Psalm 46. I'm taking the title for the
message from verse 10. Verse 10 of Psalm 46. And it's
the same message that echoes all through the Word of God as
we just read there in Exodus 14. Be still and know. Be still. Be still and know. that I am God. That word there,
be still, means to cease. Cease from your own works and
look to Christ. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. How many times did we read the
Lord said in Exodus 14, I will get honor upon Pharaoh. I will honor myself. I will be
exalted among the heathen. He was in that day, wasn't he?
that the Egyptians may know that I am God. I will be exalted among
the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. We worship our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is our exalted, exalted Lord. Be still and know that God is
God. He's never not been God. From everlasting to everlasting,
thou art God. That was a message in the day
of deliverance when God parted the Red Sea. Fear ye not, stand
still and see. See. See what? Watch God work. See the salvation. Salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation that is of the Lord. Now this Psalm 46 has been a
blessing to me personally. I often think of That first verse,
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
When God brings trouble, and God brings trouble our way, he
brings trouble our way. You know why he does that? Because
he loves us. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth
and scourges every son whom he receiveth. Our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more and exceeding
and eternal weight of glory." This psalm has been a blessing
to so many people down through the years. Martin Luther often
turns to this psalm during the rage of the enemies that were
against him. And he said this, we sing this
psalm to the praise of God because God is with us, powerfully, miraculously
preserved and defends us against all fanatical spirits, the gates
of hell, the hatred of the devil, and the assault of the flesh
and sin. God is our competence. God is
our refuge and strength, our very present help in trouble.
May God just burn that in our mind, burn that in our mind. Charles Spurgeon said of this
psalm, he said this psalm should be called the song of holy competence. And he said this, happen what
may, the Lord's people are happy and secure. This is the doctrine
of this psalm. It might, to help our memories,
call this psalm the song of holy competence. Now, we have no competence
in the flesh, do we? But our competence is in our
God. in our God. The confidence that's expressed
in this psalm unto our great God. Look at verse
1. God is our refuge. God is. He is our refuge. Now who needs a refuge? People
who are in trouble, sinners who are guilty. We need a refuge.
We need a hiding place. And that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
God is our refuge and strength. He's the strength of our refuge.
A very present help in trouble. In trouble. Turn over here to
Psalm 18, I believe it is. Psalm 18, verse one. Psalm 18, verse one. I will love
thee, O Lord, my strength, Psalm 18, verse 1. The Lord is my rock,
my fortress, my liver, my God, my strength, and whom I'll trust,
my buckler, the horn, the power of my salvation, my high tower.
I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, so shall
I be saved from my enemies. I love the Lord our God. God is our refuge. He says that
three times in this psalm. Look at verse seven, Psalm 46,
verse seven. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The Lord of hosts. He's with us. God with us. The
God of Jacob is our refuge. And he repeats that again down
in verse 11. 11, the Lord of hosts is with
us. The God of Jacob, as often. God is called the God of Jacob,
the God of Jacob. I think at least 10 times he's
called the God of Jacob. Now God is our refuge. This is
not proud presumption or an arrogant boast, but you know what it is?
It's a cry of faith. It's a cry of faith. Any refuge apart from the one
that God has provided, any refuge apart from the Lord Jesus Christ,
and that's the refuge that God has provided, any other refuge
is a refuge of lies. As it says in Isaiah 28, Christ
is all our salvation and He is our eternal refuge. There is
therefore now No condemnation to those who are in the Lord
Jesus Christ. God is our refuge. God is our refuge. He's our strength.
He's our strength. Turn to Psalm 62. I think about
that word refuge. God is our refuge. God is our
righteousness. He called the Lord our righteousness.
He turned to Psalm 62. He called the Lord our righteousness.
God is our redemption in whom we have redemption from our sin
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's our refuge, our righteousness,
our redemption, and our reconciliation. You remember Psalm 62. Look at
verse six. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be moved. And God is my salvation and my
glory. The rock of my strength and my
refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times, you
people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah, amen. Think about that. Back to Psalm 46, verse one.
God is our refuge. Our righteousness, our redemption,
our reconciliation. He's our resurrection too, isn't
he? He said, I'm the resurrection and the life. And then he says,
secondly, God is our strength. We have no strength in ourselves,
do we? Isaiah 40 talks about our flesh
being as the grass. He knows our frame. He knows
that we're but dust. So we have no strength in ourselves,
do we? I mean, the strongest man that
ever lived, physically, what does that compare to Almighty
God? God is our strength. For the weak, impotent, simple
sinner, guilty before God, He's our refuge. He's our strength.
He's our strength. He's our security. He's our boldness. He's our salvation. We have no
power or spiritual strength or physical strength in ourselves.
We are weak, impotent, helpless sinners. Christ is our strength. Two things I know. You can't
preach man low enough, and you can't preach God high enough,
and you can't preach Christ Often enough, we preach Him. Christ
is our strength to justify us from all sin. Christ is our strength
to raise us up to glory. Psalm 27, David said, the Lord
is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? And then he
says, thirdly, God is not only our refuge, God is not only our
strength, He's a very present help. Very present help. Right now, he's our help. He's
a very present help in trouble. In trouble. You ever been in
trouble? Deep waters. Deep waters. Man that's born
a woman, few days and full of trouble. Trouble, trouble, trouble. He's our very present help from
all trouble. We read last week, Wednesday
night, you remember? Hebrew chapter four. Let us therefore
come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help, grace to help in our time of need.
That's all the time, isn't it? He's our strength. He's our strength. Hold your place there in Psalm
46 and let's turn to Psalm 146. Psalm 146. Psalm 146. Psalm 146 verse three, put not
your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, that is the best
of men, in whom there's no help. There's no help. And notice the
marginal reference on the word help there, there's no salvation.
His breath goes forth to return to his earth. In that very day,
his thoughts perish. Oh, but happy is he to have the
God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God. That's our hope. That's our help.
It's Christ, is it not? Christ alone. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the only remedy for our trouble and from our trouble.
Whatever our trouble may be, he has the proper help for our
trouble. You know what it is? Him. He's our help. Look at verse
five. God is in the midst of her. She
shall not, she shall not be moved. God shall help her. God shall
help her. He talked about his church and
that right soon. God will help her. Israel that
day up against the Red Sea, they were helpless, weren't they?
Absolutely helpless. What did God say to do? Be still. Stand still and see the salvation
that's of the Lord. Now look at verse 2, Psalm 46
verse 2, Therefore, therefore, now whenever you see that word
therefore, my pastor used to say, See what it's there for,
because it refers back to what had just been said. Because God
is our refuge, because God is our strength, Father, Son, Holy
Spirit, Elohim, the very present help in trouble. Therefore, therefore,
we will not fear. Will not we fear? Will not we
fear? Will the earth be removed? Boy,
that's trouble, isn't it? Do the mountains be carried in
the midst of the sea? Boy, that's trouble, isn't it? Do the waters thereof roar and
be troubled? Do the mountains shake with the swelling thereof?
See, look, God is our help no matter what the trouble may be. And he's talking about some big
troubles there. The earth being removed? It will be. It's going
to melt with the fervent heat. The mountains are going to be
carried in the midst of the sea. The waters that are up will roar
and be troubled. Tsunamis, mountains, volcanoes,
blow up, trouble. God is our help. When we consider
who our refuge is, our strength and our help, This shall give
us courage and confidence in our trial, in our trouble. Our
Lord said to those disciples on the eve of his crucifixion,
these words have I spoken unto you that in me you might have
peace. In this world, you're going to have tribulation. They
had tribulation, didn't they? All of them died martyrs. All
of them died martyrs, including Peter. In this world you shall
have tribulation, ah, but be of good cheer. I've overcome. I've overcome the world. Though
the earth be removed or earthly supports be taken away, Christ
is our help. Though the mountains be carried
away or earthly guides be taken away, Christ is our help. Though the waters of trials flood
our soul, Christ is our help. Though the mountains shake when
our faith is tried, Christ is our help, our hope, our refuge. You remember Romans chapter eight,
if God be for us, if God be for us, just tell me then who's gonna
be against us. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Therefore, he said, will not
we fear? Now hold your place there. And this will help us. Turn to
Isaiah 41, first of all. Isaiah 41. Isaiah 41. This is probably one
of my favorite verses in the book of Isaiah, verse 10. Isaiah
41, verse 10. This should be familiar to you.
We've read it several times. But it says in the book of Isaiah,
many times it says, fear not. I found reading and studying
this 63 times, 63 times, in the Word of God it says, fear not.
Think we get the message? Fear not. Fear not. Now look
at Isaiah 41, verse 10. Fear thou not, I am with thee. Remember, God's in the midst
of thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen
thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will hold thee with the
right hand of my righteousness. Look at verse 14. Fear not, thy
worm Jacob, ye men of Israel, I will help thee, saith the Lord,
thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Fear not, I'm your help. Now, this is another one that's
familiar. Turn to Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43. Fear not, I'm with thee. Verse one, Isaiah 43, but now
thus sayeth the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, he that formed
thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I've called
thee by thy name, thou art mine. When you pass through the waters,
I'll be with you. Through the rivers, The Red Sea
or the Jordan, they crossed over both, went through both of them.
They shall not overflow thee. When you walk through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee,
for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for your ransom,
and Ethiopia and Sheba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable. I have loved thee, therefore
I give men for thee and people for thy life. He destroyed Pharaoh
and his army to save his people, didn't he? Now back to Psalm
46. Psalm 46, verse 4. There is a river, there
is a river, and this river has streams, wherever shall make
glad the city of God. The city of God there is the
church of God, the church of the redeemed. The holy place
of the tabernacle of the Most High, God is in the midst of
her. God is in the midst of his church.
He said, we're two or three. Now think about this. One, two,
three. One, two, three. Where two or
three are gathered together in my name, I'm in the midst of
them. When we assemble together in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and preach his gospel, The Lord
is with us. You say, well, I don't feel his
presence. He didn't ask you to feel his presence. He said, believe
my word, I'll never leave thee, I'll never forsake thee. There
is a river, the river that abundantly flows with the free, full favor
of all spiritual blessing, fertilizing, refreshing, that yields comfort
and relief to the weary believer. You remember from our study in
the Revelation, The last chapter, he showed me a pure river of
water of life, clear as crystal proceeding out of the throne
of God and out of the Lamb of God. Streams of mercy never ceasing,
calls for songs of loudest praise. We sing that often. Oh, to grace
how great a debtor, daily I am constrained to be. At the head
of the river is the sovereign Lord. He said, I'm the Lord,
beside me there is no other. The channel of that river flows
through the Lord Jesus Christ. We have all spiritual blessings,
how? Through Christ, in Christ, by Christ. The mouth of that
river, the Holy Spirit dispensing all those spiritual blessings
to God's elect. There is a river. There is a
river. Can you turn to Isaiah one more
time? I think of this verse here, Isaiah 32. Isaiah 32, verse 1. Isaiah 32, verse 1. Behold, a king shall reign in
righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. Isaiah 32,
verse 2. And a man shall be a hiding place
from the wind, a covert from the tempest, there's that refuge,
the hiding place, rivers of water and a dry place, The shadow of
a great rock in a weary land. Rivers of water in a dry place.
Who's that man? Who's that man? You know who
it is. The God-man. The Lord Jesus Christ. All the
streams of this river make glad the city of God. You see that
in verse 4? There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God. The city of God here
is the church bought with his own blood. The holy place, the
tabernacles are the most high. of this river are the doctrines
of the gospel of Christ that flow into this river that teach
us the way of salvation. This river of the gospel will
never be dried up, shall never be diverted away from the city
of God. Christ himself is the well of
water springing up into everlasting life. Christ dwells among his
city, his church, his body. Old Jerusalem had Something no
other city had. They had the Tabernacle during
the days of David. Then they had the Temple. But
what was the centerpiece of all that Tabernacle and the Temple
in the Holy of Holies? And what was the centerpiece
in the Holy of Holies? The Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat
where the blood on the Day of Atonement was put on that Mercy
Seat, covering the Law of God in that Ark of the Covenant.
And that's all a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the fulfillment
of that. He is our mercy seat. He is our
sacrifice. He tabernacled among us, didn't
he? The blood on the mercy seat. Israel had the priesthood ordained
of God. They had the sacrifice on the
altar of God. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
the priest, he's the altar, and he's the God to whom the sacrifice
is offered. He's everything, isn't he? Christ
is all and in all. He's the Most High God. The Most High God. You see that
in the last part of verse 4? He's the Most High God. The Most High God. That means
there's none higher. That means there's, I am God,
beside me there is no other. Now look at verse 5. God's in
the midst of her. God is in the midst of her. He's
our refuge, our strength, our help. He's the river of life. He makes us glad. We have the
sacrifice of the mercy seat. God is in the midst of her. God
is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
rock. He's our refuge. To move the
believer is fixed to that foundation, that rock of ages, cleft for
me. To move the believer, you gotta move the rock. That rock
is Christ. God said, I lay in Zion for foundation
of stone, of tri-stone, precious cornerstone. He that believes
on him will never be forced out, never be confounded, never be
ashamed. We're fastened to that rock,
that rock's not moving, and we're not gonna be moved. God's in
the midst of her, she shall not be moved. We cannot be moved,
because God cannot be moved. We're in him, and he's in us. To have the most high God dwelling
among his people is to make the church on earth like the church
in heaven. The old songwriter, Newton, or
one of those guys, more happy but not more secure, are the
glorified saints in heaven. That song that Jim sang for us
on Sunday, God Will Provide, John Newton's song. It's like
amazing grace how sweet the sound. More happy but not more secure
are the glorified saints in heaven. We're secure in Christ. How secure
are we? He said, I give my sheep eternal
life. They shall never perish. No man can pluck them out of
my hand. His gracious abiding presence shall never be taken
away from us. We're going to see in our study
in the book of Matthew, the last words of our resurrected Lord
to his disciples was, you go preach, and lo, I'm with you
always, even to the end of the earth. Even to the end. I'm with
you always. You remember our study from Hebrews
13, the Lord said, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake
you. He is Emmanuel. He is Emmanuel. What is that? What does that mean? God with
us. He's God with us. God is in the
midst of us. God with us. God shall help. And that right soon. That right
early. that right soon. The believer
will never be moved away from the heart of God. I won't have
you turn to Isaiah 40, but let me read it to you. He shall feed
his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lamb with
his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those
that are with him. God shall help us in that right
soon. That right soon. We cannot be removed from the
heart of God. We are in His bosom. We cannot
be removed from the hand of Christ. No one can pluck Him out of His
hand. No one can move us from the foundation on which we rest,
nor from the covenant of His grace that's ordered all things
in sure, nor from the completeness of our salvation. You remember
that promise? exceeding great and precious
promises. In the book of Jude, he said, I'm able to keep you
from falling and to present you faultless before the presence
of God's glory with exceeding joy. To the only one God our
Savior be glory and dominion both now, now and forever. Let's look at verse 6. The heathen raged. That's all
the heathen can do. Unregenerated human beings, unregenerated
human beings, no matter how religious they may be, are heathen. Are heathen. The heathen, what
do they do? They rage. The heathen, they
rage. Don't turn, let me just read
this to you. You remember in Psalm 2, we may look at Psalm
2 here in the next few weeks. Psalm 2, it talks about the heathen
rage. Why do the heathen rage and the
people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against
His anointing. Let us break their bands asunder
and cast away their cords. Oh, that sounds like a rage,
doesn't it? What does God say? He that sits in heaven shall
laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Oh, the heathen
rage, a carnal minded enmity against God. The heathen rage
and kingdoms, they may be moved. They may be moved. He uttered
his voice and the earth melted. And it will one day soon. It
will one day soon, as we read in 2 Peter chapter three, shall
melt away. I often tell people when they
talk about this global warming, I don't believe in global warming
because the scriptures teach global burning. Global burning. He's going to burn this place
up. He's going to make a new heaven and a new earth. The heathen,
they rage. Kings may be moved, but he utters
his voice. He utters his voice. The earth melt with a fervent
heat. Thinking of this verse over here.
Don't turn, let me read it to you. Psalm 33, 9. He spake, and
it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. It stood fast. Isn't that a great
God that we worship? Look at verse 7 and verse 11.
It says the same thing. The Lord of hosts is with us.
He's a God of Jacob. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Verse 11, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob, the
God of Jacob is our refuge. We have no other refuge. He's
the Lord of hosts. You see that? He's the Lord of
hosts. That means he's Lord over all.
Call his name Emmanuel, God with us. God is with us and we're
with him and we're in him. This God of Jacob, I looked that
up today, and it's used 26 times. God is called the God of Jacob. Who was Jacob? He was a swindler,
a conniver, a liar. God loved Jacob. God set his
electing love on Jacob. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. Believers can identify with Jacob.
Jacob was a sinner saved by the grace of God. Our Lord said,
I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. Believers can identify with Jacob. Paul said, I am what I am by
the grace of God. Believers like Jacob are sovereignly,
eternally loved of God. Believers like Jacob have been
operated on by the power of God. Remember, in Genesis 32, thy
name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince
hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. God changed his name from Jacob
swindler, supplanter, cheat to a Prince of God. And that's what
He's done for us. In the Revelation chapter 1,
unto Him who loved us and washed us from our sin in His own blood,
and He's made us kings and priests unto our God. He's the God of
Jacob. Verse 8, come now, come behold. Come and behold. Behold the Lamb
of God. Come behold the works of the
Lord. The works of the Lord, His work of creation. He spake
and it was done. God said, let there be light.
God created all things by the word of his power. Come behold
the works of the Lord, his work of redemption, his work of salvation. And then it said, come behold
the work of the Lord, what desolations he's made in the earth. What desolation the Lord has
made in the earth. What he worked in opposition
to shall be destroyed. What he worked in promotion of
shall be eternally blessed. We have eternal redemption in
the Lord Jesus Christ. All the works of man shall be
destroyed. All his works endure forever. Whatsoever the Lord
doeth, it shall be forever. Verse 9. He maketh wars to cease
unto the end of the earth. He's the one who breaks the bow.
Our president has been on the phone with the leaders of Russia
and Ukraine, and they're trying to work out this peace agreement,
peace deal, and he's the one who makes wars to
cease. Now, he may use these means, but he's the one who makes
wars to cease and to the end of the earth. He's the one who
breaks the bow and cuts us under. The spear is sundering, burneth
the chariot in fire. You remember back in Psalm 45. Turn back over there, one page,
Psalm 45. Look at verse four. And thy majesty
ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness. Thy right hand shall teach thee
terrible, tremendous things. Psalm 45, verse five. Thine arrows
are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies. whereby the people
fall under thee. Thy throne, O God, is forever
and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. He maketh wars to cease under
the end of the earth. He's the one who breaks the bow.
He's the one who can take war and anger out of the heart of
a sinner and cutteth the spear in thunder. He's the one who
burns up the chariots. All those, what did we read in
Exodus 14? How many chariots did Pharaoh
have? 600 chariots and plus horses
and other chariots. He burned a chariot in fire or
he drowns them, doesn't he? He destroyed them. Now, be still. Verse 10, be still. Just be still. Cease, cease from going about
to establish a righteousness of your own. Wait upon the Lord. Again I say, wait upon the Lord.
Be still and know, be still and know this, I'm God. Be still
and know this, I'm still on the throne. I will be exalted among
the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. You remember Philippians chapter
2, God has highly exalted him, given him a name which is above
every name, that at that name every knee will bow, every heathen
is going to bow and confess that he's Lord to the glory of God
the Father. Be still and know, I'm God. I will be exalted. I will. Notice, I will. I will. It's
not I will if you will. It's that I will. I will be your
God and you shall be my people. The Lord of Hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.