Well, the scripture reading for this morning for the message is Psalm 46. Psalm 46, and I'll be reading out of the ESV, and then most of the passages that are cited in the sermon itself are from the ESV as well. So hear the word of the Lord. 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. 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 kingdom's 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 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. Please be seated. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you have spoken to us through your word. and you have commanded that your word be preached in season and out. We pray that you would send your Holy Spirit to empower your word preached this morning, that it would penetrate to our inmost beings and accomplish your purposes in us. Give us ears to hear and hearts to obey. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Psalm 46, God is our refuge. What is a refuge? It's a place to go for safety, shelter, or protection in times of trouble or danger. The world and our lives are beset by all kinds of troubles and calamities. Natural disasters, wars, sickness, crime, political and cultural upheaval, inner turmoil, persecution, the list goes on. We hear of refugees escaping war-torn countries for shelter in refugee camps. To what or to whom do we turn when life seems to be nothing but stress, trials, conflicts, and dangers? Psalm 46 exhorts us to turn to God as our refuge during troubling times because only God is perfectly reliable, trustworthy, and able to protect us even in the worst of times. Psalm 46 was the inspiration for Martin Luther's hymn, the one we just sang, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. The hymn is sometimes referred to as the battle hymn of the Reformation. When Protestants were exiled for their beliefs, the hymn reminded them that God is sovereign. He reigns providentially. Over evil and all things, his plans cannot be thwarted. It is God alone who is our sure refuge in troubling times. In the words of Charles Spurgeon, all other refuges are refuges of lies. When we try to take refuge in anything other than God, we turn them into idols. What's interesting, the literary structure of the Psalm, of Psalm 46, helps us to understand its message. Verses 2 and 3 and 8 and 9 describe disasters and trials. Verses 1, 4 through 7 and 10 and 11 describe God's power and safety in the midst of the troubles. In the Psalm's structure, the trouble is bracketed by God's promises. Difficulties are surrounded by the power and safety of God. God surrounds us and protects us in our troubles and trials. In verse one, we read, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. What are some words we find in the scriptures that provide insight into what it means that God is our refuge and strength? Well, the word fortress is in the title of Luther's hymn that we just sang. And it's found frequently in the scriptures, especially in the psalms, including our psalm for today, Psalm 46, verses seven and 11, where the psalmist writes, the God of Jacob is our fortress, our fortress. Well, when we think of a fortress, we think of a walled fort or the walled cities of ancient times, which provided protection from invading armies. Those walls would eventually crumble or could be breached, but God's protection over his people will never fail for all eternity. Psalm 61 verses 2 and 3 contains two other words that describe God as our refuge. The psalmist prays, from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint, lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. The psalmist knows that God has been faithful as a refuge in the past, and he seeks his protection again now. Well, when we think of a rock, we think of something strong, stable, and long-lasting, something that provides a strong foundation. God as our rock represents his absolute trustworthiness, ability, and power to keep us safe in times of great trouble and danger. In verse three of Psalm 61, the psalmist referred to God as a, quote, strong tower against the enemy. And Proverbs 18.10 says, the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous man runs into it and is safe. Well, God's name represents his character. As a fortress, a rock, and a tower of refuge, God is strong, all-powerful. As a refuge, he is also gracious and compassionate, abounding in love, faithfulness, and mercy. We see a picture of God's compassionate protection over us in Psalm 91, verse four. The psalmist says of God, he will cover you with his pinions And under his wings, you will find refuge. His faithfulness is a shield and buckler. And in Matthew 23, verse 27, Jesus laments over the lost people of Jerusalem. How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing. So God's perfect protection over us comes from his omnipotent power and his wise and compassionate, gracious, merciful, and faithful love for us. In God, we have a perfect place of protection and safety. There are no weaknesses or flaws in God's protection over us. He is sovereign, in control of all things, including the dangers we face. Well, in verse one, after declaring that God is our refuge and strength, the psalmist adds that God is a very present help in trouble. Well, there's a profound sense in which God is not like us. He is distinct from us. He is the creator, we are his creation. He exists outside of space and time. In his transcendence, he is above us, far away from us. In Jeremiah 23, verse three, God says, am I a God at hand and not a God far away? And in Isaiah 55, verse nine, he speaks saying, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. So our almighty God is transcendent, but he is also imminent, meaning he is near, he's near us. He is present with us. He is present with us in time and space. He is Emmanuel, God with us. God is present with all of his creation, but especially with the people who put their trust in him. David says in Psalm 139.7, where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? The answer is nowhere. You can't flee from God's presence, right? God is with us wherever we go. God is present with his people in a very personal way. The prophet Zephaniah spoke to God's people in Zephaniah 3, verse 17, saying, the Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with his love. He will exalt over you with loud singing. What a picture that is. The Lord singing over us. Well, God is with us presently or in all of our nows. He's with us at every moment. He never leaves us to take a break from his protection over us. The psalmist in Psalm 121 verses three and four promises, he will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. God is a very present help in trouble means that the timing of his help is always perfect. His help is never too early or too late. How often do we grow anxious, fearful, and find our faith wavering during times of trials and troubles? We wonder where God is. And if he has forgotten us, we develop a complaining heart. Well, the prophet Habakkuk voiced a complaint to God about the wicked prospering at the expense of the righteous. In Habakkuk 1, verse 2, he cried out, O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and you will not hear? Or cry to you violence and you will not save? God answered in Habakkuk 2 verse 3, for still the vision awaits us a point in time. It hastens to the end, it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come, it will not delay. Psalm 145 verse 18 reads, the Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. God is always near and on time with his help when we call on him in times of trouble no matter where we are. Charles Spurgeon said, God is more present than the trouble itself. I thought that was a great thought. God is more present than the trouble itself. It's important to realize though and of course that God's protection over us does not mean that we will never know pain or loss, or sorrow, sickness, or hardship. Jesus himself was a man of sorrows. And he said in John 16, 33, in this world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world. So God does not always remove our troubles, but he will protect us in the midst of them. And we have both earthly and spiritual enemies, don't we? We have tribulation because of the corruption of sin in the world. We're also battling, quote, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, from Ephesians 6, 12. If we have trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and for eternal life, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit dwells within us. This guarantees that the spiritual forces of evil will never prevail against us. God will bring us safely to that day when we will be with the Lord forever in the new heavens and the new earth. Well, I'm sure we can agree with this and relate to this. God will and does keep us safe from any earthly trials. We're not saying he doesn't. Especially in answer to our prayers. Perhaps in heaven we'll find out how God has kept us from a multitude of dangers and trials and troubles. God in his loving wisdom has many reasons for having us go through trials, often for the growth of our faith. But we must trust that all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose, Romans 8.28. So in verse one, we saw why we can have absolute confidence in God's power and presence as our refuge in times of trouble. At the start of verse two, the psalmist concludes that since this is true, we will not fear. And we'll delve into that a little more later. We will not fear. And after this declaration, in the rest of verse two and in verse three, the psalmist paints a picture of great calamities. A picture of cosmic collapse. Creation itself seems to be coming uncreated. The earth is giving way, the mountains are falling into the sea, its waters roar and foam, the mountains tremble at its swelling. No matter the upheavals happening on earth or in our lives, we need not be afraid. God is our refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble. Well, after the scene of monumental calamities in verses two and three, the scene changes in verse four to a picture of a river whose streams made glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. Well, the city of God in the Old Testament was Mount Zion, the place where God dwelt. The Jews considered Zion to be the city of Jerusalem, with its temple on a hill in which God dwelt. Jewish pilgrims, as they approached the city on the hill, would sing, I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. They looked to their God, who reigned from Zion, to help and protect them. Interestingly enough, there's no river in the city of Jerusalem, the modern city of Jerusalem. So why the reference in our psalm to a river who makes glad the city of God? Well, there was a river, if you might recall, in the paradise of the Garden of Eden that watered the garden. But Adam and Eve sinned and were expelled from the garden. Paradise lost. We look to the promise in the scriptures of a coming day when all who have trusted in Jesus will live for eternity with the Lord in the new heavens and the new earth. The curse of sin and death will be forever gone. There will be a new earth and new heavens as they were originally meant to be, but better and more glorious because we will see Jesus face to face, paradise restored. The new earth will have a glorious city, the new Jerusalem. Quote, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. The bride being the church and the husband being Jesus. The new Jerusalem will have a river running through it. The river of the water of life. Bright as crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. That's found in Revelation 22 verses one and two. The river symbolizes the never-ending supply of life-giving water from God himself. The picture here is not of a turbulent river, but a calm and placid one. Contrast this tranquil scene with the cataclysmic scene of chaos and devastation in verses two and three. This scene is a scene of peace rather than of calamity and destruction. So we have a contrast there. Well, in John 7, 38, Jesus said, whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. He was talking about the Holy Spirit who would dwell with believers, giving them eternal life and a source of continual sustaining peace and blessings from God. Well, verse five in our psalm reads, God is in the midst of her. She will not be moved. We have a picture of God in Zion, dwelling in the midst of his people on his throne, from which the waters of eternal life continually flow. It is a picture of the ultimate peace, tranquility, and security that God promises his people. As believers, we can have the peace of God no matter our circumstances. Because we know that no matter the trouble we face on earth, God will bring us safely through to that day when we will dwell with him in eternity. So God is in the midst of his people. He is near us. He is present with us. His spirit dwells within us. We shall not be moved. The gates of hell will not prevail over God's church. Verse five continues. God will help her when morning dawns. Well, in biblical times, dawn was a time when enemies would attack cities. That was the time when the cities were most vulnerable. God's people will not be moved even when the level of danger is at its highest. Our sovereign, all-powerful, and all-knowing God is on his throne and will help and protect his people even in the worst of times. Verse six reads, the nation's rage, the kingdom's totter, he utters his voice, the earth melts. This is a picture of God's victory over nations and kingdoms who oppose him. We see echoes of this in Psalm 2, verses one and two, where it says, why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and his anointed. The wicked will be judged when Jesus comes again. Psalm 2 verses five and six reads, then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury. As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill, meaning Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Verse six continues, he utters his voice, the earth melts. Our God, who created all things from nothing by his word, can destroy his enemies with a mere word. Jeremiah 2530 reads, the Lord will roar from on high and from his holy habitation utter his voice. In scripture, God's voice of judgment is often depicted as thunder and lightning as his hand, which melts what it strikes. Verse seven says, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. This ought to be our joyous cry in knowing that the sovereign, omnipotent, all-knowing and compassionate Lord of all is with us as our protector and deliverer. We need not fear. The Lord is on our side. Verse eight continues, come behold the works of the Lord. That's an invitation to ponder God's victories on behalf of his people and to remember what he's done for us in the past. He has proven his faithfulness to us in the past, hasn't he? Remember, answered prayers, needs met, sicknesses healed, doors opened, circumstances altered, et cetera, et cetera. Verse eight continues. Behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. Think of how God dealt with Israel's enemies in Bible times or in biblical times. The kingdom of Edom in the scriptures represents the nations who opposed God's people in the Old Testament. Isaiah 34, 14 paints a picture of how the Lord dealt with Edom. So this is a picture of the aftermath of God's dealings with Edom. Quote, thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals and abode for ostriches. What a picture of God's utter destruction of the enemies of his people. God did mighty works to protect and deliver his people Israel in Old Testament times. We are exhorted to remember all the ways and times God has been there for us, his people, today. Verse 9 continues to exalt the works of the Lord on behalf of his people. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. When God vanquished the enemies of Israel, Israel would pile up the weapons of their defeated enemies, their bows, spears, and chariots, and burn them to the ground. Again, a picture of the sovereign God utterly destroying the enemies of his people. With this depiction of God's awesome works on behalf of his people, we come to verse 10. Until this point, it is the psalmist who has been speaking. Now it is God who speaks. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. This switch from the third person narrative to first person alerts us to pay special attention. Verse 10 is the climax of the psalm. That phrase, be still and know. It's commonly thought to be an encouragement to calm and quiet our minds and souls when we're anxious, afraid, or in trouble. A call to take on a sort of meditative state reflecting on God's qualities. And there's nothing wrong with doing that. The scriptures call on us to do that in many places. But here the words have a more forceful tone. The Hebrew for be still means enough. or stop, or be quiet. The NASB, or New American Standard Bible, translates the phrase, stop striving and know that I am God. It is God calling his people to stop and look up and know who it is that is on their side. To stop striving, stop looking to other sources, and look to God alone for protection and strength in times of trouble. The previous verses, eight and nine that we just looked at, provide the context for verse 10. If you recall, they were scenes of desolation and war. Behold the works of the sovereign all-powerful God in vanquishing the enemies of his people. So in verse 10, God spoke to his people Israel in Old Testament times, and he's speaking to us today as well. Let go, see and know that I am your God. who will be exalted among the nations and in all the earth. I am God, your refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble. I will vanquish your enemies, I will still the storm. We look ahead in the New Testament to Mark 4, 35 to 41, we find the story of Jesus calming the storm. The disciples were terrified when the waves of a great storm were threatening to sink their boat. They woke Jesus up from sleeping and cried out to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? So I guess we don't see the disciples in the boat trying to quiet their minds and be still and meditate. They were awed at who God was and what he had done. Will not the almighty sovereign God who can still the storm with a word from his mouth protect us in times of trouble? Can he not still the storms in our lives? The concluding verse, verse 11, repeats verse seven and summarizes the main theme of the psalm. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. In the almighty triune God, we have a perfect place of protection and safety in troubling times. There are no weaknesses or flaws in God's protection over us. He is in control of all things, including the dangers and troubles we face. We've seen how God is our refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble. He is our fortress, our rock, and our strong tower. The structure of Psalm 46 shows us that our troubles are surrounded by the power and safety of God. His protection over us comes from his sovereign, omnipotent power and his compassion and love for us. Our God is Emmanuel, God with us. He is present with us in time and space. He is with us no matter where we go. He is with us in every moment and is never too early or too late with His help. God is with us in the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. His Spirit will be with us forever. Well, there are times, aren't there, when the world and our lives seem to be falling apart? Nothing but trials, troubles, and calamities. Jesus said we will have trials, troubles, and persecution in this world, but we can look ahead and see God on his throne in the city of God, the new Jerusalem, with its crystal clear and peaceful river of life flowing through it, providing life eternal and ultimate safety and tranquility for God's people. Well, back to that beginning of the psalm, where the psalmist declared, therefore, we will not fear. This ought to be our response when the world and our lives are being shaken to the core. With God on our side, fear is actually irrational. God speaks in Isaiah 41.10, fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. The Apostle Paul declares in Romans 8 verse 31, if God is for us, who can be against us? And in verse 35 he asks, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or nakedness or danger or sword? His answer in verse 37 is a resounding no. In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. God's presence and power are with us even in the worst of circumstances. May we run to him, our only true refuge and strength in troubling times. Well, if you might have noticed in Psalm 46, we see two kinds of people. The first are God's people, those who have put their trust in him. The psalm was originally addressed to the Israelites, the people of God in Old Testament times. It was a call to put their hope and trust in God and fear not, even in the worst of times. The promises in the psalm of God's protection and of eternal life apply as well to God's people today. Those who have put their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and for life forever with him. The second kind of people in the psalm are those who have not put their trust in Jesus. Such people are God's enemies, like the nations that raged against God that we saw earlier and whom he utterly destroyed. What kind of person are you? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins, was buried and rose again for your eternal life? If so, all the promises of Psalm 46 apply to you. If you are without faith in Jesus, the Bible says you are an enemy of God. Colossians 121 says you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. So if you are without faith in Jesus, none of the promises in the psalm apply to you. If you die in your sins, you will face eternal punishment separated from God. The Bible says in Romans 10 verse nine, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Repent of your sins today and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and for eternal life. Then God will be your refuge and help in trouble. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that we have in you our only true and trustworthy refuge and strength in times of trouble. We confess that we often turn elsewhere for relief when we face seemingly overwhelming difficulties and fear sets in. Teach us, O Lord, to not be afraid and to turn to you. our all-powerful and compassionate God for help, no matter our circumstances. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Please rise, and Ryan's going to lead us