Sermon – Psalm 46 – God Is Our Refuge

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Psalm 46 – God Is Our Refuge

November 24, 2013

This week Americans will be gathering with family and friends to celebrate the feast of Thanksgiving. This is a time when we express to God our appreciation for all that God does for us. And God does bless us richly every day in many small things. God also blesses in large things too. Whenever we are faced with problems that can't be solved, a serious disease, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the end of a relationship, terrorism and war, whenever we face these things there is only one refuge. We can turn to God, and this is what we are thankful for on Thanksgiving. Let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm 46:1-11 ^NIV Psalm 46:1 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. ² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, ³ though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah ⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. ⁵ God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. ⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. ⁷ The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah ⁸ Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. ⁹ He makes wars cease to the ends 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 will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." ¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Psalm 46 has been used by God's people for thousands of years as a source of comfort when trouble arises. Even today when we experience problems beyond our control we can turn to this psalm for comfort and strength. We hear that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” And we are commanded to “be still, and know that I am God.”

Early in the 5^th century after Christ, the Roman Empire was crumbling. Corruption from within and enemies from without had caused the empire to fall. The people of the Roman Empire experienced great fear. They had lived under its protection for centuries. And now there was no protection any more. They were vulnerable.

A bishop of the church in North Africa, named Augustine, saw what was happening. He told his people that they were not citizens of the City of Rome. Rather they were citizens of the City of God. And he used psalm 46 to tell them this. He told them not to put their faith in the military or political power or even in their own abilities. Instead they were to put their faith solely in God. And for those who do this God will be their refuge. The answer was not to struggle against the changes that were happening, rather they were to remember God's command, “be still, and know that I am God.”

A thousand years later the people of God again experienced the crumbling of an empire. The Middle Ages were coming to a end. And with its demise the power that the Bishop of Rome used through the Holy Roman Empire also ceased. This new age was frightening for many people. Many people wanted to fight to keep what they had. Religious wars spread throughout Europe. In the midst of this, a former Augustinian Monk and Protestant Reformer named Martin Luther realized that our safety could never be protected by armies. Are only refuge was God. He turned to Psalm 46 and wrote these words.

“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth, his name, from age to age the same, and he must win the battle.”

With these words Luther told those who were trying to reform the church that God alone would be their refuge. They were not to rely on the strength of armies and political power. Rather they were to trust God and listen to God's command “be still, and know that I am God.”

Another 500 years went by and still another threat came upon God's people. It was September 11, 2001 and planes crashed in the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Virginia, and a farm field in Pennsylvania. Terrorist had invaded our land. The immediate reaction was to respond with force and to depend on our military and political power to protect us. In the midst of this threat, the Rev. Billy Graham mounted the steps to the pulpit of the National Cathedral in Washington DC to speak to the nation. Here is what he said that day.

“We come together today to affirm our conviction that God cares for us, whatever our ethnic, religious or political background may be. The Bible says that He is "the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles." No matter how hard we try words simply cannot express the horror, the shock, and the revulsion we all feel over what took place in this nation on Tuesday morning. September 11 will go down in our history as a day to remember.

Today we say to those who masterminded this cruel plot, and to those who carried it out, that the spirit of this nation will not be defeated by their twisted and diabolical schemes. Some day those responsible will be brought to justice, as President Bush and our Congress have so forcefully stated.

But today we especially come together in this service to confess our need of God. We’ve always needed God from the very beginning of this nation but today we need Him especially. We’re facing a new kind of enemy. We’re involved in a new kind of warfare and we need the help of the Spirit of God. The Bible’s words are our hope: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea" (Psalm 46:1,2, NIV). http://www.nationalcathedral.org/worship/sermonTexts/bg010914.shtml

Reverend Graham told us that day that evil in the world is a reality, but the reason for its presence is shrouded in mystery. All we can do is trust that God is sovereign and just and will see that all thing work out for good. And therefore we should be filled with hope in God's faithfulness.

It is this hope that we should be thankful for this Thanksgiving. It is a hope that no matter how bad things may seem God is still with us. So as your gather around your tables this Thursday remember that we are thankful for our God who is our refuge and strength. And no matter what is happening to our lives and our families and our nation and world, we can take refuge in our loving God. Give thanks and listen again to his command, “be still, and know that I am God.” Let us pray.

“God of all blessings, source of all life, giver of all grace: We thank you for the gift of life: for the breath that sustains life, for the food of this earth that nurtures life, for the love of family and friends without which there would be no life. We thank you for the mystery of creation: for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of space that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves. We thank you for setting us in communities: for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions at work, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight, for the unborn, who offer us hope for the future. We thank you for this day: for life and one more day to love, for opportunity and one more day to work for justice and peace, for neighbors and one more person to love and by whom be loved, for your grace and one more experience of your presence, for your promise: to be with us, to be our God, and to give salvation. For these, and all blessings, we give you thanks, eternal, loving God, through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.”

Source: Adapted from "Prayers of Our Hearts" © 1991 Vienna Cobb Anderson. Reprinted with the permission of the author http://www.beliefnet.com/Prayers/Christian/Gratitude/Prayer-Of-Thanksgiving.aspx