September 21, Conclusion to the Psalms, Outdoor Worship, Church Picnic at Village Park, First Day of Autumn

Lesson: Psalm 46

Sermon Title: Be Still and Know

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INTRODUCTION:

Awareness Test (1)

Two paramedics were dispatched to check on a 92-year-old man who had become disoriented. They decided to take him to the hospital for evaluation.

En route, with the siren blaring, they questioned the man to determine his level of awareness. Leaning close, one asked, "Sir, do you know what we're doing right now?"

The old man slowly looked up at him and then gazed out the ambulance window.

"Oh," he replied, "I'd say about 50, maybe 55."

  1. If we were questioned to determine our level of awareness, how would we respond?

    1. Do you know what is happening right now?

      1. How fast are you going.

      2. Perhaps too fast?

    2. How about a little rest and relaxation?

    3. To do this you need the right kind of shelter.

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MAIN BODY

  1. There are all kinds of shelters.

    1. Emergency Shelter

    2. Bomb Shelter

    3. Tax Shelter

    4. Homeless Shelter

    5. Storm Shelter

    6. Back-country Shelter

    7. Park Shelter

    8. The Lord's our Rock, a shelter in the time of storm.

  2. God is more than a shelter.

    1. This is what Martin Luther discovered.

      1. Luther declared his intolerance for the Roman Church's corruption on Halloween in 1517, by nailing his 95 Theses of Contention to the Wittenberg Church door.

      2. Luther, who would be exiled in the months following the Diet of Worms Council in 1521 that was designed to martyr him, would translate the New Testament into German for the first time.

      3. Luther had powerful friends among the princes of Germany, one of whom was his own prince, Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony.

      4. The prince arranged for Luther to be seized on his way from the Diet by a company of masked horsemen, who carried him to the castle of the Wartburg, where he was kept about a year.

    2. This was to protect him and save his life.

  3. Psalm 46 is a glorious hymn on the theme, that in the midst of trouble, God's people are safe.

    1. The psalm has three stanzas. Stanza's two and three have a refrain: "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."

    2. The psalm pictures striking contrasts: Roaring waters, rocking mountains, and a quiet river; Nations in turmoil, the earth melting at the voice of the Lord; The desolation of war, and God ruling above the nations.

      1. It is said the Oliver Cromwell asked the people to sing this psalm. (2)

Cromwell helped to create the first commonwealth in Great Briton and ushered in the brief dominance of the Puritans.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble." If Pope and Spaniard, and Devil and all, set themselves against us, -- though they should " compass us like bees," as it is in the Hundred-and-eighteenth Psalm, -- yet in the name of the Lord we should destroy them! The Lord of Hosts is with us : the God of Jacob is our refuge."

      1. Psalm 46 was sung in Paris by the revolutionaries in 1848.

      2. The British sang it during the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857.

      3. It may well be a psalm for us to sing as we face the challenges of these days.

    1. Psalm 46 has been designated Luther's Psalm, because he was accustomed to singing it in times of trouble.

      1. There is a legend that while at Wartburg, Luther was plagued by the presence of the devil. Waking up in the middle of the night, he threw his inkwell at him.

      2. There is an ink stain in the room used by Luther, but the story is in doubt.

      3. It was here that Luther began to write A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD, Luther, 1527-1529

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.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

      1. Luther also penned a song on the words of Psalm 46.7

7The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.

GOD IS A STRONGHOLD AND A TOWER (Luther)

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    1. Other songs use verses of this psalm.

      1. Psalm 46:8

MOURN FOR THE THOUSANDS SLAIN Seth C. Brace

      1. Psalm 46:9

O GOD OF LOVE, O KING OF PEACE, Henry W. Baker

      1. Psalm 46:10

EVENSONG IS HUSHED IN SILENCE, John Purchas

THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY PLACE, Nikolai F. S. Grundtvig

    1. Perhaps none is more memorable that the one written on verse 10.

BE STILL, MY SOUL, Katharina A. von Schleel

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

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CONCLUSION:

  1. Be still my soul

    1. You will not be able to find shelter for the soul, outside of God's provisions for safety and protection.

    2. You will not be able to find peace for the soul, outside the still small voice of God who speaks in the silence.

  2. We are better able to hear and understand our God when we have a quiet mind.

    1. One of the most important phrases in this psalm is found in verse 10

10"Be still, and know that I am God!

    1. To be still means literally to "let be," "desist," "give up."

      1. The first clause of this verse has been paraphrased: "Hush! Cease your tumult and realize that I am God."

      2. We talk too much and listen too little.

      3. We often lack Christian poise and steadiness because of our ceaseless busyness.

  1. In 1 Kings 19 you have the story of Elijah fleeing from Jezebel after the confrontation with Ahab and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel.

    1. Elijah found himself in a cave in Horeb the mount of God.

    2. God said to Elijah, 11..."Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

    3. The sound of sheer silence, be still and know that I am God.

    4. It was Isaac Watts who used the whole 46th psalm

GOD IS THE REFUGE OF HIS SAINTS, Isaac Watts (July 17, 1764-November 24, 1748)

God is the refuge of His saints,
When storms of sharp distress invade;
Ere we can offer our complaints,
Behold Him present with His aid.

Let mountains from their seats be hurled
Down to the deep, and buried there;
Convulsions shake the solid world:
Our faith shall never yield to fear.

Loud may the troubled ocean roar;
In sacred peace our souls abide;
While every nation, every shore,
Trembles, and dreads the swelling tide.

There is a stream, whose gentle flow
Supplies the city of our God,
Life, love, and joy, still guiding through,
And wat'ring our divine abode.

That sacred stream--Thy holy Word--
That all our raging fear controls;
Sweet peace Thy promises afford,
And give new strength to fainting souls.

Zion enjoys her Monarch's love,
Secure against a threatening hour;
Nor can her firm foundations move,
Built on His truth, and armed with power.

  1. Here we have a wonderful psalm that encourages faith and repose.

    1. Rest secure in God.

    2. A might fortress is our God.

    3. Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy side.

Amen.

1. The Good, Clean Funnies List [gcfl-info@gcfl.net]

2. Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches: with Elucidations, By Oliver Cromwell, Thomas Carlyle, page 249 is a mighty reference to the 46th Psalm

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