About this sermon
Psalm 46 declares, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,’ so his people will not fear though the earth gives way. A river makes glad the city of God, a picture fulfilled in the river of life flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb. God makes wars cease, and he will be exalted among the nations. The Lord of hosts is with us in Christ, Emmanuel, who promises to be with his people always.
Sermon transcript
As we continue our study of the Psalter, select psalms from the book of Psalms, this evening we’re going to consider a wonderful psalm, a psalm that served as the basis for Martin Luther’s glorious hymn, Mighty Fortress is Our God. Psalm 46. Psalm 46. Let us hear God’s holy word. This is entitled for the choir director, A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. set to Alamoth, a song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride, Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved.
God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered. He raised his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold, Selah. Come behold the works of the Lord, who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariots with fire. Cease striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Friends, let’s join our hearts in prayer before God. Our Lord and Father in heaven, we do indeed praise you and thank you that you are our refuge, our strength, a very present help in trouble.
We ask that you would be present with us this evening by your Holy Spirit, opening our minds and our hearts to behold wondrous things from your word. And once again, we ask that you would set a guard over my lips that I might speak only that which is faithful for the edification of your people, the salvation of the lost, and the glorification of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is in his name that we pray, and all of God’s people said, Amen. You may be seated. As you see in your bulletin, the title of my sermon this evening is Our Stronghold, and there’s quite a number of key words to be listening for. Again, if you find that to be helpful in following along with the sermon. Well, Psalm 46 is one of those psalms that is known as the Songs of Zion.
It’s one of the Songs of Zion. Dr. Willem van Gemmeren, as I pointed out just a moment ago, Dr. van Gemmeren says that this psalm has been popularized by Martin Luther’s rendition, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. And he goes on to say, as a Song of Zion, included with such psalms as Psalm 48, 76, 84, 87, 122, all of them songs of Zion. This psalm, Psalm 46, celebrates the presence of God. Think about it. God is present with us, his people. As you listened to me read this psalm this evening, what would you say was the main theme of this psalm? Well, if you listen carefully, it seems clear, brothers and sisters, that the major theme of this psalm is bold confidence in God, even in the midst of trouble. This psalm communicates to us as God’s people that in spite of the troubles that come our way in this lost, sin-cursed world, we can be confident that indeed God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in time of need.
When we think about what type of a psalm this is, how we might classify this psalm type, it is indeed a psalm of confidence and joy that celebrates God’s deliverance, but it is also an eschatological psalm that contains a prophetic and eschatological emphasis that points God’s people forward in time to the universal peace and security that God promises in the messianic age. Friends, ultimately, this psalm, this beautiful and powerful psalm, is fulfilled in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For Christ is the Lord of hosts who is with us. He is revealed in Scripture as Emmanuel, as God with us, as the prophet Isaiah prophesied that he would be in Isaiah 7, verse 14, and as Matthew’s Gospel in Matthew 1, 23 reveals him to be Emmanuel. God with us. In Jesus our Lord, God is indeed a very present help in trouble.
So let’s dive in to this beautiful portion of God’s Word as we first of all consider, beloved, that God is revealed in this psalm. God is the stronghold and the joy of his people. God is revealed here as the stronghold and the joy of his people. Let’s focus, first of all, on the first three verses. Let me read these verses again. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. And then in verses two and three, he gives us a picture. In picturesque language, he depicts this trouble. He says, therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change. And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.” Here we see that God is a stronghold even in the midst of chaos, indeed, even in the midst of cosmic turmoil.
Oftentimes when trouble confronts God’s people, we as God’s people are tempted to think that God is absent from us, that he is far away, that he’s not present. But this psalm opens up with this glorious verse expressing the confidence of God’s children. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Now, you may notice, as an aside, that this psalm, the main name for God that is used is simply God, the Hebrew Elohim, although Yahweh, the covenant name for God, does show up a few times in this psalm. And one of the characteristics of Book II of the Psalter is that most of the psalms within Book II of the Book of Psalms, the overall Book of Psalms, the Psalter, most of these psalms refer to God with the Hebrew word Elohim rather than Yahweh.
But even so, in this psalm, we are reminded that God is the Lord, Yahweh, our covenant-keeping, covenant-making God. And He is a stronghold. God is our refuge and strength. Even though God often seems far from us when we go through trouble, this assures us that God is with us, His people, as our very present help in trouble. our health control, but he’s a very present help in our time of need. And then verses 2 and 3 contain the language, the prophetic language of cosmic upheaval. Because of our confidence in God as our refuge and strength, even violent upheavals in the natural order should not unsettle us or shake our confidence in God. And look at the imagery that we have here. The psalmist talks about the earth changing. Now, the ancients did not understand, as we do today with our modern scientific understanding of the world, about the earth and its place in the solar system and all of that.
They did not understand it to the extent that we understand it today. And it was very concerning that earth be stable. That’s why sometimes the Bible poetically refers to the pillars of the earth. It’s not to say that the earth is literally resting on pillars, but that language is used to communicate the stability of the earth. But here, the psalmist depicts a situation where the very order of creation is dissolving into chaos. God, in the beginning of the creation, brought order out of the chaos waters, as Genesis 1-2 tells us. But here is depicted sort of the imagery of decreation. that the earth should change, and the mountains slip into the heart of the sea. What great tumults would cause mountains to slip into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride?
Again, remember that in the ancient Near Eastern mind, the waters were often viewed as chaotic, so chaotic that not even the gods could control them, but God’s people knew that Yahweh, the Lord, Elohim, the true and living God, that He was not subject to the chaos waters. He brought those waters into order. He determined the boundaries of the sea. But here we have the chaos waters roaring and foaming. In spite of these cosmic upheavals, we as God’s people need not fear because we know that God is sovereign, that He is in control. And again, this language and imagery of violent cosmic upheavals in the natural order, this language is probably apocalyptic language intended to symbolize chaotic upheavals in the political and international order, especially threats to Israel from hostile foreign powers. If you read the prophets of the Old Testament, oftentimes we’ll find similar kind of language.
In fact, the Old Testament prophets, they sometimes talk about the stars falling from the sky. And of course, you know, the modern skeptic may say, oh, we know that the stars can’t fall from the sky. I mean, if that were to happen, then the stars are huge. They would dissolve the earth. But that language is not intended to be interpreted in a woodenly literal fashion. That kind of violent cosmic upheaval language is often employed to speak of the chaos that was going on among Israel’s neighbors and the threats from Israel’s neighbors, especially foreign gentile powers that threatened God’s covenant people with political and international chaos. And so the situation here that the psalmist faces is probably one such situation. That seems to be the case when we skip down to verse nine and we read about wars, God causing wars to cease and breaking the bow and cutting the spear in two.
So he’s probably using this language of cosmic upheaval to point to international and political chaos that was threatening God’s people at that time. And then in verses four through seven, the psalmist begins using another interesting image here. He talks about the river of God in the city of God. And we’re going to we’re going to pause here. We’re going to do a little bit of comparing scripture with scripture for just a little bit as we try to get to what’s going on here. Let me read these verses again, verses four through seven. There is a river whose stream makes glad the city of God. And let me pause there. What is the city of God? Well, that’s referring to Jerusalem. But of course, there’s no river in Jerusalem. What’s he talking about? Well, let’s read on and I’ll comment on that in a few moments.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the most high. Notice the emphasis on God dwelling, dwelling with his people. Verse five, God is in the midst of her. She will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. The nation’s made an uproar. The kingdom’s tottered. He raised his voice, the earth melted. And then we have this refrain that gets repeated at the end of this psalm and serves as a bookend to it. Here in the middle of the psalm, verse seven, the Lord of hosts, Yahweh of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold or fortress as it is translated in some versions. Now let’s go back to verse four. What’s he talking about when he says that there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God?
Well, to quote from one commentator, Jerusalem had no river, unlike Thebes, Damascus, Nineveh or Babylon. Yet she had a, quote, river. Here, the river serves as a metaphor for the continual outpouring of the sustaining and refreshing blessings of God, which make the city of God like the Garden of Eden. As this commentator points out, the imagery here in Psalm 46, the imagery of the river in the city of God, of the river God in the city of God, this harkens back to the rivers that flowed out of the Garden of Eden. And therefore, it points us forward to paradise restored. Now, let’s go back to We’re going to compare some scripture with scripture here as we trace this theme of the river of God a little bit throughout the scriptures. Let’s go back to Genesis 2 and look at verses 10 through 14.
Genesis chapter 2, verses 10 through 14. And here we read that in the Garden of Eden, there were four rivers. Genesis 2, beginning at verse 10, it says, Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon. It flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good. The Delium and Onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon. It flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris. We’re familiar with that, right? It flows east of Assyria, and the fourth river is the Euphrates. So there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. Jerusalem of old and its temple was a depiction of paradise restored.
It was a depiction of the Garden of Eden, where God dwelt with Adam and Eve and walked with them. The temple and the city of Jerusalem depicted God coming back to dwell in the midst of his people. And let’s look at some scripture passages that point us forward to how this river will continue to serve as a source of refreshment for God’s people. Let’s turn to Isaiah 33 verses 20 to 21 where we have again this this image of the river, these literal rivers that that flowed from the Garden of Eden that serves as a theme that God uses that the Spirit uses to teach us spiritual lessons here. If you look at Isaiah 33, look at verses 20 and 21. The prophet Isaiah is speaking of the judgment of God, but he says, Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feast.
Your eyes will see Jerusalem and undisturbed habitation, a tent which will not be folded. Its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its cords torn apart. But there the majestic one, the Lord, will be for us a place of what? A place of rivers and wide canals on which no boat with oars will go and on which no mighty ship will pass. And then verse 22, for the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our lawgiver. The Lord is our king. He will save us. The speech there of the holy city, it speaks of Zion and there being a river and wide canals. in that holy city. And then if you skip ahead to Isaiah 43 and let’s look at 19 through 21. Isaiah 43 verses 19 through 21. We read these words again as in this prophecy of the destruction of Babylon.
It says the following here, God says, behold, I will do something new. Now it will spring forth. Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field will glorify me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I have given waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give drink to my chosen people. The people whom I have formed for myself will declare my praise. Again, we see this imagery of God providing a river to refresh his people, even in the midst of a desert. Or skip ahead to what is probably the most famous passage in the scriptures about the river of God flowing from the city of God. Ezekiel 47, Ezekiel chapter 47. I’m going to read a number of verses from that passage.
This is in the midst of Ezekiel’s vision of a new temple to be built. And by the way, as an aside, I believe that this passage from Ezekiel 47 points to the fact that this temple that Ezekiel was given instructions for, for the rebuilding of it, that this is not a literal temple. This is a visionary, this is a vision that Ezekiel is receiving from the Lord to instruct God’s people about God’s dwelling in the midst of his people. And it says this, let me just read the first 12 verses here. Then he brought me back to the door of the house and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house. The house there is talking about the temple in Jerusalem flowing toward the east for the house face east and the water was flowing down from under from the right side of the house, from south of the altar.
He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east and behold, Water was trickling from the south side. When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles. Again, he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again, he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins. Again, he measured a thousand and it was a river that could not forward for the water had risen. Enough water to swim in a river that could not be forded. He said to me, son of man, have you seen this?
Then he brought me back to the bank, bank of the river. Now, when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river, there were very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, these waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Araba. Then they go toward the sea being made to flow into the sea and the waters of the sea become fresh. It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes will live. And there will be very many fish for these waters go there and the others become fresh. So everything will live where the river goes. Here’s a depiction of a river flowing from out of the temple that brings life, that brings life. Verse 10, And it will come about that fishermen will stand beside it from En Gedi to En Anglaim.
There will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the great sea, very many. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh. They will be left for salt. By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month, because their waters flow from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing. Now, keep this imagery in mind, and let’s skip ahead to the book of Revelation. Revelation 22, verses 1 through 5. And as you’re turning there, a couple other passages you may want to look up on your time that refer to this river.
Joel 3, verse 18, and Zechariah 14, verse 8. But let’s go to the very last chapter of the very last book of God’s Word, Revelation 22. And let me read these verses, verses 1 through 5. John the Apostle writes, Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb. That’s Jesus. In the middle of its street, on either side of the river, was the tree of life bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it. and his bond servants will serve him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads and there will no longer be any night and they will not have any need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun because the Lord God will illumine them and they will reign forever and ever.
Brothers and sisters, I hope as we’ve kind of traced this theme through the scriptures, that you will see that this imagery in our passage for this evening of the river of God flowing from the city of God. This is ultimately imagery that is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. Ultimately, this imagery of a river making glad the city of God and flowing out of the city of God to bless the nations, to give life to the nations and healing to the nations. Ultimately, this is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. through the gift of the Holy Spirit to his church. One more passage and we’ll move on in our text, but consider what Jesus says of himself in John chapter 7 verses 37 to 39. John chapter 7 verses 37 to 39. We read these words.
Jesus is at the feast in Jerusalem. It says this, Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying, If anyone is thirsty, Let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture said, from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He is this living water. He is the one who is the river whose streams make glad the city of God Christ by his spirit. And as we look at at our passage again for tonight in verses 4 and 5. It says in verse 5, God is in the midst of her. The reason that this river brings life and healing and salvation and deliverance is because God is in the midst of her. It’s much more than a physical river.
We know that as creatures, we require water for physical life. You can’t go too long without physical water. And likewise, there is no spiritual life No saving life apart from Jesus, the water of life, the living water, this river of God that comes to the city of God and flows from it. It is a river that brings healing because as verse five says, God is in the midst of her. She will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. God will help her when morning dawns. What does that mean? Well, early morning after dawn, was often the time when enemies would attack cities. If a foreign adversary was coming against Israel, they would often attack when morning dawns. And this verse is assuring, in this verse the psalmist is assuring the readers that God will help her.
God will help his people when morning dawns, when there are threats from the nations. And then in verses 6 and 7 we see These nations, these Gentile pagan nations who are hostile against God’s people. It says the nations made an uproar, just like the foaming waters of verse 3. The nations made an uproar. The kingdoms tottered. What happens? What is God’s response? He raised His voice. The earth melted. When God in holy judgment raises His voice, the earth melts in His holy presence. And then we have this beautiful refrain in verse seven. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. The uproar of the Gentile nations is no threat to God’s people. For the Lord of hosts, Yahweh of hosts is a stronghold to protect his people. And this language, by the way, Yahweh of hosts, the Lord of hosts, depicts God as the captain of our salvation.
It depicts God as leading his hosts, whether it’s referring to his angelic hosts or the hosts of the Israelite military. God is the one who is the captain of our salvation and he leads us and he protects us and we conquer through him. Oh, dear ones, God is indeed our stronghold. He is our defense. He is our deliverer. But in Christ and by the Holy Spirit, he is also our source of joy. He is our source of joy. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold, and therefore we will not fear. Therefore, we have access to this living river, this river of life who is Jesus, and that gives us joy and is a source of our rejoicing. Is God your refuge? Is Christ your refuge? Is he your living water?
Is he your source of joy? Now, another lesson that we learn in this psalm, as we consider verses 8 through 11, we learn here in this psalm that God will be exalted among the nations. This is my second main point. God will be exalted among the nations. Verse 8, it says, Come behold the works of the Lord who has wrought desolations in the earth. We can think of many times in redemptive history where God wrought desolations. God wrought desolations against Egypt when he poured out the plagues upon them. He wrought desolation upon Pharaoh and his armies when they pursued the Israelites into the Red Sea, and he closed the Red Sea over them. And if you read the book of Judges, God, through these Savior figures, these Judges, often rescued his people, and he wrought desolations against the enemies of God.
But is this meant to teach us that God is ultimately a God of war, who seeks to crush and seeks to destroy? No, friends, when we look at verses eight and nine together, though God has indeed wrought desolations in the earth in defending and delivering his people from their enemies. Ultimately, he is a God of peace. Notice what it says in verse nine. The reason that God does this is to deliver his people. Why? He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariot with fire. These were the typical implements of ancient warfare. And God is depicted as destroying these implements of warfare. Perhaps if this were written today, it would say something like he he he destroys the tanks and the missiles and, you know, the military drones or what have you.
God destroys the implements of warfare because ultimately God’s purpose is to make wars to cease. Satan and his hosts are at war with God. And in Adam, humankind is fighting against God. We are at war with God. But God makes wars to cease. How does God do this? Well, when we compare Scripture with Scripture, we learn that He does this in a multifaceted way. Spiritually speaking, at a spiritual level, God makes wars to cease in this present age through the Church’s Great Commission. and the discipling of the nations. As the good news of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is spread and as God gathers in his elect through the gospel, he causes his people to be at peace with him and at growing peace one with another. When we are reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ, we’re also, at least in principle, reconciled one with another as brothers and sisters in the family of God.
And so in the case of those who by sovereign grace are brought to repentance and faith, God makes wars to cease in causing his people to be at peace with him and with one another in the body of Christ. Well, what about those who continue to refuse Messiah’s reign and continue unrepentant in their sin and unbelief? Well, in the case of them, they suffer the same fate as Pharaoh and his army suffered. They suffer the same fate ultimately. So in the case of those who refuse Messiah’s reign and continue unrepentant in their sin and unbelief, God will cause wars to cease through the final eschatological judgment, which will take place when Jesus returns in glory at the end of this age and judges mankind. And so what is the proper response in light of all of that?
Well, the proper response is given in verses 10 and 11, especially verse 10. Cease striving. This is God speaking. Cease striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in all the earth. He repeats himself for emphasis. I will be exalted. Now, this could be translated. When it says in verse 10, cease striving, the Hebrew could be translated as, Enough! Enough! But the question is, Is this enough, this call to cease striving? Is this a call for the nations, the unbelieving nations and peoples, to cease their hostility against God and God’s people by repenting and acknowledging His reign? Or is this more intended as a call for God’s people to stop their fear of the hostile nations and to trust in God’s promise that He will indeed be exalted among the nations?
Well, scholars, have different takes, different opinions on which of those is the most likely thing in view in these words. But, they’re both true, aren’t they? God, in his word, does indeed, through the gospel, he does indeed call the nations of humanity to repent of their sinful rebellion and to acknowledge in faith the Messiah’s reign, and to put their faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. But God also, in his word, summons us as his people to cease from fearing the powerful enemies of Christ and his church, since he promises to destroy their power. When I see the way that Christians today in our culture, and we do live in an increasingly anti-Christian culture, a culture that is increasingly and more and more overtly hostile to God, to his word, to the gospel, to the church, to the things of God.
I see many Christians being fearful. What’s going to happen? Certainly, it’s legitimate to be concerned. It’s legitimate to do what we can as citizens, for example, to try to defend our liberties and freedoms legitimately and lawfully and so forth. But we are not to fret. We are not to fear. Even if persecution comes, we know that God will be exalted among the nations. Is God being exalted among the nations today? You look around you at our culture today, is God’s name being honored and hallowed? It used to be in our culture that if you wanted to compliment someone, you might say something like, well, he’s a God-fearing man. You say that today to most people, and they give you like a funny look, like, what are you talking about? God-fearing? God’s name is not feared, not even on a superficial level.
God’s name is not held in reverence. God’s name is regularly taken in vain, even by those who profess the name of Christ. How often do you hear OMG and God’s name being used in cursing and so forth, the name of Christ being used in cursing and taken in vain? Very common, very common thing. But we can be assured, brothers and sisters, that God’s name will be exalted. And we can be confident of this because of what The refrain tells us in verse 11, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Here again is the final instance of this refrain book ending this powerful song. So beloved, let us not fear that God’s name will continue to be blasphemed and dishonored. It hurts us as God’s children. When we hear the name of Christ dragged through the mud, it offends us.
It bothers us, but let us not fear. for God’s name will be exalted among the nations. He indeed, brothers and sisters, he will see to it that his name is indeed exalted among the nations. He does this today primarily through the gospel, which exalts the glorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ as the one and only name given among men by which we must be saved. And dear listener, let me ask you, have you believed in the name of Jesus Christ for salvation from your sins? The Bible says that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus says himself, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. And as the Apostle Peter testified before the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter 4, there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved but the name of Jesus Christ.
Believe in the name, the person and saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and you will be saved. Reject him and you will abide under the wrath of God. Be warned, dear listener. turn to Christ in faith and repent. And that brings me to my final point in closing. We can be assured here, as verses 9 and 10 assure us, that God’s reign will secure universal peace. God’s name will secure universal peace. Again, it says in verse 9, He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariots with fire. Cease driving. and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Again, the quote from a commentator, God’s mighty acts on behalf of his people will bring him universal recognition, which is a major theme in the Psalter, by the way.
He goes on to say, this has proven to be supremely true in God’s climactic saving act, in the birth, life, death, resurrection, and glorification of Jesus Christ. Yet to be brought to complete fruition at his return. So beloved in closing as the refrains in the refrain in verses 7 through 11 assure us the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob our faithful covenant making covenant keeping God is indeed with us Yahweh our covenant Lord has come to dwell among us. He has come to be our saving stronghold and he has come to us ultimately in the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For Christ is the virgin-born Emmanuel. He is God with us. He is the Emmanuel predicted by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 7.14. Brothers and sisters of Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church, in view of this, let us live in confidence, knowing that our Lord will never leave us nor forsake us, knowing that He is with us and for us as our Emmanuel.
He is with us as Jesus promised in the Great Commission. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the ages. So let us not fear in the face of trouble or distress, or the hostilities of God’s enemies. Let us not fear, for as verse 1 assures us, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Amen. Let us pray. Our Lord and Father in heaven, we praise you, Sovereign God. that we can look to you as our stronghold, that we have security in you, that you give us of the rivers of the water of life to feed our souls and nourish us and refresh us and give us joy. We ask, Lord, that in spite of the troubles that we faced as your people, that we might indeed live in confident trust, knowing that you are our refuge, our strength, our stronghold. a very present help in trouble.
In Jesus name we pray, and all of God’s people said, Amen.
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