This is one of Martin Luther's,
the great reformer, who knew something about tribulation,
who knew something about danger. And this is one of his favorite
psalms. He would often say to his companions
during those days, his fellow laborers in the cause of Christ,
if they should become fearful through threats from the Pope,
which were frequent, Luther would often say to them, come, let
us sing the 46th Psalm. His hymn on page 36 of our hymn
book, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, very much resembles the
words of this psalm. A part of it says, a mighty fortress
is our God, a bulwark never failing. Our helper he amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing. Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing. If not the right man were on
our side, the man of God's own choosing. The subject of this
song is the security of God's people. Amidst, as you noticed
in the reading, floods, earthquakes, God's people are secure. Not because of anything in themselves,
but because of their God. As the great shepherd himself
said, my sheep shall never perish, the reason being having nothing
to do with the sheep. Oh, no. Is any critter more feeble,
more prone to wonder? No, but because they're in his
hands and the father's hands, for that reason alone, they shall
never perish, they shall never be plucked out. That's the subject
of the psalm. This alone is the basis of the
rest of the psalm. Look, if you will, at verse 2.
Verse 1 shall be our text. Let's read it again. God is our
refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore. Therefore. Someone once said,
anytime you see this word in scripture, therefore, ask yourself,
what's it there for? Therefore. In light of what we
read in verse 1, because of that, will we not We need not fear
because we have God as our refuge and our strength, a very present
help in trouble. Everything that follows has verse
1 as its foundation. Because we have God as our refuge,
we need not fear no matter what happens. Throughout the psalm,
you have this repeated again and again. Did you notice in
the reading those three little words, or rather the word used
three times? Selah. Selah. Meaning a pause. A pause. A pause in the singing. Time to just quietly contemplate
what we just sung or what we just read. My soul consider As
our dear friend and brother wrote one of his many hymns, one of
my favorites that he wrote, Mr. Fortner's, My Soul Consider,
this is what the little word selah means. It's at the end
of verse 3, and then again at the end of verse 7, and then
again at the end of the psalm, verse 11. Selah. Consider. Stop and pause. Consider this blessed, blessed
truth. God is our refuge. He's our help. He's our strength. My soul consider God is with
us. God is with us. No wonder we
read, if God be for us. Paul said in Romans, if God be
for us, and he'd already stated how God is for us. God is for
us in his everlasting love. God is for us in his calling. God is for us in justification. God is for us in bringing us
all the way to glory. If God be for us, is the apostle's
argument, if God be for us in all those things, who can be
against? Who can be against us with such
a God as that? Greater is He that be with us
than all they that be against us. Three Selahs. And I think
where they're located in the psalm is instructive in itself,
where they're placed. At the beginning, in the middle,
and at the end. That's like our journey through
this world, is it not? Pilgrim, or rather Bunyan wrote
his famous allegory, Pilgrim Progress, with the title, his
journey from this world to that which is to come. And in the
beginning, and in the middle, and in the end of our journey,
we have our God with us always. When we commence this journey,
as we travel through this world, encountering whatever difficulty
we might, until the end of our days, God is with us always. Remember what Moses requested
of God when God promised that he would be with him in leading
the children of Israel through the wilderness? Moses said, well,
if you don't go with us, If you're not with us, don't send us. Don't
even let us go. I think I've told you before
about two brothers that were in the church I pastored for
a couple of years in West Virginia many years ago. And we were out
visiting one night and came to a house where they told me the
town drunk lived. a mean man, threatened everybody
with bodily harm that even bothered him, and they said to me, we're
going to wait here while you go up and talk to him. I said,
well, thanks a lot. God's not like that. God is with
us every step of the way. Every step of the way. God is
our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. from our calling all the way
to glory. From that time when in his great
mercy and grace he calls us out of darkness into his marvelous
light. He translates us out of the kingdom
of darkness into the kingdom of his own dear son. children of God, joint heirs
with Jesus Christ, but from being babes in grace to that time of
whore hares, God's promise to each of his own is this, I will
carry you. Don't you like that? I will carry
you. I have made and I will bear,
even I will carry and deliver you. Deliver you safely, deliver
you securely, and deliver you successfully. That's the I will
of him who has his way all the time. When God says, I will,
I will. It doesn't matter what follows
that. When the God of Glory says, I will, that makes it sure, doesn't
it, Lord? That makes it certain. Who can
resist His will? Who can overcome the will of
God Almighty? That One who has His way in the
whirlwind just as easily as on a calm day. It's all the same
to our great and glorious God. Who's stronger than Him? Contemplate God. This is how
our text begins. God. God. What a subject. God. Could anything greater occupy
the thoughts of your mind? Could anything greater ravish
your heart? The thought of God? God, that God, in all his majesty,
in all his greatness, in all his omnipotence, God is our refuge
and strength, an impregnable refuge, a place of retreat and
security and strength. Look, if you will, back in Exodus
chapter 14, our strength. Moses is getting ready to lead
the children of Israel across the Red Sea. But the sea hasn't
been parted yet. Shortly after this, it will be.
But these thousands upon thousands of Jews tell Moses, we could
have died in Egypt. Why bring us out here to die?
Look at Moses' answer, verse 13. of chapter 14. And Moses said unto the people,
fear ye not. That's what the psalmist said,
didn't he? With such a God we will not fear. And Moses said
unto the people, fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord, which he will show to you today for the Egyptians
whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.
The Lord shall fight for you Don't you like that? The battle
is the Lord. The Lord shall fight for you
and ye shall hold your peace. That's the hardest thing for
man to do. It just goes against our nature.
That is stand still. Stand still. And then also this
second thing, not only stand still, but be quiet. Stand still
and be quiet. Oh, that just goes against our
nature, doesn't it? To stand still, know it's time
to do something. Know the best thing you can do.
Your strength lies in just waiting up on your God. Stand still. Notice what, again, back in Psalm
46, that sounds much like what the psalmist said in verse 10.
what our God says in verse 10 of Psalm 46. Be still. Be quiet. Calm down. Just calm down. Be still and
know. Remember, all this commotion,
all this agitation, All this distress is because you're forgetting. You're forgetting. Be still,
calm down, and know that I am God. I'm still God. This has not caught me off guard. Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted, no question about it, among the heathen.
I will be exalted in the earth. That's our refuge. And notice
What David says, God is our refuge and strength. That's a sweet
word, isn't it? He's ours. He's ours. Sweet reality, God is ours. I am His and He is mine. I never get tired of hearing
that. Do you? I never get tired of
being reminded of that. I need reminding of it. That
I am his and he is mine. I need reminding. As the hymn
Bobby sometimes sings, loved with an everlasting love. What a comforting thought. led
by grace that loved to know. I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. The Lord hath appeared unto me
of old saying, I have loved thee, therefore with cords of love
have I drawn thee. Loved with an everlasting love,
led by grace that love to know. Spirit breathing from above,
thou has taught me it is so. Our God, our strength, our refuge. A very present help. You remember when Elijah challenged
the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel? And they built
their altar, laid their sacrifice upon it, and began to call upon
their false deity. They cut theirselves, just spoke
in tongues, did all kinds of things to try to get their God's
attention, and Elijah said, maybe he's asleep. Maybe he can't hear
you. Maybe you need to pray, scream
out a little louder. Not so with our God. Our God
is a very present help. He always hears the prayers of
his people. Notice what we have here in verse
1. It reads, God is our refuge and
strength, a very present help. Not simply a help. Not simply a present help, but
a very present help. Very present help. Closer than
the trouble. Nearer than your closest friend. Not just with us, but most certainly
with us. Definitely so. I am with you,
present tense. That's always so. It's always
the present tense. He's always the great I am. Not was with you, but am with
you. Not will be with you, but am
with you. Our ever-present God is always
with His people. Always. I am, he said to Moses
at the burning bush. I am that I am. The present tense. And our Lord
in Matthew 22 explained that. When the Sadducees tried to trap
him in his words with their made up story concerning the wife
and the brothers and whose wife will she be in the resurrection.
Our Lord said it's touching the resurrection. Have you not read? God said, I am. I am the God of Jacob. I am the
God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. I am presently. The shepherd is our present refuge. Our present strength, wherever
the present finds you, the great shepherd is always watching over
his sheep. Always. He's always providing
from his fullness of grace. There's no need for us to worry
that this ever-flowing fountain of grace ever being dry. It never is. Never is. Never need to be concerned. Doesn't
need to enter into our thinking. It's not a factor whether God
is not always the sufficient refuge. If the grace of the Great
Shepherd is not always sufficient, He's ever full, ever flowing
to meet every need of His people, always, in every circumstance. I like this promise. Listen to
this. He says to each and every one
of his own, I will never, never leave you. I will never leave
you nor forsake you. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. You may be thinking, and
I do too, I don't always feel that. I don't always feel that. Oh, may God give us grace to
trust Him rather than our feelings. To trust the eternal I am. I will not leave you. There's
nothing that can separate us from him. Not the world, not
the devil, not even ourselves. He's our refuge and help. Next, notice that word. Help. A very present help. God Almighty
is not an observer of activities in this world. He's not sitting
on the sidelines. Some people's concept of God
represents him as that. That he started things but now
he's just waiting to see how they turn out. Oh no, he created
this world and he sustains this world. For his pleasure they
are and were created and by his pleasure they continue to exist. Again, he said to Moses, I've
seen the affliction of my children in Israel. I've seen it. I'm
aware of it. But that's not all, is it? He
didn't stop there. He said, I've come down to deliver
them. Apply those words to Christ.
The God of heaven said, I've laid help on one that is mighty. That's the Lord God speaking
of his Son. I've laid help on one that is
mighty. One who is able to save my people
from their sins. Who else could that be? Who else
could that be but Jesus? God sent forth His Son. Glorious, glorious substitute. Oh, what a unique one of a kind
is He. The God-Man. God in flesh. Made of a woman, made under the
law, God sends forth his son to redeem. And glory to his name forever,
he got the job done. He redeemed his people from all
of their sins. And now God says, deliver them
from going down to the pit. I'm satisfied. Payment has been
made. Atonement secured. I have found
a ransom. But even after redemption, even
after he redeemed his people from all their sins, They're still bond slaves to
sin until they're called by grace. They still must be brought out
of the prison house. They still must have the blessed
benefits of redemption applied to their hearts. They still must
be made new creatures in Christ, and there they are, just like
all the rest of the world. By nature, children of wrath,
just like everybody else. They're pictured in that valley
of dry bones that Ezekiel saw. And God said to him, can these
bones live? Can these bones live? How? How can they live? Who? Who shall give them life? The
priest? Can he give them life? The preacher? No. Their need reaches beyond
anything that mere man can do. Oh, but they're not beyond the
reach. They're not beyond the reach
of the omnipotent hand of God, who says, my arm is not shortened
that it cannot save. Ask Him. our great God and Savior concerning
this valley of dead bones. Can they live? Can they live? And hear him who spoke like never
a man ever spoke. Hear his answer to the question.
Can these bones live? Barely, barely. Take it to the
bank. Barely, barely, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me,
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but
is passed from death unto life. Can these bones live? Verily,
verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming. I like that. The hour is coming,
and now is, When the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of
God, and they that hear shall what? They'll live. They'll live. Every child of God is proof,
is evidence of the truth of what our Redeemer said. The hour is
coming. There was an hour ordained before
the foundation of the world when Christ would come to us by his
grace and say, live. And we live. The very life of
Christ flowed into us. And we arose new creatures in
Christ, created in the very image of God's own Son. No wonder he
said, there's rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repents. Oh, yes. He's a very present
help in trouble. God in Christ. Is that very present
health right now? Has he not proved it to us again
and again and again? Put it a different way. Has there
ever been a time? Has there ever been a time that
he didn't prove himself to be of very present health? Ever? Ever? No. No. There's been many a heartache,
many a trial, Many a tear that no one else saw, oh, but he was
aware of it. He was aware of it. He can be
touched with the filling of our infirmities. Has he ever proven
untrue? Have we ever cried to him and
found him not to be there? Ever? Turn, if you will, to Hebrews
chapter 4 concerning this one. upon whom God Almighty had laid
hell, one that is mighty. Concerning Him, we read here
in Hebrews chapter 4, you're familiar with it, but let's look
at it together. Hebrews chapter 4, seeing then,
seeing then, oh God, help us to see this again and again,
that we have, we have a great high priest, that is passed into
the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched." That's
not him. That's not him. That's uncaring,
unmoved. Oh, no. That's not the high priest
we have. No, on the contrary. We don't have a high priest which
cannot be touched with the filling of our infirmities, but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He can
be touched. He is moved with compassion. Let us therefore come with such
a high priest as that. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace. Oh, don't you like that expression?
A throne of grace. And upon that throne of grace
sits the very personification of grace. With all the grace
you need in whatever time you need, let us therefore come boldly
under the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy. Yeah, I
need that. And find grace to help in time
of need. Mr. Spurgeon said, there is nothing
Christ dislikes more than for his people to make a show thing
of him. The more burdens we put on his
shoulders, the more precious he will be to us. He's not a
show thing, is He? Christ to religious folks is. He's just a show thing, a statue,
a picture, an idol. But not to His children. Our
God and Savior is a very present help. God give us grace to come
to Him. to come to him, let him prove
to us again and again the truth of the text. He is all God and
yet he is all man. As such, he's all that I ever
need. He's my elder brother, sweet
thought. flesh of my flesh and bone of
my bone. He was made like unto his brethren
for the express purpose of being a faithful and merciful high
priest in things pertaining to God. Yes, my elder brother, and
yet my Lord and my God. Touched with the feeling of my
affirmatives? Yes. And yet able to save to
the uttermost. He's no figment of our imagination. No. He is our very present strength
and refuge, help in time of trouble. His salvation is real. His grace is real. I read a statement
in a bulletin just the other day I think it was Napoleon that
made the statement that religion was useful for only one thing. He considered it a fallacy, but
he said religion was beneficial to keep the poor people from
murdering the rich people. It's a fallacy, but it's useful
for that. Oh no, oh no. Grace is real because
it comes from Him who is real, our God and Savior. His mercy
is real mercy. His forgiveness is real forgiveness. It's no pretense. It's not make-believe. It would be if it came from anyone
else. No one else has it. But ask that
poor woman. Ask her if it was real. That
woman that went into Simon the Pharisee's house, who treated
her and looked at her with contempt, who said to himself, who let
her in here? How dare she come into my home? Everybody knows who she is. She's
a sinner. Everybody in town knows she's
a sinner. But the Lord of Glory looked at her and said, thy sins.
are forgiven thee." Was it a sham? Was it a pretense? Did you just
imagine that happening to you, dear woman? Oh, no. She left
there experiencing the very peace of God in her heart. Ask that
woman that was drugged before the Redeemer with the accusation
of being taken in the very act of adultery. Ask her was it a
pretense, was it imaginary when he said to her, neither do I
condemn thee. No, no. The blessed truth that
there's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, it's
real. It's real. And when we all stand
before God, all His redeemed, all His saved, all of His chosen,
the world shall see it was no pretense. It wasn't our imagination. He's a real Savior with real
grace for real sinners. A very present help in time of
need. So then, so then, let us come
to Him. Let us come to our refuge. Remember,
after Noah prepared the ark, completed the ark, we read God
said, Noah, come into the ark. He didn't say, go into the ark. He said, come into the ark. God was there. Come to me, Noah. Come into the ark. Christ is
our refuge, our strength, our ark. I can do all things, the
apostles said, through Jesus Christ that strengtheneth me,
our very present help. Then God give me grace. If I
have such a Redeemer, such a sufficient, all-caring Redeemer, enable me
to cast all my care upon him." The psalm ends as it begins. Notice again verse 1. God is
our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Verse
11, the last verse. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. It begins and ends the same,
just like our God, immutable, unchanging. He is before us leading
the way. He is with us as we go this way. And he will be our exceeding
great reward when we reach our journey's end. Psalm 23 tells
us that, does it not? Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life. And then what, David? And then I shall dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. Sheila, my soul, consider. Think of these blessed, blessed
truths for your soul's comfort and God's glory. Amen. Amen.