Psalm 46
To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
2021 is not looking any better. I said this to myself yesterday as I heard reports of violence at the very seat of American government. We endured in 2020 the pandemic and must endure more in 2021. We endured economic turmoil in ‘20 and ‘21 seems to include more of the same. We endured political upheaval in ’20 with a summer of protests, riots and the blame game and as I stared at the news feed on my phone, I thought to myself, ’21 is not looking any better than ’20. I feel sick in my stomach, my anxieties about the future cause my hands to shake, I find myself continuously affixed to the news to see what else can go wrong and in particularly the way things are going, I am expecting Godzilla to show up or the Zombie Apocalypse. I am worried and filled with fear in such an uncertain time as this.
This is the soil into which the Word of God spoke this morning and the Word spoken is this, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble; therefore, we will not fear. The Psalmist sung those words to the people of Israel in a time when the very cities were threatened with destruction, calamity, and upheaval. While the anxiety and worry were quite palpable and the abyss of stress and uncertainty unfathomable, the Psalmist plants a different idea into the ground of fear: faith. The Psalmist does not deny the reality of confusion and helplessness, nor the uncertainty and powerless, the Psalmist inserts God into that reality. Into the worries of their time, God is the refuge amid calamities. Into the impotency of national politics and insurrection, God is the greater strength than rebellion or protest. Into the helplessness and overwhelming losses, God is the present help in time of trouble. In the face of sorrow and fear, the Psalmist plants the faithfulness and power of God.
For the nation of Israel one of the greatest threats was the natural disaster: the changing earth, the mountains shaking in the heart of the sea, the waters roaring and foaming, the mountains trembling. This was the daily reality of the people, the uncontrollable aspects of creation. We too in the modern age have the uncontrollable aspects of creation. The record setting number of hurricanes this past season, the eruption of volcanoes, the polar vortexes, thirty-two inches of snow and global warming. But amid the uncontrollable forces of creation, we are reminded that the City of God is not going to be moved, because God is stronger than the hurricane. God is amid the city, what volcano can obliterate the God who created the volcano.? The river of God makes the city glad, what global warming can evaporate the Life of God? God will help the City of God when the morning dawns upon it, what virus can dawn upon the creation, that can overpower the Might of God? Creation can certainly take life away, but what can rival or threaten the One who rose again from the dead?
But the other great threat for the nation of Israel was the political disaster. The nation of Israel and its people were always under the boot of another greater country: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome, the Barbarians, the Turks, the Mongols, et. al. Into oppression and occupation, invaders and infiltrators, coups and new regimes, the Psalmist sings, the nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totters. Well, America is certainly in an uproar, and America is certainly tottering. But, amid them, the City of God is not moved, because the LORD of hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge. What army can vanquish God’s army? What mob can annihilate God’s host? What nation or kingdom can match or equal the Kingdom of God and God’s Messiah? Nation or kingdom can certainly invade and destroy, but what can rival or threaten the One who sits on the throne of God’s Kingdom?
What war can creation make definitively against the One who makes wars cease to the end of the earth? What weapons can be leveled against the One who breaks bows, shatter spears and burns shields with fire? What power exists in creation that equals God in power or is greater in strength than the strength of God? If the answer is nothing, then have some faith in God. Trust that all things work out for God’s purposes. Trust that you and your families are in good hands. Trust that God will bring you through this difficult time. Trust that our country and its institutions and purposes are under the capable Guidance and Governorship of Christ. Be still and know that God is God, and you do not have to be! Let this iron brick of anxiety be moved from our stomachs. Let the peace of Christ calm the tremors in our hands. Let the assurance of faith wash over our futures. Let the faithfulness and love of God almighty move us to exalt God among the nations and in all the earth. Let the ground of our fears be planted deeply and richly with the Word of Faith; and grow some faith to counter your fears!
My brothers and sisters in Christ, we have much that troubles us, but our God is greater still than them all. Let us then not surrender our hearts and minds to the devil’s antics but let us instead surrender our hearts and minds to the Word of our God. Let our fears be planted with faith in the Word of God and let us rest in and under the One who is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Amen.
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