As preached by Timothy O'Day.
In Christ, the church is...
1) Peaceful because the Lord is faithful (v.1-3).
2) Unshakeable because the Lord is with her (v.4-7).
3) Restful because the Lord is victorious (v.8-11).
Present Faith and Future Confidence
Psalm 46
August 25, 2024
A.W. Tozer begins his work, The Knowledge of the Holy, with this classic line: if you spend any time with me, you know by now is emblazoned on my brain,
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
This quote will forever occupy my mental real estate because it is so simple and profound. Many people, yourself included, want to know the way in which you may hack into why you think, act, and feel the way you do. You are a complicated person with a myriad of competing interests and desires that inform how you think, act, and feel. But at the root of all your desires, thoughts, and behavior rests this fundamental reason: Who you think God is.
All of your other beliefs and all of your attitudes spring from your belief about who and what God is.
In other words, if you want to know why you are anxious, depressed, angry, fearful, lazy, apathetic, or calm in hard times or when the unexpected comes up, it is because of what you think—or don’t think—about God.
Left to our own devices, you and I won’t think rightly about God. In fact, we may very well forget about him altogether. Since this is the case, the Bible is a rich gift of God revealing himself to us so that we may know him rightly. God has spoken to us in more than a shout to communicate his presence; he has revealed his very heart to us and promised his love to his people through a binding covenant promise.
This is what the psalmist is celebrating in Psalm 46.
Psalm 46 in Context
Before looking at Psalm 46 up close, let’s remember what has come before it. Psalm 42-43 laid out a personal lament in which God taught us how to pray when he is distant and sorrow fills our lives. Psalm 44 built on that by expressing the same complaint of God’s absence, but from a corporate perspective. The laments of Psalm 42-44 were cries of God’s people waiting for him to act and redeem in accord with his covenant promises. They are saying, “Something isn’t right,” which brings us to Psalm 45. Psalm 45 was the answer to these laments, declaring the arrival of God’s anointed king and his marriage to his bride.
As those on this side of the cross in redemptive history, we can see that the lament of our souls, both personal and corporately as God’s church, is answered by the coming of Jesus, God’s Messiah sent to seek and to save the lost. The church, those who belong to Christ, are corporately his bride, rejoicing in his coming and waiting for his second coming to deliver us. Psalm 46 is the people of God, now known as the church, looking ahead to the day that Jesus will return and make all things new.
Structure of this Psalm
Psalm 46 is broken down into three sections, the ending of each section marked by the word selah, which is likely referring to a pause in the lyrics for a musical interlude. These are moments that show a shift in scene in Psalm 46 and give us a chance to pause and reflect.
Each section is telling God’s people, his church, how they will react on the day of the Messiah’s second coming, when he comes to end sin, sorrow, and death, redeeming his own and judging all who stand against him. This isn’t instruction about how you should react; it is a statement about how you will react if your faith is in Christ.
But here is what you might miss when you look at this Psalm. The reason God’s people will react this way is because of who God is. In other words, what you believe about God will directly correspond to how you react on that great and terrible day. How the people of God, his church, reacts on that day depends on who God is and what he has promised in the New Covenant in Christ. With three portions to this psalm, I will make three points. Each point will begin with the phrase, “In Christ, the church is..” followed by the point.
In Christ, the church is…
Peaceful because the Lord is faithful (1-3).
This is the reality conveyed in verses 1-3. Verse 1 is a statement of fact that leads to the conclusion of verses 2-3. Look at the statement of fact in verse 1,
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
This is how the psalmist, one of God’s people, has experienced God throughout his life. He rightly sees that God is the one who shelters and protects him when trouble comes. He has experienced God to be his refuge, strength, and present help. And this past experience of God’s power and care leads him to the conclusion of verses 2-3,
“Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”
Dwell on that image for a moment: Some mountains are plucked up, thrown into the ocean, and a wave of such magnitude results that the remaining mountains tremble and give way to the swelling ocean.
Yet, the one who knows God as his refuge and strength does not fear.
When the world as you know it ends, the one who trusts in the Lord stands without fear. The psalmist is not simply trying to be dramatic in this description as if he is just trying to come up with an image to convey how confident he and God’s people are in God’s strength and care for them. No, he is doing much more. He is saying that when the world ends, as creation is undone, God’s people will not be afraid even as creation is unmade. One day, God will roll up creation and time like a scroll, purging evil from existence and purifying the world that is defiled by sin.
How you know God now determines how you will respond then.
The Sons of Korah
If you look at the superscription of this Psalm, you will see that it is written by the sons of Korah. Who are they? Korah was a Levite who, during the time of the wilderness wanderings, became disgruntled about the fact that God had not selected him to be a priest. God had selected Aaron and his family for the priesthood, but not the family of Korah. The Levites were set apart for God’s use, but while every priest was a Levite, not every Levite was a priest. This filled Korah with anger and jealousy. In coveting the priesthood, Korah rebelled against Moses (Numbers 16:8-11). As Korah challenged Moses' authority, the entire system that provided for God’s people to have fellowship with him was threatened. So divine judgment came down on Korah. Moses said in Numbers 16:26, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and tough nothings of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” So the people separated themselves from Korah, including his sons (cf Num 26:11). Then the earth melted underneath the feet of Korah and those who joined him.
Korah died in judgment, but those who heeded God’s word and stood with God’s chosen man were saved from judgment. As the sons of Korah write this song, they have experience of God as a refuge. The earth moved, but God spared them and showed his strength to keep them. Now they get to sing his praise and have confidence on the day of judgment because they belong to him.
A Rebellion Greater Than Korah’s, A Mediator Better Than Moses
If the sons of Korah know that they will have confidence on that day, how much more should we who are in Christ have confidence? Standing on this side of the cross, on this side of redemptive history, our confidence should be all the more sure that on the day of judgment and wrath, we will be saved.
On the day of judgment, every sin will be laid bare and called to account. The God of justice will make all things right. That should rightly sober and terrify every single person because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:21). The gospel message is not altogether different from what Moses cried out in the book of Numbers, “Depart from living in your own way; separate from wickedness lest you be swept away in it.” But it goes further and is better. If you merely stopped sinning today (which you cannot), you would still be guilty of every sin that you have committed and deserve Hell. This is what Jesus, God the Son incarnate, came to address. Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, who willingly took on flesh, lived a life of perfect obedience, died a substitutionary death on the cross, and rose again from the dead on the third day. That is to say, Jesus lived the life you were supposed to live and death the death you deserved to die. On the cross, he takes the sin of his people and bears the penalty for it. But that isn’t all that he does. He credits to his people his righteous life so that on the day of judgment, they are not counted as sinners but counted as righteous as Jesus is righteous.
This is why, on the day of judgment, when all of creation is overturned, his people are not in a panic. His people will be peaceful because they are sheltered by their Savior through faith. If the sons of Korah felt safe because they heeded Moses as mediator, how much more confidence can we, God’s church, have in God the Son as our Mediator?
Is Jesus Your Refuge and Strength?
Do you know Jesus as your refuge and strength? If you know that Jesus paid your penalty, has promised to keep you and not forsake, and he goes to prepare a place for you, then you will have confidence on that day.
Is Jesus your refuge from the guilt and power of sin? Or are you denying that you deserve judgment? Or are you trying to earn salvation from judgment by making your righteous acts your refuge?
Or are you hiding sin, hoping that God will be fooled as easily as men are? There is only one way to be fearless on that day: don’t hide your sin. Confess it, leave it behind, and trust in Jesus alone. Jesus has promised that if you confess your sin and stand with him, you will not face wrath on that day.
You can have peace because he is faithful to keep that promise.
Second, in Christ, the church is…
Unshakeable because the Lord is with her (4-7).
In judgment, all else will be shaken and removed, but the church has an inheritance that is unshakeable because her inheritance is the Lord himself. Creation will give way, but the uncreated one will not. In reading verse 4 and hearing the line, “City of God,” you may immediately think of Jerusalem. This is the city in which God had caused his name to dwell, where his temple was constructed, and where his anointed kings, David and his sons, reigned. But this is not speaking of Jerusalem. We know it isn’t speaking of Jerusalem because there is no river that flows through the city of Jerusalem. At least, not then and not today.
Yet, many prophets foretold that one day, after God made all things new, there would be a river running through the New Jerusalem (see Ezekiel 47:1-14; Joel 3:18; Zech 13:1; 14:8-9). These verses, then, continue the theme of talking about the new creation but from a different angle. Creation has given way, but the feet of God’s people do not rest on the shaking ground. Rather, they have come into the Kingdom that cannot be shaken (see Hebrews 12:18-29), the New Jerusalem in which God dwells with his people in the New Heavens and New Earth.
Why The New Jerusalem Is Better
What makes the New Jerusalem so much better than the Old is mentioned as twofold. First, the river makes glad the city of God. This river is a symbol of life, which looks back at Psalm 1 which compares to a tree planted by a stream of living water. In Psalm 1, this stream is the word of God that imparts life to the believer. The river in the New Jerusalem, then, is a symbol of the eternal life that God provides for those in his city.
Aside from the river, the New Jerusalem is also better because God is there. Ezekiel spoke of a temple in the New Jerusalem that was of astounding proportions (Eek 40-48), but we see in Revelation 21:22 that there is no temple in this New Jerusalem. Why the difference? Reading Revelation 21:22 clarifies why, “For its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” Do you see what this means? Ezekiel spoke of a mighty temple in order to communicate the reality of God’s mighty presence, in a magnitude not yet experienced by his people. A gigantic temple, the size of which is difficult to fathom, communicates a level of God’s presence that is difficult for us to fathom. That’s what makes this new city so singular: it is the place where God will dwell with his people with uninterrupted communion.
In the old Jerusalem, God dwelt in the temple. He was with his people, but there was still a level of separation. In the New Jerusalem, God is the temple dwelling with his people without barrier. This Psalm looks forward to what will be declared on the day of consummation, as we read in Revelation 21:3,
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”
This is why we read in verse 5, “God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved.” At the dawn of new creation, he will raise his own from the dead and they will be with him.
All Else Will Be Shaken and Removed
But what about everyone else? On that day, all else will be shaken and removed. Verse 6 turns our attention to those who stand against the Lord and their fate. The nations rage, but not just a general rage. Psalm 2 tells us that the nations rage against the Lord and against his Anointed, meaning Jesus the Messiah. As they continue to rage against the Lord, they tottered with the rest of creation. They cannot put up a fight. The Lord speaks, the earth melts, and they are undone in judgment.
Just as God spoke to create all things, he speaks at all melts away. But those who trust in the Lord, as verse 7 tells us, remain unshaken because God is with them and is their fortress.
On What Are You Building Your Life?
Knowing the Lord and being with him is everything. Perhaps you’ve heard this line from a poem by CT Studd,
“Only one life, twill soon be past,
only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say, ‘Thy will be done’;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say, ’twas worth it all.’”
This doesn’t mean that only evangelism, or church attendance, or sermons will matter. It means that only what is done for the glory of Christ will matter. When you work for the glory of God, you work for what will last and what will not shake away in the end. All else will fade away. Like sand slipping through your fingers, all you built—if it is not on the foundation of Christ—will vanish.
On that day, nothing else will matter. It will not matter how well you cared for your body, how much money you made, how nice of a house you owned, how many lies you got away with, who honored you, how clever you were, how many books you read, how highly people think of you, or how well you handled your finances. What will matter is where you are with the Lord. For on that day, those who are united to him in Christ can say, “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
Third, in Christ, the church is…
Restful because the Lord is victorious (8-11).
Here is the last stanza and another view of the end of days. Verse 8 calls us to behold now by faith what we will truly behold in the New Creation. We are called to behold the works of the Lord, “How he has brought desolations on the earth.”
Doesn’t that sound like an odd invitation? Desolation is destruction. Viewing desolations doesn’t sound very appealing, but read on to what the psalmist says in verse 9 to see what these desolations look like. What does this destruction look like?
“He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the charts with fire.”
This is talking about so much more than just an end to human violence. Remember, the nations raged not merely against each other, but against the Lord and against his anointed. What is destroyed is war against God and the weapons of rebellion.
In the New Creation, not only will rebels be gone, but the weapon used to rebel will be no more. Sin is no more. And if sin is no more, there is no more reason for God’s people to fear the ravages of sin on this earth and in our hearts. With no sin, there is no sorrow, pain, or loss.
Imagine There Is Heaven
Can you imagine a world without sin? Trying to describe such a word feels impossible, like describing a rainbow without using colors or smells to someone who doesn’t have a nose.
But even though it is hard to imagine, you can. Every pleasure and victory over evil and pain is a taste of Heaven. One day, you will enjoy the meal, but right now, you can know what it tastes like. Every good thing is a glimpse of heaven, like smelling the Thanksgiving meal as it is being prepared. You smell heaven in every joy you experience:
A good night's sleep
A home-cooked meal
Laughing hard with good friends
Getting a baby to laugh and smile
Standing over Bryce Canyon and soaking in the majesty of creation
Listening to good music on full-blast
Singing with the church
Experiencing a friend stand up for you and stand by you
Coming home after a long absence
Feeling known and understood by others
Seeing someone you love succeed
A mother’s hug that releases pent-up tears.
All of these good things are just a taste of Heaven. The joys of Heaven are more real, not less real, than the joys of creation now. In Heaven, they get the fullness of joy and not just the taste of it. We presently live in a world that is under the curse of death. In the New Heavens and the New Earth, you will experience the resurrected creation, full and brimming with life in a way that you have not yet experienced.
And No More Sin
Not only will the creation be resurrected, but there will be no more sin. You will never again taste the ravages of sin and its effects. Imagine being freed of these pains as you are freed from them on this earth at times. Imagine never having to worry about making ends meet again; never tasting betrayal again; never struggling to say no to sin again; never giving into gossip and slander; ever seeing the pain that your sin causes again; never having to endure a Biden-Trump or Trump Harris election cycle again; never experiencing the bitter enemy of death that takes away those you love.
All of that sorrow will be in the category of ancient history, not to be experienced and only to be used as fuel to praise the God who ended it all.
What is Left?
What is left to do in such a world as this? Christ wins and gives his people rest against the sin in our own hearts and the sin of others that hurts us deeply. In verse 10, God himself gives us directions of what will be left for us to do when he says, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Those in the New Creation, God’s people, get to rest. At first, this might sound anticlimactic, but it isn’t. What we get to do is marvel in the God who is able to do all of these things by his word.
Who can fathom this God? What bounties and beauties lie in him? What wonders? What knowledge? Don’t miss this. Many people think that Heaven sounds boring, but it cannot be, for the infinite one is there and sin will no longer mare your relationship with him. As you rest and know God in the New Creation, you dive into the source of all that you love for God is the source of all that is good and lovely.
If you love to learn, you will love knowing God in the New Creation; if you love beauty, you will love to behold your King; if you love pleasure, you will love to be in his presence. If you love goodness, then you will be ecstatic in your communion with him.
Everything good has its origin in God, so being still and knowing God for who he is will be to dive deeply into every joy, pleasure, and delight.
Even though we rejected God, going astray and seeking to define goodness and life apart from him, he drew us to himself in Christ because he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. This is why we will want to say together as his people in the New Creation, “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” We will love to remember together that our God loves to protect and deliver us.
And if you doubt that, then turn your eyes to the table. Here we get to remember together how great our sin is and how much greater God’s love is. We are safe because our King came for us, died for us, rose for us, and he will return for us.
Do you believe that about God? If you do, it will change your life and your eternity.
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