Triumphant Over Trouble - Part 1

Are you doing tonight Christian is a drug review process with two big children with complex broad has one simple response this is just come right on Turning Point of the damage or marshals from the 46 found that no program is enough to intimidate create is always on his throne was in control, business is thriving in today's inspiring message triumphant over trouble. Well this is one of the great messages from Psalms 1 of the great passages and that's got so much history you could almost illustrate this whole Psalm with episodes from his life because he came back to Psalm 46, over and over again. He and his friend Philip Melanchthon lived in the Psalm during the Reformation and we learned so much about how we deal with life. When we study the Psalms and today were going to do part one, Psalm 46.

Well let's get started on this great Psalm triumphed over trouble. Psalm 46. Find your place in the book of Psalms and Psalm 46. I want to talk with you about the subject of triumph over trouble from one of the great Psalms in the Old Testament hymnbook Psalm 46. I don't know if you noticed but whatever Christian space, difficulty, they almost inevitably turn to the book of song. Someone has said the book of Psalms has more tear stains on its pages than any other book of the Bible. Something about this book that helps us when were facing trouble for here in the pages of this Old Testament hymnbook we find the words to describe what we are feeling here. We understand that we are not alone in our trouble, but others have faced what we are facing before we have here we discover hope in the time of storm, even when the thunder and lightning are raging all around. We read the book of Psalms as we read it we feel like somebody has written our story before it ever happened. No wonder the first book that was ever published by the Puritans back in 1640, was the bay songbook published even before the Scripture was published.

They didn't have enough resources to publish the entire Bible, so they published the Psalms, and it became their watchword during the difficulties of their day. One author replied that they publish the bay songbook because there was no other collection that so encompass the range of human experience and the wonder of God's response to that experience in the Puritans needed this because as they would go through their difficulties they would come to the book of Psalms and is one of the Puritans said it was all there in the Psalter.

It was already there before it ever happened to us in God's response was available. I don't know about the rest of you, but just the reading of the Psalms to me is a blessing without any comment without any commentary without any message or additional lessons just to read the book just to read the pages of the hymnbook, but there's an interesting thing that happens when you go behind the song and research. The reason for it having been written. I have in my library for five volumes of him histories. It's amazing what happens when you read the history of a him that you're saying and find out why it happened to have been written. You never sing the song the same way again. And when you go behind the Psalms that were in the Old Testament hymnbook and find out what happened that caused that Psalm to be written. You come away with an incredible appreciation for its truth and its application to your own life.

It was the year 701 and saccharin was the king of Assyria's inaccurate was an expansionist and was leading the dread of the Syrian army throughout Syria and Israel and on South to Judah conquering everything that was in its way. The Assyrians were cool mighty people left nothing.

The question the time of saccharin's rampage. There was a little kingdom called the kingdom of Judah and a little city in the midst of that kingdom called Jerusalem and the king of Judah was a godly man by the name of Hezekiah who came to the throne as a young man and, unlike all of those who had preceded him began to bring reform to the Judah people. He restored the Passover because the people to go back to the temple as a place of worship.

He pulled down the high places and destroyed all of the bail worship and we read these words concerning him in the book of second Kings and the 18th chapter 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 were before him, for he held fast to the Lord, and he did not depart from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses and the Lord was with him and he prospered wherever he went.

That was King Hezekiah as we begin the story. The northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen to somatic rim and the Israelites had been carried away captive the people now new that somatic ribbon is bloodthirsty Army were marching toward Egypt and anything that got in their way.

Was sure to fall while in their way was the little kingdom of Judah and the little walled city of Jerusalem, standing in the path of saccharin's intentions were God's people. The Assyrians sent their armies to surround the city and the leaders of the Assyrian army stood outside the walls of Jerusalem and began to hurl their threats and their talks over the wall. They said things like where are your gods and where were the gods of all the other cities that we destroyed your gods know better than their God and your God will save you either in the 18th chapter of second Kings. They taunted the Jewish people with these words, they said in verses 29 through 31. Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, the Lord will surely deliver us, the city shall not be given unto the hand of the king of Assyria. Do not listen Hezekiah for thus says the king of Assyria make peace with me by a present and come out to me and everyone of you showing in other words, they were saying don't follow your leader don't listen Hezekiah he's telling you all the wrong things. Whatever you do not let him tell you to trust in God because God will never save you.

You guys and that macular today. You're dead meat you're in trouble. About the same time as this threatening message came from somatic ribs. People think Hezekiah got a word from his preacher. You know that during the time of Hezekiah's leadership. There were two profits. One was Micah and the other was Isaiah whatever you're going through trouble.

God always does two things you give your word and you give your song God gave the King Hezekiah word from the prophet Isaiah, you will find this again in the word of God and second Kings chapter 19 and Isaiah said to them, 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 blasphemed me surely I will send the spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and returned to his own land, and I will cause them to fall by the sword in his own land. In other words, Isaiah came to Hezekiah's and I know what you hear. I know what you're seeing on what the circumstances look like this.

Looks like there's no hope you are no match for the Assyrian army, but just remember this, God is still on his throne in God is heard your cry few days later Hezekiah got a letter from somatic ribbon was a menacing, mean-spirited letter telling him exactly all of the things they were going to do to destroy the people of Judah, and I love what happened. The Scripture says that Hezekiah took the letter, he went up to the temple of God.

He walked into the temple, and he spread the letter out in front of the Lord to redo that when you going through tough times. Jim take your problem and just say Lord can't. It's I don't know what to do with.

He spread the letter out in front of Jehovah God.

Yes God for his help and he prayed in his prayers recorded in the 19th chapter 2nd Kings last part of the prayer goes like this. 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 that you alone are the Lord God, and he went back home went back to his place of residence back to the taunts that came over the wall back to the Army that surrounded him back to the circumstances that seemed impossible. The armies were to attack about midnight and then we read what God did for and second Kings chapter 19 in verse 35 is the summary statement. 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 the people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses all dead whenever I read that always smile because every corpse I ever saw was dead. I can imagine what what a dramatic thing happened that night.

You see the picture walled up within the city. No hope, and yet Hezekiah spread out his problem before Almighty God, and God came through and took care of the problem and you know the victory was so great, so captured the hearts of the people of Israel that to commemorate the victory.

The hymn of praise which we have open to in Psalm 46 was penned something. It was written by Hezekiah himself.

Others think that perhaps, Isaiah wrote it, or an unknown port laureate of Israel was handed onto the sons of Cora, but the authorship seems quite clearly to have been as the result of the angel of God, getting great victory over the mighty army of Assyria. So we hold in our hands this great him. It was a hymn of victory, a him of rejoicing a hymn of praise.

It's a reminder to us.

This hymn of praise that God can still handle our trouble.

Did you know that God isn't overwhelmed by the walled cities that are around us and by the enemies who seem to outnumber us. God is still able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think in this hymn, which is been such a great source of comfort and encouragement to so many. These 11 verses of Psalm 46. Remind us that as we face our troubles and are walled in situations we can learn how to have victory in our own lives. Now if you look down at the Psalm. You'll notice immediately that it falls into three sections, each of which is ended with a little phrase called seal which is a marking in the Old Testament hymnal. Each of these three stances remind us of something particularly important about God that we need to know when we face trouble, and rather than go through the outline in a historical way. Let me present it to you by way of three principles to help you overcome the trouble that you have in your life by means of God's resources. First of all in the first stanza, we learn that we need to retreat to our refuge. Notice what it says and 46, 1 to 3. God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. 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. We learn first of all that we have a refuge in this refuge is awesome is anti-Psalm 71 was sort of my marching orders to tell the world how awesome God is for the rest of my life, my friends, we have an awesome refuge.

Don't we. It says here, God is our refuge and our strength. The word for refuge really means a quiet place to go for protection, and we see Hezekiah. Following this principle is a goes into the temple with the problems that are before him, and he spreads them out in the presence of the Lord in his quiet refuge before Almighty God. He says God hears my need and here's what I need you to do for me and he finds refuge in God. Deuteronomy 3327 says the eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. Psalm 91 to says, I will say of the Lord he is my refuge and my fortress, my God in him I will trust.

Psalm 18 to, says the Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust, how many are glad that you got a refuge in God to which you can retreat you know what, if you've never been there may be a Christian and never found in God the refuge that he wants to be for you. You know that when we go to trouble first thing we do is we call her best friend tell of all the said things are going on in our life. Most the time they make us feel worse.

We should never done that, you know that we go see a counselor. Hopefully their godly counselor may try to help us work through it. If we get desperate enough we call the preacher will but oftentimes the answer is not there. The answer is right in the midst of us.

He is our refugees and awesome refuge.

Please note that when we have trouble our first resort, not our last resort is to resort on the God on October 31 in 1517 sometimes call the Fourth of July of Protestantism. Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the door of the Cathedral of Wittenberg, Germany and the Protestant Reformation was ignited. One of the important benefits of the Reformation was the rediscovery of congregational singing. Luther had such strong convictions about the use and the power of sacred music. He expressed his convictions in a number of statements that I found this week. For instance, in this one. If any man despise his music as all fanatics who for him. I have no liking for music is a gift and grace of God, not of invention of men. Thus, it drives out the devil and makes people cheerful.

I hope you heard what he said he sitting by them like musics of fanatic. I didn't say that that's Martin Luther and again, the devil, the originator of sorrowful anxieties and restless troubles. Please before the sound of music almost as much as before, the word of God and then since I'm a preacher and I love music so much. I gravitated toward this one. He said I would allow no man to preach or teach God's people without a proper knowledge abuse of power of sacred song interesting the single most powerful hymn of the Protestant Reformation was Luther's a mighty Fortress is our God based upon Psalm 46.

This hymn became the battle cry of the people, great source of strength and inspiration even for those who were martyred for their convictions. This hymn has been translated into almost every language and there are over 60 different English translations of the text itself. When difficulty or discouragement would come upon Martin Luther and his buddy Philip Melanchthon, who were the architects of the Reformation. They would come to one another and sometimes Luther would say Philip, let us sing the 46 Psalm and they would take out the metric version that Luther had written they would sing the words of this great song in the first line of this national hymn of the Protestant Reformation is fittingly inscribed on Martin Luther's tomb, which you can see sometime if you ever visit Germany. Our God is an awesome refuge for our time. For Luther's time, for any time notice.

Secondly, he's an accessible refuge. Notice what it says in the text. He is a very present help in trouble. Reminds me what I heard a parent asked the little boy what the Bible says about lying and he said the Bible says that lying is a very present help in the time of trouble. That is not what the Bible says God, our refuge is a very present help in the time of trouble. The word for trouble could be translated in tight places. How many of you ever been in a tight place in between a rock and a hard place. Don't know what to do. The words very present convey the idea that God is easy to be found and when he is found.

He's enough for any situation. God never withdraws himself from us when we are in trouble. He is more present to us than a friend or relative can be think about this God is more present to us than the trouble that has driven us to them in the first place is a friend in need and a friend indeed as we read in Exodus chapter 33 in verse 14 God's word to Moses was my presence will go with you and I will give you rest is very accessible and then notice. Thirdly, he's ageless. This refuge is not only accessible, but it's an ageless refuge. It says in verses two and three of the 46 Psalm therefore will we not fear even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Here the psalmist is tried to figure out all of the calamitous things that could happen being removed, the mountains being destroyed. He's come up with all of the things that would think of natural and national disasters and the set of all those things happen. There are still God.

Sometimes we wring our hands with the things that happen in our culture, we think, oh my goodness, what if this takes place.

Look what happened on earth you know, we ask you to read part of the summer hundred and 225 through 28 was read out loud together of all laying on your they will perish yesterday all my clothes and what you are saying.

Here's an children of service will continue and their descendents will be established when your trouble comes retreat to your refuge is awesome. He's available is ageless when everything else fails, there still God. Notice in the second stanza of the Psalm, and when trouble comes, you need to rediscover your strength. There are two thoughts here in this stanza. First of all, the first part of your strength you need to rediscover is that you have a secret power within did you know that I let me tell you something that's really interesting to me. Whenever an ancient city thought they were going to be surrounded or seized by another nation. They feared most of all, not the enemy, not there, and battlements, not their armaments, they feared the supply of food and water inside the walled city. So when Hezekiah realized that the Assyrians were coming toward Jerusalem he had enough time to do a little preparation. He took great care to make sure that his city would be protected and listen to what he did in the kindling Valley outside of Jerusalem. There was a deep spring and ever bubbling spring called the spring of Dion and the spring was the water supply of Jerusalem and had to be protected and so Hezekiah redirected the waters of the spring through a conduit that was 1777 feet long, hewn out of solid rock and he redirected the waters of the spring of Dion under the wall of the city of Jerusalem into a reservoir so that was right in the middle of the city that he went out and covered up any evidence of the spring and did it in such a clandestine way that's inaccurate when the Assyrians had no idea where the water supply was or what happened to it.

If God hadn't taken out the Assyrians that night. Hezekiah had enough water inside the city to keep his people alive for a long time and so we read in verse four.

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most high. Many of you know that in the midst of the walled city trouble all around you have a resource in the person of the Holy Spirit of God, and I think that's one of the great illustrations in the Bible when you put that together with John seven passages in the New Testament that speak of the abundance of power and strength that comes from the Holy Spirit living within you is like a fountain bubbling up within you the Scripture says, overflowing your life and others walk in the spirit you can know that you can know that joy you can have within your life.

The same thing. The people of Israel had within their their city. They had a source. Nobody knew about that was keeping them alive. If you're Christian you have a source company knows about that. If you're not a Christian, you can't possibly understand. But it's a strong source to keep you going and they were just halfway through the song a lot more good stuff to mine from Psalm 46 and were going to do that tomorrow. For more information on the Jeremiah series with no room for visit our website really offered to freeways to help you stay connected a monthly magazine Turning Points and daily devotional.

Sign up today Doug Jeremiah.Luke/radio that's David Jeremiah.Luke/radio when you do ask for a copy of that was helpful shelter in God sure to be an encouragement to you during this unprecedented time is sure was a gift of any amount you can also search as the Jeremiah study in the English standard and new international version as well as in standard a large print in the new King James variety of cover options, visit David Jeremiah thought/radio.

The child on very hopefully tomorrow as we continue the series when your world falls apart to run for employee Jeremiah thanks for taking time to listen to and from these increased in size and