The Ever-Present God In Our Ever-Changing World

Psalm 46, if you're looking for the text, you can find it in the Bible in front of you,

but you can also find it on the back of your bulletin. So that might be the easiest way to look

! At some point in the service, toward the end of the service, we're actually going to read together

the last stanza of this Psalm, beginning in verse 8. So just kind of have that ready and we'll do

that in a little bit. So how do you respond when trouble comes? If it hasn't visited you recently,

it will soon. My oldest son's wife was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had to have surgery a

couple weeks ago. We're grateful that things are going well there, but that was a trouble.

Last week or so, a week and a half ago, a float hung up on an ejector pump in my home and a toilet

flapper valve decided to hang up at the same time and sewer water flowed into our finished basement

for hours without anyone noticing and cleanup continues. I can hardly wait to see what will

come this coming week. So how are you doing? See, when the earthquakes of life in various forms come

crashing in on your world, what do you do? What will you think? What will you pray? How will you act?

I think maybe this Psalm provides some exceptional counsel that if followed can give us a surprising

stability as our world slides into chaos. Now, if you have some familiarity with church history,

you know the name Martin Luther. This Psalm, Psalm 46, was actually Luther's favorite.

And with all of the things that were encountered in his life, he spent a good deal of time in this text.

During some of the dark and dangerous days of the Reformation,

Luther became discouraged and depressed. When that occurred, he turned to his friend Philip Melanchthon.

He said, come Philip, let's sing the 46th Psalm. Well, we know that song. In fact, we sang that song

last Sunday. The mighty fortress is our God. I'll review actually Luther's words at the end of this

message just to kind of get a context of that. One writer, one scholar wrote this,

few Psalms breathe the spirit of sturdy confidence in the Lord in the midst of very real danger

as strongly as does this one. Having taken a closer look at Psalm 46 this last couple of weeks,

I would heartily agree with that. Psalm 46 actually contains three stanzas, one through three, verses

one through three. In the first stanza, four to seven, the second, and eight to 11 is the third

stanza. The second and third stanzas, if you look at that, actually conclude with the same line.

The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. And the end of each of the three

stanzas is a word that we don't use today, really, probably. It's the word selah, or selah, depends on

how you pronounce it. I doubt that anyone knows for certain what that term means. But there are two

strong possibilities. One is that it's a musical directive of some sort, whether it's instruments or

certain things like that. The second is actually a call to consider, to ponder. So we're going to

use that possibility today as we work our way through this psalm. So here's the first stanza.

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. Selah. I think what that is telling us

is that when troubles surround us, God is our constant shelter and he is our sufficient strength.

I'm going to examine some of those terms a little bit to help us to figure this out a little bit more

carefully. A refuge is a place where we would go to hide for protection. God alone is that refuge,

according to the psalm. Notice what I said. He doesn't provide the shelter. He is the shelter.

Nothing in this universe compares to him. He is our refuge. He is also our strength. What's needed

when we're alone, weak, outnumbered, and overwhelmed? Well, we need the source of strength by which we can

face the calamities of life. The psalmist declares that he is our strength. He is also our very present

help. When at any moment we are unexpectedly overcome, he's always there with us. I don't know

that that was my first thought when I was standing in water, but he's always there.

He is our right now refuge and strength and help. Very present help means God is immediately present

and instantly available to his people. Trouble? Trouble describes a very tight place. It's a place like

where you're cornered. It's the proverbial between a rock and a hard place. That's what he's saying.

Have you been there? My guess is you have. When you are there, and we are sometimes,

he is too. He is with us. So what is the expected response for us when we're in these troubles?

Well, often our ability to know and trust God, I think God uses that sometimes to actually enhance

the recognition of his presence when we're going through struggles and pressures of life.

If it's true that God is always present and that he is our refuge and strength, it should also be

true that we ought always to face the terrors of life without fear. Now that may not be personally

true, but it should be if we believe the message of the psalm. So what are some of those troubles?

Again, in the first stanza, he gives us a sample of those. And basically it's saying to us, whatever

happens, look at what's happening here. The mountains are trembling and moving and being cast into the

sea. That sounds like a trouble. The waters are roaring and foaming and swelling and we're shaking

and drowning in it all, but we need not fear. Does that make sense to you? When all those things are going

on? Well, perhaps what we need to do is to take a little Selah moment here to ponder. You see, because of

who God is, we can rest in him without fear, regardless of what's going on around us.

If you want another encouraging word about that to ponder in the midst of the world that's falling apart

around you, consider these words from Psalm 91 verses 14 to 16. These are wonderful words.

Psalms 91:14–16

Actually, God is speaking. He says,

because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name.

When he calls to me, I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and honor him.

With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

I've grabbed hold of that passage many times. You see, when trouble surrounds us, God is our constant

shelter and strength. Let's look at stanza number two.

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 morning dawns.

The nations rage. 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. Selah.

So, when trouble surrounds us, God is our constant shelter and strength. But when our world is in chaos,

God is present and he's in complete control.

Let that sink in a bit. He's in complete control. You see, where God is, there's stability.

The psalmist uses familiar scenes to describe this. Whatever the calamity on the outside happens to be,

the psalmist pictures a quiet stream, the stream of Siloam in the city of Jerusalem.

The holy habitation, which would probably be the temple mount, as a picture of safety and tranquility.

This, however, seems to go far beyond the idea of an earthly city in Jerusalem,

with reference to safety and security of God's people throughout the ages,

culminating in the new Jerusalem.

That was the city that Abraham looked for.

It's the city described in Revelation 22.

From now, throughout eternity, God provides stability and peace.

Now, and later.

So, where God chooses, he also brings judgment.

Verse 6.

A good study would be to compare verse 6, actually, with Psalm 2.

Where the nations rage against him, but it says that

he will break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

See, when the Lord speaks, the enemy folds.

Someone wrote, when the Lord speaks, all nature stands aghast at the sound of his voice.

Nature does.

Sometimes we don't.

So, where God chooses, there's judgment.

But where is God when we're in panic?

Where is he?

Some have wondered what earthly situation occurred to prompt the accounting of God's protection here.

In Psalm 46.

It's not true that we always have a picture of what happened when the psalm was written.

If you'll notice, there are little psalm titles in your Bible.

And often those give us a clue as to what took place in the psalm.

So, this doesn't.

It tells us if we're a choir master and so forth.

But it doesn't tell us the historical place where this happened.

There are a couple of possibilities here.

One is found in 2 Chronicles chapter 20.

2 Chronicles 20 · chapter mention

It would be a good one to read.

We're not going to look at that one today.

But it would be a good one to read.

But that might have been what prompted this psalm.

It involved King Jehoshaphat at the time.

But another one, and this is the one I think we're going to look at today.

It actually happened during the reign of Hezekiah.

And that record of that is found in 2 Kings chapters 18 and 19.

2 Kings 18 · chapter mention

It's also found two other places in the Bible.

2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 36 and 37.

Either of those, again, is a possibility.

But we'll look at that second one today.

It sort of went like this.

Sennacherib was the king of Assyria at the time.

Assyria was a ruthless nation.

A hated nation by the Jews.

Terrible folks.

What they did.

Awful things.

Sennacherib had come in and attacked the northern kingdom of Israel.

And took them all captive.

Basically the northern kingdom ceased to exist at that point.

And now he's moving toward the southern kingdom.

And so he goes and he's going to lay siege against the city of Jerusalem.

And when all this is happening, you can imagine the fright of the people.

Because the Assyrian empire was huge and powerful.

And was running over countries one after another.

Before attacking Jerusalem, the king actually sent a field commander.

It's called the Rabshakeh in the Bible.

He comes there and he brings a letter to Hezekiah.

And then he decides he's going to stand.

And as people are kind of lined up around the walls of Jerusalem,

he begins to speak to them in Hebrew.

Which really got their attention.

And he basically is telling them,

Listen, you need to surrender.

Because if you surrender, your life will be so much better.

I mean, all the good things will happen to you if you surrender.

Because you can live.

But if you don't surrender, you're going to die.

That was his message, essentially.

And so Hezekiah took the letter that he had received.

And he put the letter in front of the Lord.

And he begins to pray.

And as he's praying, he's pleading with God.

And he concludes his prayer with these words in 2 Kings 19.

Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands.

And have cast their gods into the fire.

For they were not gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone.

Therefore, they were destroyed.

So now, O Lord, our God, save us, please, from His hand.

That all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.

That was his prayer.

Now, the Israelites were outnumbered.

And they had meager weapons compared to the Assyrians.

But Hezekiah was calling upon the people to trust the Lord to deliver them.

Do you know what happened?

The last couple of verses of 2 Kings 19, verses 38 and 39, say this.

That night, the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians.

And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed, went home.

Well, these people were asleep.

Can you imagine trying to sleep when an army is around your city and it's going to destroy you?

And you think, when it comes dawn, it's going to be there.

We're going to die.

And they get up in the next morning and the whole bunch of people, 185,000 soldiers, dead.

It's time to take a Selah moment here.

Verses 4 and 5 of the text said,

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 morning dawns.

The Lord of hosts is with us.

You see, since the Lord is with us and in complete control, do we need to be afraid?

Do we need to doubt?

There are many threats and wars on the outside, but we can be glad and stand firm in Him.

We should ponder that for a bit.

So we've learned something about when trouble surrounds us, God is our constant shelter, sufficient strength.

And when our world is in chaos, God is present and in complete control.

Now we're going to learn something else in stanza number three.

So look at it on your bulletin.

It starts with,

Come behold the works of the Lord.

We're going to read that together.

All right?

Let's see how we do in congregational reading.

Let's see what happens.

Ready?

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

He makes wars cease 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.

Selah.

Well done.

So the third idea here is that when we're running in circles,

trying to win the battles on our own,

God exalts Himself and He commands our attention.

So let's consider His works for a bit.

Again, if this was a reference to Hezekiah,

consider the scene after that 185,000 enemy soldiers' army

were killed by the angel of the Lord.

How that battlefield must have appeared.

The enemy was completely destroyed,

and the armies of Israel didn't even pick up their swords.

But they saw the aftermath of what God had done.

I think that probably qualifies as a desolation.

Verse 8.

And then consider His ways in verse 9.

Martin Luther wrote this in his hymn.

Did we in our own strength confide?

Our striving would be losing.

We're not the right man on our side,

the man of God's own choosing.

Just ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus.

It is He, Lord Sabaoth, His name,

from age to age the same,

and He must win the battle.

Luther got it right.

And He will win the battle.

So what are we supposed to do?

Let's consider His will in verses 10 and 11.

Note that in verse 10,

it's no longer the psalmist speaking,

but it's the Lord Himself speaking.

Be still and know that I am God.

Now, be still seems to be a strange command

when we're in the middle of an impossible situation.

Our normal response when trouble comes

is to run in circles,

not sure what to do.

Either we swing at everything and hit nothing,

or we try to run and hide.

But the command here is to be still

and know that I am God.

You might find this surprising,

but this is not an instruction for us

to lead a contemplation,

contemplative, get it right,

contemplative life.

However important that might be.

Be still and know that I am God

means to surrender,

to lay our arms down,

to know that He is the one

and only victorious God.

You probably know this.

There is such a thing as a negotiated peace.

Two groups get together,

they make a deal,

they sign it,

and usually don't keep it.

But that's a negotiated peace,

all right?

But then there is an imposed peace

where one imposes their will on the other.

There's peace.

There's also a crushed group of people

or nation or individual.

Well, this is an imposed peace.

God imposes His will on the enemy around us.

And when He does,

we drop our weapons

as we surrender to His will and purpose.

I was thinking about this this week.

Do you remember when Jesus

was in the Garden of Gethsemane

and the mob showed up?

The disciples had been sleeping.

Jesus told them to wake up.

The mob gets there.

And what does Peter do?

Pulls out his sword

and goes swinging

and he hits Malchus,

one of the soldiers.

He whacks off his ear.

I doubt if he was aiming for the ear,

but he got the ear.

And what did Jesus do?

Did He call the rest of them

to get out their swords?

No.

In fact, He said,

put your sword back in its place.

He heals the guy's ear.

And there the disciples are.

It was be still

and know that I'm God.

Surrender your weapons.

Watch what's going to happen

because this is my will.

See, when we're overwhelmed

with difficulty,

instead of running,

we need to sometimes wait.

Instead of panicking,

we need to be still

in order to gain our perspective,

trusting the one

who has everything under control.

To be still and know

that He is God

is to take the time

to meditate on who He is.

To know that God says

to the psalmist and to us,

I will be exalted

among the nations.

I will be exalted

in the earth.

He is the Lord Almighty.

He wins.

And if we belong to Him,

we win too.

We need to know

and remember that.

So what does it mean

to know God?

What does the text mean

when it says

the Lord of hosts?

Why is God referred to

as the God of Jacob?

Take some time to think

about some of those questions.

I'm not going to deal with them,

but just think about that

a little bit.

Actually, I will speak

just a little bit about Jacob

just for a second.

Have you ever wondered

why God identifies Himself

with Jacob?

He was a third

of three patriarchs

that are often mentioned.

The God of Abraham,

the God of Isaac,

the God of Jacob.

Frankly,

I would suggest to you

that Jacob was

the least of the three.

I mean,

he was more of a schemer

than a man of faith.

Read a story.

It took him a whole life

to learn to trust God,

but God claims to be

the God of Jacob

just as much

as the God of Abraham

and Isaac

and all the rest of us

who trust in His holy name.

To me,

it's a great encouragement

that he actually said,

I'm the God of Jacob.

Jacob,

I'm very grateful

when I think about that,

when I hear it,

I'm the God of Les Martin.

Why?

Why would you do that, God?

But He is.

And for those of us

who belong to Him,

He's our God.

And He claims us.

It's time for us

to take a third

Selah moment here

to ponder.

This little account

comes from

James Montgomery Boyce.

He was a pastor

in Philadelphia

for many, many years,

now in heaven

with the Lord.

He wrote this.

The story goes

that a newspaper

printed the obituary

of an American author,

Mark Twain.

But,

Twain wasn't dead.

And when he was

told about it,

he supposedly said,

the reports of my death

are greatly exaggerated.

The voice goes on,

for years,

I have heard reports

that the church

is dying.

Christianity

is shrinking.

Belief in God

and of the Bible

and the Bible

as the word of God

is over.

The reports

of the death

of the church

are greatly exaggerated.

The author of Hebrews

was comparing

the scene at Sinai

as God was giving

Moses the law

with the scene

in heaven

where the saints

are in the presence

of God.

The author concludes,

Therefore,

let us be grateful

for receiving

a kingdom

that cannot be shaken

and thus let us

offer to God

acceptable worship

with reverence

and awe

for our God

is a consuming fire.

Belonging to God

through Jesus Christ

under his rule

and reign

we are in

an unshakable

position.

Psalm 103

Psalms 103:19

verse 19

The Lord has established

his throne

in the king

and sorry

the Lord has established

his throne

in the heavens

his kingdoms

rule over all.

Psalm 46

6

our text

The nations rage

the kingdoms totter

he utters his voice

the earth melts.

Neither God

nor his reign

are dead

and any report

of such

is greatly exaggerated.

We belong to the one

who rules

over all

forever.

End quote.

I'm going to conclude

this morning

with actually

reading over

the words

of Luther's hymn

A Mighty Fortress.

I think sometimes

when we sing songs

we sing them

but we don't

necessarily

think about

the words

that are being said

and sometimes

that's probably

a good thing

because sometimes

the words aren't good

but most of the songs

we sing here

I'd say all the songs

we sing here

are theologically

on target.

I think

yeah for sure

I think this is

this is on target

by what Luther said

so I'll try to

say it in such a way

that the point

comes clear.

Mighty Fortress

is our God

a bulwark

never failing

our helper

he amid

the flood

of mortal

ills

prevailing

for still

our ancient

foe

doth work

to seek

to work

us woe

his craft

and power

are great

he's talking about

Satan

and armed

with cruel

hate

on earth

is not

as equal

did we

in our

strength

confide

our strength

our striving

would be

losing

we're not

the right

man on our

side

the man

of God's

own choosing

doth ask

who that

may be

Christ

Jesus

it's he

Lord

sabbath

his name

from age

to age

the same

and he

must win

the battle

though this

world

with devils

filled

should threaten

to undo

us

we will not

fear

for God

has willed

his truth

to triumph

through us

prince of

darkness

grim

we tremble

not for

him

his rage

we can

endure

for lo

his doom

is sure

one little

word

shall fell

him

that word

above all

earthly

powers

no thanks

to them

worthy

powers

abided

the spirit

and the

gifts

are ours

through him

who with

us

sideth

let goods

and kindreds

go

this mortal

life

also

the body

they may

kill

God's

truth

abides

still

his

kingdom

is

forever

amen

absolutely

so when the

troubles come

it's time to be

still

and know that

he is God

remember

it's time

to be still

as in surrender

not to the

enemy

but to the

one who

always triumphs

instead of

what are we

going to do

it's

Lord

you are our

strength

and our

shield

and our

fortress

and our

ever present

help

I am excited

to see what

you're going to

do

and what I'm

going to see

and what I'm

going to learn

as I watch

you win

the battle

and that works

even in a

soggy

basement

some of you

are going

through

unbelievable

challenges

and problems

and issues

they're difficult

they're hard

every day you

get up and

it's still

there

and you're

hurt

that doesn't

take away

from what the

text says

God is

ever present

he is with

us

and all those

things we've

talked about

this morning

are true

about him

and he's

always our

refuge and

strength

don't put

that away

have a

selah

moment

okay

ponder

those things

and you'll

find that

though the

trials may

not be any

less

our hope

and confidence

is overflowing

let's pray

father in

heaven

thank you

for this

song

bring it

to mind

when we

struggle

when we

think we're

in a mess

and we're

the only ones

there and

nobody can

get us

out

help us

to remember

that you're

with us

when we

hurt

when we're

discouraged

when we

were without

hope

help us

to remember

we have

hope and

help in

you

and I

pray that

you would

bless this

congregation

with a

confidence in

you that's

unshakable

a heart

that's filled

with trust

and not

fear but

trust in

you and

that you

would bless

us and

help us

to walk

with you

regardless of

the circumstances

knowing that

you are our

firm foundation

thank you

that you are

our fortress

a mighty

fortress

you are

thank you

for all

that you're

doing in

our lives

thank you

for our

time together

as we sing

our closing

song

may you

remind us

again

that we

are safe

in you

amen

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you