Fearless in the Fortress

Psalm 46 to the choirmaster of the sons of Cora. According to alum off us all. God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam the mountains tremble at it swelling.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the most high God is in the midst of her she shall not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns the nations rage the kingdoms totter. He utters his voice, the earth melts the Lord of hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our fortress come behold the works of the Lord how he has brought desolation's on the earth. He makes wars ceased to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, he burns the chariots with fire.

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth the Lord of hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our fortress spray father. We don't deserve anything good from your hand and yet you give us promises like the ones here in this song you promise to take care of us to hide us from harm, to protect us from the rage in the clamor of our enemies give us every reason to stop being fearful and you command us to rest to be still or the very fact that we have to be commanded to rest points to something that's broken. And something is very wrong with us.

Help us to see that this morning and repent. Help us learn to be still as an act of worship to you, even when our world is being turned upside down, or Jesus, thank you for modeling what this quiet confidence in God, looks like we would have had no idea what it looks like it not been for your perfect example, and we would've had no ability to walk in this unshakable confidence had it not been for you becoming one of us. Emmanuelle God with us. Had it not been for you breaking bows and shattering spears and burning chariots destroying even death itself that we might have peace with God. Holy Spirit please come now and take these words that we have just read open our minds to understand them turn our hearts, believe them, soften our wills to obey them.

Pray in Jesus name, amen. Be seated. When Paul sets out to describe the ungodly. In Romans chapter 1 he begins by describing their attitude or posture towards truth and he says that the reprobate person suppresses holds down resistance covers up, denies the truth that there is a specific aspect of the truth that the unrighteous person suppresses it's the truth about the nature of God. Paul says his invisible attributes. That's what the reprobate suppresses the ungodly suppress in their own minds what they know to be true concerning the nature and character of God. Paul says it this way, although they knew God, they did not honor him as God is the first step down the path of atheism.

It will be like a person who doesn't believe skyscrapers exist walking through uptown Charlotte and there they stand at the foot of the Bank of America building.

I think it's the tallest building in uptown looking up at the top of this massive structure they they can't deny that there is a giant building there. It's clearly there, and so they begin to just downplay its building this its attributes. They say to themselves you know is really not that tall ficus concrete and steel really not that strong. Pretty weak. The whole thing just kinda blocks the view of everything, doesn't it.

They know there's a building there, but because they hate the building.

They begin to deny and distort and suppress the attributes of the building to the point that they eventually convince themselves it doesn't exist.

Of course they still bump into the building, they get too close. I still can't see around it or over it. They still for some reason have to talk a lot about its nonexistence, but they have convinced themselves it's not there and were not talking about buildings this morning are we were talking about God the atheistic mind knows there's a God, but hates God and so in order to deny his existence.

It must do some mental gymnastics and those mental gymnastics begin not by outright denying the existence of God, but by denying the attributes of God the character and and nature of God, the atheistic mind denies the godliness of God first, if you will, his eternal power and divine nature. Paul says not suspected most of us here this morning probably know people that live like this, people that suppress the truth that God is God and it breaks our hearts especially when that person is a family member or loved one or or close friend sometimes makes us angry because of the way it dishonors the God that we know and love.

But I also suspect that we tend to think of atheism as a problem that exists out there in the world, not something that professing Christians who are at worship service on the Sunday morning would be guilty of you know it is quite possible that Christians that Presbyterians even can act and think like practical atheists in very subtle ways.

This Psalm was written for the covenant community for the church for us. It was written to be sung in Christian worship is the folks even Christians need to be told, be still and know that God is God, even Christians have to be commanded of that we haven't finished the race, yet were still fighting sin were still in this fallen world. Revelation 2122 haven't happened yet and there's still plenty of vestiges of the fall everywhere, even within our own hearts and minds super honest with ourselves now. If that's true it if there is, in my mind a lingering tendency to suppress the godliness of God.

I want to know it so that I can eradicate it. I think you want to know it to you wouldn't be here this morning. If that were in the case. If there's any way in which I'm acting or thinking like an atheist. I want that to be exposed for the sake of God's honor. If people whom God has redeemed are acting as if he isn't who he says he is.

Then there denying the very faith they profess one of the most common ways I believe that the people of God.

Acts like there is no God is when we live fearful and anxious lives unfounded fear in the heart of a Christian is a subtle denial of power of God and of his faithfulness to his people. So for the next few moments I want us to consider the subject of fear in the Christian life.

Fear in the Christian life. Or to put it positively. I want us to think about our moral obligation as the church to trust that God is God is sound so basic doesn't. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of of the fundamentals. If God is for us and with us then to not trust him is to dishonor him. If God has promised to protect his people and to be present with it. People that his people should trust him in all things and at all times.

Psalm 46 proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that God does protect his people, and God is present with his people. So let's walk through this Psalm and just let it stir up in us the confidence and hope and rest in the Lord this morning. First, we see in this Psalm that God protects his people. God protects his people begins by saying God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Now we find ourselves in need of a refuge. It implies that there something threatening us or something out to get us what is that threat what is it attempts the people of God to cower in fear. Psalmist describes this threat. First, in terms of geological upheaval. The earth gives way mountains are thrown into the sea waters are roaring and foaming mountains are trembling as floodwaters swell in these foaming floodwaters are destroying everything in their path.

I don't think the psalmist means to suggest the churches greatest threat is the ocean or the weather, I think clearly he's speaking metaphorically of the sorts of things that threaten to destroy God's people as the Psalm progresses through the that the threat behind that metaphor becomes more and more apparent in verse six, for example, the threat against God's people is not described metaphorically and in terms of geological upheaval, but in literal terms of nations and kingdoms and there's some verbal correlation between the metaphor and the and the meaning verse six says the nations rage. That word rages the same Hebrew word used in verse three where it said the waters roar verse six as the nations totter and that work totter is the same word used in verse two to describe the mountains being moved totter during into the heart of the sea by the end of the Psalm. This description of the threat against God's people is even more specific. The psalmist begins describing not just these nations and kingdoms in a general way, but specifically the military muscle of these nations.

These raging tottering nations only now that military power is broken.

Verse nine says that wars have ceased bones are broken. Spheres are shattered and chariots are burned so notice the progression through this Psalm at the beginning of the Psalm. The threats are threatening their their scary their causing fear. But as we progress through the Psalm. These threats become less and less threatening until we reach the end where the threats are just the pile of burned and broken rubble.

No threat at all.

The focus of the psalmist is shifted from the dangers to the deliverance from his enemies to his God and his God gets bigger and bigger in the mind of the psalmist. These threats get smaller and smaller until they simply are no more a threat not contrasted to these national and military threats is God's protection of his people.

God is described as a refuge, a strength, a fortress, a castle, God's protection is also described as a stream of water, a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the bubbling brook of verse four, stands in great contrast to the foaming roaring ocean of verse three and I think that contrast is very significant. The threat to the church feels like an ocean. It feels like an unconquerable see the protection of God on the other hand feels like a quiet stream and yet it's the quiet stream in the end that emerges victorious, very interesting. Some commentators see a specific historical reference here in verse four to this stream. They believe that the river whose streams make glad the city of God is a reference to a specific stream. The stream of show low up.

Sometimes it's called Siloam, especially in the New Testament. This stream is referenced several times in the Bible. It was a stream that brought water into the city of Jerusalem was the water source for Jerusalem. What makes this so interesting is that Isaiah refers to the stream of shallow metaphorically in the same way that the psalmist of Psalm 46 refers to it. Both of of these places refer to this river as a picture of God's protection of his people in Isaiah 7 and eight. Jerusalem is under attack by the king of Syria resin and his sidekick, during the siege, God tells his people to be careful.

Be quiet. Do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, God's opinion of these enemies of his people. He explains that he's about to use a mighty river to overwhelm resin and Paca that mighty river would be the nation of Assyria, the superpower of the day who would come in and just destroy resin and Paca, but that deliverance hadn't happened yet and so the people are under siege in Jerusalem and their panicking what's gonna happen to us how to get out of this mess now. All of this happened after the kingdom of Israel had split into two kingdoms. You remember the history there's a northern kingdom. And there's a southern kingdom Jerusalem is in the southern kingdom. The northern part of the kingdom had allied themselves with resin, a Gentile, with Syria the enemies of God the northern kingdom had had made an alliance with resin, in hopes that together they would be strong enough to fight Syria so get the picture.

Half of God's people have joined themselves to God's enemies in order to fight off an even bigger enemy and together they're trying to convince the other half of God's people. The people in Jerusalem to join this ungodly alliance.

Now look at what God says to them.

This is where it all ties back into Psalm 46 Isaiah 86 says this people, God's people have refused the waters of show low up that flow gently, and instead rejoice over resin and the son of Amalia. The people of God because of their fear of Assyria had disregarded God's protection in favor of the protection offered them from a godless wicked army. They had chosen to ignore the calm, quiet stream of God's protection in favor of the impressive roaring foaming waters of King resin's protection, folks.

Fear makes us do stupid things.

It makes us believe, incredibly irrational things. It makes us abandon the only legitimate protection. We really have. Fear makes us betray the one who has bound himself to us by promising to never leave or forsake us.

The story ends with God saying to Isaiah do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, do not fear what they fear or be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy, let him be your fear and let him be your dread.

This incident in Isaiah 7 and eight. Just like in Psalm 46 is about trusting God's protection even when the threat seems to have the upper hand, especially when the threat seems to have the upper hand. John Calvin said, although the help of God comes to our aid in a secret and gentle manner.

Like the still flowing streams, yet it imparts to us more tranquility of mind than if the whole power of the world were gathered together for our help. God promises to protect his people, and that protection will always be superior to any protection.

The world has to offer. We have to realize that sometimes God's still and quiet help doesn't necessarily feel like help sometimes is verse eight says God's help brings desolation's on the earth. Sometimes God breaks things sometimes God destroys things and sometimes that destruction affects us our convenience, our reputation, our wallets sometimes it affects the very lives of the saints as as the world's hatred towards God is taken out on those who faithfully defend his character and cause sometimes God's help doesn't feel like help. Sometimes God's help seems late. It seems tardy.

Verse five.

God will help her when morning dawns.

Why would God help us at 2 AM or 3 AM was have to wait till the sun comes up.

Sure Mary and Martha were feeling the same thing when their brother Lazarus died. In fact, I know they were. John tells us that Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Jesus answers the question of delayed deliverance when he said of Lazarus, this illness does not lead to death.

It is for the glory of God. That's God's reason for any kind of delay. Why would God not deliver us immediately because you know it's easy to show great confidence in God's providence when were not facing any threat were not facing any grief, but if we remain unmoved in the face of upheaval when the whole world is collapsing around us. Then our confidence is visible proof that God's power is sufficient. God often gets more glory by rescuing us at dawn and at midnight, so sometimes his help. Feels like it's late to no church. Regardless of how God's help feels to us.

The fact of the matter is that divine providence always ends in joy for God's people. As the stream makes glad the city of God, and it always ends in glory to God's name, verse 10 says emphatically. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth, how we get to that place of joy and glory may feel like a path of insignificance. It may feel like a path of miscue delays.

It may even feel like a path of failure but search God's quiet stream is more than capable of handling the world's raging torrent.

Now we are to overcome the fear to which we are prone. We need to embrace more than just God's ability to protect his people. Sure, he's able to protect. But we need to also understand and believe God's desire to protect his people. If if all we do is stare at the sovereignty and power of God, we could easily walk away terrified at the prospect of Matt much sovereignty on the loose. But we learned that that sovereign power is on the loose for our good. Then our terror over the sheer godliness of God becomes a confident sense of security in the goodness of God.

We need to know that God is for us and with us. So the psalmist then goes out of his way to show us that God not only protects his people. God is present with his people over and over. He repeats this thing in verse one. God is a very present help in trouble. In verse four God inhabits the city where his people are in verse five. God is in the midst of them. In verse seven, the psalmist writes the Lord of hosts is with us he repeats himself in verse 11, just in case we missed it.

The Lord of hosts is with us and here in verses seven and 11. He uses the covenant name of God, Yahweh is with us, not just some generic God, our God, the God who has made covenant with us. This reminds us that the God in whose presence we live is not some distant, impersonal being who doesn't care he's the one who stepped in the history and established a covenant relationship with his people binding his very character and glory to our salvation folks, that's amazing. As a result of God's presence is people do not have to fear anymore verse one, nor are they susceptible to the threatening winds of change verse five. Why because an immovable God is with them mountains are moved into the sea, God's people are not moved the nations totter and fall, God's people never totter. They shall not be moved. So the million dollar question, apart of this people of God how to become a citizen of his happy city that God inhabits. Paul tells us how in Ephesians 2 he says in verse 12 of Ephesians to remember that you were separated from Christ, alienated from this commonwealth of Israel, but now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ so that you're no longer strangers and aliens, but your fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ himself being the cornerstone we become part of God's people, citizens of this heavenly city by the blood of Christ, who is himself the cornerstone of the city folks God never extends his promise of protection at the every human being without exception his protection and his presence are for those and only those who belong to him by virtue of their union to Christ. This is so important for us to realize the Bible tells us that our starting point in life are default status before God is one of enmity with God opposition to God.

We don't deserve his protection. We don't deserve his presence. We deserve vengeance we deserve to be cast out from his presence. Apart from any divine intervention. We are among those in Romans one, who do not honor God. As God but God out of no obligation on his part. Rather, as a sheer act of grace, sent his only begotten son to take the punishment of sinners like us deserve Bible tells us that those who believe that Jesus was sent from God to wash away sin. Through his death on the cross. All who believe that, and rest in that are not only treated as if they had never sinned, but there treated as if their children of God, they become citizens of that glad city and citizens of that glad city receive the full protection of God, and they enjoy the sweet presence of God. Folks, we become a part of God's people through faith in Christ. One pastor said if we desire to be protected by the hand of God. We must be concerned above all things that he dwell among us, and he dwells among us, on account of his son, Emmanuelle, who makes Pete God and man folks. If God has promised to protect his people and to be present with his people than his people should trust him in all things and at all times and this is exactly where Psalm 46 leads us.

It concludes with two commands that describe the only appropriate response to a God as gracious as our God is the first command is there in verse eight, behold the works of the Lord and implied in that command to behold is a response of praise and thanksgiving were not told to to behold God's works merely for the sake of taking notes were being told to to notice them to think about them to acknowledge them in order to give praise to God for them in order to give thanks to God for these amazing works in these amazing works include everything God has done throughout the history of redemption is called to Abraham his delivering Israel from Egypt is conquering of the promised land. His presence with the Jewish people during their captivity in Babylon's restoration of them to the promised land is his taking on human flesh and becoming a servant, his substitutionary death on the cross is preservation of the Scriptures through century after century.

His enabling the gospel to spread to the four corners of the earth is raising up men like Augustine and with Cliff and Luther, and Edwards is building up of his church in places like China and Pakistan and Harrisburg were to think about the works that God has done for his people to bring them up in our minds and remember them and tell others about them and give God praise and thanks for them, this is the proper response of the redeemed, not fear and worry.

But, praise and thanksgiving. If we find ourselves enslaved to fear in a Eddie perhaps is because were failing to adequately consider the works of the Lord. Perhaps it's because were indifferent to this vast historical record of the ways in which God has demonstrated over and over that he is for us and he is with us a few years ago Laura and I were going through a financially tight time we began to talk and worry and more and more about this growing list of needs that we had. So one night we just got sheet of paper out and began writing down all the things we needed or thought we needed.

Abby didn't have the resources to acquire. We wrote them all down and we just pray that God would either meet the need. Or take the need away so interesting over the next few months how one by one. God met every single one of those needs sometimes in an very ordinary way. Sometimes in unexplainable ways.

But since that time can't tell you how may times we've gone back in our minds to what God did and how just going back and remembering his faithfulness in those moments quells our fear and strengthens our faith. This is what were commanded to do. Remember what God has done. Remember his works. The second command is probably the most well-known verse in Psalm 46 is verse 10 we love the quote it.

We should love the quoted is says be still and know that I'm God to be still means to relax, to loosen to let go, to stop striving. It's a very passive sort of activity and and yet being still in the face of danger can be grueling difficult can it were told to stop all the worry and the panic in the clamoring and the fearfulness and know that God is God. This is sort of the opposite of Romans 121, in which the godless know there's a God, but they're not honoring him as God were not acts like practical atheists would actually conduct our lives behavior or attitudes or beliefs.

All of it as if God really is sovereign because he really is sovereign, as if God really is good to his people because he really is good to his people think this second command is made all the sweeter by the fact that God speaks it to us directly in the first person the rest of Psalm 46 is mediated to us through the psalmist and it doesn't make it any less true.

But there's something sweet and reassuring about this command coming directly from the lips of our Lord.

Be still and know that I am God. No two of us here this morning have the same set of fears. No two of us battle identical sets of insecurities, some of us may sit around fretting about money. Some may be anxious about the difficult relationship work circumstance that seems to be unfixable. Some of us are consumed with worry about the future could happen tomorrow. Who will I marry when I gonna do with my life are our lack of being still in knowing that God is God takes on a number of different forms, but the one thing that all of our various fears share in common is this.

They dishonor the God who says, I will protect you and I will be with you when we succumb to those fears were acting more like the people of Romans one than the people of Psalm 46 brothers and sisters. Our lives in this fallen world are full of temptations to walk away from our confidence in God's part or and presence and to begin trusting in a thousand different substitutes. But when we think that way and live that way we dishonor the one who promises to be our refuge and strength, the one who promises to be a very present help when we need him the most. I think that sometimes we maybe subconsciously justify our fearfulness, our anxiety, our doubts about God's goodness because we know who we are on the inside and it's not a pretty picture in the privacy of our own hearts we know that we don't act always like the citizens of that happy city. Far too often we act like the, the raging hellions who find themselves outside the walls of the castle outside the fortress and so we tell ourselves what right do I have the rest in the confidence that God is with me and for me, but isn't it interesting that when Paul deals with this very question of assurance he doesn't call us to go on some sort of introspective exploration of the deepest recesses of our soul to see if we really really really really belong to Christ. He simply holds Christ up to our face as proof of God's permanent unchangeable love Romans eight says if God is for us who can be against us.

He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also graciously give us all things, who shall bring any charge against God's elect. It is God who justifies those who don't justify ourselves. We don't do penance by constantly doubting the salvation we profess our justification comes from God. Paul says, who is to condemn Christ Jesus as the one who died more than that it was raised was at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us brothers and sisters. You see how secure our salvation is it's God who justifies. It's Christ who died and was raised it's Jesus who was praying for us right now it's God the father to whom Christ is praying.

How dare we think for a moment that our security salvation depends in the slightest.

On our deserving in Iran are making ourselves somehow worthy of it were not our own refuge and strength, God is our refuge and strength, and if God is our refuge and strength than the rest of Romans eight is also true of us. What can separate us from the love of Christ. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing in all creation is able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And so, since God has promised to protect us and to be present with us, we ought to trust him in all things at all times is the message of Psalm 46 that's the call of Psalm 46. Trust your God. He is trustworthy, was praying for you are infinitely good to us, you tell us not to fear or be afraid to enter into your rest and then you make yourself the grounds of that rest and you do all of this, knowing that we deserve, is that the exact opposite. You promised to be with us in your son the Lord Jesus Christ. You are with us fully and forever got in a lot of these sweet promises that we've considered this morning.

Help us by your spirit to honor you through the stillness of faith.

Help us to not cave to fear as if you weren't really sovereign. Help us to be still and know full well that you are God. We pray this in Jesus name, amen