A Fortress and Refuge

Well, thanks very much, Al. And I just want to add my welcome to you all as well.

It's good to see a number of you. Josie and I have been away on camp this week, and we were

about to disappear for another two weeks on holiday. But it's really good to just come back

and check in and see our church family as well. And it's really good to meet new people as well

who've come along today. So yeah, we're in Psalm 46. It'd be really, really good to just

keep that open in front of you if you have it. And it's been my privilege to dig into this,

the Psalm, and to see what God has to say to us from it. So you might have noticed there in the

heading, we see that this is a song for God's people. So if you take a look at the heading,

those were instructions that were left there by the writers of the Psalm to kind of instruct the

people who were going to sing it or play it and how they should do that. And we see clearly there

that this is a song. It's a song for God's people. And it was written by the sons of Korah to be added

to the songbook for the people of Israel. So this run of Psalms that we're doing, many of them tell us

that these were written by the sons of Korah. And Psalm 46, it's a song which wasn't only sung by

God's people back then, but it's also a song that God's people can sing today as well. God has left

it for us, not just to read and to learn from, but we can also sing it as well. But as we look at the

words of this Psalm, we quickly see that it is speaking about a world which is in complete chaos.

I don't know if you noticed that. If you look at the first few verses, the Psalmist is using

apocalyptic language. The very earth is giving away, is giving way. The very mountains, solid and firm,

are falling into the sea. The Psalmist is painting a picture of chaos. The sea is roaring and foaming and

surging. Where can God's people find refuge in a world that's spinning out of control? But then the

Psalmist points to another kind of disorder in the world. Just like the sea, the nations are roaring.

Down in verse 6, they are in uproar against one another and they are in uproar against God.

And this reminds us of Psalm 2, which forms part of the introduction to the book of Psalms.

In Psalm 2, the nations set themselves up against God and against his anointed King, Jesus.

And here we see them again. They are in uproar against God in Psalm 46. So we see a picture of

chaos. And the chaos described in this Psalm, we can see some of this in our world today.

We can see it in our climate. Our world seems to be falling apart. The climate targets are

constantly missed. The targets that we set in our countries, we miss them again and again.

We see so many species of animals and plants which are lost forever. We see the ice caps

starting to melt. We see the seawaters rising around the world. We see devastating wildfires,

hurricanes, and even this week we've seen devastating flooding in Texas. It is clear that something has

gone very badly wrong in our world, in our climate. Our world is not at peace. And this is because

the world that you and I are living in, it's a world that is sitting under judgment, the judgment of God

because of sin in this world. And you can go all the way back to Genesis 3 and you can see

how God spelled out how he was going to judge the earth because of sin.

But then we also see the chaos of Psalm 46 in the way that the nations around our world rage

against one another. There is constant conflict around our world. And we've touched on that as

well this morning in our prayers. We see war in Eastern Europe, not that far from us. We see it in

the Middle East. And we see it in further flung places that we never hear about in our news.

There's conflict all around the world. And that shows us that there is something that has gone wrong

among the nations of the earth as well. It's not just in our climate, but there is something gone

wrong amongst the nations. And the nations are living in this world under God's judgment. And

the nations will be judged for their sin and for setting themselves up against God and his anointed one.

So this world that the psalmist paints, it's a world that is experiencing chaos. It is a world that is

under God's judgment for sin. And whether we are directly or indirectly by the chaos in our world,

whether it's right up in our faces or if it's further away, it can cause us to fear.

We are left asking ourselves, where will God's people turn to when the earth gives way? When the earth

below their feet seems to be wobbling? Where can God's people take refuge when the nations rage against

them? When the people of this world rage against God's people? When they rage against our God? When

they rage against his anointed King, Jesus? Who can God's people cling to as they live in this world,

which is experiencing God's judgment? Well, I think the psalmist wants us to know this morning that

there is order behind this disorder. This psalm reminds us that this is a world, yes, it's sitting

under God's judgment, but the Almighty God stands above this chaotic and rebellious world and he commands

it to be still and to know who the true King is in this world. So this is where we're going this

morning. Three headings, Almighty God is among his people. God will still and be exalted among his

enemies and God will dwell among his people. So we're going to start by seeing that God's people can take

confidence because Almighty God is among his people and he is their refuge. So I mentioned before that

this is a song and it's structured like a song. The Pew Bibles, they miss out the silah word, but if we see

that the word silah is inserted at the end of verse 7 and it's, sorry, just before verse 7, actually I

can't remember, I think it's inserted three times, do correct me, but this shows us that this is well

structured this psalm. I don't know if you noticed that there's a repeated chorus. So verse 7 and verse 11

it's the exact same words again. So this repeated chorus and if there's two choruses then that means

we have a verse 1, which is verses 1 to 6. That's our first stanza, our first verse of our song and then

verses 8 to 10 is our second verse. So it's very well structured this psalm and what this shows us

is that God has a really clear message for us through this song and we see right from the very start of

this song this theme that we're going to see today that God is our refuge and he is our strength. The very

first words of this song, he is our refuge and our strength and this is an idea which is repeated in

the chorus in verse 7 and 11, the God of Jacob is our fortress. The God of Jacob is our fortress. The imagery

is clear. God is a place of refuge for his people. God's people will be safe in God's, their fortress,

peace when they choose to take shelter in him. Now we probably can't appreciate the physical safety

we might feel in a refuge like the one described in this psalm because we are living in a country that

is at peace at the moment but if we were living in the Middle East today or if we were living in the UK

during World War II or World War I then we would understand what it would feel like to take refuge.

So this is a picture from the London Underground in World War II and it's thought that 177,000 people

who lived in London during the Blitz took refuge in the tunnels of the London Underground

and there they would have felt safe from the carnage that was happening on the ground above.

So that was the London Underground in World War II and this is a picture of Fort Knox in Kentucky and this place is so well known for its security that it's become a turn of phrase.

For example, oh well it's not exactly Fort Knox is it? So we know that word, we know that place Fort Knox is a place of utter security.

It's a place that's impossible to enter or exit without the highest levels of clearance.

So for the people of God, he is their London Underground where they feel completely safe when the bombs are dropping

and he is their unshakable Fort Knox during times of trouble where no enemy may enter.

But God isn't just a place of unshakable security.

The psalmist wants to tell us that the Lord Almighty is with us.

And we see that in verse 7, the Lord Almighty is with us.

And verse 1 again, he is an ever-present help in trouble.

He's present. God is among his people.

God is in their midst.

Now we see this idea often in the Old Testament.

Whenever Almighty God was in the midst of his people, they were safe.

And we see that through the book of Exodus.

God was in the midst of his people when they were in the wilderness.

And he dwelled in the tabernacle, which was in the middle of the camp.

He was among his people.

And then when God's people dwelled in the city of Jerusalem,

God took up residence in the temple in the city.

The temple was in the city of Jerusalem.

And whenever Almighty God went into battle with the people of Israel,

they were never defeated.

So when God is among his people, he is like an MVP on a basketball team,

a most valuable player.

Whenever Michael Jordan stepped onto the court with his Chicago Bulls teammates in the 90s,

his team not only had an advantage because they had the best player with them,

it also had the double benefit of inspiring confidence in his teammates,

helping them to play at a higher level,

but also striking fear in their opponents

because they knew how tough they were going to find it

playing against a team with Michael Jordan in it.

So whenever Michael was playing, his team had a good chance of winning.

When God is among his people, they will always prevail.

They will never be defeated.

And when God is among his people,

just like the Chicago Bulls,

God's people are filled with confidence

and their enemies are put to flight.

So Almighty God is a refuge for the people of God.

He is a fortress

and he is a mighty helper among them,

in the midst of them.

But we must ask ourselves,

what did this song mean for the nation of Israel

who were given this song originally,

who would have sung this song,

whenever they gathered?

Why was it important for the people of Israel

to sing this particular song?

Well, as the nation of Israel sung Psalm 46,

they were reminding themselves

to put their trust in God alone.

When their enemies were threatening them,

when the nations around them were flexing their muscles

and threatening to invade them,

they were not to put their faith in the walls of Jerusalem.

They were not to put their faith in alliances

with other nations.

And they were certainly not to put their faith

in the gods of the surrounding nations,

gods of wood and stone.

And believe me,

you know it yourself,

they tried all of these things.

When God's people put their faith in other things,

that's always when it went wrong for them.

And for us today,

whether you are following Jesus or not this morning,

I want to ask you,

where do you run to in times of chaos?

Where is your hope when calamity strikes,

when the enemies are knocking at the door of the city,

when the ground beneath us shakes?

We know what this feels like,

when the ground beneath us shakes.

Not literally,

but when calamity strikes in our life,

when bad things are happening,

when we are fearful,

when we are scared.

Where is your hope?

Where will you run to?

Well, Psalm 46 reminds us

that those who trust in the mighty fortress,

in God and in his anointed King Jesus,

they will always be secure.

So that is the security,

the fortress,

God among his people.

But now,

we're going to look at the second verse.

We're going to look back at verses four and five in a minute.

But now let's look at the second verse of this song.

So that's verses eight to 10.

And let's see how God invites us to come and see what he has done.

We say that in verse eight.

God says,

or sorry,

the Psalmist says,

come and see what the Lord has done.

The desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear.

He burns the shields with fire.

God wants us to see him in action

as he unleashes his judgment on the rebellious nations,

the enemies of the people of God.

And what does God do?

We see in these verses,

he causes wars to cease.

He breaks the bow.

He shatters the spear.

He burns the shields or the chariots with fire.

God will defeat all the warring nations by destroying their weapons.

How can you fight if your weapons have been destroyed?

The people of God are invited to come

and see the desolations that God has brought upon their enemies.

Perhaps there's one particular battle or event

that the Psalmist has in mind when he writes this song.

But we've thought about Jericho already this morning.

You know, that's a good example of God making an utter desolation of God's enemies.

And he brings them down by his power alone.

It was nothing that the Israelites did.

They were just on a long walk, a long, noisy walk.

The Psalmist says,

Come and see, O people of God,

what the covenant Lord has done for you.

He will raise your enemies to the ground and make them a desolation.

Come and see what he has done.

Now we've seen in verse 6 already that the nations are roaring

and they're lifting up their voice against God and against his people.

But we see in verse 6 that when almighty God lifts up his voice,

again that apocalyptic language,

the earth melts.

When God lifts up his voice,

mighty nations are brought to nothing.

There is no doubt where true power lies in this Psalm.

Now I'm not sure when in Israel's history

this Psalm was written.

It could have been when Israel was still a kingdom

or it could have been when they were in exile

or under occupation.

This could have been written to them

when they were under Babylonian rule

or under Persian rule

or under Greek rule

or even under Roman rule.

No matter when in history

the people of God sung this song,

Psalm 46 should have reminded them

where the true power lies.

These almighty kingdoms,

where are they now?

Where are the Greeks?

Where are the Romans?

Where are the Babylonians?

God is the one who's able to utterly

dismantle the nations

and make them a desolation.

How foolish then it would have been

for the people of God

to trust in anyone

or anything other than almighty God.

God says to his people,

come and see what I can do.

Come and see what I've done.

But now let's move on to verse 10.

And this is where God says

to the nations and to all the earth,

be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in the earth.

So we've seen the invitation

to come and see

and now we see this command

to be still.

Now we quite often like to quote this verse.

We like to take it

as a sort of comforting verse.

We like to meditate on it.

But in the context of this psalm,

in the context of Psalm 46,

as we look at the language

in the rest of the psalm,

this is no peaceful meditation.

This is an awesome,

authoritative command

to the nations

and to all the earth

and to anybody

who's looking on and listening

to be still before him

and to know for certain

that he is God.

There is no other.

This is no peaceful meditation.

This is an authoritative command

to still yourself before God.

Now, this command from God,

there are really obvious similarities.

I say really obvious.

I just, at camp this week,

we were looking at Mark chapter four.

Sorry, the gospel of Mark.

So my head's been in the gospel of Mark.

My head's been in the Psalms

full of prep for this.

And there seems to be

some real similarities

between this command of God

and the story of Jesus

in the boat

on the Sea of Galilee

in Mark chapter four.

And I'm just going to put

the words of the story

up on the screen.

You'll know this story really well.

But I'm just going to read it.

That day when evening came,

he said to his disciples,

that's Jesus,

let us go over

to the other side.

Leaving the crowd behind,

they took him along

just as he was in the boat.

There were also other boats with him.

A furious squall came up

and the waves broke over the boat

so that it was nearly swamped.

Jesus was in the stern,

sleeping on a cushion.

The disciples woke him

and said to him,

teacher, don't you care

if we drown?

He got up,

rebuked the wind

and said to the waves,

quiet.

Be still.

Then the wind died down

and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples,

why are you so afraid?

Do you still have no faith?

And they were terrified

and they asked each other,

who is this?

Even the wind and the waves

obey him.

Jesus

purposefully uses

the words of Psalm 46

when he stands up

and he speaks

to the roaring,

foaming,

and surging sea and wind.

And he speaks these words

in the presence

of his disciples,

be still

and know

that I

am God.

And we see in the story

that they are left

asking one another,

who is this man?

They didn't know

who he truly was yet,

but by using this Psalm,

Jesus is declaring,

you lot

know that I

am God

and that I will

command the nations

and all the earth

to be still

before me.

Jesus declares,

look,

this Psalm

is about me.

I am the fortress

you must run to.

I will be among you

and be an ever-present

help to you

by my spirit.

I will fight for you

and I will

still the earth

and the nations

with just a word

and I will be

exalted.

And where will Jesus

be exalted?

Well, we see

in verse 10,

Jesus will be exalted

among the nations

and in the earth.

Jesus will be celebrated

and glorified

and worshipped

in those two places

of chaos

that we looked at already.

In the earth,

which is sitting

under God's judgment.

Jesus will still it.

Jesus will be exalted

in the midst

of the nations

who rebel

against his rule

as Jesus

is exalted

in the earth

and among the nations,

they will be humbled

and they will be stilled

and they will know

without a doubt

that he is God.

And God's people,

those that have come

into his kingdom

that have chosen

to set him up

as their king,

they will be looking on

and they will be

worshipping

and glorifying him

all the more

when they see him

come down

and humble

all his enemies

and be exalted.

But of course,

Jesus was already glorified

in the earth

and among the nations

when he was nailed

to the cross

to bear the wrath

of God

for the sins

of mankind.

Jesus was glorified

on that cross

as the saviour

of the world

died

and suffered

for the ones

that he loved.

yet he was raised

again to life

defeating not just

earthly nations

but defeating

the spiritual enemies

of God

once and for all.

So the God

of Psalm 46

has already

dealt the defeating

blow to all

his enemies

on earth

and in the spiritual realm.

But we are living

in a time

after the cross

and before Jesus

returns in power,

we are in this

in-between time

and so we haven't

seen all the powers

of the nations

brought under

his rule

just yet.

So how can we

as God's people

sing

Psalm 46

today?

Well,

I think it is by

looking at where

we are going,

where we are going,

where our destination

is.

And this is the

moment that we

skip back to

verses 4 and 5.

And in verses 4 and 5

we see there

that Jesus has,

sorry,

we know already

from our Bible

that Jesus has

promised to

deliver all who

trust in him

into his everlasting

kingdom.

And we see this

in view here,

the city of God

where God himself

will dwell among us.

This is the great

promise that

heaven will come

down to earth

and God will dwell

among his people.

We will live

with him.

And in verses 4 and 5

you can take a look

at them again

in Psalm 46.

Here we see

the river of life

flowing

in the city of God

and we see

that it makes

the people

glad.

This is a picture

of tranquility

and it is in

contrast

with the

verses that come

before the chaotic

waters of the world

under judgment.

Here we see

the river of life

flowing peacefully

in the city of God

and it makes

the people of

God glad.

And this is the city

where God dwells.

We see that

in this verse as well.

God dwells here

with his people.

God is within

this city.

He will be

among his people

there in the city

of God.

She will not fall.

God will help her

at the beginning

of every day.

It is clear

that this place

this place

this city of God

where we will dwell

is a place

of tranquility.

It's a place

of rock steady

safety.

It is a holy place.

And how will

God's people

have total confidence

when they live

in that place?

How will God's people

have confidence

when they are with him

in,

I just gave it away,

when they're with him

in the new creation?

It's because God himself

will dwell there

with them

and in the midst

of his people.

So in these

in-between days

after the cross

and before Jesus'

return,

we are waiting

for this day

when we will live

in total peace

with God

in his holy kingdom.

And as we wait,

we need to

consider

these two things.

So two things

for us to think about

just as we

start to

bring this

all to a close.

We need to consider

God's invitation

that we've seen already.

God's invitation

to come

and see

and secondly,

his command

to be still.

Come and see

what the Lord

has done

and secondly,

be still

and know that I am God.

So today,

in this in-between day,

God is saying

to us today,

come and see

what I've done.

Maybe you say,

maybe you're saying,

I just can't see

God working

in the situation

that I'm in right now.

I'm in this situation.

I have this

circumstance in my life

and I just can't see him

at work.

Why should I trust him anyway?

What is he actually doing?

Well, I think God

is inviting us

to come and take a look

in our Bibles,

come and see

what he's done

in the history

of his people,

of Israel,

how he displayed

his mighty power

again and again

and again

over his enemies.

But not just that,

God is inviting us

to come and see

what he has done

through his son,

Jesus,

bringing salvation

and eternal refuge

to all who choose

to put their trust

in him.

Come and see

what I've done

through my people,

Israel,

but come and see

what I ultimately

have done

through my son,

Jesus.

Come and see.

Now,

at the start,

we were thinking

a little bit

about bomb shelters,

a place of refuge

for people living

in danger.

we thought about

the London Underground.

But the whole point

of a bomb shelter

is that you actually

have to leave

the unsafe place

where you are,

so maybe that's

your house.

You need to get up,

you need to come

out of that place

and you need to enter

into the shelter

and only then

will you be safe.

In the same way,

we must all leave

the place

of self-dependence

which offers us

no true safety.

We need to stop

depending on ourself

for safety.

We need to come

out of that place

and enter into

the refuge

that God offers us

and that is

his son,

Jesus.

Jesus is the only

place where we

can find true

safety in this world

which is rocking

and shaking

and at war

with itself

this world

which will come

to an end.

Jesus is the only

place where we

can find true

safety in this

world.

So come and see

what I've done

through my son Jesus

and secondly,

God invites us

to be still.

I think this is

actually an invitation

for us now.

God invites us

to come and be still

before he commands

the whole earth

and the world

to be still.

God invites each

one of us

this morning.

Be still.

Will you humble

yourself before

him and know

that he is the

one true God?

He will be

exalted in our

midst on that

final day of

judgment.

Jesus,

whether we choose

to trust in him

or not

or whether we

will choose to

keep roaring

at him,

setting ourselves

up against him.

He will be

exalted in our

midst,

whether we

like it or

not.

God invites us

here in Psalm

46 to be

still and

worship

Jesus,

who will bring

all his

enemies under

his rule.

Let me pray.

our God and

Father,

we thank you so

much for giving

us your word.

Thank you for

giving us

Psalm 46,

this psalm that

we may know

or we've maybe

never seen

before.

And we thank

you that this

is a psalm

that we can

think about,

we can read,

we can even

sing.

and it's a

psalm that

gives us

massive confidence

that you are

our refuge,

you are our

fortress,

you are the

place that we

can run into

and take

shelter in

when we are

living in this

world,

when calamity

strikes,

when the

nations are

raging against

you and

against us,

your church.

Thank you that

we can find

shelter in you

and in your

son Jesus,

who you have

anointed and

you have set up

as the king

over the

universe.

And yeah,

we just pray

for each one

of us that

we would be

remembering that

this week,

Lord,

as in the

good times

and in the

bad,

that we would

remind ourselves

that we can

take shelter

in him.

And we thank

you that you

haven't just

left us to

scrabble around

in this world

by ourselves,

but you have

promised to be

among us today,

among your

people.

You said it's

better for me,

Jesus said it's

better for me to

leave you so

the spirit can

come and to

help us live

for you.

So we thank

you for sending

Jesus to be

glorified in the

world.

We saw that as

he hung on the

cross and he

died for the

sins of the

world.

And we pray

for those of

us who sit

here this

morning who

haven't yet

chosen to put

their trust in

Jesus.

I pray that you

would help them

to know that he

is the son of

God.

He is who he

said he was.

He is a real

figure in history,

but he was much

more than that.

He was the son of

God who came to

suffer the wrath

of God for all

of our sins,

Lord.

So we thank you

for Jesus and we

thank you for

leaving your

spirit who dwells

amongst us and

is in our midst

today and is our

ever-present help.

So help us now,

Lord, as we turn

and turn to a

time of worship

and help us to

lift up our

voices and worship

you as our king

and our God.

And it's in Jesus'

name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen.