to Montana or you go
to New Mexico, they got sin there too, brethren. They got sinners
and sin and a whole bunch of stuff too. And, you know, depending
on election cycles and who happens to be in charge at that time.
I mean, when he's talking about Florida, hey, I hope Heavy D
makes it and I hope he doesn't die. And I hope that whoever
replaces him is of the same caliber, but we have no guarantee. So
wherever you might end up, there's still going to be tumult. There's
still going to be trial. There's still affliction. This
world is a world that is cursed with sin. And as a result, there's
sin in the world. But the task of the Christian
is to imitate the psalmist and say, come, behold the works of
the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth. Spurgeon says,
the joyful citizens of Jerusalem 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 hath 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." You know what he's
saying? Read your Bible. Understand the truth. In the
midst of affliction, God is there. Remember Daniel in the lion's
den? We know that wasn't the lion's
den. That was the angel's den. Daniel was a man of God. God
was purposing to save him. There was no fret. There was
no fear. Daniel wasn't, you know, freaking
out and they had to throw him in there. I could see me, you
know, trying to grab onto the threshold. I don't want to go,
right? That's not Daniel. Daniel understands
that God will provide. In fact, turn to Daniel 3. Even
if God doesn't provide immediately, even if there is no divine imposition,
we as God's people still need to live in light of who God is. Daniel 3 specifically. This is with reference to the
fiery furnace. And notice in verse 16, well,
back up just a bit, verse 15. Now, if you are ready at the
time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and
psaltery in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall
down and worship the image which I have made, good. But if you
do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst
of a burning, fiery furnace. And who is the God who will deliver
you from my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no
need to answer you in this matter. Really? You're not duty-bound
at every single moment of every single day to give an account
to your government? No, you're just not. We have
no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case,
our God whom we serve, notice, is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand,
O King. Now notice the next phrase. But
if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve
your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have
set up. We have confidence of his ability to deliver us. We
have confidence that he will ultimately deliver us from your
hand, king. We're not going to live eternally
under the subjugation of Nebuchadnezzar. We know there's an end date in
sight with reference to that. But even if God does not deliver
us from this particular threat, We're not going to betray God.
We're not going to bow down to an idol. We're going to remain
steadfast and faithful because that's what God calls us to.
See, it's not contingent upon the circumstances. Well, you
know, if God vindicates me, if he delivers me from this, then
I will go out and serve him and worship him and shine as a light.
No, we do that regardless. We do that because he has saved
us and called us into a particular life. Now back to Psalm 46, and
the final observation is the command to rest in God's sovereignty.
As I mentioned earlier, this is twofold. It addresses the
people of God, and there's certainly a world of comfort in this statement
in verse 10, Be still and know that I am God. Isn't that great? Be still and know that I am God.
Not fret, fear, tremble, have your knees shake, hide away,
don't ever come out, don't ever do anything. No, no. He says,
be still and know I am God. Know this, have it settled in
your mind and your heart. Understand that even though the
nations rage and even though the rivers swell, even though
there's problems here on earth, be still and know that I am God. But it's not just to God's people,
it's to the enemies of God. It is a warning for them. J.A. Alexander says, these words are
addressed to the discomfited foes of Jehovah and his people.
Cease from your vain attacks upon my people. Learn from what
you have already seen and felt that their protector is divine
and that he has resolved to be acknowledged as supreme, not
only by his chosen people, but by all the nations and throughout
the earth. Now, I guess I could best illustrate
this by way of a creaturely analogy. Have you ever been so exasperated
and so frustrated as a parent that you've raised your voice
and said something like, be quiet? I think back to a time many,
many years ago on Banford Road. I'm not proud of that moment,
but I actually stopped the van and yelled, quiet. We had one
child that, for whatever reason, was in a particular phase. You
would tell that child something, and he would first say, what?
And then answer. Now, it sounds small, and it
is small. And again, I'm not proud of this
moment, but it was all the time. You tell him something, what?
And then he answers. So you know he heard you. Why
the what? So on the way to school, Bamford
Road stopped the van and probably yelled something like, be quiet.
Now, that's a creaturely analogy. God doesn't get vexed. He doesn't
get exasperated. He doesn't stop the van. But
this is kind of the vein in which it's addressed. Be quiet. Shut your mouth. Be still, God
says to his enemies, and know that I am God. Your idols are
fake. They are vanity of vanities.
There is but one only, the living and true God, who exists eternally
as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And that God not only addresses
his church to comfort and encourage them, but he threatens his enemies. He tells them, be still and know
that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.
Same thing as Psalm 2. Why did the nations rage? You're
not gonna win. You're always gonna lose. It's
a fool's errand to try to pit yourself against the living and
the true God. So this be still and know that
I am God serves to comfort and encourage his people, but it
serves as a threatened warning to the enemies of his people.
Their time is short. Their time will cease. Go back
for just a moment in the Psalm to verse 9. He makes war cease
to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the
spear in two. He burned the chariot in the
fire. Never forget somebody held that bow. Somebody wielded that
spear. Somebody was riding that chariot. It's not just the instruments
of war that God destroys, but it's the warriors themselves.
And so he issues this command to the nations around Israel
to be still, to be quiet, to shut their mouths, to understand
that he is God and there is no other, and that this exaltation
will be evident. It's not now, we don't see it
as we will, but there are many a promise in the Old Testament
and new that the knowledge of Yahweh will cover the earth as
the waters cover the sea. And that is to serve as a warning
to the enemies of God most high." And when he says, be still, that
means composure and encouragement and comfort, and then knowledge.
We need to know that God is God. We need to grow in the grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for
that comfort. And for the enemies, we point
them to verse 9. We point them to Exodus. We point
them to God's dealings with His enemies at the time of the plagues.
We point them to the new covenant expression of God's faithfulness
to His disciples in the midst of great suffering. Well, in
conclusion, a few thoughts and then we go. First, the presence
of trouble in the life of the believer. We're not immune. We're
not immune. I mean, I think probably everybody
I think I ever knew got Omicron. I guess that's what it was in
December or January. Hopefully we all have the antibodies
and we're now immune from COVID-19. But with reference to trouble
in the Christian life, we're not immune. There's always going
to be issues. Again, you live in a sin-cursed world. You have
remaining corruption. I have remaining corruption.
We bump into each other. Our relationships are affected.
One of the reasons why Paul writes 1 Timothy chapter 5, it's so
that people in the church can know how they ought to relate
to one another. Because it's not intuitive. We're sinners.
We spend our lives living in such a way as to serve our own
flesh and our own lusts. God saves us. He justifies us
freely by His grace. And then He throws us together.
There are certain rules on how we're supposed to function, one
with another. Sometimes we don't always keep those rules. Sometimes
we wreck relationships. Sometimes we engage in remaining
corruption in such a way that it jeopardizes our status in
life. So there's always going to be
challenges. There's trials from within. There's trials from without. If it were just the Philistines
that we had to deal with, if it were just the exterior enemies
of the church that we had to deal with, that'd be one thing.
But you have a 1st Timothy chapter 6 verses 3 to 10. You've got
false teachers. You've got men inside the professing
church who have an acknowledgment that God is who he is, but they
have no power of godliness. They haven't appropriated it
for themselves. So we have both external and internal enemies
vying for our hearts. Of course there's going to be
trial in the lives of God's people. Secondly, the knowledge of God
in the experience of the believer is crucial. It is absolutely
positively crucial. You know what? We all need to
hear on a regular basis, we all need to hear what our Bible teaches
about who God is. Again, the 10 principles for
raising happy, healthy kids, great. You know, five principles
on how to love your wife, six principles on wives submitting
to your own husbands. I don't know why there was an
extra one in there, sorry. But this practicality that we're
all craving, and no theology, no God. We're trying to have
the joy of an apple tree by tying apples to an orange tree. If
we don't know God, if we don't understand God, if we don't have
that Jeremiah 9 experience of God, then all of the principles
and all the things we get into, they're not gonna avail us when
there's calamity, when there's hardship, when there's collapse
in society. Thirdly, we need to understand
the comfort we possess on our pilgrimage as believers. Verses
1 and 7 and 11. God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. We need to understand that comfort.
and that encouragement that it provides to us in this lower
world. We just sang, 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. That's so great we had to actually
sing it again. I'll never, no never, no never
forsake. Brethren, that's our God. And
that's not made up in a fit of fancy by a psalmist who wanted
to try and impress the people of God. Deuteronomy chapter one,
the children of Israel looked at the wilderness as if it was
a curse. God says the wilderness was a blessing. The wilderness
is where I carried you. They only whined and grumbled
about it. Deuteronomy 1, 29. Then I said to you, 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 in all the way that you
went until you came to this place. He's readying, he's preparing,
he's getting them fit for the conquest. And what does he do? He points back to the Exodus.
As God delivered them then, so God will bless them when they
go into the land to dispossess the land of all of the Canaanites.
That's the emphasis. Isaiah 41.10, 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. I mentioned earlier,
Jesus says in the world or in this world, you will have tribulation.
But he doesn't stop there. He says, but be of good cheer,
for I have overcome the world. Brethren, we have comfort in
the pilgrimage from our God, who is a present aid and a ready
help to be with his people. And finally, brethren, the comfort
for the believer in terms of be still and know that I am God,
and the warning for the unbeliever, be still and know that I am God,
contains within it a promise of great blessing in terms of
the missionary enterprise. I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the earth. We do our job, we seek to be
faithful, we preach the word, we shine as lights in a crooked
and perverse generation, we hold forth that word of truth, but
we have a confident expectation of the blessing of God. We saw
it in Revelation chapter 5, that one who had been a lamb slain
from before the foundation of the world. He takes that scroll,
he's able to open up or loose the seals of that scroll, and
then he's extolled as the one who saves from every tribe, tongue,
people, and nation. We have a great promise, an encouraging
word here. Spurgeon says, I will be exalted
among the heathen. They forget God, they worship
idols, but Jehovah will yet be honored by them. Reader, the
prospects of missions are bright, bright as the promises of God.
Let no man's faith fail him. The solemn declarations of this
verse must be fulfilled. I will be exalted in the earth
among all people, whatever may have been their wickedness or
their degradation. Either by terror or love, God will subdue
all hearts to himself. The whole round earth shall yet
reflect the light of his majesty. All the more because of the sin
and obstinance and pride of man shall God be glorified when grace
reigns unto eternal life in all corners of the world. With that
prospect, with that encouragement, with that mindset, the church
should be about missions and evangelism and church planting
and the propagation of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. the blessed reality that Christ
was delivered up because of our offenses, but he was raised for
our justification. In the midst of calamity, what
do you think people need to hear? They need to hear this word.
In the midst of trial, what do you think people need to hear?
In the midst of hardship and woe and uncertainty, what do
you think people need to hear? They need the gospel of the blessed
God. They need the gospel concerning
the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And if you are
here this morning and you are not a believer, you have no warrant
to be still and to rest in God, to find that comfort afforded
to you by God. The first order of business is
to believe on Jesus. The first order of business is
to look unto Him and live. It is faith and repentance. It
is look to Christ alone for salvation, and then you enjoy the promise
to be still and know that God is God. Well, let us pray. Our
Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for
this comforting psalm and encouragement to our hearts in a discouraging
age. And we pray that you would bless
each and every one in this local church with that knowledge of
who you are, that we would find great joy in searching the scriptures
and learning of our God, learning of you as the divine warrior
battling for the nation of Israel, vindicating and protecting your
bride, the church, and the New Testament. And as well, may we
see you as that covenantally faithful God to his people. And
Lord, we ask for your blessing and protection upon this church,
upon all the families here, and for us as individuals. And we
pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, you can take
your hymn books and turn to 568. 568, we'll sing the doxology
in praise to our triune God. ♪ Praise His throne ♪ ♪ Praise
Him, all creatures in the earth ♪ ♪ Praise Him, our God in heavenly host ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ you Bless you and keep you. The Lord
make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord
lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. God,
may this be true for each of us and may you be glorified in
our church. May you be glorified on this
Lord's day and bring us back together tonight that we may
worship you publicly and corporately together. And we ask for your
blessing upon the nations of the earth. We ask for your blessing
upon the gospel preached that it would run swiftly and be glorified.
And we pray in Jesus name, amen. You may be seated for a brief
time of meditation.
