Peace in Chaos

Psalm chapter 46 this morning.

Psalms 46 · chapter mention

I look forward to studying and learning from this passage together.

If you don't have a Bible, there should be one in front of you.

Please use that.

We'll be referencing this chapter, this passage, our entire time this morning.

So please have that open.

Psalm chapter 46.

Psalms 46 · chapter mention

And it reads as follows God is our fortress, the choir master of the sons of Korah, according to Almoth.

A song.

Verse 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

Verse 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her.

She shall not be moved.

God will help her when the morning dawns, the nations rage, the kingdoms totter, he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes the wars cease to the ends, to the end of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear.

He burns the chariots with 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 fortress.

Here ends the reading of our passage this morning.

And as we start, I know Pastor Scott had a chance to kind of reflect a little bit, lead us in a time of reflection on this passage.

But really, what I want us to do is I want us to talk about things that make people fearful, or what are things that people fear?

And so this morning, I'm gonna ask you to give some feedback, to share some thoughts.

What are some things today that people fear?

So right where you're sitting, go ahead.

Just this is what people fear.

Snakes, okay?

Yeah, anyone else fear snakes?

Yeah.

Other things that people fear.

Flying in an airplane.

Other people, relational fear, spiders, I heard back here.

Poverty.

I am sorry.

Poverty.

We're fearful of poverty or financial.

Yeah, great things.

Dying.

Public speaking.

I'm right there with you.

I'm sorry?

Change.

We fear change.

There's a lot of things in this world that we fear.

What about you personally?

Does anyone feel up to sharing something that you fear?

Snakes, alright.

I don't have to prod there.

I'm sensing a theme here over in this section.

Spiders.

I'm sorry?

Spiders.

Spiders, alright?

Yeah.

I'm sorry?

Heights, good one.

Yeah, some people are afraid of heights.

Anybody see the world's tallest um water slide that opened up in Kansas City, like 160 feet drop?

That'd be tough.

I like thrill rides, but I don't know if I like it that much.

I'm sorry?

Did you have one?

Failure and rejection.

Failure and rejection, yeah.

These are great things.

Identifying things that we are fearful of.

Well, as we continue, I want to share a couple other thoughts, just to kind of get us thinking along this line.

Um, some of these thoughts are or questions are more to be uh rhetorical.

I'm not asking you to respond at this point, but um, there are a number of people from our church who recently said goodbye to loved ones.

And maybe that describes you.

Are you here this morning fearful of what the future holds, knowing that a significant loved one is no longer here?

And our condolences, of course, go out to some of these families who are grieving, but maybe that's something that you fear.

Or maybe you fear the loss of your job.

Or maybe a recent friendship kind of went sour, and now you have relational fear of ever opening up to someone else in a friendship kind of way, in a relational way.

Or maybe you fear the well-being of your son or daughter, or maybe you fear making decisions that will impact your future.

Or maybe the reality that we we live in a fragile economy, and I know someone mentioned this earlier, talking about poverty as being a fear.

Maybe financial security and the reality that we live in a fragile economy and that things could change in essence causes you to fear.

Failing health can also be a source of anxiety and fear.

Or maybe it's the growing reality, and Noah mentioned this earlier, maybe it's the growing reality that we live, we really do, we live in a post-Christian society in our day and age.

We do.

And for some, that creates an anxiety and a level of fear.

Does it cause you concerned?

While we may not be persecuted like our brothers and sisters around the world who undergo severe persecution, there is undeniable growing hostility in our society towards people of faith.

Really, not too long ago, most people would uphold or at least see the value of Judeo-Christian values and they would question it whether they were religious or not.

Today that's not the case in our society.

People are rejecting values of our faith.

They're either saying they're outdated, or they're even saying they're the source of bigotry and hate.

That's the reality which we live in today.

Does that cause you concern?

Does it feel like the world is crumbling around you, that the culture fabric around us is failing?

I like to visit various news sites and kind of see what's going on around the world.

And there was one prominent news site that was talking about an article that had to relate to politics and religious freedom.

And I like to read the articles and I like to peruse the comments following, and and uh in preparation for our sermon, I said, I wonder what some comments there on this particular subject of religious freedom and politics.

And no doubt there were those that were hostile towards the faith.

And here's just a handful of the many comments that were there.

One person said, I prefer if all religious groups were squashed and banned.

Gods are figments of imagination.

Another commenter said, There are many of us who wish religious nutjobs would be gone.

Another commenter sarcastically said, I do have an understanding of what having faith means.

It means a rational thought, denial of scientific facts, magical thinking, belief in adult fairy tales, inability to grow and being an adult and dealing with the real world, the world would be much better off without any religion when we evolve beyond such childishness.

And one commenter said the bottom line is this, in all caps, religion is a cancer.

Guys, this is the world which we live.

It's a reality.

We live in a post-Christian society where there's growing hostility towards those of us of faith.

Does that cause you concern?

Does that cause you fear?

For some of us, we deal with that in a different way.

Now, I didn't want to share all of those comments about what others think about people of faith, uh, necessarily to get into apologetics or in other words to defend the faith, but we will say this, I will say this.

That to believe in the scriptures and the Holy Bible does not mean that it's incompatible with reason and science and logic.

Okay, I will say that, but I'm not going to get into apologetics this morning.

That's not the point.

The point was to highlight the fact that we live in a post-Christian society, and for some of us, that creates in us a level of fear.

And it makes us uneasy.

Bottom line is this when we talk about fear, when we talk about what's going on in the world around us, the bottom line is this is that we live in a broken and fallen world that is marred by sin.

And as long as we do so, we will have to deal with fear.

It's going to be a byproduct, or it is a byproduct of sin.

And it can be crippling for us to experience.

But as we've seen from previous weeks in studying the Psalms, and as we see from our passage today, and as we've had a chance to already reflect on it, we have reason not to fear, even though all of these things are going on around us today.

Now, this is not stated to make light of any trials or troubles or circumstances that you might be going through this morning.

We know that this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

So it's not meant to make light of the trials and tribulations or struggles that we might be experiencing at this point in our life.

But it's to rather point out that, like this psalm does, how great and how mighty and how powerful our God is even in the midst of the chaos.

Even in the midst when we feel like the fabric of our culture is breaking apart, we have reason to not fear.

And so, a quick overview of this psalm before we begin to unpack it this morning.

Poetry is really designed in part to invoke an appropriate response to biblical truth that's presented.

The psalm is no different.

We see vivid, descriptive imagery designed to paint a picture of the beautiful truths and to drive home the significance of these truths for the life of the believer.

So, as we discuss this passage, I believe it's helpful for us to imagine the things that are taking place in the passage, like standing in front of Grand Mountains.

Or to feel the sand of the beach beneath your feet and to hear the mighty ocean roar.

Too often we gloss over significant imagery that the Psalms use in order to just grab a nugget of truth.

We don't put ourselves there to feel the weight of the imagery that the psalmist wants to have us feel and to sense and to know.

Have you stood beside the ocean and listened to the waves crashing with authority?

It's awe-inspiring and it's humbling to stand in front of the ocean.

And as I said, we must listen to the psalmist paint this compelling picture of chaos, of the unruly nature as it unfolds and as it takes its course, and as we see the threats of war ensue.

And as we break down this psalm, and as we look at there's three sections in the psalm, and as we see from these sections that really what's happening is highlighting a spiritual truth about God.

And so as we study this psalm, here's what we're gonna learn.

We're gonna see that the overarching theme is not one of peace, primarily peace for the afflicted.

Okay?

But moreover, it's a song about who God is and celebrating the mighty power of our God, who is the mighty defender of his people.

Let me say that again.

The overarching theme is not primarily one of peace for the afflicted, but rather a song that celebrates the power of God, who is the mighty defender of his people.

We see this idea broken down in three stroves or three sections of this psalm.

And as you look at the psalm with me, you see he's broken down three sections.

We see verses one through three, and then four through seven, and then eight through eleven.

And what we see, the main idea in verses one through three, is we see about, we learn about God as God protector.

We see God's protection in that first section.

So if you're taking notes, you know, write that down.

First section, God's protection.

And then what we see in verses four through seven is we see God's, or excuse me, four through seven, we see God's presence.

That God is with his people.

And in the last section, verses eight through eleven, what we see is God's preeminence.

Now the term preeminence is just a slightly fancier theological word that happens to start with the letter P.

That was for Pastor Vic.

I got three P's.

God's protection, God's presence, and God's preeminence, which is just, like I said, a slightly fancier theological word that conveys the idea that God supremely reigns over the entire created world.

That there's no one greater than God Himself.

And we see that being described in verses 8 through 11.

And so, with our remaining time, we'll look at the character of God in the midst of a chaotic world as described in these verses of Psalm 30, or excuse me, Psalm 46.

And so let's look at this first section, verses 1 through 3.

All the catastrophes listed in this verse represent really the end of the world.

The picture created in these verses is one of pending and certain doom.

We see contrasting imagery in this section from the crumbling mountains against the raging sea.

And again, it depicts the end of the creative world.

The picture here is one of utter and complete chaos.

The original audience of the psalm would have understood it this way.

They certainly would have recognized this to mean utter destruction.

With that as our backdrop, verse 1 really pops.

It does.

Verse 1 clearly reminds us that even in the most terrifying of circumstances, that God is readily available to us.

We need not fear.

He is an ever-present help in times of trouble.

No matter what chaos we experience, no matter how dark or depressive or fearful a particular circumstance might feel, God is always available to us.

The section also reminds us that our true security comes from God alone.

Not God plus anything else.

Notice it doesn't say God plus your good deeds is your refuge.

What does it say?

It says, God alone is your refuge.

The mountains in this passage, they they signified strength.

Yet even the mountains are subjected to erosion and earthquakes.

What in your life are you trusting that is really giving you a false sense of hope?

As we see that the mountains were taken and thrown into the heart of the sea, what is it in your life that you are trusting today that is really only giving you a false sense of hope?

And security.

Perhaps it's your financial security or well off.

Or maybe it's your family or your health, or maybe it's even your church that you think is giving you a sense of security.

Are you trusting God alone as your great protector?

We can't gloss over this reality.

This passage here beckons us to examine whether we are fully trusting in God in all things.

We can't walk away from this passage without being faced with that question.

Are we trusting in God alone as our great protector and our great refuge?

We see in verses four through seven, we see God's presence.

Notice the flowing river waters, and they suggest vitality and life and bring joy to the city inhabitants.

A good source of water was absolutely crucial for ancient societies and ancient cities.

Contrasting this in the first section, when we observe the harsh realities of destructive waters of the sea, now we observe the peaceful, life-sustaining waters is likened to God's presence.

His presence is life-sustaining and calming to the believer, bringing much joy.

Notice that the security of the city rests in the fact that God lives there.

Verse 5 declares that God is in the midst of the holy city, and in his presence that that city is secured because of his presence.

Contrast this in the first section, where again the mountains are being thrown into the heart of the sea.

Now we see the city rightly secured by the presence of God.

Interestingly, in verse 7, we see this idea of Lord of hosts, which really means that He is the commander, that God is the commander of all powers of heaven and earth, thus supremely reigning.

And really, this first bridge is the next section as we'll see God's preeminence.

And so, with this section, verses 4 through 7, what we see is that the all-powerful, almighty God who upholds this holy city, he is with us.

This should provide us as God's people with great comfort.

Amen.

In the last section, it talks about God's preeminence, verse 8 through 11.

This final section talks about the destructiveness of war.

In our context, we don't really have a proper context for that.

We don't know what it's like as our in our country to feel the weight of pending doom, of invasion.

We don't know what that's really like.

Like people in biblical times, where the constant threat of war was just part of daily life.

It's a foreign concept to us.

Not that we don't understand the sacrifice of war, but the concept of pending doom because of war coming into our homeland, that's foreign to many of us.

And what do we learn about God in relation to war?

Notice it says in verse 9 that God alone makes wars cease.

Consider this following quote: Science cannot bring wars to an end.

It can teach men how to more skillfully destroy each other but not love one another.

Commerce cannot do it.

Some of the cruelest and wickedest wars have been waged for the sake of trade and revenue.

Education cannot do it.

The most highly educated nations of the world are the most military.

Progress and civilization cannot, for they do not make men unselfish.

The source of war is not outward circumstances, but human nature in the lust of gain, of power, of glory, of vengeance.

No power can subdue these but his who could say to the winds and waves, peace be still.

God alone is one who can command the armies to lay down their weapons.

He is the only one able to bring true peace.

He is preeminent over those things.

He reigns supremely over the armies of this world.

Verse 10, we see a very, very familiar, if not one of the most familiar, I believe, verses in Psalms Be Still and Know That I Am God.

Some have argued that this has been misunderstood to simply mean that we need to be reverent in church and to meditate on all the things that God has done for us, his blessings.

Some have argued that really what this is is a proclamation to the chaotic world, that he reigns supremely.

As I've studied this passage, I believe that that's where the psalmist is landing, that the command to be still and know that I am God isn't necessarily a statement to the afflicted, but rather a statement to the chaotic world that he is God and that he reigns supremely.

Here's why I land there.

If you turn with me to Mark chapter 4, verses 34 through, excuse me, 35 through 41, you could just have that open.

Mark 4:34

I'm just going to recap the story.

Here's what's going on.

Jesus is in the boat after a long day of ministry.

With his disciples, they're leaving and they get out in the sea, and you know the story.

All of a sudden the sea gets violent, and a sudden storm overtakes them.

And the disciples are fearful for their lives, and they're crying out.

And Jesus is sleeping on the boat, and they wake up, Jesus, and they're crying out and they're saying, Jesus, save us, we're about to die, we're about to perish.

And what does Jesus do?

He stands up and he doesn't turn to the disciples and say, Peace be still.

Know that I'm God.

What does he do?

He stands up into the chaos of the storm and he says, Peace be still.

And the waves were calm.

Now, naturally, a byproduct of that, as that happened, the disciples realized that their lives were being spared.

There's a peace and a relief, but there is also a fear that swept over them, right?

Who is this that even the waves and the wind obey his command?

Come back to our psalm for a second.

We see the chaos of the world.

What is being proclaimed here by God?

That he will be exalted above all things.

I believe it is a statement to proclaim that God is supremely in control and reigning over all things, that he is reigning over the chaos of the world.

That as the world is crumbling, and God is saying, or will say, peace be still, and that one day all things will be made new.

And so I don't believe that this is a statement necessarily to the afflicted, though the byproduct of this statement is certainly one of peace.

I believe the statement is one to proclaim that God reigns supremely even over the chaos.

And so what do we do with this?

Okay, we've studied this, we've seen God's protection, we see God's presence, we've seen God's preeminence over all things, that He reigns supremely.

What do we do with this?

Verse 4, or excuse me, Psalm 46 reveals two proper responses.

We see, verse 2, to not fear, really instructed, therefore we will not fear.

We know these things, therefore we will not fear.

We also see in verse 8 to come and behold his great works.

So as we better understand that God reigns supremely, we are instructed, do not fear, trusting God as our refuge.

But we also see this idea to come and behold the works of the Lord.

In spite of what threatens us around us, we are instructed to come and behold who God is, his works.

Look at what he has done through Scripture.

Look at his faithfulness in Scripture and what he has done and trust that.

Look at your own life and see how God has worked in your own life and trust that God is with you.

Look at the good works that God has done and his faithfulness and his power and his might.

Someone once said this when troubles drive us to our refuge in God, then it fulfills its purpose.

Say that again, when troubles drive us to our refuge in God, then it fulfills its purpose.

Trouble is not our biggest enemy.

Our biggest enemy comes when we're trying to take refuge in things other than God.

Another person said that it is truly unfortunate if all our troubles are wasted, all misery and no blessing.

Our troubles drive us to our refuge in God.

And as they do, I want us to reflect on a couple things.

Not only the words of the song, but a couple questions.

What fears do you need to confess to God and bring to Him this morning?

Are you trusting that He is always with you, an ever-present help in time of trouble?

And are you trusting in God alone as your refuge?

Let's reflect and meditate as a choir and orchestra.

Lead us in this song, Be Still, My Soul, Be Still.

And then following that, we'll have a chance to respond as a congregation as we sing hymn number 26 A Mighty Fortress is Our God.

But let's reflect on these things.

What fears do you need to confess?

Are you trusting in Him always?

And are you trusting in God alone as your refuge?