Treasuring God for His Unfailing Strength

Psalm 46 A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song.

Turn to Psalm 46. I decided to spend a few weeks in the Psalms to refresh our view of our God in all His sovereignty, majesty, power, glory, and awesome being. Psalm 46 was written by the sons of Korah set to Alamoth, which may mean female voices. Last week Psalm 63 talked about treasuring God in the wilderness. David worshipped God regardless of his circumstances. This week I’m calling Psalm 46 Treasuring God for His Unfailing Strength. It’s a Psalm designed to strengthen our confidence in our God as the absolute Ruler of all of history. It’s written for a time when everything is upside down, the future is uncertain, evil is exalted, good is scoffed at, lies are spewed out, enemies hate truth, even the government is lying to us. We need this Psalm for our day with so much uncertainty in our nation.

You probably know this was one of Luther’s favorite Psalms, from which he wrote the great Reformation hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Spurgeon quoted Luther as saying, “We sing this Psalm to the praise of God, because God is with us, and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends His church and His Word, against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of hell, against the implacable hatred of the devil, and against all the assaults of the world, the flesh, and sin.” Luther was fearless before God’s enemies. They warned him not to go to Worms to stand before the Pope and the Emperor. They reminded him to remember what they did to Hus. He said he’d go to Worms even if there were as many devils as tiles on the housetops. His God was the mighty fortress we’re looking at in Psalm 46.

I have a few Worst-Case Scenario books. How to escape from a giant octopus – peel the suckers from your body. How to survive an elephant stampede – climb a tree or lay down. Elephants tend not to step on human bodies. How to escape an angry gorilla – don’t look him in the eyes. This Psalm is God’s Worst-Case-Scenario Psalm for His people. It tells us how to face trouble with absolute fearlessness, even when our entire world is coming apart and we have every reason to be filled with fear and dread. Whether nature is going berserk, or you’re concerned about the direction of our nation, or the possibility of entering World War III, this Psalm says God’s people can face worst-case scenarios fearlessly like David’s mighty men did when faced with ridiculous odds. Or like John Knox, who feared the face of no man and made rulers shake with his strong preaching. So, let’s learn from Psalm 46 to treasure God for His unfailing strength. This Psalm divides into three parts answering the question why we can face the future without fear. Verse 2, “Therefore we will not fear….”

BECAUSE OF GOD’S PROTECTION, POWER, AND PRESENCE.
Psalms 46:1-3, God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

Here’s the reason we don’t have to fear even when all of creation is going back to chaos: “God is our refuge and strength” (vs.1). I want to emphasize each point of this verse, this incredible promise. GOD is our…. God is our REFUGE AND STRENGTH…. God is EXCEEDINGLY PRESENT TO HELP YOU IN TIGHT PLACES IN THE NICK OF TIME, just when you desperately need Him. Notice it’s a statement of fact. God IS our refuge and strength. And the best of all, God is OUR refuge and strength.

Can you include yourself in OUR? You have no help from God if you are outside of Jesus Christ. You will go down in the judgment if you don’t submit your heart to Christ as your Lord and Savior. God is OUR refuge refers to His children, those who placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Just as He was the God of Abraham, Job, Daniel, those three Hebrews facing Nebuchadnezzar’s fire, John the Baptist, Paul, and Luther, Calvin, John Knox, and all those Reformers, and Adoniram Judson, Jim Elliot, and all of God’s people in this hostile world, He is OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH.

A refuge is where you run when the storm or trouble heads your way. Strength is what you and I need in our weakness. Jesus assured us, “My grace is sufficient for you, because my strength is made perfect in your weakness.” Like Paul and all of God’s people, we don’t have the strength in ourselves to live fearlessly in this world. God is our refuge, place of protection, our strength, and our power to face whatever comes our way. We can stand like David before Goliath or any of his enemies.

And if refuge and strength isn’t enough, our God is a very present help in trouble. God is right here, right now, always exceedingly available to give you help, and to bring you aid in trouble (tsarah, tight places). Hebrews 4:16 assures us, “Come boldly to the throne of grace, that you might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” – just when you need it, in the nick of time. He was right there when Elijah called fire down from heaven. God is exceedingly right here to help you and me right now. He is always present, effectually present, sympathetically present, gracious, and mercifully present, our altogether present God to help in our time of need.

We should look at everything that’s happening in this world, near or far, through the lens of “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” God doesn’t say you won’t face trouble or distress, but He’ll be with you in the trouble, even in the worst-case scenarios. Albert Barnes wrote, “When everything sacred, true, and valuable seems to be in danger.” Whether it’s disease, death, disaster, distress, depression or discouragement, God is our refuge – run to Him by faith. God is our strength – ask Him to strengthen you. God is present to help you.”

Verses 2 and 3 gives us the spiritual logic here, “Therefore.” In view of verse 1, WE WILL NOT FEAR! And look what is happening in these four thoughts. All creation is in upheaval. The earth, mountains, the oceans, everything is coming apart, everything seems to be in chaos and confusion. This chaos can be from earth’s physical disorder to the political or social disorder. Like Christ said, there will be earthquakes and wars and rumors of war. The swelling pride of the mountains may be figurative of the arrogance of mighty and evil rulers, people who think they are God, of which we have plenty today.

On June 8, 1944, a Sunday morning in London in Westminster Chapel, Martyn Lloyd-Jones was leading the congregation in prayer when a German doodle bug (a flying bomb) dropped and exploded a few hundred yards away. The chapel structure cracked under the impact and dust and debris fell from the ceiling. One lady described what happened: “As the impact of the doodle bug was heard, the entire congregation rose to its feet. After a brief pause, the Dr. continued his prayer as though nothing had happened, and we all sat down again. After the prayer one of the men of the church, Mr. Marsh, went up to the pulpit with a duster to remove fallen dust from the pulpit and preacher before the sermon.”

Is that not a great account of being fearless in chaos? Martyn Lloyd-Jones demonstrated his confidence in God as his mighty fortress and unfailing strength that day. This is the point of Psalm 46. If God is with you and for you, what reason do you have to be afraid. One elderly woman who remained calm during an earthquake was asked, “Are you not afraid?” “No,” she replied, “I rejoice to know that I have a God who can shake the world.”

Therefore, we will not fear…

BECAUSE GOD MAKES SURE WE HAVE ALL WE NEED.
Psalms 46:4-7, There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

God’s city is where God’s people are. This river brings joy to the hearts of God’s people. And He makes sure we have exactly what we need when we need it. God isn’t promising He will shield us from all bad things, all distress, but when it comes you can be sure God has an invisible pipeline of grace flowing from the throne of grace right into your heart.

In time of war in ancient days the greatest fear was that the water supply would be cut off. As long as there was a hidden, underground water supply, they could hold out for an indefinite period of time. And that is what God is promising you and me right here. He will never shut off the supply of grace. Even in the most gruesome of conditions, that stream is delivering daily grace, daily strength, even daily joy to your heart. And God will help us in the nick of time.

There were three young men whose world was crashing all around them. The most powerful dictator in the world was forcing everyone to bow down and worship this ridiculous image of himself. Knowing God was supplying them all the grace they needed and that God Himself was with them, they stood before this human potentate and declared, “We’re not bowing down. Our God is able to deliver us, but even if He doesn’t, we’re not bowing down!” And they didn’t. And their God delivered them. God’s help came at just the right time, “when morning dawns.”

Over and over the Bible keeps telling God’s people, “I am with you!” Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you.” Psalm 23:4, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” Even for the church age, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:20).

Verse 6 shows the rebellious heart of this world – making an uproar, acting as if they are demi-gods, or even God Himself, like the Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, “Who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” With our technology we don’t need God. We are our own gods! Bill Gates and his globalists think they are going to save the planet with the EarthNow program which is to bring every square inch of planet earth under video surveillance to fight climate change. Globalists think they run the show. They have a lot to learn.

But notice how God handles them, “He raised His voice; the earth melted.” Spurgeon wrote, “With no other instrumentality than a word the Lord ruled the storm. He gave forth a voice and stout hearts were dissolved, proud armies were annihilated, conquering powers were enfeebled.”

Many people think Psalm 46 was written in the aftermath of that scary time when 185,000 Assyrians were camping against Jerusalem. King Hezekiah felt great distress and prayed to God. God answered his prayer. Let’s hear it straight from the Word.
2 Kings 19:35, Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead.

We have the historical account of the so-called “invincible” Spanish Armada in 1588, when Catholic Spain sent their 130 ships and 36,000 men to conquer Protestant England. Historians describe the spectacle as God blowing with His wind and many of those Spanish ships were broken up along the stoney shorelines of Scotland and Ireland. If King Philip had succeeded in conquering England, we well may be Roman Catholic. This is what our God by His unfailing strength and sovereign providence can do. Sometimes He stills the storms.

Psalm 107:28-30, Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses. 29 He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven.

Matthew 8:26, He *said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

Notice the assurances in verse 7. The Lord of the armies of heaven is with us. Jesus told Pilate he had at his beck and call 12 legions of angels. Jehovah is our stronghold. A stronghold is a high place, a tower, out of reach of our enemies. Listen to this Psalm of David when Saul was chasing him.
Psalm 59:16-17, But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. 17 O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

Selah, which means something like, “Let’s pause and think on this for a while.”

Therefore, we will not fear…

BECAUSE GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER ALL HUMAN EVIL AND REBELLION.
Psalms 46:8-11, Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

We are invited to come and take a good look at the works of the Lord. Behold how He delivered Israel out of Egypt and drowned all of Pharaoh’s armies, how He smashed Jericho’s walls, sent fire in answer to Elijah’s prayer, and whacked those 185,000 Assyrians. Behold how He made atonement for us through His Son’s substitutionary death, and then raised Him from the dead! God will finally bring all His enemies to a quick end, making wars to cease, smashing all instruments of war, preparing the earth for His Son’s rule. Spurgeon said, “Whenever we read history it should be with this verse sounding in our ears.”

“Cease striving” in the King James is translated, “Be still and know that I am God.” We like to apply this to ourselves, and we certainly should. Jonathan Edwards has a whole sermon on this verse entitled The Sole Consideration that God is God, Sufficient to Still All Objections to His Sovereignty.

But most commentators believe God is addressing His enemies. Cease striving, hold your peace, drop your weapons, quit your arrogant mouthing off. Stop attacking and blaming God. Cease striving and know who God really is. Think about the One with whom you are dealing. Listen to God. God is sovereign and will bring an end to all human evil. God’s going to bring devastating judgment on this earth. This planet has been an arena of one war after another, ever since Cain murdered Abel. Now God says, “Drop your weapons. Recognize with whom you are dealing and against whom you are fighting.”

We can apply this spiritually. That’s exactly what the Spirit of God does when He effectually and irresistibly calls sinners to Himself. “Drop your depraved weapons of self-righteousness, pride, self-love, and willful rebellion by which you have resisted me and know, I will be exalted among the nations and in all the earth!” Every knee will bow! That is glorious! Jesus will bring this about. Isaiah 9:6-7, “The government shall rest upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called wonderful counselor, the mighty God, everlasting father, the prince of peace!”

That great theologian of old, the Babbly King of Babylon, reminded us of God’s sovereign rule and authority after he spent a few years eating grass like an ox. Daniel 4:35, “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

This Psalm ends with a powerful conclusion in verse 11. These words are worthy of repetition (v. 7) since it contains some of the greatest truth in all the Bible for you and me as God’s people. You and I can count on the truth that the Lord of all the armies of heaven is with us through all our trials, dangers, difficulties, and troubles. Who is with us? The Lord of all those legions of heaven. Who is our stronghold? Our stronghold is the same sovereign God who reaffirmed His great promises to Jacob of a land, a seed, and a promise. If such a God is with us and One so exalted is our stronghold, what do we have to fear? Or, as Paul said in Romans 8:32, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

If you are a born-again Christ-loving child of God, you have the greatest reason in the world not to fear. The Lord of the armies of heaven is with you and the God of Jacob is your high fortress. In the worst-case scenario in this world, gorilla, elephants, or any human trouble or distress, you are totally and completely safe in Christ forever! God is our refuge and strength, abundantly available to help in the worst-case scenario! If you are not a born-again Christ-loving child of God, may God humble your heart by His Word and Spirit and draw you to simple faith in Jesus Christ. Call on Him today!