Whole Lot Of Shaking Goin’ On!

Introduction:

Pastor Owen Bourgaize relates this personal anecdote:

Sometimes His ways are hard to understand at the time, I can offer a personal example: Teenage children can be quite a trial, even a pain! 25 years ago my son was! He was keen on old vehicles that he intended to renovate. Against my better judgment, so I thought at the time, he acquired an old banger that he placed in my carport - and there it stayed untouched for months! How annoying! But do you know? God had planned for that for my benefit.

It happened like this. It was the year of the great hurricane that swept over Guernsey causing a great deal of damage including the roof of my carport. I went to investigate and in so doing slipped and fell through the Perspex sheeting. If the old banger hadn’t been there I would have fallen eight feet on to the concrete floor, but no, in God’s providence, I tumbled on the car roof, slid down on bonnet to the floor. Yes, I was shaken and sore for a week or two, but avoided breaking my back, which so easily could have happened.

Source: Owen Bourgaize

I. The Sovereign Of The Kingdom 1-5

A. The Sanctuary Of God 1-3

1. Definition

a. a sacred or holy place

i. verse one tells us our God is sacred and holy.

ii. Anywhere He is, why that’s a scared and holy place.

b. a sacred place where fugitives are entitled to immunity from arrest.

c. immunity afforded by refuge in such a place.

d. any place of refuge; asylum.

2. God’s attributes listed 1

a. Our God is our refuge.

b. Our God is our strength.

c. Our God is our very present help in trouble.

3. The people’s response 2-3

a. We will not fear 2

i. Even though the earth be removed

ii. Even though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea

b. We will not change course 3

i. Though its waters roar and be troubled

ii. Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

a. This flood is big enough to move the mountains.

b. But it will not shake our confidence in God.

4. We understand that while the Psalmist uses metaphoric language, the precepts presented are very real, i.e.:

a. Our God is our refuge.

b. Our God is our strength.

c. Our God is our very present help in trouble.

d. We will not fear

e. We will not change course

B. The Sanctity Of God 4-5

1. There is a river…

a. Why would a river make anyone happy?

i. If you are a farmer, you need water for your crops to grow.

ii. If you are a rancher, you need water for your animals to live.

iii. If you are a fisherman, you need a water source for your food source.

iv. If you are alive, you need water to survive.

v. Or you just might like to make a swan dive into the river for the pure joy of it.

b. Let’s examine this river in heaven in the light of the things I just said.

i. Will there be any farming in heaven?

ii. Will there be any ranching in heaven?

iii. Will there be any fishing in heaven?

iv. Will there be any swimming in heaven?

c. This river is not:

i. A farming, ranching, fishing, swimming river.

ii. This is a praising, singing, shouting, glory hallelujah river!

iii. This river leads to the throne of God.

2. God is in the midst of her 5

a. It does not seem strange to us that God is in His City!

i. He dwells there by the visible symbol of his presence, the Shekinah Glory.

ii. He is there as a help and a protector.

iii. It is his chosen abode, and as long as such a Being dwells in the city, we had nothing to fear.

b. Where God is – is heaven!

C. Application To The Church

II. The Rage Of The Kingdoms 6-9

A. The Nature Of This Psalm 6

1. This Psalm would probably fall into the category of a Lament Psalm.

a. We are not sure as to the nature of the problem the Psalmist/nation of Israel faced.

b. We see the nations raging and the kingdoms moving in verse 6.

i. This could be an allusion to war.

ii. However, there seems to be an allusion to a mighty, God-centered victory in verse 5.

a. Possibly there may be an allusion here to what occurred in the camp of the Assyrians, when the discovery that the

angel of the Lord had smitten them was made early in the morning, or when men arose in the morning:

b. The angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five thousand: