Let's take our Bibles now and
turn with me to the book of Psalms, 46. Psalms 46. We started this passage of scripture
a few weeks ago. And the last time we considered
it, we looked at the first three verses. Verse one, God is our
refuge. and strength, a very present
help in trouble. We need Him who is our refuge. I need a place of hiding. Therefore, will not we fear though
the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into
the midst of the sea? Therefore, because the Lord has
revealed himself to be our refuge, will not we fear? We have no
reason to be afraid. No reason to fear. Though the
earth be removed, altered, changed, disposed of, though the mountains,
those things that we look upon, these not just physical mountains,
but things that we think are so stable, those things be carried
into the midst of the sea. Or if the Lord doesn't remove
something, if it's just turmoil right now within our lives, though
the waters thereof roar, though the mountains shake with the
swelling thereof, boy, we find ourselves in the midst of situations
the Lord providentially sends something. And things are just,
oh, no, no, no, no, no. Though those things be, will
not we fear. Why? God is our refuge, strength,
a very present help in trouble. Though the Lord sends trials
and tribulations, He is our refuge and strength. Now, verse 4, there
is a river. The streams whereof shall make
glad the city of God. The holy place of the tabernacles
of the Most High. There is a river. It's a river of God's grace. A river of peace, security, and
abundance. I want you to hold your place
and turn to Isaiah 66. Isaiah 66. There's a river. Isaiah 66, let's look at verses
10. Rejoice thee with Jerusalem.
Now this is spiritual Jerusalem. God's church, this is the very
evidence of God's mercy. He's established His church. Raised up assemblies. as the
means of God supplying to His people. In His timing, He calls His people
into it. She's like the river of His grace. She comes from Him. Scripture
says, Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, be glad with her, all ye that
love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all
ye that mourn for her. that ye may suck and be satisfied
with the breast of her consolations, that ye may milk out and be delighted
with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold,
I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the
Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then shall you suck, you'll be
nursed spiritually. You shall be born upon her thighs.
Have you ever seen a mama with a newborn or, you know, toddler,
something like that, and just watching. She's got that child
on her hip, and I mean, she'd do anything. Guys, we couldn't
even hold them. I can't even make one hush. But
a mother knows how to turn them and, you know, twist them and
put them like this, cook while they're... You mamas, you know
what I'm talking The Lord said this is how the Lord supplies
and pacifies and settles His people. You shall be born upon
her thighs and be dangled upon her knees. God knows. You know,
this is what's happened. Here we are. He sets forth His
grace through that river described as Jerusalem. Not that city over
there. There's no peace for God's people.
that way, no, the spirit of heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God. You're going to be nursed. That's
what we're doing. We're feeding today on the milk
of the word, the bread of heaven himself. John spoke of that river. Revelation 22 showed me a pure
river of life, a river declaring the merit Him who is life, clear
as crystal, that's Him. Holy, harmless, undefiled, God,
God in human flesh. Where did He come? Proceeding
out of the throne of God, of the Lamb who has satisfied
every demand for justice and righteousness before God for
His people. Back in Psalm 46, this river,
the scripture says, the streams whereof shall make glad the city
of God. The holy places of the tabernacles
of the Most High. This is where God has established
His church to meet local assemblies. And where there's a river, the
streams whereof shall make glad the city of God. The city of
God. The city of God. The holy places
of the tabernacles of the Most High. You know who these tabernacles
of the Most High are? Christ in you. The hope of glory. The Spirit of God that indwells
God's people, they hear the glorious assurances and the promises of
the Lord set forth in his gospel. Isn't this a peaceful, settling
place to be? Isn't this a wonderful place
to be able to assemble and meet together with the family? With God's people and the security,
all the security of this blessed river of God's grace that he
set forth that nurses and bounces on the knee and teaches God's
people the security of that place. Look at verse five, God is in
the midst of her. God's in the midst of her. Listen
to Deuteronomy 23, 14. For the Lord thy God walketh
in the midst of thy camp to deliver thee. and to give up thine enemies
before thee. Therefore shall thy camp be holy,
that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee. And I'll tell you this, the only
time when we are beheld as possessing no unclean thing in us is when
the Lord sees us in Christ. Listen, the Lord walks in our
midst. The Lord walks here. He said
that. where two or three are gathered
together in my name. I'm in the midst of you. And therefore she
has the assurance from the Lord that he's in her midst. The church
has this assurance from him. She shall not be moved. You're not going to be moved.
How can the enemies of God's people move them unless they
move the Lord? They're going to have to move
Him to move us, because we're in Him. We're in Christ, and
His presence assures that the destruction of the church by
the adversaries of God and His people is utterly impossible. Where verse 5 said, God's in
the midst of her, she shall not be moved, God shall help her. And that right early. How many times has he ever been
tardy? How many times has he ever been
slack? And if the Lord appears to be slack concerning his promises
to us, his delays are always wise. He
knows. He knows. We think, why? Why are we still here? What happened? What's going on right here? and
it will always prove to have been no delay at all. No, the
Lord gonna help her in that right early. Look at verse six. The
heathen raged against God and against God's people. The sheep
were set forth to be in the midst of ravenous wolves. But with all the hatred and resentment
that's continually spewed out again against the Lord, against
His people, the Scripture says the kingdoms were moved. They
were the ones that wavered, slipped, shook, fell. How? By the people
of God being stronger than they were? No, no, no. But because the Scripture says
He uttered His voice, and the earth melted. This is the voice of Him that
spoke creation into existence. What happened? The Lord spoke,
and it was. He spoke in a strong east wind
one night. And what happened? The Red Sea
parted. What happens? People walk across on dry ground.
Egyptians came after him and the Lord spoke again and the
waters come down on him. How did he do that? He told
Moses, he said, you stretch out your hand. And when he did, those
waters drowned all those Egyptians. By his word, the heathen raged,
the kingdoms were the ones shaken. And he uttered his voice and
the earth melted. Let me assure all of us of something. The Lord rules in heaven and
in earth. By His command, the waves are
quieted. Proud armies against the Lord
are put down and rebellious hearts are removed. The Lord's in control. Verse 7, the Lord of hosts is
with us. The Lord of the armies of heaven and earth accompany
us. This is the totality of the church's
security and comfort and peace. And the reason for the overthrow
of our enemies? He's been pleased to hide us
in himself. The scripture declares, the Lord
of hosts, verse 7, is with us. Who is he? Oh, He's the God of
covenant mercy. Covenant mercy. The God of Jacob
is our refuge. Jacob have I loved. Esau have
I hated. Who is with us? The God of Jacob. Those that He has declared to
love and protect and have in His eternal presence. He is our
refuge. Verse 8 and 9. Come, behold the
works of the Lord. What desolations He's made in
the earth. He maketh wars to cease upon
the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow, cutteth
the spear in sunder, burneth the chariot in the fire. Oh,
the Lord has wrought mighty works and given abundant evidences
of His faithfulness to His people. And here the Spirit of God admonishes
us to behold those many works and those many deliverances and
performances of God on behalf of His people, works of His mercy
that we don't even know. We don't know what He's done.
But we behold that He who worketh all things after the counsel
of His own will. We're here. We're right here. He's keeping us. He's kept us
from peril. He's keeping us as it please
Him. Don't muse upon the blessing
of the deliverance. Be thankful in all things. Give
thanks. Lord, thank you that I'm here.
Thank you that you've not left me to myself. Thank you that
you've delivered me. Even by those deliverances, like
I said, I don't know what you did for me. I don't realize what
you did for me last night. I don't know what you did for
me driving over here today. I made it. I'm thankful. I'm
so thankful that all these works of the Lord, the desolations,
the astonishing and wonderful things, that's what that means,
that He hath made in the earth. But I want to tell you about
something that He's done that's truly amazing. What He's done
for a sinner of His mercy and compassion. formerly counted himself right
before God in his own work, the Lord has taken him, drawn him
by grace. All consider, the scripture says,
look at verse 9, he maketh wars to cease upon the end of the
earth. He breaketh the bow, cutteth
the spear and sunder, burneth the chariot in the fire. Who
can know the enemies? I mean the weapons of our enemies.
Who can know that? Weapons that are planned to be
used against the vessels of God's mercy, whether they be a sword
or a tongue. Who can know that? But the Lord
can take that out. If it pleases Him. He can conceal
His people. He can hide them. He maketh wars
to cease to the end of the earth, breaks the bow, cuts the spear,
sunder, burns the chariot in the fire. He can hide one of His own. He
can protect them. He can put Moses in a basket
if he wants to. He can hide a couple of spies
in the house of a harlot if he's pleased to do so. He can put
a pawl and lower him out a back window if he wants to. He maketh
the wars to cease under the end of the earth, not only of those
against his people, but in the hearts of his people. He breaks
their books. He cuts their spear of wrath
against Him. He burns their chariot of rebellion
in the fire of His consuming love and grace toward them. All the Scriptures behold that.
Come, verse 8, come behold the works of the Lord, what desolations
He hath made in the earth. Then look at 10, be still and
know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen.
I will be exalted in the earth. Now, though the people of God
are certainly commanded, be still. Rest. Be without murmuring. Be still and know that God is
God. Though that is absolutely true,
the tense of this appears to be more that those words are
directed as a warning against the oppressors of the Lord. To them who raged, the heathen
raged. The heathen raged. The Lord uttered
it. He's talking to them who raged
against His people. You be still. You slacken. That's what it means. Let alone
and leave off is what it means. Against the oppressors of God's
people. And though the Lord may be pleased,
as I've said, to use the wicked against His people for their
chastisement, for their good, for His glory,
I'll tell you this, they will go no farther than that which
the Lord allows. You go this far and no farther.
I will be exalted, He said. among the heathen. I will be
exalted in the earth. In verse 11, the Lord of hosts
is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Here's the cry of those who've
heard from the Lord and of his glorious deliverance and mercy
to a people of his choosing. It is again the cry of comfort. and joy and peace and assurance.
The Lord of Hosts is with us. Now, if you want something, I
can tell you this, the only thing that will settle your heart.
On these trials and tribulations, here's the only thing that will
settle your heart. The Lord of Hosts is with us. The Lord of Hosts is for us.
He said, I've loved you with an everlasting love. He has universal
dominion over all things, all the universe. And in that dominion,
all souls are mine. He has a people that is everlastingly
loved. Colossians 1.16 says, For by
Him were all things created that are in heaven, earth, visible,
invisible, whether they be thrones, dominions, principalities, all
things were created by Him and for Him. And therefore, He is
the Lord of Hosts, and He's for us. The Lord of Hosts is with
us, the God of Jacob. Oh, again, that truth that He
will not let us forget. The God of Jacob, the covenant
God, is our refuge. The mighty commander and the
emperor is the one revealed to be close, living, tender in his
relationship to his people. Bound himself to her in covenant
grace. I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. I pray God teach us afresh today. that the Lord God is our refuge
and strength of very present help right now. That's what I
don't I don't need. I don't need tomorrow. I need
right now present in the time of trouble. I pray God bless
it to our hearts. Gary.