Psalm 46: The God We Worship

[0:00] Well if we could this evening with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling, we could turn back to that portion of scripture that we read and that we were singing, the book of Psalms, Psalm 46.

[0:20] Psalm 46, we're going to look at the whole psalm but we'll just take as our text the words of verse 1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

[0:37] As we were saying earlier on, this psalm, it has always been a favourite amongst the Lord's people, especially when we encounter times of trouble or distress.

[0:49] And this is because Psalm 46 is a beautiful psalm which reminds us about the God we worship. And that the God we worship is not a God who is distant or uninterested in us or indifferent to us, but he is one who promises to be with his people at all times, especially in times of trouble.

[1:14] And this was certainly the experience of the German reformer Martin Luther. I love reading about what he went through and his experience. I love learning about him in college. And we were talking about him a wee bit on Sunday evening.

[1:28] This year marks the anniversary of 500 years since the Reformation. That on the 31st of October 1517, that was the date when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg.

[1:44] And the 95 theses, they highlighted all the corrupt theology of the Roman Catholic Church. And what he did, it ignited the Reformation which spread across the continent of Europe.

[1:58] But as you can expect, beginning a Reformation with the influential and seemingly unstoppable Catholic Church, trying to stand against it, it brought a lot of opposition and hostility against Luther.

[2:14] To the point that many of the Roman Catholic clergy, they wanted to silence Luther. They wanted to silence this instigator of the new uprising before it would take hold.

[2:26] They wanted to burn Luther to death for denying and subverting all the Roman Catholic doctrines. But you know, what kept Luther going through it all, through all the dark experiences, were the words of this psalm, Psalm 46.

[2:42] Because there were many times during the Reformation when Luther, he would turn to his close friend and ally, Philip Melanchthon. And Luther would say to Philip Melanchthon, he would say, come Philip, let us sing the 46th Psalm.

[3:00] And in his own words, having translated this precious Psalm into a format that he could sing, just like our own Psalter, Luther sang with his friend, Philip Melanchthon, the words, A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing, our shelter he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.

[3:23] And what kept Luther going and what keeps all of the Lord's people going and what has kept us going throughout all these centuries is that the God we worship is a God who is still a refuge and a strength in times of trouble.

[3:40] And time and time again, we keep coming back to this great psalm. And we're often found singing these precious words in the darkest of circumstances and in the hardest of providences.

[3:51] And we sing them because these words are, they're filled with reassurance when the way seems hard. They're filled with comfort when we are at our lowest.

[4:02] They're filled with direction when we don't know which way to turn. And they're filled with help when we feel absolutely helpless. And Psalm 46, it's one of those psalms that you can never get tired of singing because it reminds us of the God we worship.

[4:21] And for that reason alone, I'd like us to consider this beautiful psalm this evening. And we can see from the psalm, as we were reading it earlier on, we can see that there's a structure to the psalm because of the word selah.

[4:36] That's repeated three times. At the end of verse 3, the end of verse 7, and the end of verse 11. And the word selah, it's an important word. It plays a key part in many of the psalms because it literally means to stop and exalt, to praise.

[4:53] And its purpose in the psalms is for those who are reading the psalms or singing the psalms, we are to stop and consider what has just been said. And so when we see the word selah on the page, the psalmist is telling us to stop and consider what we have just sung.

[5:12] And he's saying to us, reflect upon them. Think about them. Ponder what they mean. Meditate over them. And it's only when we take time to ponder and consider what's written, that it will lead us to exalt the name of God and praise him for his wondrous works.

[5:32] And so that's what I'd like us to do this evening. I want us to obey the command selah. Because this threefold division, you could say, with the use of the word selah, it enables us to consider the God we worship.

[5:49] And there are three things that the psalmist wants us to consider about the God we worship. He wants us to consider that the God we worship is our refuge, he's our river, and he's our ruler.

[6:01] The God we worship is our refuge, our river, and our ruler. And so first of all, the God we worship is our refuge.

[6:12] The God we worship is our refuge. Read again from the beginning. He says, The title, as you can see, it informs us that Psalm 46, it was written by the sons of Korah.

[6:49] And the titles of all the psalms, well, some of them don't have titles, but many of them do. And the titles inform us that, well, there are many psalms written by the sons of Korah.

[7:03] And the psalms numbered from Psalm 46 to Psalm 49, and Psalms 84 to 88, with the exception of Psalm 86, they were all written by the sons of Korah.

[7:15] But not a great deal is known about the sons of Korah. But what we do know is that the sons of Korah were Levites. They were from the tribe of Levi. And as Levites, who were the tribe that was set apart by God, they were to attend to all the things that related to the tabernacle and to the worship of God.

[7:37] But the sons of Korah, they were the worship leaders. They were those who would lead the children of Israel in the worship of God. But when we read in Numbers chapter 16, it's a fascinating passage.

[7:52] And we have recorded there an account in which those from the tribe of Korah, they carried out this act of rebellion against Moses, the leader of the children of Israel, and Aaron, who was the high priest.

[8:06] And because of their rebellion, because of the Korahites, and they rebelled against Moses and Aaron, they were commanded to come to the entrance of the tabernacle court the following day.

[8:17] And Moses was to speak to the Korahites and address them and remind them that God is going to bring judgment upon them for the rebellion. But as Moses finished speaking to the Korahites, something very unusual happens.

[8:31] Because the ground begins to split apart under their feet. And we're told that the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households and all their goods.

[8:45] And the Bible tells us that they went down alive into the pit and the earth closed over them and they perished. And it was an awful picture of judgment, God's judgment upon them.

[8:58] But for some reason unknown to us, the sons of Korah were spared. And as this form of gratitude to God for his grace and for his mercy towards them, the sons of Korah, they dedicated themselves to composing music and writing psalms, which were to be used to worship God in his sanctuary.

[9:21] And Psalm 46, it's one of those psalms which the sons of Korah wrote. And what we can see in this psalm is that from the outset, the sons of Korah, they want to remind us that the God we worship is our refuge.

[9:36] In fact, that's the theme of this entire psalm. Because God is repeatedly described as our refuge. In verse 1, God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble.

[9:48] Then in verse 7, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress or our refuge. Then verse 11, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.

[10:01] And so for the sons of Korah, they want to emphasize that the God we worship is a God of refuge for his people, even in the darkest of circumstances.

[10:13] But by describing the God we worship as our refuge, the sons of Korah, they were trying to create in our mind the image of this mighty fortified city.

[10:26] And that's what Martin Luther was describing in his rendering of these verses. He said, a mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing. And so the image which is being portrayed to us in verse 1 is of a great and mighty fortress with its surrounding walls, high, high walls, thick walls that were, you could describe, meters thick and it would have iron gates and it would have high watchtowers in which there would be a watchman watching for an enemy coming to attack.

[11:02] But because, but because within, you could say, well, the description it's actually given is the description of the city of Jerusalem. And you could say that Jerusalem as this mighty fortress, it was characterizing God, a God of refuge.

[11:22] That's the description which is being given. God is a God of refuge. And there, because when you think about Jerusalem, to the eyes of a Jew, Jerusalem was a precious place.

[11:39] It was where God dwelt amongst his people. Jerusalem was the place where God's people always gathered for worship and it was the place where God dwelt amongst his people.

[11:50] And this is why the sons of Korah considered the mighty fortress of Jerusalem as a place of refuge. Not because of the strength of the defensive system, not because of the walls or the iron gates or the high watchtowers, but simply because within the city of Jerusalem, God was dwelling amongst his people.

[12:12] And you could say that Jerusalem as this mighty fortress, it was characterizing God. God was the refuge. But then we look at verses two and three and it says, therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

[12:36] And it's a picture, the second picture that he gives is a picture of chaos and confusion in which all the powers of the natural world are in disarray. Where the earth is opening, the mountains are shaking, the seas are foaming and roaring.

[12:50] It's a picture of chaos and confusion, uncertainty and unpredictability. And you know, if there was ever a family who knew what it was like to see the unpredictable nature of this world, it was the sons of Korah.

[13:06] They witnessed the foundations of the earth giving way and swallowing up their family. They saw how quickly life can change and take an unexpected turn to leave us in chaos and confusion.

[13:21] where you could say that in one moment, our lives, our family, our homes, our health, our job, our security, it can look so strong and so safe.

[13:35] But it doesn't take much for our world to give way and for our circumstances to foam and roar and for our foundations to tremble and shake.

[13:46] And my friend, how often is that the case in the experiences we go through? And yet, in all the chaos and confusion of our circumstances and the uncertainty and the unpredictability of life, the sons of Korah are reminding us that even though our world may give way and even though our circumstances may foam and roar and even though the very foundations of our life may tremble and shake, they say, we will not fear.

[14:19] We will not fear. But why? Why are we not to fear? Why are we not to fear? Because, as he says in the beginning, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

[14:35] God is our refuge. He's our mighty fortress. He's our safety and our security. He's our shelter and our protection. God is our constant.

[14:47] Because amid all the changing circumstances and all the changing experiences in our lives, he doesn't change. He doesn't move. He doesn't alter.

[15:00] My friend, the God we worship is our refuge. And as he's described here, he is a very present help. And the word help in verse 1, it expresses the idea of a yoke of oxen.

[15:17] Where two oxen, they would be used for ploughing a field and they'd be linked together using a yoke. And the picture is given of the two oxen walking side by side, bearing the burden.

[15:32] And what the sons of Korah are telling us is that God is a very present help. He is the one who bears the burden in which he comes alongside us in our times of trouble and he walks with us in our pain and our sorrow.

[15:48] He walks side by side with us, bearing our burden. And my friend, is that not the promise which Jesus gives to us in the gospel when he said, come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

[16:06] Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

[16:17] And it's only light because he is bearing the burden. But you know, there's one phrase missing from our English translations that makes this passage all the more beautiful.

[16:31] Because the original language, it says that God is our refuge and our strength and he has been found to be a very present help in time of trouble.

[16:43] He has been found to be a very present help. He has been found to be always present, always bearing the burden, always by our side. The God we worship has always been found to be our refuge.

[16:57] Which means he's talking from experience. It's the experience of the Christian that's saying, I have found him already to be this. I have found him to be my refuge.

[17:10] And as I know the testimony of all of the Lord's people, is it not the experience of all those who trust in the Lord that when we look back over our life and all that the Lord has brought us through, and for some of you it's been the hardest of providences, and even though all these things were in your cup and part of your experience, you still worship the Lord tonight because for you he has been found to be a very present help in time of trouble.

[17:44] And maybe for you, my friend, you didn't know how much of a refuge he really was for you until you experienced times of trouble. But isn't it so true that in these times of trouble you found shelter under the shadow of his wings and that God's promise to you became so real and so personal that he is the eternal God and that underneath are his everlasting arms.

[18:15] that has been made known to you through your experience. And what the psalmist is calling us to do is to say with him Selah, Selah, let us exalt his name together.

[18:30] My friend, we have good reasons to worship the Lord tonight because the God we worship is our refuge. But secondly, we see that the God we worship is our river.

[18:43] The God we worship is our river. He says in verse 4, There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

[18:54] God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter. He utters his voice, the earth melts.

[19:05] The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah. In this section, the middle section, the sons of Korah, they continue to direct our attention towards or give to us the image of Jerusalem as this mighty fortified city.

[19:26] But in directing us to the city of Jerusalem, the sons of Korah highlight a river that is located inside the city. And they say, as they say in verse 4, there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.

[19:42] And a river running through a city was a common feature because many major cities throughout the world, they were and are, they are built upon or beside rivers.

[19:54] London is situated beside the river Thames. Newcastle, built upon the river Tyne. Glasgow, built upon the Clyde. You have Egypt, built upon the river Nile.

[20:05] You have Amsterdam, built upon the river Amstel. All these major cities, they're cities of industry and they were built beside or upon rivers.

[20:17] And just like these major cities, we're told here that there was a river which ran through the city of Jerusalem. But when you consider where Jerusalem was built, Jerusalem was built upon a mountain, a mountain called Mount Zion.

[20:33] And because Jerusalem was built upon a mountain, it was high up, it was well above sea level, which immediately raises the question, how did Jerusalem have a river running through it?

[20:48] And when we look back at the history of Israel, it tells us that Jerusalem was built in such a way that there was this duct, there was a canal, I think it was, they say it was Solomon who was involved in it, in building it.

[21:00] there was a canal that was built which directed water towards the city to flow through the city, to flow under its thick stone walls, in which there were two of them, eight meters thick.

[21:15] It was under the stone walls and it would flow into the city and it would gather in a pool inside the city of Jerusalem. And you could say that it was a piece of structural genius because Jerusalem had this artificial river that flowed through it, even though it was situated on a mountain.

[21:37] And it was genius because, you know, when we think of rivers, we always imagine small streams all flowing down, down the hills and the mountains, they all come to collect into those one river that flows down out into the sea, just like the river that runs, well, the Barber's River runs beside the manse.

[21:54] All the water comes down from the moor, from all the little streams, runs past the manse, out into the Atlantic Ocean. And in our mind, we always associate streams flowing into rivers.

[22:11] But here the psalmist tells us of a stream flowing out of a river. Because those streams which make the people of God glad, they don't flow into the river, it flows out of the river.

[22:21] Whatever river it was, it was being redirected towards Jerusalem using this channel or a duct. But you know, the wonder of this stream or this river is that whilst there could be the possibility of chaos outside the city walls, the possibility of an attack, there was this constant supply of water being sent into the city and it was gathering in a pool and it's said to be situated on the east side of the city.

[22:52] And the name of that pool was well known to us because it was called the Pool of Siloam. And it was called the Pool of Siloam or the Scent Pool because water was being sent into the city.

[23:08] It was being redirected and sent into the city. And this is why John tells us in his Gospel in John chapter 9 that the name of the Pool of Siloam means sent.

[23:19] Because the water which the man was born blind, you remember the story, the man who was born blind, he washed in water which was being sent into the city. And I love that passage in John's Gospel where Jesus encounters that man who was blind.

[23:37] Jesus anoints the man's eyes with mud and says to him, go, go and wash in the pool of Siloam. And John tells us that when he went to wash in the pool, he came back seeing.

[23:50] And after Jesus healed him, many people asked him. They asked him his testimony. How did this happen? What happened to you? What took place? And I love what the man said.

[24:02] He said, a man called Jesus. He made mud. He anointed my eyes and said to me, go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.

[24:15] He didn't really know what happened. But all he could say was, one thing I do know. Though I was blind, now I see.

[24:27] And you know, the provision of the river of Siloam is a great reminder of the provision of salvation for the Lord's people. that he has sent salvation to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

[24:44] We may not understand every detail of God's work of salvation. There are depths to it that are unfathomable and there are riches that are unsearchable. But in spite of all that we don't know, there's one thing we do know.

[25:00] That though we were once blind, we now see. And it's no wonder that the river made glad those within the city. Because the sent river was their source of life.

[25:14] Without it, they would die. Without the simple commodity of water, they would all perish. And so the sent river, it was always a reminder of God's care and God's provision for his people, that he provided life for them.

[25:29] He blessed them with the provision of life. But the river which flowed through the city of Jerusalem, it not only emphasised the provision of God for his people, it also emphasised the presence of God amongst his people.

[25:46] Because of the sons of Korah, they say in verse 4, there is a river whose streams make glad the city of our God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

[25:58] And the holy habitation of God was, of course, the temple. The temple. The temple was the symbol of God's presence dwelling amongst his people, the church.

[26:12] But then the sons of Korah, they go on to explain exactly what they mean by all this. Because they say, God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.

[26:24] The nations rage, the kingdoms totter. He utters his voice. The earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.

[26:36] And in these words, we're given this beautiful picture of the God of refuge, not only protecting his people, like this mighty fortress with large walls and iron gates and high watchtowers.

[26:51] He's not only protecting them, but he's also in the midst of them. He dwells amongst his people. And even though, as it says, the nations rage, the kingdoms move against the Lord's people, he says, they will not overcome them.

[27:07] For our God of refuge will remain in the midst of his people. God in the midst of her doth dwell. Nothing shall her remove. He will never leave them.

[27:19] Never forsake them. God shall help her. That's what the psalmist says. God shall help his church. And the word help, it's the same word as verse 1, where it says that the God of refuge is a very present help in trouble.

[27:37] And as we said, it portrays the idea of two oxen walking side by side, bearing the burden. But in this verse, in these verses, it portrays the idea extends this, I suppose you could say it's extended in the sense that the God we worship is not only described as our refuge and one who is by our side bearing the burden and all our troubles, but he's also our river.

[28:07] He is our source of life and he is in the midst of us. Which means that the God we worship is a God who is not only by our side, he's in our midst, he's with us, he's with us with all that we go through in the hardest of providences, he's with us in the midst of all our suffering, he's with us in our losses, he's with us when we receive bad news, he's with us when illness comes, he's with us when we experience dark experiences that sometimes we cannot even pray about.

[28:42] He's with us, it's the wonder of it, he's with us, he is in the midst of us, because he dwells in us and he dwells in us like a river of life.

[28:58] So know what Jesus said to the woman of Samaria in John 4, where Jesus met her by Jacob's well and he said to her, everyone who drinks of this water, they'll thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again.

[29:13] and Jesus says that the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

[29:25] My friend, the God we worship is our refuge because he is by our side, but the God we worship is our river because he is in the midst of us.

[29:37] He dwells in us. He dwells in us and as his people, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He dwells in us like a river of life.

[29:52] And as I know the promise we have in the New Testament that because Christ is in us, Christ is dwelling in us, we can never be separated from him. Never.

[30:04] Paul reminds us of that, that when all the perplexing things of life come our way, all the tribulations, the distresses, the persecutions, the famines, the nakedness, the dangers, the sword, he says, even with all these things, I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come neither height nor depth nor any other creature is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[30:41] Nothing's able to separate us from him because he dwells in us. And so it's no wonder that the sons of Korah say in verse 7, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress.

[30:58] He dwells in us, therefore our response is, Selah, Selah, exalt his name together.

[31:10] And so my friend, we have good reasons to worship the Lord because the God we worship is our refuge, the God we worship is our river, but lastly the sons of Korah, they remind us that the God we worship is our ruler.

[31:25] The God we worship is our ruler. Look at verse 8. He says, Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth.

[31:38] He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations.

[31:50] I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah. In this last section of Psalm 46, the sons of Korah, they describe the God we worship as our ruler who gives commands.

[32:11] And the first command that our ruler gives is in the words of verses 8 and 9 in which we're exhorted at the beginning of verse 8. It says, Come, behold the works of the Lord.

[32:23] And we have to ask the question, well, what were the works of the Lord? What were the desolations that he brought upon the earth? What wars did he make to cease?

[32:34] Well, the interesting thing about this psalm is that even though it was penned by the sons of Korah, there were historical circumstances behind its composition because the background to this psalm, it comes from during the reign of Jehoshaphat.

[32:51] And its historical context, it's recorded for us in 2 Chronicles chapter 20. When you read that chapter, it's a long chapter, but it's the occasion when the mighty fortress Jerusalem, it's been attacked on every side by the Moabites and the Ammonites.

[33:10] And as the Moabites and the Ammonites, as they gather outside the city of Jerusalem waiting for the right moment to attack the people of God inside, the people of God inside realize that there's no way of escape.

[33:26] There's no possibility of a victory now because they're completely surrounded, they're hemmed in on every corner by their enemies. But when you read that passage in 2 Chronicles 20, what's astonishing is that the Lord commanded his people to do nothing.

[33:43] commanded them to do nothing. The Lord commanded the Israelites not to fight against their enemies, not to set up defenses. And with everything stacked against them, with the enemy surrounding them, the possibility of an invasion only moments away, all the Lord's people, they seek the Lord, Jehoshaphat seeks the Lord because they all knew that this enemy was far too strong for them.

[34:10] and the enemy is about to destroy them. But what's so beautiful about what took place on that day is that the army of Israel, they went out to fight, you could say, against the Moabites and the Ammonites, but they didn't go out with chariots or bows or swords or spears.

[34:30] It says they went out in song. The Israelites stood before their enemy and they sang praise to the Lord. They opened their mouths in song and sang praise the Lord for his love endures forever.

[34:50] Praise the Lord for his love endures forever. Praise the Lord for his love endures forever. And when the Lord's people sang, the Lord broke the bow, he cut the spear, he burned the chariot in fire, he turned the scene of war into a scene of peace.

[35:11] Because when the people of God sang and praised the Lord, it was in that moment that all the Moabites and all the Ammonites, they turned on each other and they killed one another.

[35:25] And it's an interesting account to read. Read it when you go home. To read that the song of the Lord sent the enemies of God into disarray.

[35:37] And even though the heathen, as it says, were raging against them, the kingdoms of all the other nations were moving in to destroy them, the Lord uttered his voice through his people and they melted away.

[35:52] And when the sun rose the following morning, it says that there was rejoicing within the mighty fortress of Jerusalem. Because within those strong walls and those tall and iron gates and all these, this protective fortress, the people of God, they had found refuge from their enemies.

[36:13] And as they looked outside the fortress, where all the armies had surrounded them and hemmed them in on every side, we're told that all that they could see were dead bodies lying on the ground.

[36:29] And in this psalm, we're being encouraged to see that the God we worship is a ruler of his people. He's the king and we're to come and behold the works of the Lord.

[36:42] But you know, my friend, I cannot help but think that we're still being told to come and behold the works of the Lord. Because it's when we come and behold the works of the Lord that we're given all the more reason to worship him.

[36:56] The Israelites, when they saw all these bodies of the army lying on the ground, they had all the more reason to worship the Lord. The enemy is defeated. And so when we come and see what the Lord has done on our behalf, it should cause us to lift up our voices in praise often, praise and adoration often.

[37:17] It's when we come and survey the wondrous cross upon which the Prince of glory died. It's then that we will realise how much this God loves us and cares for us.

[37:29] And as a response to it, we will sing praise to him. He is that, he is the ruler who executes his office as a king.

[37:41] And he subdues us to himself by ruling and defending us, as the Catechism says, and by restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.

[37:55] And he has certainly defeated all his and our enemies. He has taken away sin. He has removed the sting from death. He has conquered the power of the grave.

[38:08] He has crushed the head of Satan. And you know, it's a reminder to us that when we encounter our enemies, whether it's our own sin, the attacks from Satan, when we have to face death, our greatest form of defence, like the Israelites, worship the Lord.

[38:30] Worship the Lord. Come and behold his wondrous works and sing as the Israelites did, praise the Lord for his love endures forever. Praise the Lord for his love endures forever.

[38:46] But what we see in verse 10 is that our ruler, he gives another command. He commands us to be still and know that I am God. And I've often thought that the command to be still and know that I am God was to literally, well, just be still from all the busyness of life and reflect upon God's word and meditate upon what it's saying to us.

[39:08] Be still. Take time out. But that's not what it means at all. Because the command to be still literally means abandon yourself.

[39:19] Surrender. Surrender your life. And so, if the psalm was to be translated literally, it would read, Surrender for I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.

[39:32] And this command to surrender, it was a message to all the other nations. They were to behold the works that God had done on behalf of the people of Israel, on behalf of the Lord's people.

[39:45] They were to see what desolations the Lord had brought upon the enemies of God's people. And as a result, they were to surrender their lives under his authority.

[39:58] And you know, and with this, I'll close. This call for all the other nations to surrender, the call to surrender to the authority of the Lord, it's a picture of what would later happen with the gospel.

[40:18] Where there would be this great call that would go out to all the nations, commanding them to surrender their lives to the authority of King Jesus. To surrender their lives to what the King has done on behalf of his people.

[40:33] But that call or commission, it was given to all the disciples of Jesus. The great commission was given to us.

[40:45] And it's interesting that when you read Matthew's account of the resurrection of Jesus, the resurrection, it was the defining moment which proved that sin was atoned for, that death was defeated, the grave was conquered, Satan was an enemy that had been destroyed.

[41:00] But when the angel met the woman at the tomb of Jesus, he said to him, he said to the woman there, he is not here for he has risen.

[41:12] As he said, come, see where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.

[41:26] Come, see, go, tell. Come, see, go, tell. And that's our commission. That's what we are being commanded tonight from Psalm 46.

[41:42] Come, see, go, tell. Come, see the works of the Lord. Come, see the wondrous cross. Come and remind yourself of what Jesus has done and go and tell people.

[41:56] People who think they're too busy, people who think they're too important, people who think they're too sinful, go and tell them. Go and tell them to be still.

[42:08] Go and tell them to surrender their lives to God. Come, see, go, tell. And of course, our first reaction to such a command is, I can't do that.

[42:21] I'm not strong enough. I'm not eloquent enough. I'm not knowledgeable enough. I'm not good enough.

[42:33] That's our reaction. But my friend, we have been considering tonight the God we worship. And the God we worship is our refuge in times of trouble.

[42:46] The God we worship is our river. He dwells within us at all times. And the God we worship is our ruler who commands us, come, see, go, tell.

[42:58] But more than that, the God we worship follows behind us with the promise as the psalmist closes, the Lord of hosts is with us.

[43:11] The God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah. This is the God we worship. A wonderful God.

[43:22] May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, we give thanks to Thee for the great privilege of knowing Thee, to know Thee as our God, to know Thee as our refuge in life and in every experience that we go through, to know, Lord, that within us dwells Thy Spirit, the Spirit that is awakening us and quickening us each and every day, that is conforming us more and more to the image of Thy dear Son.

[43:57] O Lord, we thank Thee that Thou art the one who rules us and overrules every situation in our lives. We marvel, Lord, that we are kept by Thee, that we are known to Thee, and help us then, we pray each and every day, to come and see the wondrous works that Thou hast done, and to go and tell, to tell it to the generation following, that this God is our God and that He will be our guide even unto death.

[44:25] O Lord, guide us, we pray, keep us as those who are so weak, but we bless Thee, Lord, that in our weakness we are made strong because we have a God who is our refuge and a present help even in times of trouble.

[44:41] O do us good, we pray, take away our iniquity and go before us for Jesus' sake. Amen. We shall conclude by singing the concluding words of that psalm.

[45:01] Psalm 46. Singing from verse 8 down to the end to the end of the psalm. Come and behold what wondrous works have by the Lord been wrought.

[45:16] Come see what desolations He on the earth hath brought. Down to the end of the psalm. Our God, who is the Lord of hosts, is still upon our side. The God of Jacob, our refuge, forever will abide.

[45:29] These verses to God's praise. sing, Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Come and behold what wondrous works have by the Lord been wrought.

[45:48] Thou speak what desolations he on the earth across.

[46:01] On to the ends of the earth fortune to be he turns.

[46:18] The poor he breaks, the spear he cups, in fire the child of first.

[46:34] Be still and know that I am God among the eathen I will be exalted high on earth, will be exalted high.

[47:05] Our God, who is the Lord of hosts, is still upon our side.

[47:21] The God of Jacob, our refuge, forever will abide.

[47:38] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.