WEBVTT 00:00:00.620 --> 00:00:10.500 As we continue to think about what God is like this week, we come to the idea that God is omnipresent, that God is ever-present. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:19.640 We know the phrase, and we probably had the experience, that we can't be in two places at the same time. 00:00:20.219 --> 00:00:25.100 But I guess there are probably times where you wished that you could be. 00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:39.960 Maybe perhaps there is a significant event, a wedding that clashed with some other important event, or you've got children and they're doing activities in different places and you wish you could see them both, but you can't. 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:51.480 Sometimes we have those situations where we have to make decisions and we find our hearts wanting to be somewhere else perhaps while we know we need to be in this other place. 00:00:51.480 --> 00:00:53.920 Because we can't be in two places at the same time. 00:00:53.920 --> 00:01:01.000 Although, I guess one of the things about modern technology is it's serving to push back the barriers quite a lot. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:14.740 You know, we can shop online, we can learn online, we can be connected to people all around the globe, we can keep up with multiple events in multiple venues on multiple pieces of technology. 00:01:14.739 --> 00:01:20.879 And so, in some ways, we are, I guess, more connected than we ever have been. 00:01:22.199 --> 00:01:30.739 But if we find ourselves doing that regularly, we're probably also aware of that idea of becoming kind of divided selves, that we end up being distracted. 00:01:31.539 --> 00:01:36.560 We struggle to fully engage with anything because we're trying to be in all these different places. 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:39.379 And sometimes it can be quite exhausting. 00:01:40.600 --> 00:01:53.020 It was interesting to me, I read recently that there's a growing trend among music artists to try and ban audiences from taking mobile phones out during concert performances now. 00:01:53.019 --> 00:01:58.560 Because they want their audience to be fully present and fully engaged. 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:08.500 And they're recognizing the difference between people just being there for the music and people being there so they can show on their Instagram that they were there. 00:02:08.500 --> 00:02:16.120 The reality is, as we find it in the Bible, is that God connected our spirit and our bodies. 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:24.560 And so, as a result of that, we're deliberately limited so that we can only be in one place at one time. 00:02:24.920 --> 00:02:26.599 We can be contained. 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:30.460 But by contrast, God is uncontainable. 00:02:31.379 --> 00:02:37.060 In John chapter 4, Jesus was speaking to the women from Samaria. 00:02:37.060 --> 00:02:40.780 And he said to her that God is spirit. 00:02:42.020 --> 00:02:44.740 God is not bound by a body. 00:02:44.920 --> 00:02:49.620 Therefore, he can be fully present everywhere all of the time. 00:02:50.020 --> 00:02:51.319 And not in a divided way. 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:54.520 So it's not like there's a bit of God over here and there's some of God over there. 00:02:54.580 --> 00:02:57.039 He's fully present everywhere. 00:02:58.060 --> 00:02:59.580 And Jesus said, God is spirit. 00:02:59.819 --> 00:03:02.420 And his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth. 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:11.459 And at least part of that was opening up this discussion to the women that there's not, here's the holy place or here's the holy place where God is to be worshipped. 00:03:11.579 --> 00:03:18.619 God is spirit so he can be worshipped anywhere and by anyone because God is everywhere. 00:03:19.739 --> 00:03:23.619 Unlike us, God never finds himself being overstretched. 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:27.419 God never finds himself being pulled into directions. 00:03:27.419 --> 00:03:35.459 As Jen Wilkin puts it, God, unbound by a body, is not limited to one place. 00:03:36.219 --> 00:03:37.379 He is not merely big. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:42.759 He is uncontainable, able to be present everywhere. 00:03:43.839 --> 00:03:45.819 So that's what we're going to be thinking about this evening. 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:51.159 And the plan is basically to use three Psalms that will be familiar to a number of us anyway. 00:03:51.299 --> 00:04:02.159 We've sung them all today, Psalm 46 and 51 and 139, to build up something of a picture of this God who is ever present, who is always present. 00:04:02.620 --> 00:04:05.199 And to see how this helps us in our worship. 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:08.979 See what influence this can have on our Christian lives. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:13.939 And also how this is helpful as we seek to help other people. 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:19.139 So we'll begin in Psalm 139 and we'll look at verses 7 to 10. 00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:27.519 And there perhaps the lesson we can draw is that because God is ever present, we should live humbly. 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:37.000 So this is a section where David the Psalmist is reflecting on this fact that God is ever present, all present. 00:04:37.500 --> 00:04:39.680 And that stands in stark contrast to David. 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:44.199 You find David imagining himself moving up and down and from one side to the other side. 00:04:44.579 --> 00:04:45.699 He knows he's limited. 00:04:45.860 --> 00:04:46.819 There needs to be movement. 00:04:47.340 --> 00:04:50.000 But what he's saying is God is not like that. 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:52.680 And that's a source of comfort to David. 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:55.560 So let's look at verse 7. 00:04:56.519 --> 00:04:57.480 Psalm 139. 00:04:58.019 --> 00:05:01.660 Where can I go from your spirit? 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:06.060 Where can I flee from your presence? 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:15.019 And the rest of it is a reflection on this fact that because God is a spirit, he is not limited by space. 00:05:15.139 --> 00:05:19.860 There is no place David can go where God is not. 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:28.480 As he begins to reflect in verses 8 and 9, he is reflecting on this fact that you and I can never and will never outrun God. 00:05:28.480 --> 00:05:36.600 There are no secret places that we can go to that he has not discovered where he is not. 00:05:37.280 --> 00:05:38.860 If I go up to the heavens, you're there. 00:05:38.939 --> 00:05:41.080 If I make my bed in the depths, you're there. 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:45.740 Rise on the wings of the dawn or settle on the far side of the sea. 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:52.420 No matter how mobile, no matter where life takes us, God will be there. 00:05:52.420 --> 00:06:06.920 If we change the image slightly, if we imagine going to the furthest distances that we can see with the Hubble telescope or those smallest things that we can see with an electron microscope, God is there too. 00:06:07.980 --> 00:06:13.680 And he's there sustaining and knowing and guiding and loving his people. 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:17.620 Now there's an important question for us in this. 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:24.379 How does David feel about this fact that God is everywhere, that we can never escape God's presence? 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:35.340 You know, there's a lot of concern about Big Brother watching us and what the government does with kind of CCT imagery and the likes. 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:39.259 But we don't find those concerns with David, do we? 00:06:39.259 --> 00:06:43.779 In verse 10, having reflected on the fact that God is everywhere, he says, 00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:45.839 Even there your hand will guide me. 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:49.779 Your right hand will hold me fast. 00:06:50.500 --> 00:06:52.719 There is comfort in this reality. 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:59.620 Like a child about to face a new experience or a difficult experience, 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:06.240 David imagines himself being held by God's strong right hand. 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:09.480 God is there and that's good news. 00:07:10.280 --> 00:07:15.400 Because God is never overstretched, because God is ever present, 00:07:16.019 --> 00:07:20.220 he can give us the kind of peace and security that we need. 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:25.000 And so this psalm is calling us to a humble worship, 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:30.639 to recognize that while we are limited to one place at one time, God is not. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:37.879 And there is this encouragement from David to be glad that God sticks close to us. 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:41.099 Just as Jesus promised his followers, 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.659 I am with you always to the very end of the age. 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:46.459 This is who our God is. 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:48.539 He is faithful to these promises. 00:07:49.379 --> 00:07:52.759 Faithful to be with and for his people. 00:07:52.759 --> 00:08:00.899 And so there is an invitation to us to humbly trust him when we find ourselves in hard places, 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:05.959 scary places, or new places and situations. 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:12.159 We can rest knowing that God is there and he is there for us. 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:23.760 I think there is also an invitation for us to rest in that sense where there are some people in our lives that we are really concerned for. 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:30.660 And we know that they are going through difficult situations and sometimes we can't be there for them or with them. 00:08:31.660 --> 00:08:34.460 But we have a God who can and who does. 00:08:34.460 --> 00:08:39.860 And so part of our concern for other people is to bring them to God. 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:44.420 To remember that God is there and God can help. 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:52.720 There is also an encouragement to us, I think, in the contrast between us and God to humbly submit to our limits. 00:08:53.400 --> 00:09:01.920 To give up this relentless and sometimes exhausting attempt to be in so many places at one time. 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:05.379 Instead, to just resolve to be fully present in the present. 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:08.860 To have a conversation with someone without being distracted. 00:09:09.179 --> 00:09:16.000 To give ourselves to another person without thinking about what might be happening in some other part of the world. 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:23.759 Maybe we need to learn to go unplugged for our sake and for the sake of others. 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:32.539 And I think for our faith there is certainly a call to us in the present to meditate on the reality of verse 10. 00:09:33.340 --> 00:09:44.460 To live in that kind of humble trust that God who is Father, Son and Spirit is with us and he will guide us and he will hold us fast. 00:09:44.460 --> 00:09:49.639 So God is ever present, David says in Psalm 139. 00:09:49.740 --> 00:09:50.759 So we should live humbly. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:53.920 Now, turn with me to Psalm 51. 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:57.120 Now we're going to skip back a few pages to Psalm 51. 00:09:58.019 --> 00:10:01.100 Which is on page 573. 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:07.240 This is the last psalm we just sung the first nine verses of. 00:10:09.180 --> 00:10:12.540 In Psalm 51 and especially the first four verses. 00:10:13.159 --> 00:10:15.940 And we're going to think about this idea that God is ever present. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:19.639 So we should live carefully. 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:24.000 The titles of the Psalms are important. 00:10:24.180 --> 00:10:30.259 And this title for Psalm 51 gives us the occasion for the writing of this psalm. 00:10:30.259 --> 00:10:37.700 When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. 00:10:38.179 --> 00:10:46.439 So God sends Nathan to confront David over what David seemed to think was the secret sin of adultery. 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:53.799 He followed that up with having Uriah Bathsheba's husband killed. 00:10:54.919 --> 00:10:57.460 But you know when you stop and think even about that title. 00:10:57.460 --> 00:11:08.440 This is really remarkable because here is King David allowing this very personal confession of deep sin to become part of public worship. 00:11:09.780 --> 00:11:19.940 Here is the king acknowledging before his people that I am guilty and I need to trust in God's grace and God's covenant faithfulness. 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:25.900 We'll see that's where he pins his hope in the opening verses that we'll look to. 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:28.860 And we see it throughout his only hope. 00:11:28.940 --> 00:11:31.760 He understands this is that God would cleanse him. 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:36.240 That God would show grace and mercy to him. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:42.400 So here is a king who trusts absolutely in God's grace and God's faithfulness. 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:45.799 And therefore he is able to confess freely. 00:11:46.939 --> 00:11:51.899 Now the key idea for our topic this evening is in verse 4. 00:11:52.899 --> 00:12:00.699 Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. 00:12:00.700 --> 00:12:07.560 So here is David acknowledging that before God there is no such thing as secret sin. 00:12:09.520 --> 00:12:13.960 We may feel that we have secret sins in our lives. 00:12:14.800 --> 00:12:22.240 Things that we would not dream of sharing with another person because of the shame that that would cause us. 00:12:22.660 --> 00:12:29.000 But the reality, as David points out to us, is there is no secret sin when it comes to God. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:35.019 We can cover up with others, but we can't cover up before the ever-present God. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:38.019 Again, as Jen Wilkin puts it in her book, 00:12:38.580 --> 00:12:43.659 God is near whether we feel him to be or not. 00:12:44.360 --> 00:12:50.639 How mindful we are of this truth will directly affect how we live. 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:54.539 And this is what we see with David. 00:12:54.539 --> 00:13:06.000 Having had his sin pointed out, he recognizes that God is ever-present and he thinks about what his ever-present God is like. 00:13:06.459 --> 00:13:13.539 And in the first verse, we find that he trusts in the God of covenant. 00:13:14.219 --> 00:13:16.959 There's lots of covenant language in here. 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:17.600 Verse 1, 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:28.600 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:38.720 Now those words, mercy, unfailing love, compassion, they're all drawn from God revealing his character to Moses in Exodus chapter 34. 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:45.639 Moses wanted to see God's glory and God reveals it through revealing the kind of God that he is. 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:56.399 And David pins his hope on the character of this ever-present God, that he shows mercy, not dealing with him as his sin deserves, 00:13:57.139 --> 00:14:04.379 not instantly judging and condemning, that this God is marked by unfailing love. 00:14:04.939 --> 00:14:10.740 And David finds hope that he will not be abandoned despite his failure. 00:14:10.740 --> 00:14:14.419 He is a God of great compassion. 00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:23.060 And his hope is that God will respond to his need by acting positively to help despite his sin. 00:14:23.059 --> 00:14:31.619 When this is our God, the God of the Bible, the God of grace, the God of the covenant, 00:14:31.959 --> 00:14:37.099 we are able to move towards him even in our sin. 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:39.739 He knows our sin. 00:14:40.019 --> 00:14:42.119 He's present when we sin. 00:14:42.699 --> 00:14:49.219 And yet he's provided the way for us to be forgiven of our sin by sending the Lord Jesus. 00:14:49.220 --> 00:14:51.320 And so he is ready to forgive. 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:55.460 And David appreciates this about his God. 00:14:56.820 --> 00:15:02.120 Why does David need God to act in mercy and unfailing love and compassion? 00:15:02.540 --> 00:15:10.960 Because he knows clearly that all of his sin is committed when God is present with him. 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:20.820 So while we have in our own hearts that sense of pride and shame, 00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:26.220 and there are people who we are desperate to be in their good books, 00:15:26.280 --> 00:15:31.900 and we're devastated to lose face when we fail, when we sin before them, 00:15:32.060 --> 00:15:36.280 and we apply that horizontally, and there are people that we do not disappoint, 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:43.819 we can easily forget vertically that God deserves all of our honour, 00:15:44.819 --> 00:15:52.779 and that we should seek to obey knowing that he is present with us at all times. 00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:59.639 Just as David relied on these three covenant qualities of God, 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:04.360 so now he talks about his sin using a trio of different words. 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:14.740 In verses 2 and 3, his language for sin, first of all, he says his sin is transgression. 00:16:15.700 --> 00:16:20.000 This idea of trespassing into forbidden territory. 00:16:20.899 --> 00:16:25.460 God says, here's the safe place, here's where you should live, 00:16:25.800 --> 00:16:31.220 and we trespass when we break God's law, when we go outside of that. 00:16:31.220 --> 00:16:37.200 And then he says in verse 2, wash away all my iniquity. 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:41.420 That's the idea of having that tendency to make straight things crooked, 00:16:41.560 --> 00:16:48.139 to pervert the straight way, and cleanse me from my sin. 00:16:48.820 --> 00:16:53.440 Sin has the idea of our failure to hit the target, 00:16:53.920 --> 00:16:56.399 or falling short of the mark. 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:01.860 God sets a standard, and we fail to achieve it. 00:17:02.699 --> 00:17:09.420 And David knows this about himself, and he also knows that God sees it all. 00:17:11.059 --> 00:17:12.980 Which is why he says, 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:16.139 not just my sin is always before me, 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:21.559 in verse 3, against you, you only have I sinned. 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:25.419 God's law defines sin. 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.259 God is the truly holy one. 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:32.279 So all sin is, first of all, a sin against God. 00:17:32.359 --> 00:17:36.220 Though clearly, others feel the effects of sin, 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:38.559 and the devastating consequences, 00:17:39.139 --> 00:17:43.099 as we see in the story of Bathsheba and Uriah. 00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:47.659 And what does David want God to do about his sin? 00:17:47.719 --> 00:17:52.240 Having confessed it openly with his trio of words about his sin, 00:17:52.459 --> 00:17:55.879 he now uses a trio of washing words, 00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:59.339 washing images in verses 1 and 2. 00:18:00.579 --> 00:18:01.459 So he says, 00:18:01.639 --> 00:18:04.799 blot out my transgressions. 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:08.079 The idea of wiping the slate clean, 00:18:08.219 --> 00:18:10.740 of removing the words from the page, 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:12.759 creating a blank page again. 00:18:13.679 --> 00:18:18.079 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:20.199 This is laundry image, 00:18:20.899 --> 00:18:25.159 of a stain and clothing being removed. 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:28.259 And so he's aware of what God is like, 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:30.399 he's aware of what his sin is like, 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:33.500 and he asks this God to deal with his sin 00:18:33.500 --> 00:18:37.299 according to his mercy and his love and his compassion. 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:41.899 It gives him hope and confidence for forgiveness. 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:46.040 And so he confesses his sin. 00:18:47.380 --> 00:18:48.160 Verse 3, 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:49.340 I see my sin. 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:50.000 He's meditating, 00:18:50.780 --> 00:18:52.680 he's reflecting on it. 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:54.120 And then in verse 4, 00:18:54.180 --> 00:18:54.900 he's acknowledging, 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:56.780 you see all my sin. 00:18:56.779 --> 00:19:01.539 And so here is an encouragement to us to meditate on this fact. 00:19:02.099 --> 00:19:04.940 God is ever present with us. 00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:07.379 When no one else is around, 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:08.819 when no one else is looking, 00:19:08.980 --> 00:19:10.000 God is there. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:15.240 And that's not intended to be a scary thing, 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:20.599 but it's rather an encouragement to live consciously in God's presence 00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:25.319 so that we would live carefully with regards to sin. 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:30.059 That we would live carefully in our obedience. 00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:32.980 And that we would worship him 00:19:32.980 --> 00:19:34.219 because we know, 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:35.319 just as David knows, 00:19:35.399 --> 00:19:36.959 that there is a way for us, 00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:37.939 even in our sin, 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:40.000 to be forgiven and to be cleansed 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.200 because he sent Jesus to take all our sin, 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:46.720 to make us clean, 00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:49.940 to make us acceptable in God's sight. 00:19:50.779 --> 00:19:52.640 So God is ever present. 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:54.940 So we should live carefully. 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:56.759 And one last Psalm, 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:58.380 the Psalm that we began with, 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:00.059 Psalm 46. 00:20:01.740 --> 00:20:05.059 Psalm 46 on page 570. 00:20:05.059 --> 00:20:08.619 Let's think about the opening 00:20:08.619 --> 00:20:12.779 and then the refrain that we find in verses 7 and 11. 00:20:17.539 --> 00:20:19.799 God is ever present. 00:20:20.740 --> 00:20:23.399 Therefore we can live securely. 00:20:24.399 --> 00:20:26.879 As you work your way through the Psalm, 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:29.899 you discover that it pictures a variety of different crises. 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:33.539 Times of chaos are pictured in the Psalm. 00:20:33.659 --> 00:20:35.039 So there's the forces of nature, 00:20:35.059 --> 00:20:36.679 that we find in verses 2 and 3. 00:20:37.159 --> 00:20:40.379 We find a city under siege in the middle section there, 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:41.220 4 to 6. 00:20:41.639 --> 00:20:44.839 And then we find national warfare, 00:20:45.099 --> 00:20:49.059 enemies coming against the nation in verses 8 to 10. 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:50.700 And this Psalm is saying, 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:53.839 we can face disasters without fear 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:58.720 when we have found true security in God alone. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:02.019 And the Psalm goes on to explain why 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:03.599 and how that's possible. 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:07.059 It's possible because God is, 00:21:07.159 --> 00:21:08.119 according to verse 1, 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:10.199 our refuge, 00:21:10.579 --> 00:21:12.500 the safe place to run to. 00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:14.379 Think Edinburgh Castle under siege. 00:21:15.339 --> 00:21:16.139 Run up the mountain, 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:17.439 hide in the castle, 00:21:17.659 --> 00:21:18.619 and there's safety. 00:21:19.219 --> 00:21:21.319 Sometimes God is present 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:23.139 to shield us from trouble. 00:21:23.879 --> 00:21:26.399 That's sometimes how God chooses to work. 00:21:26.740 --> 00:21:28.079 He protects his people. 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:30.359 He is a refuge for us. 00:21:30.699 --> 00:21:31.960 And then at other times, 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:34.399 he is our strength. 00:21:35.399 --> 00:21:37.699 He gives us inner strength. 00:21:38.199 --> 00:21:40.879 He's present with us in the middle of our trouble 00:21:40.879 --> 00:21:44.039 to give us help and strength when we need it. 00:21:44.099 --> 00:21:45.220 Sometimes he shields us. 00:21:45.699 --> 00:21:46.619 Sometimes he doesn't. 00:21:46.619 --> 00:21:48.000 But in every case, 00:21:48.399 --> 00:21:49.859 he's ever present 00:21:49.859 --> 00:21:52.899 to help us in our trouble. 00:21:53.579 --> 00:21:55.699 So that's true all the time. 00:21:56.059 --> 00:21:57.399 We have a God who's with us 00:21:57.399 --> 00:21:59.819 and for us in our troubles. 00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:03.000 Which is good news. 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:05.899 And it's good news when David explains to us 00:22:05.899 --> 00:22:07.699 what our God is like. 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:09.779 Verse 7 and 11 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:13.200 repeat these truths about God. 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:16.399 The Lord Almighty is with us. 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:20.500 The God of Jacob is our fortress. 00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:22.000 God is the Lord Almighty, 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:24.759 the God of absolute strength. 00:22:24.940 --> 00:22:26.819 This is who we trust in. 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:30.059 And he's also the God of Jacob, 00:22:30.059 --> 00:22:32.240 which pulls us back to the covenant, 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:34.399 to the fact that he's a God of grace. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:36.240 He's a God who's faithful 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:37.720 to his covenant promises 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:39.880 towards his own people. 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:42.860 And so what the sons of Korah 00:22:42.860 --> 00:22:43.759 and their psalm are saying, 00:22:44.140 --> 00:22:45.960 since this God is with us, 00:22:46.740 --> 00:22:48.100 there is no need for us 00:22:48.100 --> 00:22:49.700 to be overwhelmed. 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:53.019 When trouble comes, 00:22:54.100 --> 00:22:55.720 and trouble will come, 00:22:56.620 --> 00:22:58.539 the question is not simply, 00:22:58.539 --> 00:22:59.960 do I have faith? 00:23:00.420 --> 00:23:02.680 But who or what do I have faith in? 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:03.920 Is the person, 00:23:04.019 --> 00:23:05.480 is the thing that I am trusting in 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:08.279 strong enough to keep me 00:23:08.279 --> 00:23:10.779 in this particular situation? 00:23:11.259 --> 00:23:12.980 Can it meet all my needs 00:23:12.980 --> 00:23:14.839 and give me true and lasting security? 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:17.799 And what the psalmist is saying 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:19.640 is that only when we know God, 00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:21.220 only when our hope is in Jesus, 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:22.579 can we truly say, 00:23:22.779 --> 00:23:24.380 yes, in all cases, 00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:28.339 that source of trust is reliable. 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:31.519 Because he's the almighty God, 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:32.839 the all-powerful God, 00:23:32.839 --> 00:23:35.599 who's also the God of covenant grace. 00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:39.019 I discovered this week 00:23:39.019 --> 00:23:41.279 that the hymn writer John Wesley, 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:43.559 when he was on his deathbed, 00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:45.619 when he was, like me, 00:23:45.679 --> 00:23:46.879 almost unable to speak, 00:23:47.379 --> 00:23:50.519 two times he summoned his strength 00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:52.599 and he got up from his bed 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:53.480 and he called out, 00:23:53.619 --> 00:23:54.799 the best of all, 00:23:55.379 --> 00:23:56.720 God is with us. 00:23:57.139 --> 00:23:58.519 The best of all, 00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:01.339 God is with us. 00:24:01.339 --> 00:24:04.579 When we look to care for people, 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:06.879 when we look to bring comfort 00:24:06.879 --> 00:24:08.079 to those who are hurting, 00:24:08.179 --> 00:24:09.220 when we look to encourage 00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:10.480 those who are distressed, 00:24:10.859 --> 00:24:13.159 the best thing we can do 00:24:13.159 --> 00:24:14.599 is introduce them 00:24:14.599 --> 00:24:16.459 to the God who is with us. 00:24:17.139 --> 00:24:17.980 Introduce them 00:24:17.980 --> 00:24:20.459 to the God who is Emmanuel. 00:24:21.500 --> 00:24:22.759 That we would entrust them 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:23.879 to God's care 00:24:23.879 --> 00:24:25.659 and that we would point them 00:24:25.659 --> 00:24:27.319 to the God who is with them 00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:29.039 and for them to care for them. 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:31.740 to invite them to place themselves 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:35.079 in God's strong hands. 00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:38.059 So when trouble comes, 00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:40.420 here is a wonderful verse 00:24:40.420 --> 00:24:41.639 and a wonderful truth 00:24:41.639 --> 00:24:43.379 for us to rely on. 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:45.599 God is our refuge 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:47.339 and strength 00:24:47.339 --> 00:24:48.779 and ever-present help 00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:49.859 in trouble. 00:24:51.019 --> 00:24:52.079 Martin Luther, 00:24:52.619 --> 00:24:54.519 when the church was persecuted 00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:55.539 and under attack, 00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:57.480 would often go to this psalm 00:24:57.480 --> 00:24:59.759 to sing Psalm 46 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:00.819 to give him hope 00:25:00.819 --> 00:25:02.420 and encouragement. 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:04.960 For our worship, 00:25:05.539 --> 00:25:06.799 as we remember, 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:09.819 Jesus came to be Emmanuel, 00:25:10.099 --> 00:25:10.960 to be God with us. 00:25:11.019 --> 00:25:12.559 This is good news. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:15.980 And we look forward 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:17.839 to the future hope 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:19.900 of fully experiencing that. 00:25:19.900 --> 00:25:21.660 when God is with us 00:25:21.660 --> 00:25:22.720 and we are with God 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:24.300 and we get to see him 00:25:24.300 --> 00:25:25.840 and we get to know him. 00:25:26.120 --> 00:25:27.380 But in the present, 00:25:28.560 --> 00:25:30.100 here is this invitation 00:25:30.100 --> 00:25:32.100 to live securely 00:25:32.100 --> 00:25:34.220 because the Lord Almighty 00:25:34.220 --> 00:25:35.860 is with us. 00:25:36.460 --> 00:25:37.500 The God of Jacob 00:25:37.500 --> 00:25:39.280 is our fortress.