Psalm 46 verse 1, God is our
refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 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 the
swelling thereof." Selah. There is a river, the streams
whereof shall 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, 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. 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. God is our refuge. When I was a young man, I used
to hunt a lot, fish a lot. I haven't done either in years,
but I can well remember in those days there were certain areas
of the National Forest that are designated as wildlife sanctuaries,
a refuge. You cannot hunt in those areas. The wildlife is safe there and
they know it. And I thought about how that
in our lives there is the daily pursuit of a refuge. a sanctuary. And this is true
in various areas of our lives, our health, our finances, our
families, just to feel safe and prepared, just to know everything
will be all right tomorrow. We strive to have a handle on
things, to feel safe, secure, We're constantly
seeking refuge. I wonder this morning just how
many of us, professing believers, are so occupied with that pursuit
until we forget almost entirely that God is our refuge. Our hiding place is not a place,
it's a person. God is our refuge. There is no
safety, there is no security outside of Him. Paul the Apostle
warned us of this, wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall. Just as sure as you think you
can handle something, that's dangerous. For every breath of our lives,
we need God. There's no sure refuge elsewhere. Now, we note here there is no
mention of armies and fortresses, but refuge. This is not someone able to be
on the offensive and fight back, no. This is a helpless somebody
in trouble, needing protection. And that's who we are, a helpless
somebody in trouble, needing protection. We're no match for
the devil. We're no match for the world.
We're no match for our own flesh. The words of verse 1 here are
very expressive. God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. They are very emphatic words. You can trust what you will, but God is our refuge. They are very encouraging. In
their repetition, three times we find the word refuge. Verse
1, God is our refuge. Verse 7, the Lord of hosts is
with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Verse 11, the Lord of
hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Each of these three stanzas
ends with Selah, meaning Amen. Yay! Think about that. Meditate on that. At the end
of verse 3, Selah. At the end of verse 7, Selah. At the end of verse 11, Selah.
Amen, Amen, and Amen. God is our refuge. It's not that He can be. It's
not that He might be. It's not that He wishes He could
be. But to His children, God is our
refuge. Now, a very present help in trouble,
in trouble. Now, naturally, trouble brings fear. But because God
is our refuge, because He is a very present help in trouble, we have the word therefore, or
on that account, or because of this, because God is our refuge,
will not we fear. We're not fearless in ourselves. We're not fearless in our own
refuge and strength that we'd come up with. We know there are
too many things that we can't handle, too many things and problems
and issues that are bigger than we are. We are without fear. only in the realization that
God is our refuge. Outside of that, there is no peace. The psalmist now expresses the
greatness and strength of our God, our refuge, and our not
fearing. He does this by giving a series
of four those. Look at verses 2 and 3. 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 the swelling thereof? Now these statements, of course,
are symbolic. It's just another way of saying
when your world falls apart, when things cave in, when everything
goes wrong, these expressions here in the text involve land
and sea, high places and low places. It's talking about your
entire little world. And it's not from a physical,
social, or material perspective I wish to view this, but from
a spiritual perspective. When our faith is tried, when
our spiritual vision is blurred, when the clouds hang low, our assurance is disturbed, Our
confidence is shaken. We're rattled in our spirit. In those times, just a mental
assertion of faith is not enough. Just a verbal expression, well,
I know that I know that I know, that's not enough. These are
times when we need a deep stirring in our hearts, which can only
be done by the one true refuge and strength, God Himself for
His people. We need Him to be that very present
help in trouble. What trouble? Soul trouble. Soul trouble. Not talking about
having a flat tire or somebody running over your dog or anything
like that. Talking about soul trouble. He's a very present
help. When our flesh is failing and
we feel that our faith is failing also, we need him. We need him. You remember Christ
told Simon Peter, Your flesh will fail, but I have prayed
for thee that thy faith fail not. Your flesh will fail you, your
faith won't. Well, Simon Peter was so confident,
so bold, he said to the Lord, Oh no, I won't fail, not even
in my flesh. But he did. He did. His flesh failed. But as the
Lord was being led out, the Scripture says that he turned and looked
upon Peter. And when he did, something took
a hold. It wasn't a look of scorn. It
wasn't a look of rebuke or anything like that. It was a look of love. pity, mercy, and faith took hold. The scripture says that Peter
went out and wept bitterly. His flesh failed him, his faith
didn't. And this morning when we have
failed, when our conduct has not been
becoming of a child of God, when our attitude has been wrong,
when our zeal seems to be exhausted, when we feel that it's almost
over for us. I'm glad to report there is one
more faithful to us than we are to ourselves. There is one that
cares more about us getting out of the ditch than we care about
ourselves getting out of the ditch. One who gets us up when we don't
care whether we get up. It's our God, our refuge, our
strength, our present help. Selah. Selah. What a blessed
psalm. In verse 4, the psalmist begins
again. There is a river. There is a
river. Now, in eastern countries, water
supply is a very critical issue. It is the life source, the lifeline
of any city. But here we read, there is a
river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God. The city of God is not heaven
here. The city of God is the church called in Revelation 21,
the New Jerusalem. Adorned as a bride, adorned for
her husband. The city of God is the church
and the river is Christ in the midst of her. There is a river. The streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God. Christ is the river. He told
the woman of Samaria, I can give you water to drink and you'll
never thirst again. Remember, he cried in John 7
on that great day of the feast. John 7, 37, if any man thirst, Let him come unto me and drink. Christ is the river. He is the
water of life. And so God, the refuge of the
church, Christ, verse 5 says, He is in the midst of her. Right in the midst of His church. We comment often on that word
midst. Remember on the day of the resurrection, the disciples'
hearts were torn. They were assembled together
with the doors shut for fear of the Jews. And the Bible says
that Christ appeared in the midst of them without opening the door. Revelation 2 and 3, where we're
studying in our Bible class, The church represented in the
seven golden candlesticks, John saw Christ in the midst of the
candlesticks. Christ in the midst of his church. And he goes on to say, and she
shall not be moved. You mean God himself is going
to see to the survival of his church? That's what he says.
That's what he says. The gates of hell will come against
the church, have in the past and will in the future. They'll
come against individual believers, living stones in the building,
the people of the Lord. But we have this promise, the
gates of hell may come and will come and do come, but the gates
of hell shall not prevail. against the church of the living
God. It may look hopeless at times, but we read here, she
shall not be moved. God shall help her. And that,
right early. The heathen raged. They always
have. They're raging in this hour. In our society, right today,
they would like to stamp out the name of Jesus Christ. Shut
every church door. Forbid the mention of the God
of heaven or of His Son, Jesus Christ. They'd like to do that. But they're
not the one who keeps the church doors open. They're not the one
who keeps the gospel being preached. They're not the one that's preserved
this book for 2,000 years, this New Testament, and the Old Testament
longer than that. God is the one. The heathen raged. But this promise is not to the
heathen. This is to the feeble hearts
of the saints. So weak in our profession, so
feeble in our practice, so failing and falling and often defeated,
and so ashamed sometimes of our own selves. Somebody says, if
I were as poor a Christian as you talk like you are, I'd be
ashamed. I am ashamed. I am ashamed. My love for Christ is so little. His love for me is so great. I have been so unkind to him.
He has been so kind to me. What promises are here? Oh my! With the certain refuge we have.
With His certain presence in our midst. The Lord of hosts
is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Amen. Note, it's the God of Jacob. It's not the God of Abraham and
his great faith. That wouldn't suit me. It's not
the God of Isaac and his great obedience. That wouldn't suit
me. But it's the God of Jacob The rebel. The rascal. The scoundrel. That suits me. This is the God of Jacob. He's
our God. Did you know that God refers
to himself in the scriptures as the God of Jacob? More times
than he does as the God of any other man. Why? Because there's a lot more Jacobs.
than there is anybody else. That's why. Don't ignore the refuge. He's
our strength. Don't ignore the river. He's
our supply. Then a third stanza, beginning
in verse 8. 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. You say, well, it's not the end
of the earth I'm concerned with. It's this war going on in my
soul, in my heart, my troubled spirit. Can I say to us, as Christ taught
us, if you'd yoke up with Christ, get in the yoke with Him, He'll work it all out. As the
song a few moments ago said, He's working it out all around
us. Tremendous lesson there in Matthew
28 where Christ said, take my yoke upon you. Don't take it
without me. He's in the yoke. He's saying,
get in it with me. He's not going to work for you
while you work against Him. That's not how it works. The
two oxen in the yoke are going the same direction. The big ox
may be pulling a lot more, but they're going the same direction.
And I want to say, Christ our Lord is the big ox. He can pull
the load. He don't demand a whole lot of
us just yoke up with Him. Go the same direction. Yoke up with Him, and in His
time and in His way, here's what He does. He maketh wars to cease. He breaketh the bow. He cutteth
the spear in sunder. He burneth the chariot in the
fire. He destroys all the weapons and burns the war wagons. Somebody said, well, I prayed
and asked the Lord. I don't know what He's waiting
on. He might be waiting on you to need Him. And that's all. He'll not give you a jump start. He'll get in the driver's seat
or you're on your own. That's the deal. It's one way or the other. Now here's the profound instruction.
Verse 10. Be still. That's the hardest thing any
man, that is a man, ever tried to do. And yet the reference here is
not to idleness. Faith works in us, not apart
from us. Laziness in a man is not waiting
on God. It's laziness. Waiting on God is to be still. and listen and follow with no
objections to His sovereignty, His leadership, His will. Be
still and know that I am God. I'm God in this. I'm God in that. I'm God in everything. I will
tell you, excuse me from these folks who are busy. Figuring
out what God's in and what he's not in. He's got in everything. Be still and know! It's going to be my way, not
your way. That's what God says. A man by the name of Richard
Cameron, put to death July 21st, 1680. preached to this very text three
days earlier, July 18, 1680. And he said this, Be still and
know that I am God. This text of scripture forbids
quarreling and murmuring against God. There are very few that find
themselves in no hazard of quarreling with God. There are very few
that don't do it. Many give way to this quarreling
and consider not the hazard thereof. Beware of it, for it is a dreadful
thing to quarrel with God. who may say unto him, What doest
thou? It is a good account of Aaron
that when God made fire to destroy his sons, he held his peace. Aaron kept his mouth shut. Let us then, while we bear the
yoke, sit alone and keep silence, and put our mouths in the dust,
If so be, there may be hope. You know the murmuring of the
children of Israel costs them very dearly. Be still, that is, beware of
murmuring against me, saith the Lord. God gives not an account
of his matters to any, because there may be many things you
cannot see through. I say God gives no account of
his matters to any. Beware then of drawing rash conclusions. Be still and know that I am God,
as if he had said, Know, O you wicked, that I am God, who can
avenge myself when I please upon you, and cease to provoke me
by your sins to your own confusion. And again it is I, God, know
ye, trembling souls, that I am God, and therefore able to pardon
the greatest sins, and cease to dishonor me by your unbelieving
thoughts of me. Be still and know that I am God. I can do anything. anywhere with
anyone. I'm working out my good pleasure in the history of the world,
in my providence in all the earth. I will be exalted among the heathen.
I will be exalted in the earth. In verse 11, a fourth time, God
repeats His presence with us. The Lord of hosts is with us. In verse 1, it was a very present
help in trouble. In verse 5, God is in the midst
of her. In verse 7, the Lord of hosts
is with us. And again here in verse 11, the
Lord of hosts is with us. You're just supposed to believe
that. Not understand it, just believe it. That God is with
me. The God of Jacob. He's the one you need. You don't
need a good people's God. You need the God of Jacob. Jacob's
God. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah. Amen. for the third time. I fear in this sinful and selfish
generation, we totally miss what it means
to follow Christ. It means victory ultimately. Genesis chapter 4 opens with
the birth of Cain and Abel. It continues with both Cain and
Abel practicing their very different religions. It closes with Abel's blood in
the ground and his spirit with God. Cain is given God's protection
from men He marries a wife. He has a family. He builds a
city. So successful. But who's the
winner in Genesis 4? Abel is. Abel is. 1 Kings chapter 21 opens with
a godly man named Naboth. who has a fine vineyard near
to Ahab's palace. Ahab wants it. The chapter closes with Naboth
dead, falsely accused, mock trial and
murder, and Ahab has the vineyard. But who's the winner in 1 Kings
21? Naboth is. 2 Samuel chapter 11 opens
with a godly man and a valiant soldier named Uriah on the battlefield
warring for his family and his people Israel. The chapter ends with King David
having taken Uriah's wife having had Uriah put on the front
lines, were he sure to be killed? And he was. Uriah is dead, and
David has Bathsheba. But who's the winner in 2 Samuel
11? Uriah is. Uriah is. There are some hills worth dying
on. Could not God have protected
Abel and Neba and Uriah? Oh yes, He did protect them. He's taking better care of them
now than ever. Within God's providence, I say
within God's providence, there's a lot of injustice in this world. And our big trouble is loving
this world as if this is all there is. That's our trouble. I fear for my family when I'm
gone, but at the same time, God is our refuge. I fear for some of you this morning. the situations you're in, where you may be living, but
God is our refuge. That is the message this morning.
God is our refuge. A very present help in trouble. Selah. Amen. Meditate on that. Think about
that. Stand with me.