Psalm chapter 46, and tonight
we'll be looking at verses 10 and 11. Psalm chapter 46 and
verses 10 and 11. The title of the message tonight
is Be Still. Be still. Let's read these passages together.
Be still. There it is. No original title
there, is it? Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Be still. To those of us who
have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, we have this blessed
comfort and assurance given to us in this psalm from beginning
to end. The Lord is our refuge. The Lord is our refuge. He is our refuge and shelter
from every storm of life. He is our refuge from every trouble,
every trial, and every temptation. And especially, He is our refuge
from the wrath of God and the demands of the law. Scripture
tells us in Galatians 3.13, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law by being made a curse for us. Now, this world will rage against
us. There's no question about that.
This world will rage against God. It will rage against His
anointed, and it will rage against us. Satan may roar. Our conscience may strike us
down because of our sin. This flesh may suffer persecution,
sickness, trouble, crying, pain, and suffering. But none of these
are able to harm us who have fled to Christ for refuge. None
of these things can harm us. None of these things can harm
us. Last time we studied this, we
looked at the work of the Lord as it was in verse... 8 and 9. Come, behold the works of the
Lord. Behold His desolation. What was
that? That was Christ. Behold the desolation
of the cross. How that Christ was made sin
for us, who knew no sin, who committed no sin, yet that He
was made sin for us, so that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. What a desolation. What a desolation
that Christ was imputed all our sins of God. And behold the work of the Lord,
the result of this was peace. Peace. Verse 9, He says, He maketh wars
to cease. He's made the war of His elect
people to cease. The war of the wrath that we
had towards God in our hearts. He has caused it to cease. There is no more enmity between
us and God. Look at this in Ephesians chapter
2. This is beautiful. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 12. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse
12. that at that time ye were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers
from the covenant of promise, having no hope, and without God
in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye
who were sometimes afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ,
for He is our peace. Peace. He is our peace, who hath made
both one, and hath taken down the middle wall of partition
between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity even
the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in
himself twain one new man, and so making what? Peace. And that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby,
and came and preached what? Peace. Peace. to you which were afar off, and
to them that were nigh, both Jew and Gentile." He's made us
one together. We were strangers having no hope. But He hath made peace by the
blood of His cross. This salvation of the sovereign
grace of God, it was on purpose. It was on purpose. God, in His
eternal purpose, chose to save an elect, precious people, His beloved children, by giving
them to Jesus Christ in the eternal covenant. It was the purpose of God that
the Son be our eternal surety, redeemer, the maker of our peace. And it was the purpose of God
the Holy Spirit to write His Word. And at the appointed time, it
was the purpose of God to regenerate our souls to life and faith in
Christ. So then, from the beginning,
God who created all things has purposed our salvation. We must understand that all things,
all things move after the purpose of God. All things. All things that ever happen in
time are predestinated to be accomplished and they will be
accomplished. Predestination. What is predestination? Predestination is the eternal,
immutable, unalterable purpose of God Almighty by which He has
ordained and ordered all things according to His own will. And all things that come to pass
in time were predestinated to come to pass. There is not one
thing in your life and in my life and the life of all men
that God has not purposed in eternity predestinated to happen. Nothing. and divine providence. Predestination
is God's purpose of all things. What is providence then? Well,
providence is the working out of God's predestination. Divine
providence is accomplishing what God had already determined to
be done. Therefore, all things that happen,
All things that happen are according to the will and purpose of Almighty
God so that not one action, one thought, one deed of man or any
inanimate object of creation, all things move at His will. All things. There is nothing
that operates outside of God's predetermined will. Nothing. All things. All things. Scripture says in Psalm 115,
our God is in the heavens and hath done what? Whatsoever He
pleased. Whatsoever He pleased. Is there
anything that has happened that had not pleased God to do? Is there anything that God was
shaking His head at and said, Oh, I didn't want that to happen.
No. Our God is in the heavens. And
He had done whatsoever He pleased. In Isaiah 46, it says, I am God
declaring the end at the beginning. Declaring the end from the beginning. And from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done saying. My counsel shall stand and I
will do all my pleasure. Believer in Christ, it was God's
purpose to save you. It was God's purpose to save
you. And according to his sovereign
will, he by the blood and righteousness of Christ accomplished your salvation. And in the providence of God
moved all creation. All things to bring you under
the sound of the Gospel at His appointed time, at His appointed
place, with His appointed man. And you heard the Gospel because
God had purposed for you to hear the Gospel. We regret a lot, don't we? We regret. I know we regret our
sins. I know. But I know this, that all things
were purposed of God to bring me to hear the gospel and believe
on His Son. And I know this, all things from
that point on, God will keep me by His divine mercy And everything
by divine providence will lead me home. Everything. Everything. He brought us to life and faith
by his omnipotent grace. He predestinated our salvation,
and by divine providence, He effectually brought it to pass
when, where, and how He is determined to do it. How is God determined
to save His people? By the preaching of the gospel. When some man asked me about
the man, I don't know who this man is. I never heard of him.
He's a man on the island that never heard anything. You ever
heard about that guy? Because I hear about him all
the time. Well, what about that man? You know, they don't know
that man and I don't know that man, but they're just a fictitious
man somewhere that, you know, is on an island and he never
hears the gospel. Well, I'll tell you this, if
he is God's elect, God will parachute a man on that island to hear,
give him the gospel, if he has so determined to do so. If not,
that man will die in his sins. You see, God had done this, so
nothing is left to chance. Isn't that right? Was there any
possibility of us not hearing the Gospel? Was there any chance
of us not believing on Christ? None. Zero. God had determined
it, and God had brought it to pass, and God shall bring us
to Himself as He has promised. Therefore, what do we as believers
then have to fear? What do we have to fear? What will happen in this life
that God has not purposed to happen? What will ever happen to us that
is not and not be accomplished for the good of every believer
in Christ. Nothing. There is nothing that
will ever happen to us that is not determined of God, not purposed
of God, not planned of God, not ordained of God for our good.
Nothing. Whatever it is. Read it with me, Romans 8.28. And we know. Do we know? I tell you, sometimes I don't know.
Because of my ignorance and unbelief, sometimes I don't. That's why
it's there. That you may know. We know that
all things What does that include? All things. All things. Whatever it is. It doesn't matter
what it is. All things. You know, you hear somebody say,
What does the price of a loaf of bread in China have to do
with anything? Well, it has everything to do with me. It's for my good.
Whatever the price of bread is in China, that's for my good.
I don't understand how it works to my good, but it is. Everything
works to my good. Everything. All things work together
for the good of them that love God, to them who are called according
to His purpose. The preacher was once asked of
a lady about election, who doubted election unto salvation. And he just asked this question,
did God save you on purpose or on accident? He saved you on
purpose or on accident. Election simply means that God
saved us on purpose. God saved us on purpose. It was
His purpose for Christ to die for us. It was His purpose to
call us to life and faith. And it is His purpose that all
things work together for our good. That is His purpose. That's
His purpose. This is not a question. It is a promise. Will all things work together?
No. All things will work together for our good. All things. All
things. All things have. All things are. And all things that shall be
will work together for our good. What then do we have to fear
being under such a sure refuge as this? What in the world would
cause us any grief or pain if it is the will of God for whatever
it is to be happening to us? Well, when these things happen,
how are we to respond to troubles? Now, because all things work
together for our good does not mean that all things will be
smooth sailing. That's not what God is saying.
God is saying that all things Whether pleasant or unpleasant. Whether there's sickness or health,
it doesn't matter what's happening, it's working for our good. He
does not promise us smooth sailing, but He does promise us we shall
have trials and temptations and troubles. What is our response? We who have been predestinated,
we who have been purposed to salvation, we who have been promised
all things are for our good. What is our response to trouble?
Read your text. Flip over and read your text. Two words. Be still. Be still. When trouble comes, what is the
first thing we do? It's not be still. The first thing we begin to do
is try to devise a way out of it. Surely we can work ourselves
out of whatever this is. And usually it's by way of some
sin, isn't it? By lying or manipulating or shifting
blame to someone else, we're always busy trying to get ourselves
out of trouble and usually get ourselves into more trouble trying
to get out. But the believer in Christ must
cease to strive against the providence of God. Sometimes when things are going
wrong, and I immediately turn to God and pray for whatever
it is to leave me. I have that right. The scripture
gives us that right. Paul prayed three times that
the thorn in the flesh, whatever that was, that it pass from him. We may pray against that, but
I'll tell you this, when God gives us an answer, leave it
alone. Leave it alone. Paul had the answer, my grace
is sufficient for you. Leave it alone. Leave it alone. Be still. Cease from striving
and anxiousness. Be still. and know that this is a providence
of God, whatever it is. When trouble comes, let us first
recognize that it is the will of God that this trouble be here. We must know that our Father
has brought this circumstance to us. It is given to us. And I know this, your troubles are very difficult to you. But they may not seem difficult
to someone else. It doesn't matter what anyone
else thinks about your troubles. They're given to you specifically.
Each one of you, I know we all have different troubles at times. And I don't know what trouble
you're in. I don't know what's happening
to you. But I know this, whatever it is, God gave it to you. And
whatever I'm dealing with, God gave it to me. It is the providence
of God that we are in these troubles and trials and difficulties. We must recognize that. And we must Be still and know that whatever
it is will work to our good. God's not doing this to harm
us. He's doing this because it's
good for us. Go to Zephaniah chapter 3. Zephaniah chapter 3 and look
at verse 14. God says this to you, believer.
Sing, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O Israel, and be glad
and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The
Lord hath taken away thy judgments. He hath cast out thine enemy.
The King of Israel, even the Lord is in the midst of thee.
Look at this. Thou shalt not see evil anymore. Thou shalt not see evil anymore. Well, Pastor, isn't being sick
evil? No. It's for your good. Well,
is the death of my loved one, is that evil? No, that's good.
That's good. God's promised that we shall
not see evil. But what has He promised us?
He says, I have determined to do them good all the days of
their life. God has promised to do us good
all the days of our life. Believer in Christ, even though
we cannot see how any good will come from our sorrows and sufferings,
it still does not negate the fact that it is good. Because
God said it's good. Be still. It's also to be translated,
be silent. When we get these things, what
is it the question we ask? Why me? Why me? Shh. Be silent. Why not us? Why not us? Let us keep our hands to our
lips so that we do not oppose God's sovereign will for us. Now, to be still also means to
consume, means to destroy. In other words, destroy every
thought that is not faith. Every doubt and every fear, cast
it aside and consume it. Destroy it. Put it aside from
you and be still. Be still before the presence
of God and know that He is God. Be still. Well, being still is
not being idle. Don't mistake those two things. I like we just sang that song,
Be Still My Soul. That does not mean that we sit
on the couch and wait for God to do something miraculous to
get rid of our troubles. No, that's not what He's saying.
What He's saying is be still and be faithful. We are to be
about our Father's business in trouble especially. You know,
that's when people become the most unfaithful is when trouble
comes. That's when you should be the
most faithful. Be still and be faithful to God's
worship in our troubles. Be still and be instant in prayer
and study of the Scripture. Be still and walk not by sight,
but by faith in God. Trusting Jesus every day. Trusting through a stormy way. Trusting even when my faith is
small. trusting Jesus, that is all. How many times has God proven
this promise to be true and yet doubts still come? Not only be still, go back to
your text, be still and know that I am God. Believer in Christ,
if God is our God, if God is almighty, If God is all-knowing,
if God is all-wise, if God is all-just, all-holy, all-infinite,
omnipotent and merciful, the only true God, what in the world
do we have to fear? If we know that our God is God,
what have we to fear concerning troubles? If God be for us, Who can be
against us? Who can be against us? Nobody. Nobody. To the believer, we must
take comfort and peace in our hearts that if God has given
us the gift of His Son, how shall He not freely with Him give us
all things? Therefore, be still and calm
in your soul, rest comfortably and trust, and know that God
reigneth over all things. Know that God reigneth over all
things. This is a promise of God. Be
still and know that I'm God. Be at peace. Take peace, take
comfort. Cast aside your fear and your
doubt and know that I am God and I am with you and nothing
is going to harm you. Nothing is going to happen to
you that I have not determined. Look at this. Be still and know
that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen.
I will be exalted in the earth. This is a faithful promise to
us that whatever happens in this life is not only for our good,
but for the glory of God. This is important. This is very
important to see this, that God has determined all things for
our good, for His glory. That's how we
know that all things work together for our good, because our good
and His glory are united together and they can't be separated. In other words, if there's something
that doesn't work for my good, then God is not glorified. That just ain't gonna happen.
God says, be still and know that I'm God and I will be exalted. I will be glorified. Therefore, everything's gonna
be good for you. I will be glorified. I will be exalted. If we go through Ephesians chapter
1, you'll read this over and over again. According to the
praise of the glory of His grace. His glory. In verses 3 through
6 of Ephesians 1, the purpose of God and election was for His
glory. Verses 7 through 12, our experience
of grace was for His glory. And verses 13 and 14, the salvation
of all God, all that God has and will save is for His glory. Everything that happens to us
is for His glory. Is there any chance that God
will fail in His glory? No. If one of God's people is lost
and dies in their sins, God himself would cease to be glorified. That's just not going to happen. Everything works together for
the glory of God and God's glory will not fail. Be still. Be calm. Don't fret about this. God will
be glorified. Don't you fret. God will be glorified. I will be exalted and praised. You know that even the wickedness
of man praises God. Even man's sin praises God. Think of the cross. God had before
ordained that Christ die by way of the cross. And yet it was
the sin of man that hung him there. These wicked men did exactly
what they wanted to do, but in doing what they were wanted to
do, they glorified God in it. Are they chargeable for their
sins? You bet. But I know this, praise God,
that He determined Christ would be crucified and suffer for my
sins. And whatever man desires to do
that doesn't glorify God, what does the Scripture say? He restraineth
them. The wrath of man shall praise
Him and the remainder of wrath He shall restrain. Whatever it
is that doesn't praise Him and glorify His name, He'll keep
them from doing it. Isn't that comforting? Isn't
that wonderful? If a man come and kill me, it's
all right. God determined that that wicked
man do that thing, and it was for His glory and for the good
of His people. You know what? If a man tries
to kill me and doesn't, it's because God restrained his wrath,
and that's good. That's good. God allowed all things that happen,
even the wickedness of man, to praise Him, And when all is finished
and time is no more, we shall forever exalt and praise
our Savior. Therefore, believer, what have
we to fear? God is our refuge. I want to close with this thing
that I had read earlier today, and I thought it was really good
that I include this in the message. Five statements about everyone
who's saved. To be God's children, we have
entirely too much fear. To be God's children, we have
entirely too much fear. Why can't we just believe God? Just believe Him. Why can't we believe that He's
faithful to keep His promises? Number two, we have entirely
too much anxiety and worry about earthly things. Entirely too
much. Entirely too much anxiety about
these things. Why do we pace the floor and
worry so much about keeping possessions that we cannot keep? Why worry so much about them?
We have too much anxiety for these things. Jesus said, Seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things will be added to you. All that you have need of will
be given to you. Don't worry about that. Don't be anxious for nothing. To be God's children, we have
entirely too many doubts concerning God's mercy, love, and grace
toward us. Jesus said, I give unto them
eternal life, and they shall never perish. Now, am I speaking
Greek? I know it's written in that,
but I mean, am I speaking that? I mean, can we understand that?
I give! Not because we deserve it. He
gave because He would. And He promised we should not
perish. And no man shall pluck them out
of My hands. That's a promise. Too many doubts
concerning His love. Has He not proven it over and
over and over and over again? To be God's children, we spend
too much time grumbling and complaining instead of being still and trusting
God. Too much murmuring. Too much. Jesus said, these things
I have spoken unto you that you might have peace. In the world,
you will have tribulation. Why are we so surprised and act
like it's a strange thing when we suffer tribulation? We do. We still act like it's a strange
thing that these things happen to us. But that's how gold is
refined by the fire. And even so, that's how our faith
is refined. That's how the dross of our faith
is wiped away and it becomes pure. It becomes stronger. More valuable. You know, I knew the value of
faith in Christ when I began, but I know more now the value
of my faith in Christ than ever before. Praise God for His sustaining
grace that keeps us believing in Christ, holding Christ. Trouble should come. It only
is to help us and not harm us. Too many times at the first sign
of trouble, our old man begins to cry out, shall I be carried to the skies
on flowery beds of ease while others fought to win the prize
and sail through bloody seas? Do I think we're going to be
different? Do we think we're somehow just so special that
we're going to float through this life without any trouble?
You're setting yourself up for failure, setting yourself up. Just be still, be calm and know
that our God ruleth over all things. Last one, we who are
God's children spend entirely too much, have too much attachment
to this physical life. If we know and believe that to
be absent from the body is to be present from the Lord, why
do we strive so much to hold on to this life? We do. I don't know why. We do. If we could ever just get a glimpse of what heaven would be like
in the presence of Christ with no sin, How should we long to
be in his presence? So difficult to lose. To lose
ourselves from this present existence, as though this life were better
than the life to come. Friends, the only way we can
escape such doubts and fears. Is to be still. and believe God. Believe God. It sounds so simple, doesn't
it? And yet, my friends, it takes divine power to do such things. Pray that God would give us a
strength in the midst of our troubles to be still. Wait. On the Lord. Be faithful to Him, serve Him,
honor Him, all the while having peace, knowing that all things
are of God, and all things are for His glory and your good.
Let's stand. We'll be dismissed in prayer.