Summer Psalms #7 - The Best Help You Will Ever Have
Psalm 46:1-11
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - July 15, 2009
*Most of you have probably heard about the terrible bus wreck Sunday morning involving the Youth Group from FBC in Shreveport. They were on their way to a camp in Macon, Georgia. One of the students was killed.
*Today Candy G. forwarded an email from one of the families involved the Murchison family. -- Listen to the opening paragraphs:
*“By now many of you know of the terrible accident near Meridian MS yesterday AM involving the FBC Shreveport Youth Group traveling to Youth Camp in Macon GA.
*Our daughter, Lauren Murchison was one of three children pinned under the bus after a tire blew out and the bus rolled off of I-20. God was watching over them as a bus load of National Guard soldiers was behind the bus, picked it up, and the medics in the Guard Unit began triage for the bus riders.
-(They also) reportedly called in the medical flight that brought Lauren and her friend Maggie Lee Henson to the University Medical Center Children’s hospital in Jackson, MS. God was there with the soldiers and our children.”
*That was a terrible accident, but it was wonderful that a whole bus load of National Guard soldiers was there to help. They even picked up the bus! -- But the Murchison family knows that their help ultimately came from God.
*The best help you can ever get comes from God. And He wants to help you. How should you respond?
1. First: Rely on His help. Charles Spurgeon said this Psalm could be called “The Song of Holy Confidence” (1), and you can be confident that God will help you.
*Verses 1-3 give some excellent reasons why you can surely rely on God’s help:
1) First: Rely on Him, because He is always by your side. As vs. 1 says, God is “a very present help in trouble.” That word “very” means God is present exceedingly much in a mighty, forceful, abundant way. And the word “present” carries the ideas of being able to find God, to recognize Him, and to meet with Him.
*“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” David helped us understand God’s presence in Psalm 17:8, where he prayed to the Lord: “Keep me as the apple of Your eye.” Eddie Snipes tells us that the word picture there is for someone to be so close to you, that you can look into their eyes and see your own reflection. (2)
*“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” As Rodney Johnson said, “God is present in the worst moments of life. Man can ignore God but no one can avoid Him. Everywhere we go, we will run into Him. A local God could not be God. Everything is immediately in His presence. Nothing and no one is beyond His All-Seeing eye. We cannot flee from the presence of God. No sparrow can fall beyond His view.
*So today, know this; that God is here. If God is everywhere, it means that He is present with you today. God was at this church-house before you arrived. No matter what you face, God is at your side.” (3) Rely on God’s help, because He is always by your side.
2) In vs. 1, also rely, because God will be your shelter. That’s the meaning of “refuge” in vs. 1. God will be your shelter in every storm of life.
*That’s why Augustus Toplady wrote, “Rock of Ages, cleft for me. Let me hide myself in Thee.” Augustus Toplady knew about the storms. Most of his life he was afflicted with sickness. He died at the young age of 38, and his final words were, “My heart beats every day stronger and stronger for glory. Sickness is no affliction, pain no cause, death itself no dissolution. My prayers are now all converted into praise.” (4) Rely on God’s help, because He will be your shelter.
3) Also rely in vs. 1, because He will be your strength. “God is our refuge and strength . . .”
*The Apostle Paul reminded us of the Lord’s strength in 2 Cor 12:8-9, where he prayed for healing. And the Lord said to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Then in Eph 6:10, Paul tells us to “be strong in the Lord & in the power of His might.” Rely on God’s help, because He will be your strength.
4) And because He will be your security.
1. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
2. Therefore we will not fear, Though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3. Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.
*We live in fearful times. We have growing danger from radical Muslims, hotly pursuing nuclear weapons, not to mention the economic downturn, and the pile of personal problems people deal with today.
*Rodney Buchanan tells us that if you focused on all the things wrong in the world and in your personal life, you could get very depressed. You might lose hope and want to give up. In 1990, a national survey was taken in which seven out of ten people reported having hope in the future. But in a national poll taken in the Fall of 2001 by the University of Michigan, only one in five report they often feel hopeful about the future. (5)
*Think things are better in 2009? -- Probably not, but our security is in God! “We will not fear, though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled.”
*Catherine Booth was the wife of the preacher who founded the Salvation Army. She knew about troubled waters, but she found her security in Jesus Christ. Once Catherine Booth said, “The waters are rising, but so am I. I am not going under, but over.” (4)
*The Lord stood by Catherine Booth, and He will stand by us too! He will be our shelter, our strength and our security, if we will rely on His help. So rely on God’s help.
2. But also rejoice in His help.
1) Rejoice because the Lord is our Supply. Vs. 4 talks about a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God. What is this river? Charles Spurgeon tells us that the river is God Himself. (6) -- He is our supply! Jesus made this clear in John 4:13-14, when He said, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall 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.” Then in John 7:37-39, Jesus cried out saying, “If anyone 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. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
*God Himself is like rivers of living water that never will run dry. Rejoice because He is our Supply.
2) And rejoice because the Lord is Supreme.
*There is a great picture of God’s supremacy in vs. 6: “The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.” One word from God and the earth will melt! Our God is supreme!
*Rodney Buchanan says, “The reason I am an optimist is because I serve a God who is in control. I often think about the early church and the culture in which it not only survived, but thrived. Most early Christians lived within the bounds of the Roman Empire where there were persecutions. It was literally a national sport to throw the Christians to the lions as cheering crowds watched them be torn apart.
*The Roman roads were often lined with crosses on which Christians hung because they would not denounce Christ. Not only was abortion acceptable, a father could kill his child at any age. The government was completely hostile toward Christianity and anyone who was a follower of Christ. And yet it was during this time of enormous opposition that the church grew from just 120 believers to untold thousands. The movement of the Spirit of God is an unstoppable force. It does not matter how much opposition there is, God is in control and he will have his way. (5)
*“The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.” It is as if God is saying, “Go ahead and rebel, and see if it makes any difference. You are pursuing madness. You are hitting your head against a brick wall, and you will end up destroying yourself.”
*God is supreme no matter how things look. That does not necessarily mean that our nation will always be prosperous or safe. But it does mean that there is a God who is control of history, and he will have the final word. This is our hope and confidence. Rejoice because God is Supreme.
3) And rejoice because God is the Savior.
*We see God saving His city in vs. 5: “God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.” God will save His city. And He will save you, if you will receive His Son Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. He will save you from your sins. Jesus Christ suffered & died on the Cross for our sins. He took our death penalty, then rose from the dead to give eternal life to all who trust in Him.
3. So rely on God’s help, rejoice in His help, but also recommend His help.
*In vs. 8&9 the Psalmist cries out for other people to see what the Lord has done:
8. Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth.
9. 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 the fire.
*One day the Lord is going to bring great desolation and destruction on the earth, but the Lord always does all things well. He is going to destroy the evil, so that good may flourish. He will make war, so that one day He can bring peace.
*These verses are looking back on things that have not happened yet. And God wants us to help people take a look into the future.
-God wants us to help people see the end of the story.
-He wants us to warn them about coming judgment.
-He wants us to help them find a life worth living.
-He wants us to share the hope of Heaven.
*Thinking about this, Rodney Buchanan said: Another “reason I am an optimist is: I will outlive this world. I have joy because I know that this world is not all there is. When this world is over, I will still be alive in the kingdom of God. There is more to come.” (5)
*The Lord wants people all around us to share in those endless blessings. So recommend His help.
4. And rest in God’s help.
*God Himself calls us to this rest in vs. 10: “Be still, and know that I am God.”
-“Be still,” God says. The original word can have many different meanings, but a sister word means “to mend or cure.” And this word can mean “to sink down, relax, let something drop, be quiet.” Rest in the Lord’s help.
*George McCauslin was a director of the YMCA, back when the main emphasis of the YMCA was Christ. George was going through a very stressful time. The YMCA where he served was losing members. It had financial difficulties and terrible staff problems. George found himself working 85 hours a week. He was getting little sleep at night, and took little time off. When he was off, he was worrying and fretting about the problems of this YMCA.
*A counselor told George that he had to learn somehow to let go and let God have his problems. So George took an afternoon off, and went for a walk in the woods. As he walked through the cool woods, for the first time in months he relaxed. George got out a pencil and paper, decided that he would give his burdens to God. And he wrote God this letter: “Dear God, today I hereby resign as general manager of the universe. -- Love, George.”
*George later said with a smile, “Wonder of wonders, God accepted my resignation.” (4)
*Just Like George, we should rest in God’s help.
5. But also raise your praise for God’s help.
*Again in vs. 10, God says: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” “Exalted” means “raised high,” and we should raise the Lord high in our praise! Somebody’s going to praise the Lord. Christians, shouldn’t it be us? -- Yes, of course! For a thousand reasons, praise the Lord!
*And surely one of the best reasons is in vs. 11. These words are so important, the Psalmist tells us twice, both in vs. 7&11: “The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.” The Lord of hosts is with us, praise the Lord!
*John Wesley was one of the giants of Christianity over the last thousand years. W.C. Larrabee wrote this testimony of the last day of John Wesley’s life:
*On Tuesday Mr. Wesley could with difficulty be understood, though he often attempted to speak. At last, with all the strength he had, he cried out, “The best of all is, God is with us.” Again, raising his hand, and waving it in triumph, he exclaimed with thrilling effect, "The best of all is, God is with us." (7)
*Praise the Lord! The best help you can ever get comes from God. How will you respond to His help?
-Rely on it.
-Rejoice in it.
-Recommend it to others.
-Then rest in His help.
-And raise your praise for the help of Almighty God.
1. Charles H. Spurgeon, THE TREASURY OF DAVID
2. Adapted from SermonCentral Sermon “Step One - Our Relationship with God” by Eddie Snipes - Psalm 36:7-10
3. Adapted from SermonCentral sermon “God Is a Very Present Help in Trouble” by Rodney Johnson - Psalm 46:1
4. Found in SermonCentral sermon “God Is in Trouble” by Mike Turner - Psalm 46:1-3
5. Adapted from “Why I Am an Optimist” by Rodney Buchanan - Psalm 46:1-7 -Nov. 23, 2003
6. Ralph Erskine quoted in THE TREASURY OF DAVID by Charles H. Spurgeon
7. Found in Gray and Adams Bible Commentary (Zondervan) - Psalm 46 - p. 534
