Psalm 46

Psalm 46 To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah,

A Song upon Alamoth

The Lord of Hosts With Us

Sermon Notes

Listen

August 20, 2017

Lynchburg, Virginia

EXHORDIUM

         Where is your help in time of trouble? We have recently seen troubled times. There was trouble in Charlottesville. This week there is trouble in Houston, Texas. There are rumors of wars in Korea.

         These troubling times cause us to seek safety. In Charlottesville, there is safety in peace, the brotherhood of man. But people say, peace, peace, when there is no peace.

         In Houston, there is safety in boats, or the federal pledge for money. Some are helped and others are stranded and there is fear on every side.

         On the international stage, madmen make havoc with missiles and bombs. Muslim leaders strike fear into the populace of the middle east. And many in our nation want somebody to do something about it. Strike down the madman. Send in the military, or appease the enemy.

         But the common theme in all of these troubling circumstances, is our failure to turn to the one place where we can receive true help, true refuge. We must turn to the living God. His truth prevails over liars. His love prevails over bigots. His might prevails over hurricanes and in the midst of them. He is the refuge from the storm. He is the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of Sabaoth, the Lord of Armies, who rules the nations. He can take care of the madmen.

         It takes faith to see this but that is how we see. Our God is our refuge, our very present help in time of need. Trust Him.

EXEGESIS

Psalm 46:1   God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Who is our help? God. He is our refuge. A refuge is a place you retreat to for protection, like our Keep. You retreat there for protection but you don’t stay there. You recover, reconnoiter and sally forth. Once we take refuge in God, we find strength. Strength is not for hiding.

The Bible says that God is our very present help in trouble. Do you realize that? Sometimes it seems as if God is not there when you are in trouble. Are you going with your feelings? Or, the Bible. The Bible says that God is very present. Not just present. Very present. Are you too frantic to know that He is there?

² Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; ³ Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

Because God is our refuge and strength, because God is our very present help in trouble, we will not fear! Are you in fear? Then you do not really believe that God is your help at present. You do not believe that God is very present. Are you in trouble? That is okay. But fear should be banished because God is on your side.

How sure can you be that God is your refuge and strength? How can you stand fast in Him without fear?

Even if the earth is moved, will you stand fast? Through an earthquake? What if the mountains are cast into the sea? Will you stand fast through a mudslide? What about in a Tsunami of trouble? What if you are sick and your kids are sick and the finances are wreck and nobody understands you? Can you still stand fast? Will you still not fear? Only if you come to the conclusion that God is your refuge and strength. And He is. And if you realize that this is true, then though all this shall come upon you, you will not fear.

A lack of fear in the midst of fearful circumstances is sure evidence of the working of the Holy Spirit. Are you at peace in trouble? Then rest assured, God is at work in you. Are you a mess in the midst of trouble? Are you staring at the waves, like Peter? Then you have not retreated to your help and strength.

⁴ There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

What is this river? The water that Jesus gives, that if a man drink, he shall never thirst. The waters flow from the temple in Ezekiel and fill the whole earth. Does the Holy Spirit make you glad? In this place of holiness where we worship the Lord, are you filled with the living waters? I cannot give them to you. Only God can do that. Will you drink the water that Jesus offers?

⁵ God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

God was in the tabernacle, above the ark of the covenant. Later, His Spirit filled the Temple. Of course, God could not be confined by the Tabernacle of the Temple. He chose to reveal Himself there so that the people knew that God, their refuge and strength was with them. They had confidence that if God was for them, no foe could assail them.

The New Jerusalem is the Christian Church. God resides in the midst of His people. As we gather together to worship Him, we are a part of the corporate body of Christ. God inhabits the praises of His people. He is in our midst.

Because this is true, the Church shall not be moved. God shall help her and none too late. He will help at just the right time. What is true for the Church corporate is also true for individual Christians. God is our ever present help in time of need. He knows your situation. He is working things out for His own glory and for the good of His people, corporately and individually.

This even includes individual suffering. We might not be able to make sense of this. We cannot do the spiritual math. But we do believe the Bible. God still requires us to have faith.

6   The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. ⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Why do the heathens rage? Because they do not rejoice in God the Savior. They resist Him and so rage against His Sovereign rule.

⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. ⁹ He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

I have often said that a failure to remember is our chief sin, and so it is. We forget what God has done and so we fail to have faith in what God is going or in what He will do. This leads to fear, anxiety, and attempts at fixing our problems without God.

Our nation is in the middle of such a fix right now. We have clashing ideological powers and clashing political powers, all who want a fix without Jesus. The lines are being drawn by an anti-Christ public media and we are given two bad choices. Are you a white nationalist racist? Or, a freedom loving liberal? As if these are the only two choice and as if one of this is good and one is bad.

Racism and presumptuous privilege is ugly in any shape. Jesus had it out with Jews of His day over this exact topic. It is ironic that modern racism often has its roots in anti-semitism. But the classic example of anti-semitism could really come from Jesus, Himself, who was a Jew! He was pointing out how wicked it was to call yourself the chosen ones of God while neglecting what God had called the Jews to actually do. They were supposed to be the kings and priests of the earth, who ministered the Word of God and the Kingdom of God to the world. But they didn’t do that. They thought God’s love was destined almost exclusively for them, no matter what they did. Not matter if they forgot God and disobeyed God and worshipped other Gods and committed all manner of wickedness. Jesus pointed all of that out and they murdered Him for it.

So, any form of racism, as such, a denouncement of all other races, nations, classes of men, based upon their ethnicity or color of their skin, is an absolute abomination to the Lord Jesus, who is the ruler of all men and nations.

But our growing liberal, anti-Christ state would have us believe that to repudiate racism is to embrace every person, no matter what they do. They have also forgotten God. They embrace every form of evil and call it good. They want to erase the very creation of man and woman, as such, and so shake their fist in the face of God.

How can we deny the God of creation and then demand any sort of morality, whatsoever? If God does not exist, if natural selection and the survival of the fittest rule the day, then why not just let the earthly human powers fight it out and may the best man win? How can they denounce anybody’s view as evil when only might makes right? It is absolute foolishness.

But those two sides are not the only two choices. We Christians choose to remember what God has done. He made us, male and female, after His own image. We remember the work He has done and submit to His supreme authority over all things. Jesus said that those who love Him obey His commands. And so we are people of the Book and find our rule of life here, no matter what the culture says, or the news or the leftists who would shout us down.

God is watching all of this folly. Just remember that things are never so bad that they cannot get worse. The march in Boston is a scary one. Estimates are that 40,000 came out to denounce racism and hate. Good for you! But in the name of what? The state? Transgenderism? Love? Inclusivity? Brown America? Where is that going to end?

Until we claim the name and kingdom of Jesus, there really is no good exit from this. A crowd of 200 racists and 500 anti-fa, blm agitators is not a threat to our society. A crowd of 40,000 going violent is a threat.

What do we do about this? We call upon God to rise up. We want Him to break these bows, cut the spears and burn the chariots. God is our refuge and strength. So, let’s not lose our heads and get caught up in the two bad choices that are currently being presented to us. Be still.

EXHORTATION

¹⁰ Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. ¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

What does it mean to be still? It means, stop, take a deep breath, rest. As long as you are frantic, you may not realize that God is with you. Many people get caught in the midst of their troubles and are busy fighting on all sides as if God had abandoned them.

Have you sallied forth to battle without God? Have you forgotten Him? Come back to the refuge. Come back to The Keep. God, Himself, is our Keep. He is our strong tower. He is our fortress. If we do not believe that then we do have reason to fear. The world around is shifting sand. The events of the last week have revealed this. If we are not founded on the Rock, then what is the foundation? We do not know, it turns to sand and runs through our fingers.

But if the foundation is Jesus, then you will stand. This is true as an individual as well as a nation or a culture. God will be exalted among the heathen. Our nation is a testament to that truth. The gospel came to the United States and changed the world. That very truth is now one that is hated and is actually at the center of this current controversy. The very fabric of our culture is at stake here. Let us not be naïve. Those who hate God are lined up on the battle field against one another but are coming after those who love God and are the called according to His purposes.

What will God do to them when they come after Him? He will hold them in derision and laugh. The Lord of Hosts, Sabaoth, Armies. God is not threatened by all of this. His Kingdom is secure. He will rule the nations, including this one, starting 2000 years ago and ending never.

Our job is to point out this truth, regularly, be still, and take refuge in our Mighty Fortress.