A REMARKABLE GOD AND HIS REMARKABLE PEOPLE PSALM 46

MAIN IDEA The God and father of Jesus Christ is like no other god; and His people are like no other people. Remarkable people worship a remarkable God; it can be no other way.

I. OUR REMARKABLE TRUST (VS 1-3) Even though we live in a chaotic world; we can live in peace because God loves us.

A. THE WORLD CAN BE A DANGEROUS PLACE (2b-3)

B. GOD’S LOVE REACHES US AND TOUCHES US AT ALL TIMES (1)

C. BECAUSE WE TRUST IN GOD; WE CAN LIVE WITHOUT FEAR (2a)

II. GOD’S REMARKABLE PRESENCE (VS 4-7) God has promised to never leave nor forsake His people.

A. OUR GOD EMMANUEL (4-5)

B. LIFE WITHOUT GOD (6)

C. GOD IN US AND WE IN GOD (7)

III. GOD’S REMARKABLE PROVISION AND POWER (VS 8-11) God will redeem and restore all of creation one day. In the meantime; He graciously provides for His people.

A. GOD WILL PUT AN END TO EVIL ONE DAY (9)

B. GOD’S PEOPLE IDENTIFY HIS PRESENCE, PROVISION, POWER, AND LOVE (10a)

C. EVERY KNEE WILL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE CONFESS JESUS IS LORD (10b-11)

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A Remarkable God and His Remarkable People Psalm 46

In our Spiritual Formation groups, we have been talking about what it means to live as part of God’s family. In his book, The Good and Beautiful Community, James Bryan Smith picks up on the King James wording that refers to the people of God as “peculiar” people. We are God’s very special and unique treasure. And when people observe the way we think, speak, and act; we should appear to be peculiar to the rest of the world. I’m hoping that we are peculiar for the right reasons. For example, one day, the police stopped a car with a broken taillight. When she approached the driver, the officer noticed there were matches and lighter fluid on the front seat. She asked the driver what he was planning on doing with the matches and fluid. He explained to her that he was a juggler on his way to a performance; and that he juggled flaming torches.

She was a little doubtful so she made the man step out of the car and prove he was telling the truth; and so the juggler lit the torches and started juggling masterfully.

A couple driving by slowed down to watch. “Wow,” said the driver to his wife, “I’m sure glad I quit drinking. Look at the test they’re giving now!”

Well everyone in that story was a bit peculiar; but that’s not how we are to be peculiar. As Christ-followers, we are to be peculiar in the sense that we are gracious, merciful, generous, loving, patient, and forgiving. We don’t hold on to grudges or seek to retaliate or to get even. We don’t chase after wealth, power, notoriety, and pleasure. In fact we use our power, wealth, and notoriety to help others. Our lives are not self-centered; they are other-centered. Indeed we do look peculiar to the world around us.

Here is the main idea of this morning’s text. THE GOD AND FATHER OF JESUS CHRIST IS LIKE NO OTHER GOD; AND HIS PEOPLE ARE LIKE NO OTHER PEOPLE. REMARKABLE PEOPLE WORSHIP A REMARKABLE GOD; IT CAN BE NO OTHER WAY. One of the things that seem to make us different from the world is our remarkable trust in God; especially in His love for us. EVEN THOUGH WE LIVE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD; WE CAN LIVE IN PEACE BECAUSE GOD LOVES US.

This psalm doesn’t seem to be written in response to any particular situation. It is clear from the subtitle that this psalm was used in the context of worship. It is another song composed by the Sons of Korah. The title tells us it is a song to be sung by the women; probably for sopranos.

What is interesting to me is that when I think of sopranos, I think of a sweet melody. However, Martin Luther wrote the song, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” based on this psalm. He put these words to a rowdy bar drinking tune. It has a strong choppy cadence. So when I started to think about this psalm, I wondered how the women’s voices could be compatible with the rowdiness of Martin Luther’s version.

But then I started to think through the Bible. When God allowed the Hebrews to pass through the Red Sea and then drowned the entire Egyptian Army in that same sea; the women led by Miriam sang a really rowdy song:

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20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced. 21 And Miriam sang this song: ‘Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.

Exodus 15:20-21 / New Living Translation

No doubt there were a lot of high pitched and rowdy voices, clapping, dancing, and arms waving. God had miraculously delivered His people and His people celebrated the miracle. So I guess that I can see the compatibility of soprano voices singing this song and Martin Luther’s rendition of this psalm.

I need to make a housekeeping remark. I don’t know why it does this; but the TNIV never puts the word Selah into the text. The NLT translates it as Interlude. Most translations simply use Selah. The word at the very least indicates some sort of dramatic pause. It’s unfortunate that the TNIV doesn’t write it out in the text because you could easily see that the psalm breaks down nicely into three parts. The word Selah ends verse 3, verse 7, and verse 11. You can see on your outlines that is how I have broken down the text to preach.

I. OUR REMARKABLE TRUST (VS 1-3)

As we get into the text, notice that I have taken the verses out of order to preach in this section. The second half of verse 2 and all of verse 3 reminds us that the world can be a dangerous place. The psalmist lists some incredible natural disasters in this one sentence. He describes earthquakes, sinkholes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and perhaps hurricanes, and more. Most of us have experienced these or at least read about them. They often cause a lot of damage and claim lives. If we found ourselves right smack dab in the middle of one of these, we would certainly have something to fear.

However, most of us will hopefully not have to experience that kind of devastation firsthand. However, we will have to go through our own personal storms of life. We will all have to face the pain of being lied to and betrayed by friends. We will all probably have to face illnesses of all sorts. Some will require hospitalization and surgery. We will all experience the physical pain of aging. We will have to go through loss; loss of a loved one, loss of a job, loss of a friendship, and all sorts of other losses. We will all have to face being treated unfairly or taken advantage of.

If we take our faith seriously, in other words if we want to be genuine Christ-followers; then we realize that sin is an enemy that can bring all sorts of calamity into our lives. It causes a great deal of destruction; but most of all, we don’t like it because it doesn’t belong to who we are; children deeply loved by Jesus Who died for us. It seems as if we are able to get rid of some sin in an instant. We recognize it, confess it, repent of it; and never do it again. However, we also recognize sin that we have been battling for weeks, months, years, and in some cases, even decades. Satan’s goal is to bring as much turmoil into our lives comparable to the damage done by all these natural disasters, human betrayals, and human sufferings.

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The poet also knows that God’s love reaches us and touches us at all times and He states that clearly in verse 1. He does not hold back in describing the bleakness of the situations we find ourselves in. First let me describe some of the words in the verse; then lay out the thought. The word trouble means to be hemmed in, trapped, and distressed. It describes a state of being in which we feel helpless and doomed. Hopefully we will not find ourselves in this state too many times during our lives; but at least we know that God will be present even in the most distressing times and so there is no reason to think He won’t be with us as we face the everyday trials in life.

The word for refuge describes a safe place. It can be translated as shelter and in military terms, high ground. Whoever controls the high-ground usually controls the battle. The word for strength describes power. Finally, ever present means exactly that. God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. In other words, the thought the psalmist conveys is this. God knows exactly where we are and what we are going through. He is always with us and He will always be there to give us help when we need it. Something we need to force ourselves to think about when we are going through difficult times is that God’s love, God’s provision, and God’s presence are always with us. There is never a time or place when God is not with us.

The psalmist states the conclusion to these truths in the first half of verse 2 when he reminds us that because we trust in God; we can live without fear. I often think that love songs find their true meaning in God’s love for us. Listen to the words of the song “Stand by Me,” only I will substitute the word Jesus for darling. This is clearly what the poet is getting at.

When the night has come And the land is dark And the moon is the only light we'll see No I won't be afraid Oh, I won't be afraid Just as long as you stand, stand by me So Jesus, Jesus Stand by me, oh stand by me Oh stand, stand by me Stand by me If the sky that we look upon Should tumble and fall All the mountains should crumble to the sea I won't cry, I won't cry No, I won't shed a tear Just as long as you stand, stand by me And Jesus, Jesus Stand by me, oh stand by me Oh stand now, stand by me Stand by me So Jesus, Jesus Stand by me, oh stand by me Oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me

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Whenever I’m in trouble won't you stand by me Oh stand by me, oh won't you stand now, stand Stand by me”

Ben E. King “Stand By Me Lyrics”

I think that about sums up what the poet wants us to know in this section. And so he ends with Selah. At this point there may be a cymbal crash, a shout of hallelujah, a moment of silence filled with awe, or all three. We might clap our hands, shout hallelujah, amen. The point is clear. EVEN THOUGH WE LIVE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD; WE CAN LIVE IN PEACE BECAUSE GOD LOVES US.

II. GOD’S REMARKABLE PRESENCE (VS 4-7)

We can have this remarkable trust in God; only because as the psalmist points out in verses 4-7, we live in God’s remarkable presence. GOD HAS PROMISED TO NEVER LEAVE NOR FORSAKE HIS PEOPLE. When we stop to really ponder this truth; it brings up mixed emotions in us. On the one hand, it is extremely comforting to know there is never a time we have to face anything alone. On the other hand, it is unnerving to think that God sees every stupid thing we have done, hears every stupid word we have spoken, and knows every stupid thought we think. But for this psalm, the poet focuses on the comfort of God’s presence.

In verses 4-5 we can easily see one of God’s titles; Our God Emmanuel. The word Emmanuel means “God with us.” In one sense here, the city of God could refer to the geographical point of Jerusalem. The second half of the word Jerusalem definitely comes from the root word Shalom which means peace. The first part of the word can mean city, habitation, teaching, or other words. Basically, the word means the city of peace. It is the city of peace because God has chosen to live there. And as long as God lives there; peace will be the way His people live.

However, another psalmist gave this description of God leading His people to green pastures and calm waters. One of Jesus’ Names was Emmanuel and He portrayed Himself as the Good Shepherd. Think about the Godhead and how all three persons are with us. In the days of Moses, God the Father was with the nation in the form of the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. When Jesus took on human flesh and came to earth, He lived with us. In our day, the Holy Spirit lives in us. The fullness of the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) lives in us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I don’t think that we think about this truth enough. God is with us, He is all around us, and most importantly of all, He is in us. Where God is present; there is freedom, peace, joy, and contentment. I think that in the Celtic prayer tradition, St. Patrick captures this thought nicely in his prayer titled “Breastplate.” It is a long and powerful prayer. I will only quote the last two stanzas:

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

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I bind unto myself the Name, The strong Name of the Trinity; By invocation of the same. The Three in One, and One in Three, Of Whom all nature hath creation, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word: Praise to the Lord of my salvation, Salvation is of Christ the Lord.”

As glorious as it is to live in God’s presence, the psalmist invites us to examine what life without God would look like in verse 6. The poet wants us to connect the awful chaos and destruction of nature run amok with the chaos and destruction caused by moral depravity. He does this by using this word that makes us feel all the chaos and destruction. The word in Hebrew is hama. In verse 3 he used it when he described the roar of rushing and foaming waters. He uses that same word here in verse 6 to describe the destructive force of evil nations in uproar. If we were to quiet ourselves and imagine what the powerful roar of a lion invokes in us, we would capture what the poet is trying to convey. As the roar pierces the dark, we are paralyzed by fear. We live in a culture today that is becoming more vocal and more aggressive in its expression of hatred towards Judaism and Christianity. Our culture is now operating in a post Judeo-Christian morality. We live in a world without morals. That is why our society is so chaotic, so oppressive, and so dangerous.

However, we should not despair because Jesus quieted the winds and the waves. He brought calm to the dangerous situation. We know where our world is headed. We should not be confused. The entire world will continue to become more immoral, more chaotic, and more dangerous; especially for Jews and Christians. We also know the end. Nations will continue to unite in their hatred for God and His people. But there will be a day in which Jesus will give the command, the trumpet will blow, and Jesus with all His heavenly armies will come to put an end to all the evil and chaos. He will call these ungodly kingdoms to fall. They will fall with a mighty crash as if they were consumed by earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, volcanoes, and nuclear bombs falling upon them all at once. All those who have stood against God will be frightened when they hear Jesus roar like the Lion of Judah. Jesus will speak and all those who have stood against Him will melt away in fear. Christians ought to look at our times with mixed emotions. On the one hand, we should rejoice that the more immoral and chaotic our culture becomes; the nearer we are to the return of Jesus. On the other hand, we should be sad for all the people who will perish in that day because they will be separated from God for an eternity. It should be sad to think of all our family and friends who will perish.

The one emotion we should not experience is fear. Fear has no place as we realize that God is in us and we are in God as described in verse 7. Where love is what binds us to God; fear cannot exist simultaneous with love because perfect love casts out all fear. If you remember from our introduction, we said that the most common word for God in this section of the Psalms is Elohim which is the generic word for God. However, in verse 7 the very first word in the verse is the personal and covenant Name of God, Yahweh. This is the Name by which God becomes personally and intimately present with His people. When God’s children are persecuted, He takes personal offense at that. God will indeed remember every name of every person who harmed His children in every way. And just so there is no doubt as to the personal investment God makes in His people, the poet follows up this Name with the descriptor Almighty. That is a good equivalent for English; but it misses the full force of the word. The word in Hebrew is tsavah. We are probably more

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familiar with the plural tsavaōth. The words Yahweh Tsavaōth; translate something like The LORD of hosts.

Hosts refers to armies; earthly armies, heavenly armies, and nature as an army. When we say “The LORD God Almighty,” we mean that God has at His command an army that consists of all angels, humans loyal to Him, all of nature to include earthquakes, winds, fires, earth, and sea, all animals, and all the universe to include; planets, suns, comets etc. These are all part of His army. If we are believers, then we are part of this army; what a privilege! However, earthly kings, queens, presidents, chancellors, prime ministers, politicians of all sorts, generals, and military leaders, this foe (God and His Army) should cause a great deal of concern for there is no way to fight against it. For individual people who continue to reject God and His commands; where could an individual run and hide? Do people who reject God think they will able to be proud, arrogant, and rebellious when God turns the full force of His army towards them and unleashes their power against them? Who could possibly stand up to God? God will be a fortress for His people but make no mistake; He will crush and destroy all who oppose Him. To His people, God’s presence is a fortress. It places His people on high ground. To those who oppose God and persecute His people, God’s presence will be an overwhelming and terrifying force against them. They will beg the mountains to fall on them and crush them. The poet will end this section and the next section with this thought. So even though we find ourselves marginalized and even persecuted in our culture; Christians should not fret because the reality is this. GOD HAS PROMISED TO NEVER LEAVE NOR FORSAKE HIS PEOPLE.

Here is where the poet has brought us so far in this song. We live in a chaotic and dangerous world. The majority of the world is anti-God, anti-Christian, and anti-Jew. The world hates the things of God and therefore the children of God often experience persecutions of all kinds. However, we must remember that Jesus suffered as did the prophets and apostles. We should be of good cheer because we know that God is always with us and will bring an end to evil in this world.

III. GOD’S REMARKABLE PROVISION AND POWER (VS 8-11)

Until that day comes we must live with description of God’s remarkable provision and power described in verses 8-11. GOD WILL REDEEM AND RESTORE ALL OF CREATION ONE DAY. IN THE MEANTIME; HE GRACIOUSLY PROVIDES FOR HIS PEOPLE. I think the greatest thing about living in this world is the hope we have that God will one day restore it to the way He created it to be; with all its beauty without the distortion sin has caused.

Verse 9 clearly reminds us that God will put an end to evil one day. There will be no doubt as to the outcome in the war between good and evil. Let me just read you the description of that time:

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release

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the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”

19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.

Revelation 19:11-21 / New Living Translation

Make no mistake. People may fool themselves now into thinking there is no God and that we are free to do what we want to do. God gives us freedom to receive Him or reject Him; however, there will came a day of reckoning; when God rewards those who have faithfully served Him and obeyed Him by giving their lives to Christ and punishes those who have rejected Jesus and lived life the way they wanted to live it. God will put an end to evil one day.

Until that day comes, Christians are to patiently and lovingly identify God’s presence, provision, power, and love at work in our lives. We are not to become distressed, discouraged, or try to take matters into our own hands. God has enough power to judge those who are against Him. We are to live in expectant hope for the day of the Lord to come. In the meantime, we are to “Be still and know that God Almighty is God alone.” When I start to get all wound up about the evil in the world; God reminds me to be still and to know that He is God. I don’t know if you have ever thought about the words of Jesus when He was in the boat with His disciples. He and the disciples were headed across the Sea of Galilee when a fierce storm broke out. We will pick up the story there when they are so frightened they don’t know what to do. They are panicking and screaming:

38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” 39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!

Mark 4:38-41 / New Living Translation

Remember, there was no narrator to tell the story during the incident. The disciples are shouting at Jesus. They are accusing Him of not caring about their safety. Jesus gets up and says, “Silence! Be still!” If I was on the boat and heard Jesus say that, I would have thought He was speaking to me. In other words, He was telling me to calm down, and shut up. The more I read that pericope in the Gospel, the more I think that Jesus was talking to the storm, the sea, the disciples, and to me.

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As long as I am in the boat with Jesus; it really doesn’t matter what else is going on. I am to rest in Him. The chorus to the hymn “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place,” the refrain says:

I need no other argument, I need no other plea; It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.

We often said this through our study through the Sermon on the Mount that as we learn to live in the abundance of God’s love, God’s presence, and God’s provision; we can face life without fear. We will experience love, joy, peace, and contentment.

And to end the Psalm, the poet emphasizes that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord in the second half of verse 10 and all of verse 11. The reason God tells us to be still and know that He is God; is that He knows the end. He will be exalted among the nations and all of the earth. He will rule and people will obey whether they like it or not. When the Name Jesus is spoken; every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is indeed the King of kings and Lord of lords. They will do it willingly or be forced to do it; but everyone will do it. As believers, we already confess and follow Jesus as our Lord. We look forward to the day when everyone will confess that fact and submit to the Lordship of Jesus. It will happen. Our job is to live patiently and lovingly in that hope. We do that by remembering our God is a remarkable God and since we are His children; we are remarkable children. GOD WILL REDEEM AND RESTORE ALL OF CREATION ONE DAY. IN THE MEANTIME; HE GRACIOUSLY PROVIDES FOR HIS PEOPLE.

At the beginning of the sermon I said the King James Version refers to us as peculiar people. People who live with this kind of love, trust, faith, and hope really do look peculiar and out of place in our society. But the fact remains. THE GOD AND FATHER OF JESUS CHRIST IS LIKE NO OTHER GOD; AND HIS PEOPLE ARE LIKE NO OTHER PEOPLE. REMARKABLE PEOPLE WORSHIP A REMARKABLE GOD; IT CAN BE NO OTHER WAY.

Lectio Divina Psalm 46 (TNIV)