Open your Bibles, if you would,
to Psalm 46. The name of the message is Elohim, the Mighty
One. Elohim, the Mighty One. Psalm 46, we'll read the whole
Psalm. It's 11 verses. It's written for the sons of
Korah. Psalm 46, God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we 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,
Selah. There is a river, the streams
whereof 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 in 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. Selah. Come behold the works of the
Lord. What desolations he hath made
in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto
the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow. and cutteth
the spear in sunder. He burneth the chariot in the
fire. 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. Selah. Just pause. Just pause. What a psalm. Now God's people, we're a needy
people. We're a needy people. I need
the Lord and I know you who are the blood-bought saints of God,
you need the Lord too, don't you? All the time. Personally, as I grow older,
as each day passes, I see my need for Christ more and more.
Is it so for you too? More and more, I see my need
for Christ. And the scriptures declare that
our Lord said these words to Paul, my grace is sufficient
for thee, for in my strength is made perfect in weakness. We're weak people. We need Christ. We need Him. God's grace is sufficient
for us. And His strength is made perfect
in weakness. The believer in Christ has had
revealed to them their utter weakness to save themselves. The utter hopelessness of trying
to save ourselves. And the believer in Christ has
had revealed to him that Christ is the only Savior. And that
salvation as we looked at in Sunday school this morning is
absolutely complete and finished in Christ and Christ alone. He
has accomplished eternal salvation for his people. And we've been
shown also our other weakness even to preserve ourselves, haven't
we? We can't keep ourselves. Left to ourselves, we'd fall
away. But we know that it is Christ
who keeps us from falling. We know it is he who keeps us
from falling. And we know from the scriptures that one day he
will present us faultless before his throne. And beloved, he would
do it with exceeding joy. Exceeding joy. God is the one sure resource
for his people. For creation and for all things
visible and invisible. He is the great fountain of supply
to His creatures. And we as believers, we are utterly
dependent upon Him. Utterly dependent upon Him. That's
why Paul proclaimed, Christ is my all in all. He's my all in all. He's everything. He's my, and is he to you? For
the believer, for me, he's all my wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Is it so for you? He's everything. Without Christ, I'd still be
dead in trespasses and sins. Without hope, and not even knowing, and not
even caring of the state that I was in. But it's God who makes
us to differ. And believers in Christ, again,
know our utter dependence upon Christ. What does he say in John
when he's talking about the vine and the branches? He says, without
me you can do nothing. Nothing. So ample provision has been made
for God's people in Christ. All through Him. Again, all the
promises of God are in Him. Yea and Amen. And Christ possesses
all the fullness of God. Everything that a sinner needs
is found in Christ. Everything that a sinner needs
is found in Christ. Do you need a refuge? Christ is the refuge of His people.
Do you need to be saved from your sins? Christ saves His people
from their sins. Do you need a proper standing
before God? God's people are clothed in the
perfect spotless righteousness of Christ and can stand in the
presence of God, accepted in Him. Everything that a sinner
needs. Everything that a sinner needs.
So, as Brother Scott Richardson said, and I love this, the believer
in Christ looks outside of himself. Right? There was a time when
we looked inside ourselves. Now we look outside ourselves
and we look to Christ and Christ alone. Look at verse 1 here, it says,
God is our refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Now note the personal possessive
word, are. Are. That's for God's people. This
is why we're told to make our election and calling sure, beloved.
So that we can say with the psalmist, God is my refuge and strength. God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Are you weak? Are you weak? Yeah, we all are. But the scriptures
declare here of God's people that God alone is our refuge
and strength, that he is a very present help in trouble. Are you heavy laden with the
cares and troubles of this world? Sometimes we are. Sometimes we
are. The believer has a hope. God
is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Are there health problems in
your life and cares for family who do not know the Lord? Well,
the believer can take comfort in all times that we have one
sure hope. One sure hope. We can cry out
and sing with the sons of Korah. God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. Now the word, Hebrew word for
God here is Elohim. Elohim is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. Elohim. Elohim is means the strong
one, or Lord Almighty. Elohim is the supreme one. Elohim is God Almighty, full
of power and might, and He alone is the one true God, the Father,
the Son, and the Spirit. Our God, beloved, is absolutely
supreme. He is the self-existent One. He is the Mighty One. He is the
Holy One. And He is absolutely sovereign.
Absolutely sovereign over all things visible and invisible. Absolutely. And He never changes. The Scriptures declare He's the
same yesterday, today and forever. Aren't you thankful that His
love towards His people never changes? That His mercy and grace
which He gives to His people never changes? So what comfort then for the
saint of God to know that That this is the one who has saved
us. This is the one who has saved us. This is the one who will
keep us. This is the one who we will one day see face to face. Because we know Christ is God
incarnated in the flesh. So truly the believer can say,
God, Elohim, is our refuge and strength. A very present help
in trouble. The Almighty One. And that's what that means. Elohim,
the Almighty One, the Supreme One, is my help, my refuge. What comfort this can bring us
in times of unbelief and doubt and sorrow and grief. In times
of trial and trouble in our life, Elohim is my God. He's a very present help in trouble. The absolute supreme God, the
one true God, is our refuge and strength. So in our lives and in our death,
He's our refuge and strength, beloved. And the only reason we can say
as believers that God is our refuge and strength is by the
grace of God. in the mercy of God which has
been bestowed upon us in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's the only way we can say God is our refuge and strength,
the very present help in trouble. Because the mercy which we've
obtained in and through Christ. So beloved of God, rejoice! Rejoice! The one who keeps us is the very
one who has the sunrise every morning. The one who keeps us is the very
one who has the sun rise every minute. The very one who keeps
us is the very one who holds the stars in their place, beloved. The one who has saved us and
who will keep us is the very one who spoke this world into
existence by the word of his power, Elohim. Oh, what comfort that brings
to my soul. Is it for you too? Oh, it brings great comfort to
the believer in Christ. Elohim is my refuge and my strength,
the very present help in trouble. And His amazing power is on display
every day in our lives, because it's He who carries us through
all the difficult times of our lives. And rest assured, you who are
born again child of God, washed in the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ, you are kept by the Almighty God. You are kept by Him. You are
held and you are kept by Elohim. Now, I know we're sinners. We're safe sinners, aren't we?
But we're still sinners and we fear and we have trouble sometimes
in our lives. But what comfort this can bring
us in times like that. What a wonderful portion of scripture
to go to and read during times. Elohim, Elohim is my refuge and
my strength, the very present help, trouble. The very one who
said, in the beginning God, Elohim, created the heavens and the earth,
is the very one who keeps us. Same Hebrew word. And remember who our Savior is,
beloved. Remember who the Lord Jesus Christ
is. He's God incarnate in the flesh. the great, sovereign, almighty
God. It is He who is the believer's
complete rest. Complete rest. We don't find any rest in ourselves,
do we? Or by the things we do. But oh,
the believer finds great rest in Christ, in Christ alone. And He is the only one who is
mighty to save. If you're trying to save yourself,
cease from your labors and look to Christ. He's the only one who had set
up that God is well pleased with. And He is the only one who can
save to the uttermost all who come to Him. He's not turned one away who
come to Him. In the Sons of Korah we see,
sing in verses 2 and 3, let's look at this. In light of the
truth, look what they sing in light of the truth that Elohim
is the believer's refuge and strength. Look at what they say
in light of that. Therefore will not we fear. Oh my. 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. Why? Why will they not fear?
Because Elohim, the Almighty One, is the one who is the refuge
and strength. Oh, what comfort we can glean
here, beloved. What comfort we can glean here. When we who are
the people of God consider that our Lord, is our refuge and strength,
that the Almighty One is the help of His people. In times
of trouble and distress, it has great influence on our faith,
doesn't it? We get strengthened in what we believe. And we just
keep looking to Him. We just keep looking to Him.
He's the one sure confidence that we can... He's the only
one that we can have absolute confidence in. And who is that one? Elohim.
Just let that sink into your souls. Elohim, the almighty one, the
supreme one, the one who is an absolute sovereign, as I said. is our refuge and strength. No
wonder they said, 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 swelling thereof. That pretty well covers
all calamities, doesn't it? It pretty well does. God is our refuge and strength.
He is the refuge and strength of his people. all the times
of our life. And our great God, He has proved
this to His people in our lives time and time and time again.
I had Brother Tim read that psalm, and I love the fact that he pulled
that out about the generations, and we also saw the almighty
power of God on display in that psalm as well. Well, God has
proved not only in our lives of His faithfulness and of who
He is, that He is the Almighty One. But He's proved it to all
the saints in the past, and you know what? And He'll prove it
to all the saints in the future. He's proved it time and time
again. And so what happens? Since we know that Elohim, God,
is our refuge and strength, since we know that He's a very present
help in trouble, we praise His name, don't we? We praise His
name. We glorify Him. We give Him all
the glory, and all the honor, and all the praise. Let's read verses four to seven
together of this psalm and take note how the Holy Spirit of God
moved the writer of this psalm to keep bringing forth that Elohim
is our strength and our refuge and that He will never leave
us nor forsake us. It says, there is a river, and
I'll bring forth where Elohim is brought forth here, there
is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,
Elohim, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High,
God, Elohim, is in the midst of her. Oh, what comfort that
can bring us. Where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Oh my. God, Elohim, is in the midst
of her. She shall not be moved. Why? Because the Almighty One
is in her midst. Oh, what comfort. God, Elohim,
shall help her. And that right early. What comfort
we can glean as believers that God is our help. He cares, and
again, picture the shepherd. The shepherd over a flock of
sheep. And a good shepherd watches them
sheep and take care of them all the time, doesn't he? That's
what our God does. We're the sheep of his pasture,
sheep of his hand. Oh, it's wonderful. He ever watches
over us. God Elohim is in the midst of
her and she shall not be moved. God Elohim shall help her and
that right early. The heathen raged. Oh, they rage
all the time, don't they? But it doesn't change the fact
that God is our refuge and strength. The heathen raged, the kingdoms
were moved. He uttered his voice and the earth melted. The Lord, Jehovah, host is with
us the God Elohim of Jacob is our refuge the self-existent one Jehovah
is with us the God Elohim of Jacob the mighty one the almighty
one is our refuge you see how the Holy Spirit has been penned
these words and it just keeps giving assurance and comfort
and rest to the believer It's incredible. So we see here a constant reminder
in these verses for the people of God that God is ever with
his people. Ever with his people. Always.
The high and mighty one is in our midst. In our midst. And therefore the people of God
shall not be moved. They'll be kept. Things may rage
around us, but God will keep his people. He'll keep his people. And think of this in light of
those who are in Christ, those who are saved by the almighty
power of God, those who are kept by the almighty power of God.
The scriptures declare, look to him. Look to him. Look to him for the salvation
of our souls. And when God saves us again,
the believer never stops looking. But isn't it comforting to know
that God, Elohim, will never leave us nor forsake us? Isn't
that wonderful? That the Almighty One is ever
with us, watching over us and caring for us, no matter what
comes in this life. Listen to what Paul penned. Actually,
turn to Romans chapter 8. Let's read what Paul penned.
And keep in mind, keep in mind again that Elohim is our refuge
and strength. A very present help in trouble.
That the Almighty One is our refuge and strength. And it gives
these words of Paul a little more light for us. Look at this.
In Romans chapter 8 verses 31 and 33. What shall we then say to these
things if God before us Who can be against us? Who can withstand
the mighty Elohim? No one. No one. Absolutely no one. So Paul pens
these words, if God be for us, who can be against us? And this
is written to God's born-again, blood-washed people, beloved.
He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all,
The sinless one, the perfect one, the spotless one, the Lamb
of God died for sinners. He was delivered up for my sins,
the believer says, for my sins. And how shall we not with him
also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Look at this. It is God that
justifies. Just let that sink into your
soul. If a believer is justified, which
we are in Christ, then we have a proper standing before God.
We are allowed to stand in the presence of God. And who is it
that has justified us? Elohim. Oh my. Elohim. So therefore, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Who shall lay any charge to one
of those whom Christ died for? It is God that justifies. Turn,
if you would, to Isaiah chapter 45. Isaiah chapter 45. We'll read verses 14-25 and I'll
bring forth again the word Elohim and Jehovah and how it's repeated
also. And just for a little background
in this chapter, in chapter 44, Isaiah, by inspiration of the
Holy Spirit of God, has been bringing forth the folly of idolatry. The folly of idolatry in verses
9-20. And now we see brought forth the one true God in contrast
to the idols that he mentioned in chapter 44. Who cannot save? Isaiah 45 verses 14 to 25. Thus saith the Lord, we know
that every time you see the Lord like that, it's Jehovah. The
labor of Egypt and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabaeans,
man of stature, shall come over unto thee. and they shall be
thine. They shall come after thee in
chains, they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto
thee. They shall make supplication
unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee, and there is none
else. There is no God, and that's Elohim
there. Verily thou art a God, and where
I don't mention and it's God, it's El, which means he's the
mighty one too. that hideth thyself, O God, Elohim,
there of Israel the Savior. They shall be ashamed and also
confounded, all of them, they shall go to confusion together
that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved in
the Lord with an everlasting salvation. He shall not be ashamed
nor confounded, world without end. For thus saith the Lord,
again, that's Jehovah, that created the heavens, God, Elohim, himself,
that formed the earth and made it. He hath established it. He hath created it not in vain.
He formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is none
else. I have not spoken in secret in
a dark place of the earth. I said not unto the seed of Jacob,
seek ye me in vain. I, the Lord, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right. Assemble yourselves and come.
draw near together ye that are escaped of the nations. They
have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image
and pray unto a God that cannot save." So these people who carve
out idols out of wood or stone, they're just carving out a graven
image and then they pray to that, they pray to the rock or to the
wood. It cannot save. It's a piece
of stone. Or it's a piece of tree. Tell me ye, and bring them near. Yea, let them take counsel together.
Who hath declared this from ancient times? Who hath told it from
that time? Have not I the Lord, Jehovah?
There is no God, and that's Elohim, beside me. There's no God beside
him. There's no God beside Elohim.
He is the Almighty One. A just God and a Savior. There
is none beside me. Look unto me. Look unto Me. God's people by faith, we look
to Him. Look unto Me and be you saved. All the ends of the earth. For I am God and there is none
else. I have sworn by Myself the Word has gone out of My mouth
in righteousness and shall not return. That unto Me every knee
shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, Shall one say
in the Lord, have I righteousness and strength? Well, the Lord
is our righteousness, isn't he? The Lord Jesus Christ is our
righteousness, my Lord. Even to him shall men come, and
all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the
Lord, Jehovah, shall all the seed of Israel be justified and
shall glory. My, that's Elohim. That's the God of the Bible.
He's not waiting to save people. He's not wringing His hands because
people don't come to Him. No, He draws His people and saves
His people by His almighty power, beloved. Because He is Elohim,
the mighty one. And if He saved you, rejoice.
Rejoice, beloved. So we see God's people's utter
dependence upon our great God. Look unto me and be saved. There's
salvation in no other. God's people's utter dependence
upon our great God. Our utter dependence upon He
who is called Elohim. Elohim. The mighty one. The one who is full of absolute
power. Absolute power. absolute might,
look to Him and be saved. He has all power and all ability. And that's the one who God's
people trust. That's the one who God's people
say, He's my refuge and strength. He's a very present help in trouble. Again, Christ is God incarnate
in the flesh, the only savior of sinners. And He is the only
one who has the power and the ability to save. You can't save
yourself. I can't save myself. You can't
save anyone else. I can't save anyone else. But
the gospel preacher, we preach and proclaim the one who is mighty
to save. And the one who is mighty to
save is Elohim. The one who has all power and
ability to save whoever comes to him. Oh my. And God's people
are made willing, and again, in the day of his power. By his might. So rejoice if you're one of the
children of God. If you're born again, it's all
by God's divine power. And all according to his purpose
and his will. Christ is able to save all that
come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
for them. Look unto Me and be ye saved. Look unto Christ and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth, for
I am God and there is none else. And the believer in Christ looks
to Christ alone for everything. For all our needs. For everything. So let us leave off complaining
or discontentment and fretting, and let us look to our great
God. Let us look to Elohim. Let us look to our great God.
Let us look to our Redeemer and our Savior for all our needs,
for everything. Let us just keep our eyes fixed
upon Him. And we look to Christ by faith,
don't we? When we hear the Gospel preached and proclaimed, we who
believe are strengthened, because we're weak. We're strengthened. And we have trials and burdens
to bear and difficulties to overcome. While we're journeying through
this world, the wilderness of this world, we can become weary.
We can become weary. Because we lack strength. We
lack strength. But what does the Lord do? He
gives us grace and strength in time of need. And remember who that comes from.
Elohim. And remember when you go to the
Lord in prayer, you're going before Elohim. You're going before the Mighty
One. The Mighty One. Elohim is our refuge and strength,
the very present help in trouble. Grace, this grace of God is truly
amazing grace, beloved. It's truly amazing grace, and
we who are God's people are, again, born sinners. Born sinners. Sinners by birth,
nature, and choice. But we're saved by God's amazing
grace. By His almighty power. By the
divine power of God. all according to the plan and
purpose of God the Father from eternity. Now, when you really
sit and think of that, when you really think and sit and think
that Elohim, the Almighty One, planned and purposed the salvation
of His people, it'll leave you in awe. And when you, who are a born-again,
blood-wet child of God, sit and think about the fact that Elohim
planned and purposed this and executed it, and that I'm in
that number? My, what mercy, what grace. And our great God tells us, tells
His people to look to Him. Look to Him. We who are the people
of God, we look to Christ. Well, we're on this pilgrim way
through this world, and we must keep our eye upon Christ. Paul says to set your mind on
things above. And the reason he did that is
because we're so easily distracted sometimes. Set your mind on Christ,
set your mind on Him. Fix your eyes upon the Savior. The Word of God became flesh
and dwelt among us to save your eternal soul. Wonder of wonders. And Jesus is the strong one.
He is the almighty God. He has all strength and power
in himself. And it is he who gives strength
to his people. He gives strength to his people. Again, we're weak,
and sometimes we're weary, but he upholds us and keeps us. Aren't you thankful he doesn't
just let us go off? Oh, my. Oh, what a great God
we have. And all who trust in him. Again,
we just keep looking to him, don't we? We look and we never
stop looking. Never. Never. And we know these words to be
true. That he's our refuge and strength. We know these words. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
chapter 40. And God's people, or God's preachers, what are
God's preachers to do? We're to comfort God's people,
right? And how do we do that? By telling you about the great
things that Elohim has done for His people. Oh, it brings me
great comfort every time I hear the Gospel. It's wonderful. Absolutely
wonderful. Look at this in Isaiah chapter
40. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
sayeth your God, Elohim. Elohim says that. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished. The Lord Jesus Christ cried,
it is finished. Salvation is complete. Now we
have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. That her iniquity is pardoned.
How many of our sins are forgiven? How many of God's people's sins
are forgiven? By the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ? All of them. Past, present, and
future. They're all forgiven. Oh, what
a mighty Savior. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem.
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, and that her
iniquity is pardoned. For she hath received the Lord's hand
double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth
in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight
in the desert a highway for our God." That's Elohim again. Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made. And look at this. Oh,
see, we're born dead in trespasses and sins, aren't we? Fallen when
Adam fell we all fell with him look at this And the crooked shall be made
straight Born again by the Holy Spirit of God and The rough place
is plain and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all
flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken
Oh What comfort God's people can glean? When Christ is preached
and proclaimed When the gospel of God's free grace is preached
and proclaimed. When we hear about what our great
God has done for us. And we need to be comforted.
Because we can be cast down by situations. And I don't know
if it's so with you, but our daily need for me, my daily need
is to be comforted. Always. And our great God comforts
His people. Just as we need daily food, right? You need daily food, we need
to be comforted every day. God's people are comforted by
He who is the Almighty One. God's people find comfort in
the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We find comfort in God's
Word. And we find comfort when we think
of the great things that God has done for us. Oh, what comfort. What comfort God's people find
in Christ. In knowing that our God, Elohim,
the one true God, the mighty one, is ever with us. What comfort
we can find. Knowing that all our sins are
paid for, every one of them. By the shedding of the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. By the shedding of the precious
blood of He who is God. What comfort this brings the
people of God. What comfort God's people can glean knowing that
our great shepherd is Elohim. And that He will watch over us
at all times. And what great comfort God's
people can glean to know that the Holy Spirit guides us into
all truth. All by His divine power. And who does He guide us to?
Scripture says He won't speak of Himself. He points the believer. He points
the born-again, blood-washed believer right to Christ, who
is the way, the truth, and the life. Look unto me, and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is none
else. Saved from every danger, saved from every foe, but more
so, saved from all our sins. Saved from the penalty of our
sins, because that penalty fell upon Christ, who died as our
substitute. Saved from all our sins, saved
fully, completely, and saved freely by the grace of God in
Christ. Saved eternally. Saved eternally. because it is God Himself who
saved us. If you've not looked to Him,
if you've not looked to Him, may God show you that you're
a sinner in desperate need of Him. May He grant you faith to
believe upon Him and rest and trust in Him, because He alone
is the only Savior of sinners. And let we who believe look to
our Lord and let us keep looking to Him, Because when we get the glory,
we'll be beholden to the Lord. Let us look to him all through
our life. When Satan assaults us, let us
look to Christ. When foes beset us, let us look
to Christ. When our needs oppress us, let
us look to Christ. When death stares us in the face,
let us look to Christ. Let us look to the Lord Jesus
Christ for grace and for mercy, because He alone is full of grace
and mercy. Let us look to Christ for strength,
because He is the Mighty One. Let us look to Christ for comfort,
because only in Him can we find comfort for our souls. Let's
go back to Psalm 46. We'll read the last four verses
again. And take note again of the words Jehovah and Elohim
again in our text. Psalm 46. It's a constant reminder
for us here. We read verses 8 to 11. Come, behold the works of the
Lord, as Jehovah, the self-existent one, what desolations he hath
made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto
the ends of the earth. He breaketh the bow and cutteth
the spear and sunder. He burneth the chariot in fire. Be still and know that I am God. That's Elohim. Be still and know
that I am God. Just be still in front of Him. We rest and repose in Christ,
don't we? Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among
the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth.
And then it says in verse 11, the Lord, that's Jehovah, the
self-existent one of hosts, is with us. The God, Elohim of Jacob,
is our refuge. You see, God, the Holy Spirit,
had the psalmist pen these words. to let we who are his people
know that we are kept and preserved by the mighty one, Elohim. Behold the mighty works of God.
He again spoke this world and the stars and the moon into existence
all by the word of his power. Elohim did this. Elohim did this. And our great
God did this because it pleased Him to do so. And the very breath we breathe
comes from Him. And behold, the mighty work of
redemption. The mighty work of the redemption
of God's people. Elohim did that as well. He did it all. Salvation is of the Lord. It
was of His planning, all according to His purpose, and it is He
who has executed it. So the believer proclaims exactly
what the scripture says. Salvation is of the Lord. In
verse 8 and 9, we see our great God's sovereign power on display.
And we who are the people of God are told in verse 10 to be
still, to be still before our God. And this is not hard to
do when we consider that we are to be still before Elohim, the
Mighty One. The Mighty One. Again, what comfort
this can bring the believer in times of trial, suffering and
grief. That the Mighty God, Elohim, is our refuge and our
strength. A very present help in trouble.
And then look at verse 11. We see again the words Jehovah,
the self-existent one, and Elohim, the strong one, or the Lord Almighty,
is our refuge. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God, Elohim of Jacob, is our refuge. Selah. That we who are the people of
God cling to the precious truth before us that's been set before
us in this psalm today. Knowing that our Savior is God
himself. And knowing that He alone is
our refuge. The Hebrew word for refuge here
is a high stronghold built upon rocks. A place that is inaccessible. The Lord of hosts is with us.
Elohim of Jacob is our refuge. He is a stronghold, beloved.
So let these thoughts carry us through this week, beloved. May
they bring comfort to our hearts. The one who keeps the believer
in Christ is Elohim. Praise his mighty name. Heavenly
Father, we thank you again for allowing us to gather together.
And we come before thy sovereign, majestic throne, just in awe. Just in awe, we who are your
people. In awe of the fact that you who are the Almighty One,
Elohim, You are our very present help in trouble. You alone are
our refuge and strength. And the reason you are those
things to us is because you have made it so for us. It is you
who has saved us. It is you who has redeemed us.
And you have planned and purposed the redemption of our eternal
souls. And we glory in that. We glory in your name, O Lord.
We give you all the glory and honor and praise, and we are
quick to give it to thee, O Lord. May we think upon these things
this week. May they be honey to the believer's soul. In Jesus'
name, amen.