We Have Hope
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 46:1-11
Introduction
Introduction
This week we (officially) enter into the Christmas season
I have come to prefer speaking of this as Advent
I like that it has a start & finish : )
Advent more accurately reflects what this celebration is about
Christmas/Advent is about the glory of Christ’s first coming (advent)
His first advent is pointing us to look for His second advent
This is how the Bible teaches us to think about Christ’s coming
Titus 2:11–13 (NKJV)
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
In both Christ’s first and second coming we find the great themes of the Gospel: Hope, peace, joy and love
This year we are going to spend Advent in the Psalms
Psalm 46; Psalm 85; Psalm 61; Psalm 98; Psalm 128
READ Psalm 46
Alamoth = normally referred to girls, so probably a notation indicating sung by female voices
Psalm 46 is a well-known and well-loved Psalm for good reason
It has brought many believers great comfort and strength in times of distress
It is also well-known as the Psalm that inspired Martin Luther to write A Mighty Fortress
Luther would often come to this Psalm when he felt overwhelmed, discouraged or struggling with deeply personal tragedies
Part of what makes it such a powerful hymn is how Luther makes the Psalm so personal
Our enemy isn’t anonymous but our ancient foe that seeks our woe
Hero of the hymn like the Psalm is Jesus Christ
How can this Psalm help us find hope this Advent season
We have hope because:
God is Present
God is Present
Psalm 46:1-3
With Us
With Us
With who?
With who?
His People Israel
His People Israel
Psalm 46 is personal
Speaks of our refuge, we will not fear, God is with us
Can we all read this Psalm and take it with the same level of confidence?
No, to find the true hope of the Psalm we understand who is the us
Specifically, this is a song for the people of God in Israel
God is Israel’s refuge, He is with Israel
That is the immediate & historical context
It is a context that still exists now
All God’s People
All God’s People
Broader context is that God is for all of His people
While Israel holds a unique & special place in purpose of God a major part of that is as an example of God’s relationship to all of His people
Jesus came through Israel & for Israel but not for them alone
All of God’s people can confidently read themselves into the our, we, us of Psalm 46
This is the promise of Matthew 1:21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:23 ““Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.””
We know these words aren’t just for Israel
Luke 2:32 “32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.””
As Jesus prepared to leave He gave command to spread the Gospel to the world and He promised
Matthew 28:20 “20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
Who are God’s People?
Who are God’s People?
This means that while God is omnipresent He is not with all people in the same waybe
There are people that God calls His and people that aren’t
God’s people have His presence (through Spirit)
God’s people have refuge, strength, salvation & peace in this life and the life to come
Hope of Christmas is that God can be with you
Luke 1:79 “To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.””
Jesus is the way to have hope and peace in this world, to have a refuge in times of trouble, to chase away fear
In Our Troubles
In Our Troubles
Don’t Live in Fear
Don’t Live in Fear
What images come to your mind as you read this Psalm?
Clear feelings of being in midst of chaos of war
Seems to be 2 threats advancing: nature & nations
46:1-3 - picture tidal way caused by earthquake
Circumstances that are completely overwhelming and entirely out of our control
It reminds me of the Apostles in the storm on Galilee
Yet with these overwhelming circumstances surrounding this is sung in confidence
We will not fear
Doesn’t say that there is nothing that can cause fear but rather in the face of fearful things we will not fear
Why the confidence? How is it possible to be in the midst of fearful circumstances and not live in fear?
God is our refuge, our strength and our help in times of trouble
What is overwhelming you right now? God is not overwhelmed by it
What is moving you to fear? God is not afraid of it
God isn’t saying to us, ‘just don’t be afraid’
He is saying to His people, ‘you don’t need to fear I will deliver, protect, strengthen and help you’
How can we not be moved? When mountains move, God doesn’t!
God is near
God is near
Where is God in our times of trouble?
He is very present
Means He is near us, He is findable
Even when the storms & clouds seem to hide Him He is there
Hebrews 13:5–6 “5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?””
To Strengthen Us
To Strengthen Us
Ps. 46:1 says God is our refuge, strength & help
These tell us something about God’s relationship to us in our troubles
I see a progression here:
In overwhelming trouble (tsunami or advancing army) we look for a place to hide safely (high ground, strong fortress) - refuge, tower, fortress
In our hiding we seek to find strength, rest, guidance for what’s next
Then we find help to escape
God is our confidence in every step:
He is our place of hiding, safe refuge
As He protects us from trouble He strengthens us
Having strengthened us He enables us and helps us to escape
We have hope because God is present and:
God is Powerful
God is Powerful
Psalm 46:4-7
Over Our Circumstances
Over Our Circumstances
Ps. 46:1-3 describes chaos, catastrophe, uncontrollable devastation
Ps. 46:6 describes being surrounded by fierce, overwhelming enemies
Ps. 46:4-5 In the midst of all that is this oasis
Seems almost impossible that peace & stability can be surrounded by such catastrophic disaster
Promise of God’s presence is that you can have peace & stability in midst of catastrophe
Political instability doesn’t shake me, natural disasters don’t overwhelm me
Certainly we’ve been learning this lesson through Isaiah
Over Our Enemies
Over Our Enemies
Protection
Protection
Psalm 46:7, 11 is the refrain
It’s powerful
‘Lord Sabbaoth His name’ (Yahweh of hosts)
God, the eternal, almighty one is commander of the armies of Heaven
He leads an army far greater & far more powerful than any army or nation on earth
That’s comforting from a protection point of view
Even earthly armies do more than just battle
Armies provide protection, rescue people in need, help during crisis
God’s army of Heaven isn’t just about battling evil & evil one but providing aid for His people in need
Hebrews 1:14 “14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”
Psalm 91:11 “11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.”
Against our Ultimate Enemy
Against our Ultimate Enemy
Of course, immediate context is about actual nations seeking actual war
God promises that He is greater than the nations
Again, we’re reminded of God’s words in Isaiah that God will judge the nations
His judgment is based on righteousness - that is, God judges based on our sin
Pictured in God’s victory over Israel’s enemies is God’s victory over our great enemies of sin & death
Colossians 2:15 “15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”
Reason we have hope, reason we have confidence in God is because He has defeated the enemy that overwhelms us
Sin - our rebellion against God’s right to rule - results in death, separation from God’s favour forever
In Giving Peace
In Giving Peace
As you read Ps. 46:4-5 can you feel the peace wash over you?
The image of the river is powerful one in Bible
Psalm 1:1–3 “1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”
Again, it’s associated with the righteous, the ones who love God and known by God
Here it speaks of the results of that relationship with God
He makes us strong, fruitful, satisfied, deeply nourished & glad
Revelation 22:1–2 “1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
This river finds it’s source in God
It is life-giving and healing
What does this mean? How does this river make glad and give life?
John 4:10 “10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.””
John 4:13–14 “13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.””
This satisfying, life-giving, healing, river of gladness is Jesus
In the midst of this chaotic, sin ruined world Jesus is the oasis of peace
In this place that God ‘tabernacles’, abides with us
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jesus invites us to drink of this well, to be nourished by this river
That is, Jesus is inviting you to believe Him, trust Him to save you, to be your refuge & strength
Then you don’t just recieve a moment of peace but eternal peace for God Himself dwells with you
We have hope because God is present, powerful and:
God is Our Pursuit
God is Our Pursuit
Psalm 46:8-11
Behold His Works
Behold His Works
How can we know the hope, peace & strength of God experientially?
2 ways are given in this song
Firstly, Behold the works of Yahweh
The first work you must see is His work on the cross
What is described here is peace through victory
Luke 2:14 “14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!””
Peace He would bring wasn’t through good example & kindness alone
Peace He would bring would come through the victory of His death & resurrection
As Mary contemplates what Jesus would do for her and the world she sings
She sings just like this
Lk. 1:50-55 - most of her song is a reflection on the works of God
In trouble our temptation is to look at the circumstances, the enemy
This naturally leads us to feel overwhelmed, discouraged, defeated
Instead, look to the works of God
Review His works in history, review His works in your life
Be Still and Know Him
Be Still and Know Him
Behold and then Be Still
Be still - literally release, let hands down, stop fighting
Stop pursuing security through your own power
Statement to trust God
Doesn’t mean don’t do anything
It means to pursue God
It means drop your hands from fighting position and embrace Christ
Learn to know who God is & actively pursue to live in that knowledge
See how behold & be still are related
Beholding God’s power & seeing His works gives confidence & faith
Then you feel free to drop your hands and cling to Christ
Conclusion
Conclusion
We don’t celebrate Advent/Christmas because it’s tradition or cultural
Rather Christians made this celebration a tradition because it reminds us of the power of the Gospel
In Advent we behold the works of Yahweh
In Advent we take time to be still, know God & exalt Him in the nations
Advent reminds us that We Have Hope
That God is present & powerful so we pursue Him
Today, you can be one of the ‘us’
Believing Jesus will bring you the hope and peace you long for
A hope & peace that satisfies the depths of your soul