God Our Refuge and Strength (Psalm 46)
Sermon Summary
Pastor David Yan
3 November 2019
Last week we commemorated the Protestant Reformation and the life of Martin Luther.
Luther found great solace from Psalm 46.
The psalm begins with a clear proposition – God is out refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Note the plural = “our God,” signifying the psalmist has in mind the nation of Israel. But God is not the refuge and strength of Israel only; he is the God of the corporate church and every individual in it.
God is real. He is always present. His help is proven, and you do not walk alone in life. Every Christian ought to be able to testify of God’s help in his or her life. To be unable to do so indicates mere formal religion without the dynamics of a living faith in the living God.
Knowing that the Lord is your refuge and strength has good consequences. What are these consequences?
We will not fear. The psalmist pictures the natural world falling apart. Though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried away, yet God’s people will not fear. They have God as their refuge and strength and will not fear even though everything around them is being shaken.
God’s people will be sustained. Though beset by pressures within and without the believing community will be sustained. This is because there is a river of life which flows into it. Jesus said if anyone thirsts let him come to drink (John 7: 37). Jesus will give the Holy Spirit to those who believe in him. From their heart shall flow rivers of living water.
Unbelievers will be judged. Much od the pressure on the believing community comes from unbelievers. In the midst of oppression and persecution there is the warning that those who harm God’s believing community will be judged. God is not so unjust that he overlooks injustices. Proof of this is Jesus being raised from death – a sure sign of God’s righteousness.
Unbelievers may rage and surround the believing community but, in the end, God will defend his cause. He is the refuge and strength of the church.
Come and behold God’s providence. He thwarts the wars and hostilities of the unbelieving world. Believers can take comfort that the Lord God is the God who acts in history. He is an intervening God not an absent one. This first coming of Christ Jesus demonstrates God’s grace to sinners. But at the second coming of Christ, sinners who are unrepentant will be judged.
In the light of these things, let us be still and know that he is God. If he is your refuge and strength, why do you worry? Why are you easily shaken by your trials? Trust in the Lord.
The lord has spoken through his Son Christ Jesus. Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14: 1). He is here to give your peace (John 16: 33).
Therefore, be still and know that he is God. An unsettled faith leads to an unsettled life. Have faith in God who is the refuge and strength of believers. Be still. Be calm. The Lord is a present help.
He is the Lord of hosts. He commands the armies of angels which he employs for his good purposes and all the armies of demons and renders them powerless.
He is the covenant-keeping God of Jacob. Just as he protected Jacob, so he protects us. O give thanks to God – our refuge and strength.