Triumphant Over Trouble | David Jeremiah | Psalm 46

whenever Christians face difficulty we almost  always turned to the Psalms here in the Psalms   we find words to describe what we're feeling here  we understand that we're not alone in our trouble   here here in the Psalms we find that there is hope  in the midst of the storm we read the Psalms and   we find our story is written before it ever  occurred I mean still wonder the first book   published by the Puritans was the bay psalm  book printed in 1640 it was not possible for   them to print the whole Bible so they printed the  Psalms and asked why they printed that portion of   the scripture instead of other portions one author  replied because there was no other collection that   so encompasses the range of human experience  and the wonder of God's response to that   experience the Puritans needed such arming not the  hardship imposed on them in those early years not   the harshness of the elements the scarcity of  provisions the regular visitation of sickness   and death the attacks of enemies and betrayal of  friends or the weakness of sinfulness in their   own hearts and minds none of this surprised them  or left them defenseless because they had already   read it all right there in the Psalms and that's  why when we did this new book that I told you   about this whole book is about the Psalms it's the  sheltering Psalms and the Psalms are what we turn   to when we're going through difficult times and  just the reading of the Psalms brings blessing   without comment without messages or lessons but  when we go behind these Psalms and we research   the reason behind there having been written  the blessing is doubled and we will never again   be able to read the Psalms without remembering  all that was going on to cause it to be written   well such is the case with our psalm today to  understand it we must go back to a period in the   history of Israel when things look mighty black  for the people of God it was the year 701 and   Sennacherib was king of Assyria now Sennacherib  was at expansionist and was leading the dreaded   Assyrian army through Syria into Israel and on  South to Judah at the time of Sennacherib rampage   Hezekiah was king over Judah he was assisted by  the prophets Micah and Isiah who taught him to   trust God and do right and King Hezekiah led the  people of Judah in a great revival he reinstated   the Passover he reestablished the temple as  the central place of worship and he called   the people back to obedience to God we read  these words concerning Hezekiah in the book   of second Kings here's what it says he did what  was right in the sight of the Lord according to   all that his father David had done he trusted in  the Lord God of Israel so that after him was none   like him among all the kings of Judah nor who  were before him for he held fast to the Lord he   did not depart from following him but kept his  Commandments which the Lord had commanded Moses   and the Lord was with him he prospered wherever  he went as we begin our story the northern king   of Israel had already fallen to Assyria and the  people of Israel were carried away captive and   now the bloodthirsty army of Assyria was on its  way to Egypt and anything and anyone that got in   its way was destroyed standing in the path of  sin a curbs intentions was the Little Kingdom   of Judah and the walled city of Jerusalem in 701  BC the Assyrians sent their armies to Jerusalem   and as the leaders of the Assyrian army stood  outside the walls of Jerusalem they began to   taught the people and blaspheme Jehovah God here  are their words straight from the 18th chapter   of second Kings thus says the king do not let  Hezekiah deceive you for he shall not be able   to deliver you nor let Hezekiah make you trust  in the Lord saying the Lord will surely deliver   us do not listen to Hezekiah they said at the same  time as the threatening message from Sennacherib   reached the ears of Hezekiah he also got a message  from Isaiah the prophet in his time of trouble   Hezekiah was going to be given a word from the  Lord and now here is Isaiah's message to Judas   King Hezekiah 2nd Kings chapter 19 verses 6 &  7 thus you shall say to your master thus says   the Lord do not be afraid of the words which you  have heard with which the servants of the king of   Assyria have blaspheme to me surely I will send  a spirit upon him and he shall hear a rumor and   return to his own land and I will cause him to  fall by the sword in his own land and the Bible   says that Hezekiah took the threatening letter  from Sennacherib and he went up to the house of   the Lord and he spread the letter out before the  Lord and he began to pray and here is his prayer   he prayed now therefore O Lord our God I pray  save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the   earth may know that you are the Lord God you alone  what a picture of our current situation on the one   hand we're listening every day to the voices of  fear and dread the virus of fear has been almost   as dangerous as the coronavirus itself and when we  allow these words of fear to totally control us we   are paralyzed and immobilized and rendered useless  to God and to those who look to us for hope and   help but on the other hand is the voice of God or  in this case the voice of Isaiah speaking for God   it is not a voice of reckless abandon that calls  us to be oblivious to our enemy no it's a voice   of promise and of hope a strong reminder that  we serve a mighty God and he is in control and   we do not need to be afraid so here's the picture  the dreaded Assyrian army has surrounded the city   of Jerusalem Judah's leader Hezekiah has prayed  for God's miraculous delivery and is about to   intervene now let's look at second Kings 1935 and  36 and it came to pass on a certain night that the   angel of the Lord went out and killed in the camp  of the Assyrians 185,000 and when people arose   early in the morning there were the corpses all  dead so Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and   went away return home and remained in Nineveh what  an incredible victory God won for his people that   night walled in by trouble surrounded by a certain  disaster on paper Judah was about to be destroyed   but God intervened and God caused all the people  to know that he was God and to commemorate that   victory psalm 46 this hymn of praise was penned  maybe it was written by Hezekiah perhaps by Isaiah   maybe by an unknown poet laureate of Judah  but there is little doubt that it was written   to immortalize the triumph of the angel of the  Living God over the army of the foe John Phillips   says this he says so great and glorious was the  victory so marvelous the deliverance that Jew   and Christian alike have turned instinctively to  psalm 46 whenever disaster strikes it seems that   all hope is lost psalm 46 is where we go for this  psalm assures us that god can handle in his will   in his own good time and way things which seem  like total disasters to us ladies and gentlemen   did we not need some 46 for this day so as we  examine the 11 verses of this Psalm let us notice   first of all that there are three clearly marked  out sections each of the sections has praise for   God's deliverance and each has a different picture  of the reason for deliverance as we face our   troubles and our Walton situations we can learn  from this psalm how to have victory in our own   lives we can discover how to weather our storms  and continue to be triumphant our lives here then   are three principles for times of trouble in your  life number one when trouble comes retreat to your   refuge some forty six one through three we learn  in the psalm in the first part of the verse that   we have an awesome refuge psalm 46:1 says god is  our refuge and he is our strength this doesn't say   that god has been a refuge and strength or that he  will be the verse is present tense the Lord is our   refuge and strength a very present help in trouble  does this first have an expiration date are there   a limited number of refills will it ever lose its  potency no no and never so here are five things   from the 91st psalm about awesome refuges some  91 is kind of a commentary on this first of all   we learned that our refuge is safe Psalm 91 9 and  10 says because you have made the Lord your refuge   no evil shall befall you you're safe and God never  separated from his love our refuge is safe number   2 our refuge is strong some ninety one seven  thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand   at your right hand but it shall not come near you  numbers don't matter when it comes to God's refuge   God and you are greater than any opposing force  our refuge is safe our refuge is strong number   three our refuge is secure Psalm 91 five you shall  not be afraid of the terror by night nor of the   arrow that flies by day people who are secure in  God just don't live in fear of what might happen   in their life our refuge is safe it's strong it  is secure and it is solid notice Psalm 91 verse   two I will say of the Lord he is my refuge in my  fortress my god in him I will trust think of the   solid walls of a mighty castle or forretress God  is like that solid immovable indestructible our   refuge is safe it is strong it is secure it is  solid and number five it is a shelter Psalm 91   verse one says he who dwells in the secret place  of the Most High shall abide under the shadow   of the Almighty a shelter is a covering something  over our heads when you dwell under the shadow of   God you are covered by him forever and the word  refuge literally means a place to which you go   quietly for protection and we see Hezekiah going  up to the temple spreading out the threatening   letters before the Lord in the temple and he has  found his refuge and he has found his strength   we have often heard our choir sing these words  you are the source of my strength you are the   strength of my life to sum it all up here are the  words of Deuteronomy 3327 the eternal God is your   refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms it  was October 31st 1517 sometimes called the 4th of   July of protestantism Martin Luther nailed his 95  theses to the door of the Cathedral of Wittenberg   and the Protestant Reformation was ignited one  of the important products of the Reformation   was the rediscovery of congregational singing  Luther had strong convictions about the use and   power of sacred music and he often expressed his  convictions in statements like this one quote if   any man despises music as all fanatics do for him  I have no liking for music is a gift and in grace   of God not an invention of men thus it drives out  the devil and makes people cheerful and again he   he said the devil the originator of sorrowful  anxieties and restless troubles flees before   the sound of music almost as much as before  the Word of God and finally Luther wrote these   words he said I would allow no man to preach or  teach God's peace without a proper knowledge of   the use and power of sacred song and the single  most powerful hymn of the Protestant Reformation   movement was Luther's a mighty fortress is our God  and this hymn became the battle cry of the people   a great source of strength and inspiration even  for those who were martyred for their convictions   this hymn a mighty fortress is our God has been  translated into practically every known language   and it is regarded as one of the noblest and  most classic examples of Christian hymnody did   you know there are more than 60 translations  of this text in English alone when difficulty   or discouragement would come to Luther or to his  friend Philipp Melanchthon Luther would say come   Philip let us sing the 46th psalm and they would  sing themselves into a victorious spirit again and   the first line of this national hymn of Protestant  Germany is fittingly inscribed on Martin Luther's   tomb in Wittenberg and you can still read it and  appreciate it if you ever travel to that historic   spot yes it is true you have an awesome refuge  God is your refuge number 2 you have an accessible   refuge continue reading in psalm 46 and the second  part of the first verse describes our refuge as a   very present help in trouble the word for trouble  could be translated in tight places God is a very   present help when we are in tight places these  words very present convey the idea that God is   easy to be found and when he is found he is enough  for any situation we might ever encounter here's   what Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote about this  phrase he said God never withdraws himself from   his afflicted he is more present than friend or  relative can be yes more nearly present than even   the trouble itself to all this comfortable truth  is added the consideration that is assistance   teams at the needed time said spurgeon God is  a friend in need and a friend indeed and this   is what God said to Moses and it was meant for  us as well God said it this way my presence will   go with you and I will give you rest so you have  an awesome refuge you have an accessible refuge   here's the third thing you have an ageless refuge  verses 2 & 3 psalm 46 2 and 3 therefore we will   not fear even though the earth be removed and  though the mountains be carried into the midst   of the sea though its waters roar and be troubled  though the mountains shake with its swelling the   psalm now reminds us that nothing can change the  safety and security of the refuge we have in God   if you think of the corona virus pandemic and the  other disasters of our time if you picture in your   mind the mountains being cast into the sea and  the earth itself being destroyed and the waters   of all the oceans overflowing their banks or the  mountains shaking to their very foundation if you   see that with your mind's eye and you begin to  contemplate the total destruction of the earth   here's what the psalmist wants us to know when  all that is happening you still have nothing to   fear your refuge is secure in the midst of it  all remember God is your refuge he is awesome   he is accessible and he is ageless that's what  I think the psalmist was writing about in Psalm   102 I'm letting the Psalms teach us the Psalms so  let's read what it says of old God you laid the   foundation of the earth and the heavens are the  work of your hands they will perish but you will   endure yes they will all grow old like a garment  like a cloak you will change them and they will   be changed but you are the same and your years  will have no end the children of your servants   will continue and their descendants will be  established before you when all that is described   and this happens when the world is changing when  everything that we know is reality is no longer   reality there is a reality and that reality is  Almighty God he is the ageless refuge so the   first of this psalms section teaches us that when  trouble comes we need to retreat to our refuge we   need to go to God and and and hide in his shelter  but here's the second thing in verses 4 through   7 when trouble comes rediscover your strength  psalm 46 4 through 7 here's the first part of   that what is your strength you have a power within  listen to the fourth verse of Psalm 46 there is a   river whose streams shall make the City of God the  holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High and   notice what this is all about whenever an ancient  city thought they might be held captive in their   own City they feared most of all that the water  supply would be cut off from outside the walls so   when Hezekiah realized that the Assyrians were  coming toward Jerusalem he took great care to   make sure the city would be protected out in the  Kidron Valley outside of Jerusalem there is a deep   spring called the spring of Gihon this spring was  Jerusalem's water supply and had to be protected   so Hezekiah redirected the waters of the spring  through a conduit that was one thousand seven   hundred and seventy seven feet long hewn out of  solid rock and by means of this conduit Hezekiah   was able to divert the water from the spring of  Gihon into a reservoir which was inside the city   walls of Jerusalem the conduit project was done  with such precision that the Assyrians never found   out about it and did not know that in the midst  of the walled city with their enemies on every   side the people had a source of water that would  never run dry what a powerful reminder to all of   us who are walled up by the coronavirus and all of  its pandemic problems we have a source of supply   that is within us in the midst of the trouble we  learn what this is all about when we come to the   New Testament John 4 verses 13 and 14 says jesus  answered and said to her whoever drinks of this   water will thirst again but whoever drinks of  the water I'll give him will never thirst but   the water that I shall give him will become in him  a fountain of water springing up into everlasting   life and again in John 7 on the last day that  great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried   out saying if any man thirsts let him come to me  and drink he who believes in me as the scripture   has said out of his heart will flow rivers of  living water so we have a secret power within   the Holy Spirit is within us in the midst of all  of this stress all of this difficulty if we know   God we have a fountain of living water within us  and we can count on the Holy Spirit but number   two we have a secret person within us here again  from the psalm verses 5 through 7 this is what the   psalmist wrote God is in the midst of her she  shall not be moved God shall help her just at   the break of dawn the nation's raged the kingdom's  were removed he uttered his voice the earth melted   the Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob  is our refuge Selah like the fourth person in   the fire with the three Hebrew children God is  in the midst of our trouble with us today like   the Lord Jesus asleep in the back of the boat when  the storm came upon the disciples Jesus is with us   in the storm as well he has promised to be with us  even to the end of the age and you know the word   with us is the word Emmanuel the Lord of Hosts  is Emmanuel when Martin Luther and his friend   Philip Melanchthon were fighting the battles that  came as the result of the Reformation sometimes   Maleng --then would lament that he feared the  Reformation would be destroyed before it could   survive infancy and Luther would comfort him with  these words he would say my lengthen if we perish   Christ must fall to four he's in the midst of  us and if it must be so be it so I had rather   perish with Christ that great ruler of the world  than prosper with Caesar and oh how right he was   proverbs 18:10 says the name of the Lord is a  strong tower the righteous run to it and are   safe so or two out of three when trouble comes  retreat to your refuge number two when trouble   comes rediscover your strength you have a power  within you you have a person within you and number   three when trouble comes redirect your thoughts  once again psalm 46 8 through 11 and first of all   we learn to review the works of the Lord come says  the psalmist behold the works of the Lord who has   made desolations in the earth he makes Wars cease  to the end of the earth he breaks the bow and cuts   the spear in two he burns the chariot in fire I  love the expression in the story of Hezekiah is   victory when the text says this second Kings in  1935 and he came to pass on a certain night that   the angel of the Lord went out and killed in the  camp of the Assyrians and when people arose in the   morning there were the corpses all dead I remember  first time I read that of course if their corpses   they're all dead what is the deal about that but  what the deal about it is this the people of God   didn't have to do anything except behold what God  had done the battle was his all the time even when   they were failing to realize that even when they  thought they were they were finished we will take   great courage and comfort in our lives today if  we just take a few moments and review what God   has already done what he is doing we should read  our Bibles with this goal in mind we should even   read the newspapers with this goal in mind see how  God triumphs even in the midst of tragedy see how   he gets glory through his name even the midst  of the coronavirus and even when it seems like   our economy is falling apart how great is our God  his wonders are everywhere evident for the person   who will look I got a little email this week from  one of the viewers of our online service and she   said that she had taken some time this past week  to write down the 10 most important things God   had done for her in her life and she shared them  with me and I thought what a tremendous idea what   a great way to get perspective on what's happening  with you right now take some time and really think   about this you're gonna have to eliminate a few  things add a few things get your master list and   then edit it down here are the 10 greatest things  God has done for me in my life and husbands your   wife better be on that list same wives your  husband review the works of the Lord and then   secondly reclaim the words of the Lord verses  10 and 11 notice what the psalmist says be still   and know that I am God I will be exalted among  the nation's I will be exalted in the earth the   Lord of Hosts is with us that God of Jacob is our  strength Selah these verses call us to be quiet   long enough to hear the Lord to know that he is  with us could I just insert right here my friends   that perhaps one of the reasons why we have been  sheltered in our homes is so that God can get us   quiet in our lives as they go in their routine  that we follow it is so hard for us to become   quiet and when we become quiet when we are still  and we know that he is God then we learned that   he has a plan for our future this is God's plan  to be exalted among the nation's to be exalted in   the earth and he also has plans to be exalted in  our circumstances hear me now carefully God will   be exalted in the coronavirus he is being exalted  in the coronavirus and the more we see what he is   doing the more we trust him to just keep on doing  it for the second time this Psalm reminds us that   the Lord of Hosts is with us and he tells us that  the God of Jacob is our refuge so who is this Lord   of Hosts he is one and the same with the angel  of the Lord who smote a hundred and eighty-five   a thousand Assyrians in answer to Hezekiah Sprayer  he is the Lord of Hosts and he is with us he did   not send another angel to help us he is with us  himself we hear sometimes about people having   their own guardian angel why would you want an  angel when you could have the Lord of the Angels   Jehovah God himself and he is with us be still  and know that He is God that's what the scripture   says when author and pastor Gordon MacDonald  was a high school senior at the Stony Brook   school in New York he was required to take a class  called senior Bible a class taught by the school's   infamous headmaster dr. Frank E gable line or  as the boys called him the Gabe dr. Gailen was   a deep thinking devout Christian who was serious  about Bible memorization in fact he was so serious   about scripture memorization that he required each  of his students to memorize more than 300 separate   Bible verses over the course of their final year  in school I like the way MacDonald recalls the   weight of these expectations here's what he wrote  he said if he met a student on the pathway from   the classroom to the dining hall he might say  Gordon give me John 13:34 please the headmaster   expected a boy to summon from his memory one verse  out of 300 already memorized and to launch into   its recitation without faltering many a student  in senior Bible took detours around the campus   during those times of day when dr. gable iron was  expected to be walking from one place to another   and you surely can understand why psalm 46 was  one of the passages dr. gable EIN assigned to   his students and when he called on students to  recite the psalm or write it out in its entirety   he expected them to be perfect not only about the  words but also pronunciation and capitalization as   a result his students often included verbal clues  in their practice recitations to help identify   each capital letter and every mark of punctuation  for example big G God is our refuge and strength   comma a very present help in trouble period gordon  and the other boys did not understand the value of   dr. gable ins instruction during their year of  senior Bible in fact they complained anyone who   would listen about the Headmaster's outrageous  expectations they complain to everybody that is   except Gabe himself of course but decades later  Gordon McDonald came around and he now treasures   the gifts he received during his year with dr.  gable on here's how Gordon told the story in   one of his books he said a few days ago my  doctor called me Gordon this is dr. B I have   some difficult news for you there's a tumor in  the back of your head in the lining of the brain   it's not malignant you won't die from this but it  will have to come out and that means surgery and   some recuperative time in the next few months  Gordon MacDonald said I have spent my whole   life helping other people face dr. Kaul moments  like these now it was my turn and as the doctor   went through further details of my situation  the first thing that began to surge through   my mind the very first thing was big G God is  our refuge and strength , a very present help   in trouble period big t therefore we will not  be afraid period period period he said when I   was a teenager a brilliant and godly man pumped me  full of Scripture you could say that he bullied us   with all the insistence on punctuation spelling  and capitalization but now his effort is paying   off psalm 46 is the first thing i have turned  to so that i can order my at world and enlarge   the spiritual work I will have to do in the next  few months thanks to dr. game aligned and psalm   46 i may be concerned I may be cautious but I am  NOT fearful exclamation point I hope that is the   confidence you have in your life as well people  ask me all the time what to do about the fear   that seems to be raging in the hearts of people  let me tell you the answer to that fear is big G   God he is the one who has promised to be with  us he is your refuge he is my refuge but that   is only true if we know his son Jesus Christ  personally the Bible says that we come to God   through Christ that he is the way the only way to  God and my question to you as you listen to this   message and we close this service do you know  this God through His Son Jesus Christ have you   ever accepted Christ into your life have you ever  in the midst of your challenging days bowed before   God and said dear God I believe that Jesus Christ  is your son I believe that he is the Saviour of   the world that he died on the cross that he came  out of the grave on the third day victorious over   death and I believe that he loved me and wants me  to be his and Lord Jesus I accept you as my Savior   I invite you into my life I repent of my sin I  want to live for you all the days that are left to   me if you put Jesus Christ on the throne of your  life you will have God in your heart and big G   God he's enough for whatever you're facing or will  ever face and to that I add with Gordon McDonald   exclamation point father thank you for this great  psalm thank you that you are our refuge thank you   that we have the resources of the Holy Spirit  and the Lord Jesus in our lives thank you that   we have the record of what you have done in the  past and what you are doing and what you will do   thank you that when we are still and know that you  are God we feel that incredible peace come over us   which is described in the New Testament as the  peace which passes understanding father we need   that peace now in our homes in our hearts in our  families for all those who have prayed with me to   receive Christ may the peace of God descend upon  them and theirs may they know that this god of   whom we have spoken is their God and that he is in  in the midst of them in their family thank you for   hearing our prayer thank you for giving us this  portion of your word to encourage us for such a   time as this and now we pray that the Word of God  will be blessed to our hearts keep the enemy from   stealing it from us and let us go forward in the  strength of it this week I pray in Jesus name Amen

Channel: David Jeremiah

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Length: 34min 14sec (2054 seconds)

Published: Tue May 19 2020