- October 14, 2020
To the saints of Grace Baptist Church of Dallas, Oregon
Greetings in the precious name of Jesus!
You are loved! Never forget that. Trust that the gospel is true for you!
Our country is at a crossroads, seemingly, as we approach the 2020 election. There is much division, vitriol, and strife. For some of us, we are wondering what will happen—and whether we might survive should the “other” party come to power? I don’t ever recall such a time as this—except, perhaps, during the Viet Nam war and the demonstrations that took place in those days. These are challenging times.
The ancient nation of Judah stood at a crossroads like this at one time. During the time of King Hezekiah, the Northern Kingdom was destroyed and carried off. Then, the Assyrians turned their sights on the Southern Kingdom of Judah. They invaded the land and surrounded the city. Everything looked hopeless. If you or I had lived in that time, we would have certainly agreed—and perhaps we would wonder what God was doing?
The Assyrian Commander insulted the God of Heaven. You can read about that in Isaiah 36 and 37. The story is also recounted in 2 Kings 18 and 19. The long and the short of it is that God heard their cries and defeated the Assyrian army. The account says that in one night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. See Isaiah 37:36. If you or I had been there and woke up that morning, realizing what God had done—we would have been totally amazed. We would certainly have had a different perspective of who God is. Whoa!
King Hezekiah was a poet and some contend that he went on to write what has since become known as Psalm 46, along with Psalm 47 and 48. Let’s take a look at Psalm 46 today and put ourselves in his shoes—having experienced God’s deliverance.
Psalm 46:1-11 (NIV2011)
“1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Listen to those words again: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Before the Assyrians besieged the city, I bet few people thought that way. They were scared and thought that they were facing the end of their country. They would have been wondering what God was doing, whether He cared? But after the angel of the Lord went out and slew the 185,000 soldiers—this would have created a giant shift in their thinking. God IS… our refuge and strength. He has always been that to His people. And you don’t have to go looking for Him, because He is an ever-present help in trouble. We tend to forget both of these truths about our God, even now in our troubling times! God still is strong; He IS our refuge (a fortress); and He is available right now.
As a result, says the psalmist,—“We will not fear!” We don’t need to fear either because we serve the same God who knows how to deliver His people. Period! Even though it feels like the earth is giving way, and the mountains are falling into the sea, and the waters roar and foam, and the mountains quake with their surging. God can still deliver. Nothing is too difficult for Him. Now we should note that these expressions are hyperbolic, meaning the psalmist is using exaggeration to make his point. They are also symbolic as “the waters” sometimes refers to “the nations” in the Bible, (see verse 6). It is a vivid way to express the emotional unrest that everyone was feeling. But then the Psalm turns from the emotional upheaval of the day to the peacefulness of God.
In verse 4 we read, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.” Well, if you are locked up tight in a city, you would want to know that you could get water. A city that has no water under siege is doomed. It is just a matter of time. Fortunately, King Hezekiah had built an underground water system that connected the Spring of Gihon in Kidron with the Pool of Siloam within the city. So, water was available. Yes, that river would make the city glad, but I think there is another river the psalmist is talking about that would make them even more glad. After the deliverance, the psalmist declares that God is that river. And God’s river provides people with the true water of life. Jesus offered the woman at the well this living water so that she would never thirst again. He WAS that living water which would satisfy her soul. In John 7:37 Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” This is the river that will truly make us glad. We need to drink of Him.
In Hezekiah’s day, God resided in the Temple… that is where people came to meet with God. And since God was there, the people felt as though the city would not fall; it could not fall. It seems they were more concerned with a place of God than the person of God. But now, after the resurrection of Christ and the giving of His Spirit—we know that God resides in us. We ARE the temple of God. See Ephesians 2: 22. How happy we should be and confident that God has this covered for us. Yes, the nation may be in an uproar, but we need not fear. We have “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” See Colossians 1:27. There is no reason to fear my friend. God has this. He had it covered in Hezekiah’s day and in our day.
The psalmist declares it again in verse 7. “The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Now it would be one thing to declare that before God delivered them—and quite another after God delivered them. Before, it is a statement of hope, of trust, of faith. But afterwards it is a confident reality. Everyone was rejoicing. Knowing the truth about God and living in the reality of the resurrection—the life of faith is able to declare with joy the truth of who God is in the face of trouble. The Lord Almighty is with us even now. He is our refuge and strength. He is an ever-present help in time of trouble. Are you feeling overwhelmed? Flee to Jesus, our strong tower of hope.
Now imagine waking up in the morning; wondering how you would make it through the day. Food in the city was scarce. Your enemy surrounded the city and you couldn’t get out—but then you find with great joy that the enemy had been annihilated. The biblical account says that when they got up that morning, “there were all the dead bodies.” No wonder the psalmist says, “Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth,” vs. 8. It is time to recall all the things that God has done. In real time! God is the one who can make wars cease. He can stop a conflict. He doesn’t have to call in the National Guard, to make it happen. God can simply say the word and it stops. God breaks the bow and spear—making offensive weapons useless. He burns the shields with fire—making all the defensive efforts useless. He is simply God who can do more that we can ask or imagine. Put your trust in Him. And if you are having difficulty doing that, then go back to a time when God did that for you, or someone you knew and reaffirm your trust and faith in Almighty God. Talking about Him with another person helps. Rejoice IN the Lord, and again I say rejoice.
Verse 10, I think, is the whole point of this Psalm. This is what God would have us do right now. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;” To be still means that we are to quiet ourselves. Relax! We think that we have help God out sometimes? Like, life has gotten out of hand, and since things don’t seem to be working: we better fix it. That is not walking by faith. Faith would have us relax, and trust God. If God wants our help, He will ask for it; or put us in a position to help. Much like He did Queen Esther or Jonah. For sure, God uses people for His purposes. We simply need to obey when He asks us.
It is one thing to be still, but another thing to “Know” that He is God. The idea of knowing has to do with a settled conviction that God is God and we are not. We need to know it deep down in our souls. It is one thing for the mind to perceive it—but quite another to know this reality as a fact in our gut. That is the kind of “knowing” that God has in mind.
God says, “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Now this is a statement we can take to the bank. How do we know? Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, just as He predicted. So, when God says this… it’s not a wish. Rather it is a settled reality that God will be exalted on the earth. Psalm 22, which prophesied of Jesus’ crucifixion, in verse 27 says, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him.” Psalm 86:9 says, “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” Psalm 102:15 says, “The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. Yes, God will be exalted! And I can’t wait to see it with my own eyes. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. See Phil. 2:10-11.
The psalm ends pretty much where it opened with these words: “The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Now is this your reality today? Do you sense His presence with you? If not, then I suggest that you go back to the last time you “saw” God do a great work in your life that was incontrovertible to you. Reaffirm that. Hang on to that. Declare what God did was true and great. Remind yourself of who God is. Share that with someone else. Hear their story and relive the great moments of God in your life. Take heed for your soul, as this makes a huge difference in how you live, and think, and feel. Simply, go to Jesus and ask Him for another “drink,” that He might satisfy your soul all over again. Then, maybe you could write Him a Psalm like King Hezekiah did?
Martin Luther based this Hymn on Psalm 46:
“A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He amid the flood Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe Doth seek to work us woe—His craft and power are great,
And armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right man on our side, The man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He—Lord Sabaoth His name,
From age to age the same, And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph though us.
The prince of darkness grim, We tremble not for him—He rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure: One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours Through Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also—The body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still: His kingdom is forever. Amen.”
Benediction:
“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 1:24-25 (NIV2011)
Pastor Russ Hilsinger
Grace Baptist Church of Dallas, OR
- S. This coming Lord’s day I will be speaking about our heavenly citizenship from Philippians 3:17-4:1. I hope you will be able to join us in our time of worship.