46. We are studying this one serially. It's not intended to be an exhaustive study of the Psalms. It will take many, many years if we want to study the Psalms thoroughly and exhaustively. We want to look at these Psalms briefly and in some ways to see how these Psalms are Christological. They are the word of Christ which we are to use to sing, to admonish one another in a congregation, to encourage one another in the most holy faith. evening we come to Psalm 46. Psalm 46. To the chief musician for the sons of Korah, a song upon Elamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roll and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof? " There is a river. The streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her. And that right early, the heat and rage, the kingdoms will move. He uttered his voice. The earth melted. The Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolation he hath made in the earth. He maketh walls to seize unto the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow and cutteth the spear in thunder. He burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the hidden. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Amen. May the Lord bless the reading of His sacred word. Psalm 46 is a very well-known and comforting psalm. It is well-known that this was one of the favorite psalms of Martin Luther. And he would sing it at the times when he felt discouraged or so tried in his opposition of Rome. We read that in the moments when Luther felt something of despair in his heart, then he would call his friend, Philip Langton, and say unto him, Philip, come, let us sing Psalm 46. and the two of them would sing this psalm together, encouraging one another in the work that the Lord has called them to. But this psalm is not only a comfort in times of ecclesiastical or political conflicts. It is of great comfort whenever we are facing uncertain tomorrow. or when we anticipate trials in the days ahead. Every Christian may sing this psalm. We may sing this psalm and apply it to ourselves because it is given to us by our Lord that we may sing in union with Him He speaks of himself as himself only once in this psalm, in verse 10, where he says, I am God. I will be exalted among the heathens. I will be exalted in the earth. But elsewhere in this psalm, he puts himself together with his brethren, together with his church, so that when we sing The plural first person pronoun, us and we, we are singing in union with Christ. He whose word is recorded for us. How does this psalm comfort us? Well, this psalm has three strophes. each one ending with the Hebrew word selah, pause. These three strophes, or paragraphs, encourages us to do three things in the midst of all the turmoil that we will face, whether individually, or corporately as a church, or as a nation. First of all, we are encouraged to fear not. Fear not, because God is our strength and a very present help in trouble. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, Will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof? We all go through different kinds of trials. I don't know anyone, except perhaps the very youngest We have not experienced some kind of trials that bring tears to the eye, grief in the heart. It could be quarrels, or on a larger scale, war, church flits, severe disagreements between brethren, or it could be natural disasters, political turmoil, or it could even be personal struggles. conflict in the soul, because of guilt, because of something done or said. Or it could be because of a trial of life looming ahead of us, so that it looks to us like we are having to fought that mountain of great difficulty or to pass through fire, whatever it is, it can be very fearful to think about what will happen next, to think about what will happen to us, to us individually, to our friends, to the church, to the nation, to our families can be very frightening when these trials are brewing or boiling around us. Indeed, very often we will think of the worst scenarios and we will get unduly worried. The psalmist does not comfort us by saying that he will not be as bad as we think. It's often the way that we comfort one another, isn't it? You look at something that is impending. No, it's not going to be so bad. Don't worry about it. You know, I've fallen to the same fault. Sometimes to encourage someone, I tell the person, don't worry, it won't be so bad. But the Samis does not do that. The Lord would not have us think that it's not going to be so bad when it may not be so. It may be really bad. The fact is we don't know what will happen tomorrow. And what happens may indeed be as bad, if not worse, than what we anticipated it to be. It is foolish, therefore, to comfort ourselves by saying, Peace! Peace! when there is no peace. What then shall we do? Well, the Psalmist teaches us not to imagine the best scenario. But you know what? He tells us to imagine the worst scenario. What else could we mean when we sing? Though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. How else Could we imagine a worse scenario than the Earth is knocked out of the orbit, the mountains blown off, cast into the sea, and the resulting tsunami, gigantic waves, earthquakes everywhere? Speaking metaphorically, of course. Is it not true that sometimes when terrible things happen to us, we feel our whole life crashing around us? like the earth being removed, like huge waves crashing over us. Is it not true? Sometimes we feel just so devastated. But what shall we do if the worst happens to us? The Lord, by His Spirit, will remind us not to fear. He says, think of the worst thing, but don't fear. You can imagine it, but don't fear! Even if it happens, fear not! Why should we not fear in the midst of all this turmoil? Because we have God to be our refuge and our strength. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear? When everything crumble around us, when the whole world crumble beneath our feet, when we have nothing more to cling on to, when we feel ourselves falling freely, we still have somewhere to hide. Underneath are the everlasting arms. We fall. The believer never goes on a free fall. We fall into the hand of the Lord, into the refuge that is strong. a hand that is powerful, able to help. God, who loves us, will always be there for us to hide in. When all men fails us, when our best friends leave us, when those we trust are no longer there even if the Church were to leave us. And with you alone, as one who never leaves us, the Lord is our refuge and our strength. He will help us. He will comfort us. He will hide us, no matter how bad things may turn out. Therefore, we need not fear. Rather, let us learn to run to Him, to hide in Him, and to find strength in Him. We can do all things through Christ, which strengthens us. But not only should we not fear, we also need not be moved. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that right early the heat and rage, the kingdoms will move, he uttered his voice. the earth melted, the Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge." What is it to be moved? What is to be shaken? It is to despair and to give up. It is to allow Satan to have victory. When a kingdom is moved, as in verse 6, the kingdom is destroyed or displaced. The people are scattered, brought to despair of ever returning together to their homeland. If the church be moved, she is shaken from her moorings of truth. She begins to doubt the purpose of her existence. Her members begin to scatter. The leaders are too discouraged to do anything anymore. If a Christian is moved, he is in despair. He loses confidence not only in himself, but in God. He doubts God. He is tempted to forget about living the righteous and holy life. What's the point? He begins to think. Indeed, he is tempted to give up the faith. all together. But we need not be moved. We need not be moved. Because the Lord is with us. Verse 7. And because the Lord is in us. Verse 5. He will help us. He will help us early when we are in need of help. He doesn't wait until we are in no need of help. Then He help us! No! How is the Lord in us and with us? Verse 4 gives us a clue. 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? Can't be the river Jordan that doesn't flow into the tabernacle? Some commentators say it refers to Euphrates. What has Euphrates got to do with this? A river that makes glad the city of God. I believe this river is a reference to the blessing that comes through the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit when He says, "...he that believeth on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." One of the verses that the Lord is referring to, I believe, is Zechariah 14, verse 8, which reads, And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem." God is with us and in us by His Spirit. For this reason, we shall not be moved For he will never leave us, never, never leave us, nor forsake us. And as the Apostle John put it, we have and will overcome the world because greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. the believer in whom the Spirit dwells will not be moved and need not be moved. Therefore the Church, which comprises believers in whom the Spirit dwells, will not be moved. Let us therefore pray for the Spirit, even as the Lord teaches us to pray. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" See what the Lord is doing? He is teaching us to pray. He says, pray. God knows how to give you good gifts. What does He want us to pray particularly for? The Holy Spirit above all things else. Heavenly is not just referring to Pentecost, but is referring to a greater influence of the Spirit, a greater work of the Spirit in our heart, as He brings the Word to bear, to sanctify us. We want to be steadfast in the midst of adversity. then let us learn to pray, especially for the Spirit of the Lord. If we want to learn something from all the trials and adversity that the Lord brings us through, then let us learn to pray that the Lord will apply His Word to our heart by His Spirit, the Spirit who blesses us. who abides in us, that we may abide in Him and know of His great love for us, for it is by His Spirit that we are enabled to call unto God our Father. Beloved, it is only when we can call unto God as our Abba Father when we are undergoing severe trial, that we can learn to cast ourselves into His hands and say, I will not move, for Thy great love embraces me. in the midst of adversity, let us learn to fret not. Verse 8. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolation He hath made in the earth! He maketh walls to cease unto the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow and cutteth the spear in sunder. He burneth the chariots in the fire. and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the hidden. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Be still and know that I am God. What is the meaning of being still? That is not to sit there and to be inactive. I do not think this is what it means. It essentially is to be still, not only in our bodies, but in our heart. Essentially it is to fret not. Be not anxious, this is what the Lord is saying. Be still, fret not. Do not allow those emotional turmoil and fears and frustrations to overwhelm you, to eat you up, be still. But why are we to be still and fret not? The reason is very simple, namely, that the Lord, He is God. He says, be still and know that I am God. Who is this I? This I, I believe, is the same I as He who identifies Himself with us when we sing Us and We in this song. This I is He who is not ashamed to call sinners redeemed by His blood His brethren, and at the same time is God. Who is He but the Lord Jesus Christ, the Emmanuel? The Rite of Hebrews tells us that God hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed Heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds, who being in the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Christ has been appointed the heir of all things. And by the word of His power, He is bringing all things to pass. The natural disasters of the earth, the wars and peace in the world do not come by chance. They are ordained by the Lord. They are brought to pass by His sovereign power. They are all the works of the Lord. See that in verse 8 and 9. Why does He bring all things to pass? He brings all things to pass for His own glory. Verse 10. He brings all things to pass for our sakes. Which is the reason we can confess the Lord of Hosts is with us. God is with us. Emmanuel is with us. Therefore, in the midst of turmoil in our soul and in our lives, let us learn to be still. and know that He is God. He was tempted at all points, like as we are, yet without sin He is God. He will understand All our sorrow, all our trials, all our pains, all our temptations to fret and to grieve and to be angry is God. Let us be still and know that He is God. Let us cease from fretting cease from our frantic activity. Let us be still and let God be God. And see that He is doing good and bringing to pass great glory to His name in the midst of all the trial and tribulation that we may have to go through. Beloved brethren and children, do you have occasions to be tempted to despair? Are you even now going through a severe trial? At least one of our brothers is going through a very, very severe trial. What shall we learn from the Word? Let us fear not For God is our strength and our very present help in trouble. Let us move not, for God is in us and with us by His Spirit. And let us fret not, but be still and know that he who is compassionate is our God and Sovereign Lord. Amen. Shall we sing this psalm before we go into a season of prayer? Psalm 46.