Revering the Word
Psalm 46 Cease striving and know He is God whether on the hill or in the valley.
Good morning, everyone. This morning we're on Psalm 46, and what a grand psalm it is. It begins by saying, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, and she will not be moved. God will help her when mourning dawns." What a great word. Perhaps you've heard this psalm quoted, "a very present help in trouble." Thank God we have Him. There are definitely hills and life, and hills usually refer to the good times when you're up on top of the hill and you're looking over the valley and life is beautiful and the view is great, but then there's also valleys in life. There are dark times, there are difficult times, not only in individuals but in nations, and God is a very present help in trouble. And praise God that we have the existential faith and belief in Him that no matter what happens to us here on earth, we have a home made high in the heavens, and one day we will be with our Lord. It is better to be away from the body and home with the Lord. You know what appears in this psalm? We haven't completed it yet, but that God is a very present help in protecting Israel and giving them the land, and they did have a time under David eventually and then ultimately under Solomon there was peace and prosperity and they were not at war, but that didn't last forever and why that didn't last forever is significantly because they were unfaithful to God. But in this particular season the psalmist seems to be very much praising God and thanking God that he has protected them. I love that. I love that God has his hand in the world, in Israel, in America, in the sense that he has provided peace and prosperity and protection. The part that sometimes I really want people to see and understand though too is that although Israel was God's people throughout the Old Testament, it wasn't as though it was always smooth sailing. That's even saying it lightly. At one time because of their unfaithfulness, God allowed the Syrian Empire to ransack Israel and eventually he allowed the Babylonians to come in and totally tear it on the walls and the temple and deport the people to Israel and it was largely because of their unfaithfulness that happened. So the psalmist writing this has not, I don't believe, era-wise experienced either the Assyrian invasion or the Babylonian invasion and yet the psalmist is true. I want to make sure that we celebrate the fact that God is with us for us. He is a very present help and troubled. But I allow in that trust of God, I allow for things in this life to be difficult, to be challenging and maybe to die young earthly that is. That does not mean that God is not unfaithful. Everyone has died. The apostles died. Everyone from Jesus till now has died, generations and generations of people. God is not unfaithful because people die. There are values in life, there are hard times, but part of our very present help and trouble is the fact that God is going to be with us all the way to the end for those who have faith in him and that even when our time is up on here, we will be home in heaven. It's interesting because it seems as though the psalmist is talking about current events, but he also, or she, leads to future events here too. It says, "There is a river whose streams made glad the city of God. The holy dwelling places are the most high. God is in the midst of her and she will not be moved." At the end of the book of Revelation, there is a city of God and there is rivers coming out of Jerusalem. Although there was the Gihon spring in Jerusalem, there really weren't rivers coming out of Jerusalem. It's almost as though the psalmist is foreseen, the heavenly city of God, the new heaven and the new earth coming down out of heaven. He's letting us know that he knows God is there now and God will one day make that to be. He's talking about in verse five, "God is in the midst of her and she will not be moved." God in a sense was in the temple in Jerusalem as he was in the tabernacle. Although it seems that it was a little different, the pillar of smoke and flat fire that was over the tabernacle doesn't seem that presence was quite as strong in the temple in Jerusalem as it was initially in the tabernacle likely because of Israel's waywardness. But God was still for Israel and still has plans for them today. But one day we're going to see God in the midst of his heavenly city as well, Hallelujah. God will help her when morning dawns, "The nations make an uproar. The kingdoms tottered. He raised his voice. The earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Come behold the works of the Lord." You know, when I think of that, come behold the works of the Lord. I love thinking about all that God has done. You know, think of throughout history. God parted the sea. God made the ten plagues come upon Egypt. God parted the sea. God had a fire in Brimstone come down on Sodom and Gomorrah. You know, God made water come from a rock. He fed them with manna from the sky. He gave them quail and meat to eat while they were in the desert. He gave them victory when they entered the Promised Land. God gave them peace and prosperity through David and Solomon. God promised that one day there would be a new king who would come in the family line of David. And sure enough, he would come. I mean, you could even think of the miraculous story of Ruth and Boaz and how that ended up leading to David's family line in the Old Testament. You know, you can think about the fact that it was said that Jesus would be born from Bethlehem and from a virgin and he did. And, you know, back in the days of the Passover, you were supposed to partake of the lamb and put the blood of the lamb over your dough post and you weren't supposed to break any of the bones of the Passover lamb. And indeed, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, died on Passover. And none of his bones were broken besides the two thieves that were on his left and his right. And yet Isaiah said that he would be pierced for our transgressions and Psalm 22 said there would be holes in his hands and holes in his feet. And sure enough, that all happened to Jesus and he was the only one who was pierced and the two thieves on his left and his right were not pierced. I mean, just think of all that God has done throughout history to reveal himself, to enable us to trust him. And I love thinking about that. Come behold the works of the Lord. You know, I like to remember all the things God has done, all the things that were said in his Old Testament that became true in Jesus. And Hallelujah praised God. You know what, even if in a season of history, maybe we don't see the miracle of God like happened before, you know, maybe I won't today see a grand miracle of God. But you know what, I don't need to because he's already done miracles and he's already promised he's coming again. And I just trust him, Hallelujah. And beholding the works of the Lord is not only current, but past Hallelujah. So I thank God for all that he's done. He's already done enough for me to believe. If I die young, that doesn't change anything for me. I've already trusted in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. And I'm going to trust him all the way to the end. And you know what, death has no hold in me. Death's been swallowed up in victory. So I, you know, praise God for that, Hallelujah. Come behold the works of the Lord, who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear into he burns the chariots with fire. And this may be referring to how he has given Israel victory when they took over the promised land. Listen to this verse and you know, I'm reading this is in the NASB 95, but I think I also saw it in the LSB this way. It says cease striving. I've always learned that as be still, but it says something similar and yet different when it says cease striving and know that I am God. Be still and know that I am God. And isn't that beautiful? You know, just to, just to not worry, not strive, you know, God has us in his hand. What's going to happen? Largely is going to happen. Just trust him and trust him that he has a home waiting for you and heaven. Do not let your heart be in trouble trusting God and trust also in me. My father's mansion. There are many dwelling places and I will come there to get you to take you to where I am going. Hallelujah. Praise God for that cease striving. Just trust God, whether you're in on the hill and join the beautiful view or whether you're in the valley of a difficult time on earth, cease striving and know that I am God. And look what it says next in that verse 10. When you do that, I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth and I think that happens when we trust God. When we cease striving and know that he is God that he's exalted then, he's exalted in us and how we give glory to him and he wants to be exalted among the nations. And I will be exalted on the earth. He will. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. And I believe that I believe the favor of the Lord God is upon us, establish the work of our hands for us. Excuse me. Yes, establish the work of our hands. That's from Psalm 90, but he's with us. He's with us now. He's with us now through the Holy Spirit. He's going to be with us in the end. We're going to be with our Lord in the ages, the heavenly places and ages to come. Hallelujah. And even when physically you may want to see something happen now on earth and it's not happening, he's still with us now and he's going to be with us in the valley, even in the dark times. He's going to be with us all the way to eternity. Hallelujah. Praise God, not only for what he's doing, but all for what he's done and what he's going to do one day. Keep your faith in him and he will help you whether you're on the hill or the valley. God bless you all. [BLANK_AUDIO]