Run to The Lord!
Psalm 46
Introduction:
We all face troubles in life. You face the, I face them… everyone faces them… saved and unsaved alike.
Job 5:7 – “…man born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”
Truth = as long as we live in a fallen world we are going to face troubles… when troubles come they are unexpected and unwelcomed.
Subject Ps. 46: “Trouble” = last word in v.1
Penned after a national crisis in Judah:
The Assyrian invasion of Judah 700 yrs before Christ. King Hezekiah sat on the throne and the prophet Isaiah was proclaiming God’s message in Jerusalem. Word came that an invincible army was making its way toward Judah… Armies of Sennacherib represented the greatest war machine the world had ever seen… and the cruelest. They were ancient terrorists… known for their atrocities… merciless toward their victims. Now, making their way toward Judah – war inevitable.
Assyria = conquered nation after nation – when they finally reached the borders of the N. Kingdom of Israel it quickly crumbled and fell, destroyed forever… now the Southern Kingdom of Judah on the verge of collapse… Assyrian hordes had breached its outer defenses and taken town after town… only Jerusalem remained, its inhabitants trapped… besieged by the armies of Sennacherib.
Sennacherib = gloated that he had Hezekiah trapped like a “caged bird.”
Sent an envoy with terms of surrender… Hezekiah instead of panicking and capitulating to the enemies demands… did what you and need to do in times of trouble … He ran to only One who could truly help him… ran to the Lord!
Hezekiah = went into the Temple in Jerusalem and prayed to the God of Heaven.
2Kings 19:17-19 – “Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.”
That evening God stopped Sennacherib in his tracks. In one night, an angelic warrior destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.
British Museum in London there is an exhibit dedicated to the history of Assyria and King Sennacherib… 6-sided clay artifact known as the Taylor Prism in which Sennacherib wrote of this event… yet he never explained why he was unable to capture Judah and Jerusalem.
Sum up the answer in one word = God!
Psalm 46 = beautiful hymn of praise to God – Palmist is celebrating a great time of deliverance from trouble.
Same God helped Hezekiah in his time of trouble is the same God that can and will help you me in our times of trouble.
Divinely Inspired Title:
Don’t know human penman – may have been Hezekiah, Isaiah or some other godly poet in Judah.
“Alamoth” = Heb word – “young women” – relates to a virgin… hymn of praise was to be sung by a young lady’s soprano choir.
Psalm = divides into 3 stanzas: marked by the word “Selah” (vv.3,6,10)
Truth = our Sennacherib’s are going to come – need to do what Hezekiah did – Run to the Lord!
Several reasons why…
1. Our Refuge!
Look: v.1
“God is… a very present help” = an abundantly available help.
God = Elohim – (lit) majesty and might… creative name for God.
The God who spoke the worlds into existence… the God who controls the universe… is the same God who knows our names… has the very hairs of our head numbered… the One who knows when a sparrow falls to the ground… and tells me that I am of more value than many sparrows. That God is our Helper!!!
“Refuge & strength” = place of safety and strength – there are no places of ultimate safety on earth… but there is One in Heaven and His name is Jesus!
What does it mean for God to be our refuge???
“Refuge” = used over and over again in the Psalms – interesting in each instance the imagery changes.
A. God is our Refuge like a Rock
Psalm 62:7 – “In God is my salvation and my glory:
the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.”
Psalm 94:22 – “But the LORD is my defence;
and my God is the rock of my refuge.”
Many of the Psalms written by David when he was on the run from Saul… find refuge in the caves that honeycombed the Judean mountains. Constantly being pursued by Saul’s henchmen… his life in constant danger… hide himself in those caves.
From his songs learn that David’s true hiding place was in God… He alone was his strength, rock, defence, refuge, our shelter of safety!
Christian = God is our Rock – firm, strong, immovable. Our shelter in the time of storm.
Hymn:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me; let me hide myself in thee.
B. God is our Refuge Like a Tower
Psalm 59:16 – “But I will sing of thy power;
yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning:
for thou hast been my defence
and refuge in the day of my trouble.”
“Defence” = a high tower or strong tower.
Biblical days = towers had thick walls and high elevations providing a sense of security, a place of defense against the enemy.
“As our tower, the Lord gives us preservation and elevation. He Himself is between our enemies and us, and through Him we rise above our circumstances.” – Robert J. Morgan, The Strength You Need (57)
Imagine in times of distress running into a tower, locking the door behind you… shutting out all the noise, the trouble, pain, temptation, struggle.
Proverbs 18:10 – “The name of the LORD is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into and it safe.”
Run to the Lord! Call out to Him! Meditate on His Name! Get caught up with Him! Allow Him to lift you above your circumstances.
Psalm 61:2,3 – “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me,
and a strong tower from the enemy.
C. God is our Refuge Like Wings
Psalm 57:1 – “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me:
for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
David = pens these words while he is hiding from Saul in a cave.
Imagine = fear, anxiety, pressure – at any moment Saul’s men suddenly and unexpectedly come upon him and take his life.
David’s = troubles were real… weren’t imagined!
David = growing up on a farm… tending sheep… probably had on more than one occasion seen a mother hen with her chicks… shadow of a hawk flying over… chicks suddenly disappear under their mother’s wings. Chicks safe under her wings.
Mamma Eagle = spreading her great wings provided shelter and safety for her little eaglets in the nest.
Wings = picture God’s protective care for His own – like a mother hen or mother eagle He
Psalm 91:4 – “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”
Christians in Soviet days, when threatened by Communist officials, reminded themselves that the iron curtain and bamboo curtain were no match for God’s feather curtain. – Robert J. Morgan, The Strength You Need (58)
D. God is our Refuge Like a Fortress
Psalm 91:2 – “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”
“Fortress” = picture in your mind a mountain citadel that walls us in on every side – a place of safety, security, protection.
Psalmist = saying God you are my mountain citadel… walling me in on every side… my refuge, my hiding place… my fortress of safety, security, and protection.
Psalm 46 = Martin Luther’s favorite Psalm – he was a key figure in the Protestant Reformation… former RC monk saved … took a stand against the RC church… lived in constant danger from Roman authorities. It was a fearfully difficult and dark time Luther and his wife Katy (Nunn)… 1577 hunted as an enemy of the RC Church… friend Leonhard Kaiser had been burnt at the stake in the Netherlands… Luther had fallen desperately ill… black plague hit Europe… turned his home into a hospital… saw many of his friends die… then his 1- yr old son Hans became desperately ill… with death and depression on every side… Luther sought refuge in God as never before… Psalm 46 became the “strength of his soul.”
Luther wrote, “We sing this psalm to the praise of God, because
God is with us, and powerfully and miraculously preserves
and defends his church and his word, against all fanatical
spirits, against the gates of hell, against the implacable
hatred of the devil, and against all the assaults of the world, the flesh and sin.” – Steve Lawson, Homan OT Commentary – Psalms: Vol.11 pg. 242
Psalm = became the inspiration for his famous hymn: “A Mighty Fortress is our God.”
1st Stanza:
A mighty Fortress is our God
A Bulwark never failing
Our Helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing
Look: vv.2,3 – describes all the possibilities of what could happen.
Conclusion: “Therefore will not we fear” = not going to be afraid!
Why: v.11 – “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” Selah
Quote: “When trouble comes, we can retreat to our refuge, who is awesome, available, and ageless. No problem is any match for him.” – David Jeremiah
Christian = next time you face trouble, or even the fear of trouble run to the Lord – He is your refuge, “a very present help in trouble.”
1) Our Refuge
2. Our River!
Look: v.4
Assyrian invasion of Judah by Sennacherib in 720 BC… armies had come out of the North and swept southward through Syria, Israel and into Judah… besieged Jerusalem, the city of God.
Preparing for this imminent invasion King Hezekiah took wise, practical steps to ensure that Jerusalem had an unfailing water supply. The King had his engineers cut a conduit over 1750 feet long through solid rock from the spring of Gihon to an underground reservoir inside the city walls. Sink shafts down to the underground reservoir providing an endless river of water to the besieged residents of the city.
Interesting = because they had such little time to prepare… Jewish engineers dug tunnel from both ends and amazingly met in the middle.
Hezekiah’s Tunnel = is considered one of the greatest works of water engineering technology in the ancient world. It was lost to history until 1838, when archaeologist Edward Robinson rediscovered it.
[picture of Hezekiah’s Tunnel]
Throughout the fearful siege there was a “river, the streams whereof made glad the city of God.
Psalmist = had in mind another River… not a physical river but a spiritual river that quenches a far deeper thirst… “river of living water!”
A. Jesus Alone Can Quench the Thirst of the Human Heart
(John 4:13,14) – “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whoso drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
When we come to Jesus, we never have to go back to the old wells we used to drink of.
All around us people are searching for something, anything to quench the thirst of their heart… fill the inner void inside of them… coming up empty!
Jer. 2:13 – “My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
Share = Jesus the living water!
B. Determine to live each day in the Spirit’s fullness.
John 7:37-39 – “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”
It is the Holy Spirit who makes the things of Christ real to us… who pours into our lives exactly what we need as we yield our lives to Him. Ask God to each day fill you with the fulness of His Spirit.
“Rivers of living water” = not a lake or a pond but an ever-flowing stream of abundant mercy, peace, comfort, and joy.
“Streams” = (lit) rivulets or smaller streams flowing off of the main River. I am grateful for the streams of God’s divine mercy and goodness… that flows into the lives of His people during times of trouble… refreshing their hearts and renewing their strength with His peace, comfort and joy!
C. Delight yourself in the study and meditation of God’s Word.
Psalm 1:2,3 – “But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
D. Trust God to refresh your spirit in the dry seasons.
Jeremiah 17:7,8 – “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
Good News: God’s river of living waters never runs dry.
Quote: 1750’s Jonathan Edwards wrote of the unfailing flow of the Lord’s grace - “A thirsty man does not sensibly lessen a river by quenching his thirst. Christ is like a river. . . . A river is continually flowing, there are fresh supplies of water coming from the fountainhead continually, so that a man may live by it, and be supplied with water all his life. So Christ is an ever-flowing fountain; He is continually supplying His people and the fountain is not spent.” - Morgan, Robert J.. The Strength You Need (p. 64). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
Psalm 87:7 – “all my springs are in thee.”
Christian = we have a river… an unfailing supply of God’s peace, comfort and joy… a river that never runs dry!!!
3. Our Ruler!
Look: vv.8-11
“Be still and know that I am God...” = implication that God is God alone and there is no other! God has no equal, God has no rival, God is in a class all by Himself so to speak.
Isaiah 40:25 – “To whom shall ye liken me, or shall I be equal? Saith the Holy One.
Isaiah 45:22 – “Look unto to me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and there is none else.”
Illust: Two little boys were sitting in their sandbox talking about God. One of the boys asked, “How many Gods are there?” His friend replied, “There is only one!” The boy, appearing not to be satisfied with that answer, asked, “How do you know there’s only one God? His friend, quickly replied, “Because there’s only room for one, for He fills heaven and earth.”
1Kings 8:27 – “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded.”
God is greater than the universe itself. He alone fills the heaven and the earth!
Def: The best way to understand the sovereignty of God is to zero in on the middle portion of the word: “SOVE-REIGN-TY”! Do you see the word “REIGN?” Sovereignty simply means that our God reigns! That our God is in charge!!
Psalm 103:19 – “The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.”
Kingdom = His dominion, royal power, or sovereign might.
Ruleth = to exercise rule or have dominion over
Psalmist = our God ruleth over all!
Psalm 46:10 – remind you of the Psalmist’s counsel during difficult times... “Be still, and know that I am God...”
“Be still” = to let loose, slacken, to relax – when trouble comes, we do the exact opposite... we get all in a tizzy... get all lathered up with worry... frantically trying to get answers or fix something... God says, “Be still.” = STOP! CALM DOWN... GET STILL! STOP TRYING AND START TRUSTING!!!
“Know” = to know by perception; to learn to know. Doesn’t come naturally. Stop looking at God through our circumstances and start looking at our circumstances through God!
During this time of crisis in our land, when everyone else is frantic with panic let’s learn to sit still! Get quiet before God... remember that our God Reigns!
v.10 – Psalmist – “Be still” = relax, rely, rejoice - He’s still on the throne!
Note: How the Psalm ends: v.11
Conclusion:
I think of a practice that the early Native Americans used to train young braves. On the night of a boy's 13th birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to the final test. He was placed in a dense forest, to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of his family, and the tribe.
But, on that night, he was blindfolded, and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods; and, needless to say, he was terrified. Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild beast ready to devour him.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke, and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his amazement, he saw the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. IT WAS HIS FATHER, and he had been there all night long!
“Selah” = think about that!
Good News: in times of trouble God is our Refuge, Our River, and Our Ruler!!!
