Our Refuge and Strength

If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn with me to Psalm 46.

Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Psalm 46:2 “Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,”

Psalm 46:3 “though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah”

Psalm 46:4 “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.”

Psalm 46:5 “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.”

Psalm 46:6 “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.”

Psalm 46:7 “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”

Psalm 46:8 “Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth.”

Psalm 46:9 “He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.”

Psalm 46:10 ““Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!””

Psalm 46:11 “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”

This is the word of the Lord. Let’s pray,

Father, we thank you for your Word. And we thank you for the truths we learn from your Word. Lord, may we find our refuge and our strength in your promised presence. We ask that you bless the preaching of your Word. And we ask that you show up in a mighty way in this place. God, we ask for unity for the sake of your name. We pray only in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Psalm 46 has become one of my favorite psalms. It’s a psalm written for the people of God during seasons when the world around them feels uncertain.

Any time there is change—even good change—it brings questions with it. What will this look like? What might shift? What stays the same?

And when the world already feels unsettled, even small changes can feel bigger than they really are.

This Psalm speaks directly to that feeling. And one thing I learned this week from studying this Psalm is that there have been many people throughout church history that would ran to this Psalm when they were faced with uncertain times.

In fact, one of the most famous hymns in church history is based on this psalm. In the late 1520s, Martin Luther penned the words to the hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Do you remember this hymn?

“A Mighty Fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.”

That hymn was written during one of the darkest periods of Luther’s life and ministry.

By the early 1520s, Luther had become the central figure of the Protestant Reformation. In 1521, at the Diet of Worms, when the magistrates held a council regarding the things that Luther was teaching, things like Justification by Faith Alone, he refused to recant his teachings and writings and was declared an outlaw by the Holy Roman Empire.

What that meant was simple and terrifying: anyone could legally arrest, or even kill, him without consequence. You know he felt like his world was shakey.

On top of being a wanted man, he also saw many of his friends imprisoned and executed for preaching the gospel, he ministered to those who were affected by the plague, and he lost an infant daughter. This was a season for Luther that felt shakey and uncertain.

And It was during this season that Luther wrote A Mighty Fortress Is Our God—a hymn drawn directly from the words and theology of Psalm 46.

Luther regularly rested in this psalm. In fact, when fear would rise, he was known to say to those around him, “Come, let us sing the forty-sixth Psalm.” He turned to Psalm 46 not because the world felt safe—but because it didn’t.

Pause

Luther didn’t know what the future held. But he knew the God who holds the future. He knew that God had not moved.

Psalm 46 was written for moments like that—and for people like us.

And we, as church, we’re in a season that may feel uncertain. Any transition, even a good one, brings questions and anxieties with it. Psalm 46 doesn’t pretend those things aren’t real. Instead, it reminds God’s people where their confidence has always come from—not from stability, but from the presence of God.

Maybe some of you in here are feeling like you are in an unstable place in life right now. There is a reason why men like Luther kept coming back to this Psalm anytime he that his world was on the brink of falling apart. And that reason is this:

Even when you feel like your future is uncertain, you can find real comfort knowing that you have a God who not only knows the future but is already there—sovereign over it, present in it, and working through it for your good.

Intro to points

There are three movements in this Psalm. Three major sections within this Psalm. And you can see where those sections are with that word Selah.

Selah is an interesting word. We don’t know exactly what it means, this is why it isn’t translated in our English Bibles. But there is strong consensus among commentators and theologians on the function of this word.

It serves as a musical interlude or an instrumental break. It’s used as an emphasis marker. But it’s also used as a call to stop and to pause to reflect on what was just said. And this Psalm has many things that would be good for us as a church to stop and meditate on. Especially now.

This morning, I’m going to briefly give you three points from each of these three section. And if you are taking notes this morning, this is the first point,

God Is Our Refuge When the World is Unstable (vv. 1–3)

Verse 1 says,

Psalm 46:1 ESV

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

God is our refuge and strength. A present help.

Right from the beginning, the psalm tells us where our confidence comes from. God is not described as an escape from reality, but as a refuge in reality. A refuge is not something you need when life is calm—it’s something you run to when there is danger.

You know, kind of like a shelter during a storm.

The psalmist is saying that God Himself is a place of refuge and strength. What this means is that our confidence is not rooted in circumstances holding together, but in the character of God alone. Even before the psalm describes what is happening around us, it anchors us in who God is.

The best thing we can do in a season like this, as the people of God, is to seek Him—to rest in His presence and trust His strength—before we try to interpret everything else that’s happening.

Let me ask you this:

Where are you running when you are faced with uncertain times?

Because when life feels unstable, we instinctively run somewhere.

Some run to control — trying to manage every outcome. Some run to distraction — keeping themselves busy so they don’t have to think. Some run to comfort — things like food and entertainment. Some run to anger. Some run to isolation.

But the psalm doesn’t tell us to run harder. It tells us to change our course. It tells us to run to God for refuge.

God is not something that we run to as a last resort. He is our refuge. And when we run to God for refuge, we find real comfort from fear.

Verse 2,

Psalm 46:2 ESV

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

Psalm 46:3 ESV

though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

This is not just trouble. This is total instability. In the ancient world, mountains symbolized security. The sea symbolized chaos and danger. And the psalmist says—even if what feels most solid collapses, even if chaos rises and overwhelms, God’s people do not have to live in fear.

Here’s what that tells us: God never promises a stable world. He never promises that life will be predictable, or that ministry will be easy. What He promises is His presence through the chaos.

God has redeemed us to be His people, and He has redeemed us for a purpose. That purpose is to spread the kingdom of God throughout the earth until Christ returns.

And guess what… that mission guarantees opposition. It guarantees seasons of uncertainty. It guarantees moments when things feel like they’re shifting beneath our feet.

But here’s the surprising truth of Psalm 46—those seasons of uncertainty are actually a gift.

Why?

Because uncertainty strips away things like false confidence. It exposes where we’ve been placing our trust. It exposes the idols that we run to when we are in need. And uncertainty invites us—again—to trust in a God who not only knows the future, but who is already there.

The psalmist doesn’t say, “We will not fear because the earth won’t give way.” He says, “We will not fear even if it does.” Our confidence is not rooted in circumstances holding together—it’s rooted in a God who holds His people steady when everything else feels unsteady.

So let me ask you gently this morning:

Are you resting in the promised presence of God? Or are you letting fear drive you toward control… toward distraction… toward comforts that cannot carry the weight of your soul?

Church, our stability will not come from everything feeling predictable. It will come from a people who run to God together.

And when we rest in Him—individually and corporately—we will find that He truly is our refuge and strength.

Transition to Point II

That’s why Psalm 46 doesn’t begin with instructions—it begins with assurance. Before God’s people are told what to do, they’re reminded of who God is.

And then the psalm shows us something even more comforting—not just that God is a refuge, but that God is present with His people. And this is point II in your notes,

God Is Present With His People in the Midst of Chaos (vv. 4–7)

Verse 4 says,

Psalm 46:4 ESV

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

God’s people are described here as the city of God. This idea became especially important in the theology of Augustine in the early 400s, when the city of Rome was invaded and fell. During that time, the church was in turmoil, unsure of what the future held. Christians were asking hard questions: If Rome can fall, what can we trust? Where is God? Has the church failed?

It was during that dark season that Augustine wrote The City of God. In that work, he described two cities. The City of Man—built on power, control, and self-reliance—and the City of God—a people defined not by geography or political strength, but by the presence of God in their midst.

Augustine argued that the City of God can survive the fall of empires because it was never built on them in the first place. Its foundation is God Himself—and He cannot be moved or shaken.

There’s something beautiful about the imagery in verse 4.

Jerusalem didn’t have a mighty river like other great cities did. But the psalm says there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.

This river is about life and the new creation. It’s about the sustaining presence of God among His people.

And the Bible picks up this same image at the very end of the Bible.

We have just come out of a sermon series on the second coming of Christ. And at the second coming, the Scriptures tell us that he will bring with him a new city. A New Jerusalem. In Revelation 22, John describes New Jerusalem. he says in verses 1 and 2:

Revelation 22:1–2 “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

From Genesis to Revelation, the story ends where Psalm 46 points us — a city made glad by the life that flows from the throne of God Himself.

What this means is that there will be a day when this text in Revelation will be fulfilled. There will be a day when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to right all the wrongs. To bring healing to the nations. But while we wait for that day, we can experience the benefits of God’s presence in our life right now.

The point is this: the joy and stability of God’s people has never come from their surroundings or their circumstances. It has always come from the presence of God in their midst.

And verse 5 tells us exactly why the City of God stands.

Psalm 46:5 ESV

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

The City of God—our church locally and the church throughout the world—is not secure because of physical borders, political power, or strong leaders. Our security comes from the simple but profound truth that God is in our midst.

Jesus Himself affirmed this when He said,

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.””

And again, at the end of the Great Commission,

Matthew 28:20 “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

That promise is not abstract or only future. It is present, active, and ongoing. God does not merely watch His people from a distance—He dwells with them.

Then the psalm widens the lens again in verse 6,

Psalm 46:6 ESV

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The world is still unstable. Nations still rage. Kingdoms still rise and fall. But here’s the thing: There is chaos, but God is authoritative. He does not panic. He does not scramble. He speaks—and the earth responds.

And then we see this refrain in verse 7:

Psalm 46:7 ESV

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

This truth ought to bring deep comfort and real stability—not because nothing will change, but because God is sovereign, God is present, and God is good.

We can trust that God is in this place. We can trust that He is with His people. And we can trust that He is not finished with this church.

Do you believe that this morning?

Not because of a leader. Not because of a plan. But because Christ builds His church.

The growth of this church, the impact we have on this community—none of that ultimately depends on us. God builds His church. And out of His abundant grace, He uses weak, frail, sinful people like you and me to accomplish His mission.

That is good news.

Do you know what that means? The church does not survive because of strong leaders. It survives because Christ builds it. And because he builds it, we can rest. This is good news for us this morning. That we have a God who is near and active with his people. He is our refuge and our strength.

Transition to point III

Because God is our refuge, and because God is present with His people, the psalm now does something important.

It turns our attention away from ourselves and lifts our eyes to who God is and what He is doing in the world.

This is point three in your notes:

God Will Be Exalted, So His People Can Be Still (vv. 8–11)

This may be the most important takeaway for us this morning: we are called to take our eyes off ourselves and place them on God.

After reminding us that God is our refuge and that God is present with His people, the psalm now calls us to respond.

There are three movements in these final verses. Three sub-points. Three ways God calls His people to respond.

The first movement is this:

1. Look at What God Has Done (v. 8)

Verse 8 says,

Psalm 46:8 ESV

Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth.

The psalmist says, “Come, behold.” In other words, stop looking inward and start looking upward. Look at what God has already done.

Fear turns us inward. Worship lifts our eyes outward—toward God.

The psalmist is saying: don’t let fear drive you; let what God has already done and what he is doing lead you to worship. Remember His works. Remember His faithfulness. Remember how He has acted on behalf of His people and how he will act in his return.

And we don’t have to look far to see this. Look at what God has already done through this church. Look at the ministry that happens in this building week after week. God uses this church to feed hundreds of families, to clothe those in need, and to serve our community in tangible ways. He has used this church to openly preach the gospel week after week. God has used this church to be a blessing to this community.

And God is doing all of that through what the world might call a small church—but what God is pleased to use.

When we look at what God has already done, it steadies our hearts for what lies ahead.

The second movement is this:

2. Trust What God Is Doing (v. 9)

Psalm 46:9 ESV

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.

This verse reminds us that God has the final authority over conflict. The same God who allows chaos for a time is the God who will one day end it completely and finally.

That tells us something important: God is patient, God is purposeful, and God is in control—even when we don’t understand what He’s doing.

We can trust that He is not only working behind the scenes, but that He is working for the good of His people. The story for this church is not finished yet.

And that leads us to the third movement:

3. Rest in Who God Is (vv. 10–11)

Verse 10 says,

Psalm 46:10 ESV

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

This is one of those verses that’s so familiar it can lose its meaning.

You see it on coffee mugs. On wall art. On social media posts.

But in Psalm 46, it’s not soft. It’s not sentimental. It’s spoken into the chaos.

God is not saying, “Do nothing.” He’s not saying, “Feel nothing.” And He’s certainly not saying, “Stop caring.”

What He is saying is this:

Stop striving for control. Release your grip. Stop acting like everything depends on you — because it doesn’t.

The command “Be still” carries the idea of letting go… of unclenching your fists… of laying down your weapons. It’s the language of surrender.

And notice what grounds that surrender:

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

Stillness isn’t rooted in optimism. It’s not rooted in a perfect plan. It’s not rooted in a predictable future.

It’s rooted in knowing who God is.

He is sovereign. He is present. He is unshaken.

And then God declares something about the future:

“I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”

Not “I hope to be.” Not “I might be.” “I will be.”

The future of this world is not ultimately uncertain. God’s glory is not at risk. His purposes will stand. His name will be lifted high. The nations may rage. Kingdoms may totter. But God will be exalted.

And because that is true, we can rest.

Are you striving for control this morning? Are you carrying weight that God never asked you to carry?

Church, we don’t have to manufacture security. We don’t have to manufacture growth. We don’t have to manufacture stability.

We rest in the God who says, “I will be exalted.”

Verse 11 reminds us why we can let go:

Psalm 46:11 ESV

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

The Lord of hosts — He commands armies we cannot see. The God of Jacob — He is faithful to imperfect people. With us — not distant. Not detached. Present.

Because God is God, we can be still. Because God will be exalted, we don’t have to panic. Because God is with us, we are not alone.

Selah.

Conclusion

I hope you are seeing the point of Psalm 46 because it is incredibly important for us as a church.

Psalm 46 hasn’t tried to explain everything that is happening around us.

It hasn’t promised that the earth won’t shake.

Instead, it has reminded us of something far more important.

1. When the world feels unstable, God is our refuge.

2. When seasons change, God is present with his people.

3. And because God will be exalted, his people can be still.

So the invitation of this Psalm is to not panic. It’s to not grasp for control or to look for security in people, in plans, or in stability.

But it is an invitation to trust God and to rest in his goodness and his presence.

The same God who was a refuge for his people in Jerusalem and sustained the church through Luther, and steadied the church in Augustine’s day, is the same God who is with his people here and now.

Because Psalm 46 reminds us that our hope has never been in a man — it has always been in God — I want to say something clearly to you this morning.

I am honored to serve you as your pastor. But I am not your refuge.

God is.

I am not your stability.

God is.

I am not your fortress.

God is.

My role is not to replace that. My role is to point you to Him faithfully.

And here is my commitment to you…

My commitment as your pastor

And as your pastor, I want you to hear this clearly from me this morning. My commitment to you is To be faithful. To be Biblical To only preach Christ crucified. And to always do what I think is right and in line with God’s will. I will not always get everything right and I will fail you at times. Just know that. I may be a shepherd to you but I am still a sheep in need of grace.

And Psalm 46 reminds us that our hope has never been in a man. It has always been in a God who loved us so much that he would call us from an unstable world to be his people.

All that I ask of you is that we all commit to be united together in Christ under the gospel. And what better way to display our commitment to unity than by celebrating the Lord’s table?

Communion

Around your tables, you should see baskets containing the bread and cup for communion. Go ahead and take those elements and pass them around to those at your table.

As Baptists, we observe two Sacraments that Christ commanded — believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These are gifts Christ gave His church to observe until He returns. This is how he wants to be worshipped.

The bread and the cup remind us of the sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross. As He told His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

But this meal does more than look backward. It also looks forward.

Jesus said in Matthew 26:29,

“I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

So this table is both a solemn remembrance of the cross and a joyful anticipation of the day when we feast with Christ in His kingdom.

Psalm 46 reminded us this morning that God is in the midst of His people. Communion is a visible reminder of that truth. Christ is not distant from us. He gave Himself for us. And He is with us.

And this meal is not just personal — it is corporate.

We come to this table as one body. Not because we are perfect. Not because we agree on everything. But because we share one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.

And Scripture reminds us that this is not something we take lightly.

Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 11 not to take this meal in an unworthy manner. That does not mean we must be worthy people — none of us are worthy. It means we must come in a worthy way.

So before we partake, we are invited to examine ourselves.

If there is unconfessed sin in your life, confess it now.

If there is bitterness in your heart, surrender it now.

If there is someone you need to pursue in reconciliation, commit before the Lord to make that right.

This table is not for perfect people. It is for repentant people. This meal is for the baptized church of Christ.

So let us come honestly. Let us come humbly. Let us come trusting in Christ alone.

So if you would, go ahead and take the bread in your hand. The bread represents the body of Christ that was broken for you on the cross.

I’m going to ask Elder ______ to bless the bread and then we will partake.

Prayer

1 Corinthians 11:23 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,

1 Corinthians 11:24 ESV

and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Take the bread

Now the cup. The cup represents the blood of Christ that was shed for you.

I’m going to ask Elder ______ to bless the cup.

Prayer

1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Take the cup

After Christ instituted the first Lord’s Supper with his disciples on the night that he was betrayed, the Scriptures tell us that they sang a hymn and went out. I’m going to ask Clay to come up and lead us in a song.