you would turn in your Bible
to Psalms chapter 46. Psalms chapter 46. Psalms chapter 46. Let's begin reading in verse
one. God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Now notice that word, very present
help in trouble. And because he's our refuge and
strength and help, we will not fear. Though the earth be removed,
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, there is a river, the streams
thereof make glad the city of God. The holy place of the tabernacles
are the most high. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. You notice back in verse two,
he talked about things that would be removed. But she shall never be moved. God shall help her. And that
right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms
were moved. 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 desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh
war to cease to the ends of the earth. He breaketh the bow and
cutteth the spear in sunder. He burneth the chariot into fire.
Be still and know that I am God. Most people cannot get still
long enough to even think. Be still. and know that I'm God. I will be exalted among the heather
and I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with
us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. But just a few things, I didn't
know exactly how I was gonna work this into the message this
morning, but as I got to looking over things earlier this morning,
someone said that this was Luther's most favorite song. Remember
Luther, who wrote, a mighty fortress is our God. We're not the right
man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Who is that man? He's the Lord Jesus Christ. And
this was also written in the context, some believe, when the
Assyrians, when King Hezekiah was on the throne, and the Assyrians
were gonna come attack Jerusalem. And as I read earlier this morning,
Hezekiah took some of the money, basically he's trying to buy
off this Assyrian king. He thinks that money will help
him to keep the enemy away. But I want you to turn on and
show you this in, I think it's 2 Kings. Yeah, 2 Kings chapter
19. I just want to show you this.
With the thought in mind, he's a very present help in trouble.
They were in trouble. They're shut up in the city.
The Syrians are coming against them. And what are they to do?
They can't help themselves. Unless God enables them, unless
God helps them, they're gonna be destroyed. But look what God
says. Verse 33. Therefore, thus saith
the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, he shall not come
into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before
it with shield, nor cast a bank against this city. By the way
he came, by the same way is he going to return, and shall not
come into this city, saith the Lord. Now watch this. For I will
defend this city. Well, why would God defend this
city? Why does God defend his people? Why did he say, I will
defend this city to save it for my own namesake and for my servant
David's sake, because one day the son of David, the Lord Jesus
Christ must come into this world. That's why he delivered it. That's
why God helps us. And that's why God saves his
people for his own namesake. Now watch this, I want you to
see verse 35. How did God help these people? You probably know
this story, I'm just reminding you. How did God help Israel
this time? And it came to pass that night.
Now notice where it said in the text, in Psalms 46, where it
said God would help right early. It's talking about in the, you
imagine the darkness of night. What's gonna happen in the morning?
What's gonna happen? Are the Assyrians gonna come?
And it came to pass that night that the angel of the Lord went
out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians 104 score and 5,000. That's 185,000 men that rose
early in the morning. And when they rose early in the
morning, they were all dead corpses. That's a pretty good illustration
of the Lord helping his people. And when you read Psalms 46,
oh, that means a whole lot. You imagine them singing Psalms
46, he's a very present help, when? In time of trouble. They
were in trouble. Apart from God's grace, we stay
in trouble. Man that's born of a woman is
few days and what? Full of trouble. So I just throwed that in there. When I begin to study something,
I always like to go back, like the word help. That's the title
of the message, help. Where was it first used? Where
was the first time in the scriptures the word help is used? Well,
in Genesis chapter two, verse 18, God had made man in his own
image, and he said, it's not good for man to be alone. I will
make him a help meat for him. He took from his side and he
made him a woman who was a help meat or fit for Adam. And in verse 20 of Genesis two,
and Adam gave names to all the cattle and to the fowls of the
air and every beast of the field. But for Adam, there was not found
a help meat for him. God provided a help for Adam,
someone he could love and someone to love him back. He didn't see it. He looked at,
imagine looking at all the animals and says, I don't have a help
me. God made him one, made him one. Adam had someone to share his
joys and his delights with. But then you know the story,
Adam sinned. And now he's really in trouble.
And he needs help. And you know the story, Adam
makes some thick leaves and he tries to sew them together, hoping
that that will help ease his conscience and it won't. and God must come to him. And
God took an animal, probably a lamb, and killed that animal
as the sacrifice, as the substitute, shed its blood and made atonement
for his sin. God helped him. And that right
early. He's a very present help. He's
not far away. He's a very present help in time
of trouble. And he will help you when? When
he's gonna help us? Right early. He's always on time. I can imagine
those people sitting in Jerusalem going, boy, tomorrow's it. They're just gonna wait till
daylight, you know. Well, what happened to 185,000
men? Lord took care of them. Lord took care of them. By nature, like Adam when we
sin, we are going to run somewhere for help. When you get in trouble,
you're gonna look somewhere. And by nature, we look to the
flesh. It talks about in Isaiah chapter
31, verse one, woe to them that go to Egypt for help. There's
many examples in the scriptures. Now, Egypt, you know, is a picture
of the world. We look to the world for help
and we've all made those mistakes. We get in a pinch. Well, how
are we going to get out of this? Well, we've got to go somewhere
for help. I need help from somewhere. Abraham went to Egypt. There
was a famine in the land. So what does he do? He goes to
Egypt. What a mistake. If we could use that term, I
know by God's grace, he ordained it, I understand that. But he
goes to Egypt. Why? He says, well, maybe they
can help me. And that's where he picked up Hagar. Listen, what
am I saying? By nature, we are prone to look
to the arm of the flesh for help. The flesh will always fill you. The world will never help. Our Lord, what I want you to
see is just to cry away. Psalms 108 verse 12, give us
help from trouble. For vain is the help of man. Give us help. And you know, as
I tried to preach yesterday, God instructing us, he has to
keep teaching us that he is our help. He is our present help. I want you to turn, if you would,
to Psalms 22. Our Lord, he came to this world.
He came to save his bride. He came to save those that are
his, his, mine. He came, and what we have here,
this very familiar Psalm. It's almost like it was recorded
or written down by almost verbatim as he was hanging up on the cross. Being made sin for us. Being
made sin for us. What's this? My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? And I'll notice the next statement.
Why art thou so far? from helping me. I would love to sit down and you
explain that to me. Why art thou so far from helping
me? From the words of my roaring.
Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not, and in
the night season, and I am not silent. But thou art holy, O
thou that inhabit us, the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted
in thee, they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried
unto thee and were delivered. They trusted in thee and were
not confounded. But I'm a worm and no man. a reproach of me and despised
of the people. All they that see me laugh me
to scorn, they shoot out the lip, they shake the head saying,
he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. But in delivering,
seeing he trusted, delighted in him, but thou art he that
took him out of the womb. Thou didst make me hope when
I was upon my mother's breast. I will cast upon thee from the
womb, thou art my God from my mother's belly. Watch verse 11. Be not far from me, for trouble
is near, and there's none to help. Trouble is near, and there's
none to help. He's taking that place. Many
bulls have come past me, strong bulls of Bashan have beset me
around. They gaped upon me with their
mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water,
all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it is melded
in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like
a potsherd and my tongue cleaves to my jaw and thou hast brought
me into the dust of death. For dogs have come past me, oh,
the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my
hands and my feet. I tell all my bones they look
and they stare at me. They part my garments among them
and cast lots upon my vesture. And be not far from me, O Lord,
O my strength. Haste thee to help me." Why did I read that? Well, I
hope that we will see he's able to be felt. with the feelings
of our infirmities. He knows what it is to be forsaken
of God. He knows what it is to be in
trouble and none to help. Why did he go through this? To
save you, to put away your sin, to put away your sin. In Isaiah 63 verse one, who is
this that cometh from Edom with thy garments from Bozrah? This
that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of
his strength. I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel and thy garments, like
him that treadeth in the wine fed? I trodden the wine press alone,
and the people there was none with me. for I have tread them
in my anger and trampled them in my fury and their blood shall
be sprinkled upon my garments. And I will stain all my raiment
for the day of vengeance is in my heart and the year of my redeemed
has come. And I looked, I looked and there
was none to help. And I wondered that there was
none to uphold. Therefore my own arm brought
salvation. What's that saying? He didn't
need help. What a paradox. He needed help
and didn't need help because there was none to help him. Well,
how did he win the victory? By his own arms, how he won the
victory. You couldn't do it. Adam couldn't
do it. None of us could do it, but he
not only tried, he did it. There was none to help. My own
arm brought salvation. I wondered that there was none
to uphold. Therefore, mine own arm brought
salvation unto me, and my fury, it upheld me. He knows what it's like to be
alone. And it says that there was none. I pitied him. Can you imagine hanging there
in all that shame and people laughing at you? Malkin, you
saved others, himself he cannot save. The reason he would not
save himself was to save you, to save you. Someone said, not one person
to say a kind word. Not one person to give a sympathetic
ear, not one. A sick man needs comforters.
A persecuted man needs sympathy. But our blessed surety found
neither on that dark and dreadful night when the powers of hell
had their hour. Right when he needed help, remember
what he said to Peter, James, and John? Could you watch with
me? Could you watch with me while
I go and pray? and all the disciples forsook
him and fled. He comes back and they're asleep. He said, Peter, could you not
watch with me one hour? He goes and prays, the same thing,
comes back and said, Peter, could you not watch with me? He goes,
prays again, he comes back and he said, sleep on now, take your
rest. Basically he said, I've got this.
But here's what someone said, now listen to this. Backward
and forward thrice he ran, as if he sought some help from man. Or wished at least they would
console, t'was all they could, his tortured soul. Whatever he sought for, there
was none. Our captain fought. Our captain fought the field
alone, soon as the chief to the battlefield led. That moment,
every soldier fled. I know you, if you've ever read
much of the life of David, it talks a lot about David's mighty
men. In 2 Samuel 23, verse nine, it
speaks of one, his name was Eliezer. He was one of David's three mighty
men. And it said, when they defiled
the Philistines, they were gathered together to battle. They was
all gathered to battle. And the men of Israel were gone
away. Phileas was there with all the army of Israel. And when
the Philistines come up, you know what? Everybody runs except
one man. You imagine standing there all
alone against all this army. What did he do? He arose and
he smoked the Philistines. Here's a picture of our Lord.
until his hand was weary. And his hand clave into the sword. That word clave is the same word
where a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave into his
wife. That sword was so much a part of him you could not see
for his hand stopped and the sword began. Someone said there
was so much blood congealed around his hand. He said his hand grew
weary. but his hand clave unto the sword. And the Lord wrought a great
victory that day. What about all them that left?
And the people returned only to the spoil. Just picture this in the human
realm. Everybody's left and you're standing
there against all the army, all the enemy. and they're gonna
attack him. And when he's done, there's not a one left. It is finished. The battle's over. There'll be no more war. He won the victory. Everybody forsook him. You remember
when they came to get him in the garden? He said, if you've come to get me, you must
let these go as substitution. And they couldn't touch him.
He said, you take me. And he did. So he understands. He understands. We must be brought
to the place that we see that we need help. The Psalmist said,
I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and my deliverer. Make no tarrying, oh my God.
When the poor and needy, Isaiah 41, 17, when the poor and needy
seek water and there is none, and their tongue faileth for
thirst, I the Lord will hear them. I the God of Israel will
not forsake them. There's many examples in the
scripture. Remember the woman of Canaan? She came, for her
daughter. And the reason she comes is she
can't help her daughter. And we love to see all of our
children as believers. We bring them to hear the gospel
and we pray that God be pleased to open their eyes. But you know,
when it really gets down to it, we can't save them. We can't
help them, like this woman. And sometimes the Lord may even
use children to bring their parents to him, as he did in this example. Listen, Matthew chapter 15, verse
22. Old woman of Canaan came out
of the same coast, and she cried unto him, said, have mercy on
me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter's grievously vexed
with the devil, but he answered her not a word. And his disciples
came and besought him, saying, send her away, for she cries
after us. We don't wanna help her, just
get rid of her. But she answered and said, but
he answered and said, I'm not sent but unto the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. You know what she did? He said,
then she came and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. Lord, help me. But he answered
and said, it's not me to take the children's bread and cast
it to dogs. And he said, she said, truth,
Lord. Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master's
table. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as
thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that hour. Did she get help? Oh, yeah. And
it seemed like he didn't want to help her, didn't he? He said,
I'm not sent but unto the log sheep of the house of Israel.
And she couldn't go away. You know why? She knew this. She knew by faith, he was the
only one that could help her. And she was right. The disciples said, send her
away. We don't want to help her. But he helped her. You remember
the, our Lord, when he went up on the Mount of Transfiguration,
and when he come down with Peter, James, and John, a man had brought
his son to the disciples, and the man's son was possessed.
And they could not help this man's son. They couldn't cast
this demon out. And I can just see the Pharisees
and the religious folks just mocking them, saying, there's
nothing to your God. Don't, why don't you take your
son somewhere else? He can't help you. They can't
help you. Well, then our Lord shows up
on the scene. He comes down off the mountain. And it said, they
brought unto him, and when he saw him, the young man straightly
the spirit tear him, and he fell on the ground, and he wallowed
foaming, and he asked the father, how long is it ago since this
came upon him? And he said, of a child. Oftentimes
it's cast him into the fire and into the water to destroy him.
I want you to see this. You may have seen this before,
but let me just remind you. What did this man say? This man's
looking at our Lord. He said, if thou canst do anything,
have compassion on us and help us. If, if the Lord can help, he
put the if in the wrong place. He said, if you can have, if
you would have compassion on us and help us, but Jesus said,
if you can believe, that's the if in the right place. It's not
if he can do something, the question is, if you can believe. All things
are possible to him that believes and straightway the father of
the child seeing his own need. And he cried out and said, Lord,
with tears I believe, help thou mine unbelief. If all things are possible to
him that believes, God help me to believe. God help me and God help you
to believe. You know, we need the help of
each other. Listen, it says in Ecclesiastes 4 verse 10, if they
fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him that is
alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him
up. Remember the disciples, one day
they were in a ship. And I think the Lord, at this
point, he told Peter, he said, let down the net for a drop.
And he said, we've told it all the night, but never let us at
thy word, we're gonna let down the net. And they let down the
net and they couldn't even pull, they couldn't pull all the fish
in. Remember Peter, James, and John, they were partners in the
fishing business. And they called their partners
and they said, would y'all come over here and help us? We can't
get all these fish in the boat. Would you help us? And you know
what they did? They came and helped them. Let me give you another example. You know, sometimes we can become
upset when it seems like we serve alone and no one wants to help. You remember Martha? Our Lord
loved to go to the house of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. And it
says Mary's over here sitting at the Lord's feet. What's Martha
doing? She's doing something commendable.
If it's our Lord and his disciples, that's at least 13 people, and
it's untelling how many more was there in the house. She's
in there in the kitchen. You imagine ladies making all
the food for all these people by yourself. And it said, but Martha was cumbered
about much serving. and came to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister
has left me to serve alone? Can you imagine asking our Lord,
do you not care? It seems like, Lord, you don't
care. Or you would have her to go in
there and come in there and say, why don't you go help Martha? You know what? Martha needed
help. Not just in the kitchen. You
know where I'm going. She needed, and we need that.
We'd be able to have been just exactly like Martha. This ain't
got her sitting in her knee, doing nothing, and I'm in here
fixing, washing dishes and doing, they just don't care about nothing. You can get such an attitude,
you can't even enjoy what you're doing for him. And she said,
bid her therefore to help me. He said, Martha, Martha. God deliver us from that. Remember Paul one time there
in the book of Acts, he wanted to go into Asia and the Lord,
the Holy Spirit forbid him to go into Asia. It said in Acts
16 verse nine, and a vision appeared unto Paul in the night, and there
stood a man over in Macedonia. And he prayed and said, you know
what the man said? Come over into Macedonia and
help us. So he goes to Macedonia, and
I think Philippi was the chief city of Macedonia. And remember
what happened when he goes to Philippi, he meets a woman named
Lydia, a seller of purple. You know why God sent him to
Macedonia? There was somebody over there
that needed help. Somebody needed help. Paul, as he stands before King
Agrippa, go back and read, I read the other day in a message where
He talked about everything he suffered. He said he was five
times, he was beaten with 39 stripes, he was stoned, he was
cast asunder, and all these things. But when he stands before King
Agrippa, he said, having therefore obtained help of God, I continue
unto this day. And he said, I did it on my own.
I only stand here today before you because I have obtained help. This is the word. Most everyone could probably
quote this verse, Hebrews 4.16. Verse four says, we have a high
priest which is able to be felt with the feelings of our infirmities,
and because of that, let us, therefore, come boldly unto the
throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help
in time of need. That's how we come. what we come
to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Fear
thou not, I am with thee. Be not dismayed, I am thy God.
I will strengthen thee, yea, I'll help thee. For I am the
Lord thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear
not, I will help thee. Isaiah 41, 14, fear not thou
worm Jacob, to no man of Israel. I will help you, saith the Lord.
And thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Let me give you one
more example. In 1 Samuel 4, that's when Eli
was the priest and his two sons were priests also, and they're
fighting the Philistines. And they say, we need some help
against these Philistines. So they send for the, they say,
go get the ark. If we can have the ark, they're
just superstitious. If we can have the ark, well
then that's gonna help us. You know, if we just got religion,
we got all the help we need. And you know what happened in
that battle? God allowed the ark to be taken. And you know where they fought
that battle? At Ebenezer. That's where the ark was taken. Well, you know what happens on
over in chapter seven? It's where they defeat the Philistines
after they send the Ark back. And how did they defeat the Philistines? Because the Lord helped them,
not just some faith and some box. Here's what it said. Now think about this, the very
same field they lost the battle, God's gonna put them on the very
same field again. The first time he left them alone,
he left them to their own superstition. And then he brings them back
and God brings us back to that same point and in that same place
on that same field, Ebenezer, Samuel took a stone and set it
up between Mizpah and Shind and called it the name of Ebenezer.
What does Ebenezer mean? Hitherto hath the Lord helped
me. The song, Come Thou Felt, it
says, here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by thy help. And as you look back to your
life and you see your Ebeneezer's, how he helped me. How he helped
me. It's just like your whole life's
one Ebeneezer. Because your whole life he helped you. Do you need help? Are you in
trouble? Look to him. He's a very present
help. in time of grief.