Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to the Psalm 46. Psalm 46. Psalm 46, I'll read beginning in verse one, and then we'll pray, and then we'll look at this psalm in some detail. So beginning in verse one, 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 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. 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.

Opening Prayer

Well, let us pray. Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the Psalms and the beautiful things that they express concerning our great God. We pray now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gave us this word, that he would guide us and direct our minds now as we contemplate the majesty of God most high over all things.

In the midst of the good and in the midst of the difficult and the hardships that the people of God undergo, in this present evil age. We pray that you would forgive us for all of our sins and unrighteousness, that you would help us to take the lesson from this psalm, that we would focus upon our God, that we would find that to be stabilizing and steadying in the midst of chaos in this present world. We ask that you would be glorified, that you would be praised, that you would look with favor upon this, your church, that you would bless all of the people of God and cause them to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And as well, God, we pray for any and all that are dead in their trespasses and sins, that you would awaken them, that you would make them alive by the power of your Holy Spirit, that you would bring them forth out of darkness into marvelous light to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

And we pray in his most blessed name. Amen.

Introduction

Well, this is a very familiar psalm. I know that I've preached on it a few times in the life of our church. It's difficult to know with any certainty when David or when the sons of Korah composed this particular song. There are some that give us some indication of the historical circumstances, but ultimately we know that whether they are historically applied, they all find their terminus in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus is the subject matter of the entirety of the book of Psalms. The Lord Jesus is the focus. But with reference to this one, John Gill makes this observation. He surveys several options in terms of the historical occurrence, and then he says, but 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." So the psalm speaks comfort to God's people in discomfortable times.

The psalm speaks encouragement to those who are perhaps discouraged and distressed by the circumstances that they face in this present evil age. Matthew Henry comments concerning Martin Luther. He said, it is said of Luther that when he heard any discouraging news, he would say, let us sing the 46th Psalm. I think that is good counsel on the part of that German reformer.

This is a passage that you would do well to hide in your heart so that when those difficulties come, you have the fortification that God's Word affords. Well,

Assurance of God's Presence

I want to look first at the assurance of God's presence. You see that in verses 1, 7, and 11. Secondly, the demonstration of God's power in verses 2 to 6. Third, the invitation to consider God's works in verses 8 and 9.

And then finally, the command to rest in God's sovereignty in verse 10. But let's look first at the assurance of God's presence. You see it thrice. Notice in verse 1, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Verse 7, 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. And one of the things to observe is that the conditions or the circumstances that the people of God face do not determine whether or not God is present. In other words, I think for us, or for the most of us, we think that as long as things are going well, as long as work is fine, as long as family has some degree of stability, as long as my sort of external relations are all in place, it's very easy to judge that God is with us.

It's when the opposite occurs that we then might conclude or infer that God is not with us. When things are troublesome at work or in home or in society, we might be inclined to conclude that God is not there among us. And as the psalmist sets this truth forth, he highlights a few things concerning the assurance of God's presence.

The Nature of Our Lord

Notice in the first place the nature of our Lord. Verse 1, God is our refuge and strength. This is sort of a maxim or an axiom. The passage begins, or the psalm begins with this.

This is a settled reality in the hearts of God's people. Whatever this external world may indicate, this cannot change. The Lord is our refuge and our strength. He is an impenetrable refuge, and He possesses omnipotent strength for His people.

And as we see this particular statement, God is our refuge and strength, this ought not to shock us, who are in a confessional church. We make much of confessing, confessing our faith with reference to God. And this is something of a confession here in Psalm 46. He begins with the doctrine of theology proper.

Your life can have difficulties. Your life can have afflictions. Your life can be marked by suffering, but this thing cannot change the reality that God is our refuge and that God is our strength. The Proverbs tell us that the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe.

So He is the refuge for His people and He possesses omnipotent strength in order to defend them and in order to watch over them. So after this statement concerning the nature of our Lord, God is our refuge and strength, Notice

The Faithfulness of Our Lord

he then indicates the faithfulness of our Lord there in 1B, a very present help in trouble. I'm not just making this up tonight that there are difficulties in the Christian life. It's not just sort of a weird bent that I have to try to communicate to people to perhaps dissuade you from following our blessed God. It's the reality, and the Bible sets forth that reality.

The Bible does not say, well, you know, come to Jesus and everything will only ever be great. It'll only ever be great in terms of the spiritual, but with reference to the service of Christ, sometimes difficulties ensue. Remember King David of Israel, while he was a shepherd, yeah, he had to fight lions and bears, not to sort of minimize that, but it wasn't until the Spirit of God came upon him that he was then hunted by Saul, and then he was hunted or opposed by the Philistines. So the presence of the Spirit of God in the life of God's people does not mean the absence of any affliction.

It does not mean the absence of any hardship. The same with our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember after he goes into the waters of baptism, John the Baptist tries to forbid it. Jesus says, permit it.

We need to fulfill all righteousness. Christ goes into the waters of baptism. The voice of the father cries, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The spirit in the form of a dove descends upon the blessed savior.

What then happens after that glorious scene? The spirit drives our savior out into the wilderness so that he might be tempted by the devil for the period of 40 days. So it is a mistake. It is a problematic view with reference to God and His Word and His salvation that would seek to minimize the difficulty of the Christian life.

So the psalmist presupposes that. The psalmist assumes that. The psalmist knows this to be the case. So God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

And isn't that a wonderful sort of a statement to put together? Once again, we don't need to be reminded that God is our refuge and strength when everything's going well. We need to be reminded that God is our refuge and strength when everything's not going well. We need to be reminded that he's a very present help in trouble.

As we survey the scriptures, we'll notice again that suffering and affliction and hardship and difficulty is not unique to one particular era of the Christian church. Remember Job. Job essentially lost everything. And Job makes this statement.

He says in Job 1.20, then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head. And he fell to the ground and worshiped, and he said, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." In all this, Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

Notice that Job doesn't whine, he doesn't grumble, he doesn't complain, he doesn't say, how in the world could such bad and horrific things happen to the child of a king? No, Job accepts God's absolute sovereignty. Job accepts God's absolute sovereignty in the good times, but he accepts it in the hard times as well. And the psalmist reminds us of this.

God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in troubles. And that does infer, or rather indicate for the people of God, that we're supposed to lean on Him in those times of trouble. We know the psalmist, Psalm 23, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He doesn't say I have faith in Jesus, I have Yahweh as my shepherd, so there'll be no valley of the shadow of death in my life.

It's clear sailing, it's blue skies, it's a light breeze, it's not 90 degrees or 100 degrees inside it, it's just going to be this wonderful climate and wonderful thing. No, he knows he's going to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. How does Jesus end the upper room discourse with reference to his disciples? John 16.

He speaks to them in John 14 to 16, and in John 16, 33. The very end of the upper room discourse, where he's preparing in a special way his disciples for the work that he has for them. Now, John 14 to 16 is written for our benefit, but it was spoken specifically to these apostles, spoken specifically to these men that would be the foundation of the church that would go out and preach the gospel in a very, very contrary society. See, we think this is the only age when people hated Christians.

Do you think they loved them in the Roman Empire? Do you think they adored them in the Roman Empire? Do you think they adored them throughout the history of the world? No, they've always hated God, so they hate God's people.

So in John 16, 33, 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. In other words, rest in the fact that God is our refuge and our strength. He's a very present help in time of trouble.

Notice as well Acts 14, the book of Acts chapter 14, a splendid demonstration of the enmity of the world against God's people. I mean, what kind of a wretch, what kind of a monster, what kind of a cretin would ever want to hurt the Apostle Paul? Well, a lot of them, the unconverted ones, the persons that don't want to hear about Christ and Him crucified, those driven by madness and by a frenzy to exterminate that voice of truth in the early church. Notice in Acts chapter 14, specifically at verse 19, then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there.

And having persuaded the multitudes, now you need to understand a little bit about what's happening here. They are in Pisidian Antioch at this particular point. Or rather, Pisidian Antioch was about 80 miles from Iconium and Iconium was about 18 miles from Lystra. In other words, there was a lot of distance that Jews covered in order to get at Paul.

There was a lot of miles that they traversed in order to get at Paul. I sort of made that observation this morning with the heathen, the false prophets of Baal. They stand there from morning until noon, and then from noon until evening, crying out to Baal, cutting themselves, bleeding on themselves, dancing around their altar, trying to get Baal to perform. Sometimes the irreligious, sometimes the ungodly, sometimes the idolater shows a lot more commitment to his false god than the true people of God do to the true and living God.

And so this is an occasion of that. So then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there. This is a derby. And having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. There's some zeal, there's some earnestness, there's some fervor on the part of the righteous. He's been stoned and left for dead, and the next morning he gets up and he's ready to go again.

This is a man that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Now, notice in verse 21, and when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, we must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. If there was Q&A after this session, I guarantee you what one of the Qs was not. What do you mean, Paul?

Well, they would have known what Paul meant because he had previously been stoned and left for dead. He says in Galatians 6, no longer let anyone trouble me, for I bear in my body the brand marks of Jesus. 2 Timothy 3, verse 12, he says all those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. So when we go back to the sons of Korah in Psalm 46, and their composition there, pointing us to our refuge and our strength, and then they remind us that he's a very present help in trouble, They are onto something. They know this.

This is axiomatic. This is foundational. This is what the people of God are to appropriate. And then

The Lord of Hosts and God of Jacob

that emphasis on His presence in verses 1, 7, and 11. Notice how the psalmist ascribes His name. Notice in verse 1, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. And then notice in verses 7 and 11, the Lord of hosts is with us.

The Lord of hosts, covenant God, Lord, Yahweh, and He's the Lord of hosts. Oftentimes, in the Old Testament, we see this Lord of hosts motif to explain to us the divine warrior, the God who destroys the enemies of God, who destroys the enemies of God's people. 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 heaven of heavens are under His sway.

This is why the psalmist can say, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge, rest in this, delight in this, and understand He's a very present help in whatever troubles you may face. So he is the Lord of hosts or divine warrior. He is the one who vindicated Joshua and the children of Israel in Joshua 10. He is the one who vindicated the judges at the time of the oppressors.

He is the one who was the champion there at Mount Carmel. It wasn't Elijah, it wasn't his prayer, it wasn't his doings, it wasn't his zeal, but it was God Most High who came to vindicate his name and his cause. And it's God in the Valley of Elah that brings deliverance to David with reference to that Philistine giant. It is that God that Paul celebrates in Romans chapter 8, verses 31 to 39.

Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is Christ who died. It is in that passage when he says, if God is for us, who can be against us? See, I want to encourage all of us to think in terms of God's love, mercy, grace, but as well as justice and His righteousness.

There is nothing wrong with crying out to God for vindication. There's nothing wrong with crying out to God that he visits his enemies with punishment. 2 Thessalonians 1, the apostle says it is appropriate, it is right that God afflicts those who've afflicted you. The souls of the martyrs in heaven in Revelation 6. You know what they're crying out to God?

How long until you avenge our blood that was shed on the earth? Again, brethren, don't go buy a bullhorn off Amazon.ca and run around your neighbors and tell them how you're praying imprecatory psalms against them because they didn't water their grass or they moved your wagon. But brethren, there is a reckoning coming. There is a divine judgment.

There is the tribunal that no man can escape. Now, we revel in that, not because we're able to stand up to it, but because God Most High sent the Son of His love, who lived for us, who died for us, and who was raised again for us. And we bid others to look to Him, to understand the cleansing through His blood and the clothing with His righteousness. We press upon them the claims of Christ, such that they will run and find refuge in that strong tower.

But with reference to the retribution of God, much of the Bible is taken up with that reality. He's a righteous God. He's a just God. And He will ultimately bring vengeance upon those who despise Him and those who disdain Him.

So the psalmist preaches or points to the divine warrior, but then notice the God of Jacob. The God of Jacob. That underscores covenant. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Now, brethren, we don't prefer covenant theology in this church because it's just a superior way to sort of look at the Bible. I mean, it is a superior way to sort of look at the Bible, but it affords great comfort. It affords the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. It's the reality that our God has covenanted to save us, that our God has sent the Son of His love in order to save us, that He won't renege, that He won't fail, that He will not lose, that He will bring to completion all that He has purposed to do.

So covenant affords for the people of God great relief, great encouragement, great help and benefit in the times of distress. Now

Demonstration of God's Power

notice, secondly, the demonstration of God's power. The demonstration of God's power. As you might imagine, after the statement in verse 1, again, it's axiomatic, it's foundational, it's a truth claim that you accept and you live and light up. So when he says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, the therefore in verse 2 necessarily follows, right?

It's a logical implication. Well, of course, right? It's like Paul in Romans chapter 12. Therefore, by the mercies of God, I beseech you, brethren, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable service.

In other words, what has been said in Romans 1 to 11, in terms of God justifying you freely by his grace through faith in Jesus, leads to the implication that, did you present yourself wholly to him? Of course you give him your body. Of course you give him your soul. Of course you give him your mind.

That's your reasonable service. The same sort of implication here is in verse 2. So God is our refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble, therefore we will not fear. Do you know how many times we're told in the Bible not to fear?

Why do you think that is? Because we have a predilection to fear. And so what does God want? Or what does God call us to?

Or what does God call us to contemplate? He calls us to contemplate who He is so that we will not be riddled by fear. What happens when we're riddled with fear? We don't leave our houses.

We don't go shine His lights in a crooked and perverse generation. If we're riddled with fear, we don't hold forth the word of truth. If we're riddled with fear, we don't condemn abortion, or sodomy, or all the other sorts of things that are rampant in this present evil age. If we are riddled with fear, we are going to be sidelined.

And so the psalmist points us to our God, who is our refuge and our strength. And when we don't have that strength in ourselves, we rest upon Him so that we are then able to not fear. We have God on our side. We have the God who sent hailstones down to destroy and vanquish the enemies of Joshua and the Israelites.

We have the God of David who caused that one small stone to find its mark in Goliath's giant head. We have God Most High who sends fire down to consume Elijah's sacrifice. That's our God, and that's why the psalmist calls on us to reflect upon this. Therefore, we will not fear.

This is the logical implication of confessing the God of verse 1. So if we have a robust understanding of God's sovereignty, which we're supposed to as Reformed believers, which we're supposed to, not just as Reformed believers, but as believers. Because the Bible doesn't present to us an impotent God. The Bible doesn't present to us sort of a hobbling God.

It doesn't present to us sort of a crippled God. It presents to us the God of absolute glory, majesty, and power. And if we are His and He, by grace, is ours, then what should it be relative to fear? We're not supposed to fear.

Now notice what the psalmist does. He gives a contrast, a series of contrasts, to demonstrate God's power and glory in the midst of the confusion. Notice,

Disturbances in the Natural Order

he shows the disturbances in the natural order. Look at verse 2. So verse 2a, Therefore we will not fear. So what does that mean?

We're not supposed to fear at church? Yeah, you're not supposed to fear at church. We're not supposed to fear when the mountains crumble? Well, you can go ahead and fear there, because that's bad.

That's tough. I'm not sure that God can handle that one. That's not what he does, brethren. Remember, he's already told us he's a very present help in trouble.

He has no, you know, dog in the fight to keep you from understanding that the world is a mess and that really bad things happen, really horrific things happen at times. So notice in verse two, therefore we will not fear even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. So you get up in the morning, you make your coffee, you look out your window, and you see, beyond belief, that Mount Sham is moving toward the Pacific Ocean rapidly. What are you supposed to do?

Lose your mind? No. You probably will, much against my counsel here. I'm sure I will.

But do you see what the psalmist is saying? God's got that. Even Mount Sham moves from its position of stability and ends up in the Pacific Ocean. You're to realize that God is our refuge and our strength.

So the disturbances in the natural order. 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. You're to be still and know that God is God. You're to not fear, trusting in the fact that He is our refuge and our strength.

But it's not just the natural phenomena.

The Rage of the Nations

Notice that it's the rage of the nations as well. Drop down to verse 6. So I think at times, the people of God can make peace with volcanoes. The people of God, not happily, not in near proximity, but we understand volcanoes blow up.

We understand that rain floods. We understand that hailstones, if they're big enough, can kill. We understand that fire is devastating. There's something about what we term, at least in the insurance world, the acts of God that, at some level, we make peace with.

There's weird things that happen in the world. It's not climate change. What is today climate change used to be called seasons. But there is that natural phenomena that we willingly accept.

It's the sin of man that's a bit challenging at times. It's the rage of the nations. It's war for no good reason. What's happening in Ukraine?

What's happening in Myanmar? What's happening there? Are they defending their borders and their sovereignty against all? Yeah, I don't know, but it certainly doesn't seem that way.

So it's the rage of the nations, it's the machinations of godless men, it's the kingdoms and their movement. See, the psalmist says, don't just not fret because of the natural phenomena, because of the disorder in terms of the created order. But don't fret because the nations rage, the kingdoms were moved. Do not fret in light of those things, because God is sovereign in the midst of it.

Now,

The Peace of Zion Contrasted

in terms of the contrast, notice he mentions the disturbance of the natural order, the rage of the nations, but he gives that contrast in terms of Zion. Look at verse 4. Now, Zion in the Old Testament is the city of David. Zion in the New Testament is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's why I think John Gill applies it to the church in gospel times. We've come to Zion according to Hebrews chapter 12. It's the church of the firstborn. It's the blessed people of God who have been saved by grace.

So this contrast between the natural phenomena and the disorder in the world and the rage of the nations is set side by side with reference to the peace of Zion. So notice in verse 4, in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of the upheaval, in the midst of the difficulty, Zion's not shaken. Zion's not put off, you know, on edge. 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. Turn to the book of Revelation.

Revelation, you see a similar scene in a very real-world context in terms of the suffering of God's people. So Revelation chapters 2 and 3. These are letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor. And some of the letters have condemnation for things the church is doing wrong or poorly or not at all.

The letters have commendation, you know, commending them for the things that they're getting right and they're doing. But as you read through these letters, you see sort of behind the scenes that the church on earth is plagued. The church on earth is afflicted. The church on earth has some challenges in terms of external problems.

There's internal problems, and, of course, Jesus is dealing with that in these letters, but there's the external threat posed against the church of the Lord Jesus. So let's just survey a few of those. Notice in Revelation 2, specifically at verse 6, but this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. We're not going to get into their identification, not going to get into anything other than there was a group of people called the Nicolaitans, and their deeds were so bad that the church itself hated that, hated them, and Christ says He hates them too.

Now notice down in 2.10, "...do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days." Notice down in verse 13, I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. It's a pretty strong statement. You dwell where Satan's throne is.

I think what he means, it's the seat of the evil empire, the Roman empire specifically, and they're sort of programmed to get rid of Christians, to get rid of this threat, to get rid of these malcontents that are now in the empire. Look over at chapter 2, specifically at verse 20. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. An internal threat, but a threat nonetheless.

So you've got internal, you've got external. You've got problems, you've got challenges, you've got hardships, you've got woe. Notice in chapter 3, verse 9, "'Indeed, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie. Indeed, I will make them come and worship before your feet and to know that I have loved you.'" Now, the point is, when you look at chapters 2 and 3, you see what you see there in Psalm 46, 2 and 3 and 6.

You see chaos. You see hardship, you see difficulty, you see challenges, you see that the Christian life is punctuated very often by hardships, both internal and external. So then after chapters 2 and 3, you move to chapters 4 and 5. This is the scene change.

This is the contrast. We go from the muck of life in this present evil age to the throne room of God Most High. Why do you think John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, does that? It's the same reason the sons of Korah do it in Psalm 46.

Whatever misery, whatever hardship, whatever affliction, whatever difficulty you've got going on in this present evil age, guess where they've not affected? God is for you. God is not changed. God will not change.

He is a very present help in trouble. So from the mock of life in Revelation 2-3 to the calm dignity of the throne room on high in chapters 4 and 5. Look at Revelation 13. Revelation 13.

Again, we're not going to spend time going through all identification and what's what and what about this and what about that, but simply note the contrast between chapters 13 and 14. Chapter 13, you have two beasts, one from the sea and one from the land. And there's lots of efforts to explain what these are, the significance of it. I think we can conclude at least two things here.

One's a political power, and one's a religious power. That's the extent of the exegesis we're going to get into there in Revelation 13. But this much you can see as well. They're trying to get God's people.

Right? That comes out loud and clear. Whatever your eschatology is, whatever you think in terms of the specific identity of the beast from the sea and the beast from the land, you have to get this, right? The beasts want to destroy God's people.

That's just their nature. That's what they do. That's what makes them tick. They want to exterminate the people of God Almighty or enslave them or subjugate them in some nasty and nefarious way.

So what happens in chapter 14? Same motif, chaos on earth, calm dignity of the throne room. Look at verse 1 in chapter 14. Then I looked, and behold, a lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 having his father's name written on their foreheads.

And I heard a voice from heaven like the voice of many waters and like the voice of loud thunder And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps They sang as it were a new song before the throne before the four living creatures and the elders And no one could learn that song except 144 000 who were redeemed from the earth These are the ones who were not defiled with women for they are virgins These are the ones who follow the lamb wherever he goes These were redeemed from among men being first fruits to god and to the lamb and in their mouth was found no deceit For they are without fault before the throne of god there's a contrast, the chaos on earth and the calm dignity of God's throne room. In a very helpful little commentary on the book of Revelation by Verne Poythress, he makes the observation, when God's people are beset by temptation or persecution, a revelation of God's nature and glory is the best remedy. Amen. In case I think I neglected to say that in the outset today or tonight of the sermon, that's the point.

Get a glimpse of God's glory to steady you in the face of difficulty. That's the thesis. Just to make sure we all are, and I didn't steal it from him. I actually had that in my head.

It's in my notes. Probably stole it from him at one point, but at least not tonight. He goes on to say, his power guarantees the final victory. His justice guarantees vindication of the right.

See, brethren, I'm not picking on us. I think to some degree we have a developed understanding of this, or developing understanding of God's justice. But much of the church is not about that. It's, you know, we just got to watch while they plunder the gates.

We just got to watch while they destroy everything. We just have to watch. And well, again, but we need to give place to wrath. Doesn't Paul give that in Romans chapter 12?

He says, beloved, do not avenge yourselves. That's biblical. I'm not suggesting, you know, we go out, you know, with the commando sort of strapped ammunition and, you know, do hardship or harsh things to the enemies of God. But Paul does say, do not avenge yourselves.

But he says, give place to wrath. What does that possibly mean? Well, I would suggest one thing it possibly means is to pray the imprecatory Psalms of David. Do you know that the weeping prophet Jeremiah, have you ever heard that they've made his name into a sort of a verb or adverb?

I don't know if it's probably a verb, Jeremiah, or it's a noun. He's a Jeremiah. You know what that means? He's a melancholic person.

He's a sorrowful person. He's a depressed person. He cries. Well, Jeremiah was a Jeremiah.

Jeremiah weeps. Jeremiah has that agony. Jeremiah composed Lamentations after the fall of Jerusalem. You know, the whole book is about his lament before a thrice-holy God.

Do you know that Jeremiah prays in precatory prayers against the enemies of Zion? Jeremiah does? Do you know that Jesus is okay with it as well? When Jesus cites psalms that are imprecatory in nature, that gives his sort of sanction to the entirety of the psalm.

So back to our quote by Poitras. His justice guarantees vindication of the right, and his goodness and magnificence guarantee blessing and comfort. The blood of the Lamb demonstrates that 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 of the sons of Korah in Psalm 46. That's the point of John the Apostle on the island of Patmos as he's been exiled for the Word of God and the testimony of the Lord. What do they do?

They look at the world and they comment appropriately. They don't try to hide the blemishes. They don't try to hide the afflictions. They don't try to hide the trouble.

They show it in all of its gross detail, but then they contrast it with God and His absolute sovereignty and control over all things.

Invitation to Consider God's Works

Notice thirdly, the invitation to consider God's works. Look at what He does in verse 8. Come. What's the remedy?

When you're in times of distress, when you are afflicted, when you have that trouble, what do you think is going to help you? Reflect on how good you are? Reflect on how righteous you are? Reflect upon how great this world...

No, it's to come and behold the works of God. That's one of the things you see throughout the Psalms, especially those Psalms ascribed to Asaph. When Asaph wrote Psalms, there was darkness in the land. It was pretty bad, such that the Gentiles, the heathen, the pagan, were in the very sanctuary of God Almighty.

So there's no present thing to sort of encourage him. He hasn't seen, you know, Gentile mobs or hordes cut down by, you know, AK-47s by the righteous children of Israel in any sort of recent memory. So where do you think Asaph goes? Do you think he goes to despair?

Do you think he goes to the asylum? Do you think he goes to the kitchen? He goes to God. He goes to the Exodus.

He goes to that great redemptive act of God when he liberated the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. And he does the same thing here. not Asaph, but the sons of Korah. Notice, 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. important brethren that you be reading your Old Testament. Yes, you have a lot of positive example in terms of Christian life in the New Testament, but you have a lot of it in the Old Testament as well. You have the Elijahs, you have the Elishas, you have the Jeremiahs, you have the Hoseas, you have the Micahs, you have the Amos, you have those brothers who lived the Christian life in the distress and in the hardship and in the trouble and they were always brought back to this reality that our God is a present health and in trouble.

He is our refuge and our strength. So the psalmist here calls upon the people of God to survey the works of the Lord. That's what brings you up. That's what's going to bring you help.

That's what's going to encourage you. It's not your accomplishments. 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. Come, behold the works of the Lord who has made desolations in the earth. He makes 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've got a record of that from Genesis to Revelation. If you say, well, I just don't know, then get your Bible out and read it. Get your Bible out and understand the mighty exploits of the people of God.

Read Hebrews chapter 11. In a brief thumbnail sketch, he points to the faith of God's people in the various epochs of redemptive history, in the history of redemption. And he shows what they did by faith in that blessed God. This is not unique.

Psalm 66, verse 5, come and see the works of God. He is awesome in his doing toward the sons of men. So when there's trouble, when there's affliction, when there's distress, when there's hardship, the psalmist says, as it were, be encouraged at who God is. He's a refuge and a strength.

And be encouraged at what God has done. He's able to smash his enemies the way he did in the book of Exodus, as he does in the book of Numbers, as he did in the reading tonight in Deuteronomy chapter 2. It's not the prowess of Israel that won her those victories, it's the power of God Almighty.

Command to Rest in God's Sovereignty

And then finally, probably the most familiar verse in the entirety of the psalm is verse 10. And this is the command to rest in God's sovereignty. Now there's some question here as to who it is addressed to. I'm sure we've all appropriated it, and, well, we should.

Be still and know that I am God. That's great counsel, sons of Korah. Thank you. I need to be still.

I don't need to lose my mind. I don't need to lose my composure. I don't need to turn to those things which are not God for safety and for stability and for some sort of security. So some suggest that the command to rest in God's sovereignty is first issued to the people of God for their comfort.

Right? It is comforting, isn't it? I mean, you know, I don't write Christian greeting cards, but if I did, Psalm 4610 would probably be a big one because it's so wonderful, right? Be still and know that I am God.

It's a great encouragement for the people of God. J. A. Alexander suggests it's to the enemies of God.

It's to the enemies of God. Be still. and know that I am God. Alexander said, 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 is resolved to be acknowledged as supreme, not only by his chosen people, but by all the nations and throughout the earth. So I'm going to take a sort of tactic that says it's both. It might be a weaselly way out, but it is both. Be still for the people of God for their encouragement and for their comfort, and be still for the enemies of God to understand that there is a day of reckoning coming.

Now, with reference to the believer's confidence, Gill makes this observation with reference to the words, be still. He says, 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." I think that's a good way to interpret that. Be still and know that I am God. It doesn't mean go get on the couch and have an extended nap, and so all of your troubles will just blow past you.

That might be the temptation at times. That might be the tendency at times to perhaps run and hide. And I'm not suggesting it's always necessarily wrong to run and hide. The name of Yahweh is a strong tower.

What do the righteous do? They run to it and they find refuge. They find help. They find protection and strength there.

But this asserts or this encourages the believer's confidence in his God. Be still and know that I am God. And then notice, I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.

The heathen are commanded this to instill fear and trembling and to provoke them to seek Israel's God. The believers are told this to understand that whatever afflictions are hurting Zion, Zion wins. Jesus will build His church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. The gates of Hades is going to mount up opposition.

The gates of Hades isn't going to go without some kicking and screaming. The gates of Hades isn't rendered inactive, but they will be defeated. The unrighteous will be defeated, and God will be exalted among the nations, and He will be exalted in the earth.

Application

In conclusion, we see here the presence of trouble in the life of the believer. I'm not, you know, trying to, you know, give you this in terms of now everything's going to go bad for you. But to prepare you, if you believe that the Christian life is without any problems or without any hardships or any trials, you've not heard the Christian life preached. You've not read the Apostle Paul.

You've not read the book of Job. You've not read the book of Lamentations. You've not read many of the Psalms. Psalm 88, I think I mentioned before, Psalm 88 is the only Psalm that I know of that doesn't have a happy positive note.

One of the good things about the Psalms is that it can take you from Dan to Beersheba in the space of one Psalm. You're rejoicing in the glory of God. You're down in the depths of despair. You're casting your confidence upon Him.

Psalm 88 is pretty much just a downer from verse 1 on to the end. Now, it feeds into Psalm 89, which is the covenant psalm about David's son, David's greater son, even our Lord Jesus Christ. But if you think that the Christian life is not marked by hardships, then I would encourage you to read the Bible. Secondly, the knowledge of God in the experience of the believer.

This morning I won't read the whole thing, but in our studies of God's decree, our brother pointed us to chapter 2 in the Confession. So, of God and of the Holy Trinity is chapter 2, and then chapter 3 is of God's decree. There is a close connection. They are inextricably connected.

And when we ponder chapter 2, specifically paragraph 2, we're reminded of God's absolute sovereignty in the midst of His people. And in order to get that in our veins, we've got to read it in our Bibles. We've got to appropriate it through sermons. We have to receive that Word of God for the stability and comfort that God affords.

Thirdly, the comfort we possess on our pilgrimage as believers. It's gonna be tough, we're gonna have hardship, but we can do it by the grace of God. We sing that song, 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. What do you think the point is? Well, probably I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake. The reading a couple of weeks ago in Deuteronomy chapter 1.

The children of Israel looked at the wilderness as a bad thing. As far as they were concerned, it was bad. When they were out in the wilderness, it was just, you know, this longing to go back to Egypt. You know, we had garlic, we had leeks, we had melons, we had meat, we had all kinds of stuff.

You also had bondage because you were slaves. Well, that's okay. As long as we got our, you know, three hots and a cot, we'll be okay with the slavery. You see, God interprets the wilderness in a much different way.

Deuteronomy 1, 29 to 31. 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.

Not only was it not a bad thing, it was God the Lord carrying Israel through that wilderness wandering. So it was a great and glorious thing. Where the hymn writer gets that, no, never, no, never, I'll never forsake, is 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 by my righteous right hand.

So we have comfort in this earthly pilgrimage as the suffering and afflicted people of God. And just to remind us all, it's not all suffering and affliction. I mean, we have lots of good things and lots of things to be quite happy about. And then I want to end here on the promise of God to encourage believers.

The promise of God to encourage believers. So verse 10, be still, know that I'm God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.

What does that mean in terms of our prospects with reference to evangelism and missions? It means we need to be about that. It means we need to be prayerful. It means that we need to give.

It means that we need to send. It means that we need to train. It means that we need to support missionaries. Because God's purpose is exaltation in the nations and throughout the earth.

Listen to Spurgeon. He 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 realized. 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 obstinacy and pride of man shall God be glorified when grace reigns unto eternal life in all corners of the world. Praise God most high that in the midst of a world that is marked by sin and depravity and wretchedness and evil, He's in the business of calling sinners out of darkness into marvelous light, forming them together in things called churches, where they can pray together, where they can study together, and where they can strategize together to send forth that glorious gospel, conquering and to conquer. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this Lord's Day. We thank you for the Church of Jesus Christ. Help us to appropriate this psalm.

Help us to hide it in our hearts that we might not fret, that we might not fear, but that we might have repair to that God who is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. I pray that you would go with us now, that you would watch over us, that you would be glorified in this congregation. And we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

We'll close with a brief time of meditation.

Scripture References

• Deuteronomy 1:29-31; 2
• Joshua 10
• Job 1:20
• Psalms 23; 23:4; 46; 66:5; 88; 89
• Proverbs 18:10
• Isaiah 41:10
• John 14:1-16:33; 16:33
• Acts 14:19; 14:21
• Romans 1:1-11:36; 8:31-39; 12:1; 12:19
• Galatians 6:17
• 2 Thessalonians 1
• 2 Timothy 3:12
• Hebrews 11; 12
• Revelation 2:6; 2:10; 2:13; 2:20; 3:9; 4:1-5:14; 6; 13; 14:1