WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.400 Our scripture reading this morning is from the Old Testament, from the Psalms, Psalm 46. 00:00:08.060 --> 00:00:12.980 ! So if you have a Bible, do turn there, and it's printed in our bulletins, and it'll appear 00:00:12.980 --> 00:00:19.699 ! on the screens as well. And one of our deacons, Philip Brown, is going to come and read scripture 00:00:19.699 --> 00:00:29.080 for us. To the choir master of the sons of Korah, according to Aliboth, a song. God is our refuge 00:00:29.079 --> 00:00:34.820 in strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:41.079 gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, 00:00:41.739 --> 00:00:48.459 though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:54.560 the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, and she shall not be moved. 00:00:54.560 --> 00:01:01.420 God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter. He utters his voice, 00:01:01.740 --> 00:01:07.680 the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:13.859 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 00:01:14.240 --> 00:01:19.520 He makes wars cease to end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:27.199 He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know the time, God. I will be exalted among the nations. 00:01:27.899 --> 00:01:34.539 I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. 00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:40.640 Let's pray together. Let's pray. 00:01:42.880 --> 00:01:49.500 God, our Father, as we turn to your word this morning, we pray that as we open it up, that you would 00:01:49.500 --> 00:01:56.740 open up our hearts to receive it. We pray that your Holy Spirit would be our teacher and instructor, 00:01:56.739 --> 00:02:05.500 and that your glory would be our chief concern. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:17.659 Psalm 46 is said to have been a favorite of the great reformer Martin Luther. Such was the comfort 00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:26.439 brought to him that he wrote his very own paraphrase of the psalm, a mighty fortress. During the 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:34.680 tumultuous period of the Reformation, mid-great discouragements, Luther is reputed to have turned 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:42.819 to his colleague and friend, Philip Melantham, and said, come, Philip, let us sing the 46th Psalm 00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:51.199 and let the devil do his worst. Luther wrote of the psalm, we sing this psalm to the praise of God 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:58.699 because he is with us and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends his church 00:02:58.699 --> 00:03:08.060 and his word against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of hell, against the implacable hatred of 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:17.860 the devil, and against all the assaults of the world, the flesh, and sin. Luther, it seems, spent a great 00:03:17.860 --> 00:03:26.560 deal of time reading and reflecting on this particular psalm, and especially upon its promise that God is the 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:34.800 great bulwark and fortress who never fails his people. And I think that is a promise 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:43.680 that we are here over and over again as God's people amid our broken and uncertain world. 00:03:44.320 --> 00:03:51.620 Because like Luther of old, it seems that we too live in an ever-changing, fluctuating world, 00:03:52.220 --> 00:03:59.600 where little appears permanent and secure, a world in which our lives often appear to be at the mercy 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:08.219 of forces well beyond our control. Of course, we all like to think that we're in control. 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:16.819 We like to believe that we're in charge. We often comfort ourselves with the thought that we are the 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:27.159 masters of our own destiny. But of course, that is only an illusion, an illusion sometimes brutally 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:36.640 exploded by our experience of life. For after all, none of us knows what tomorrow will bring. 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:44.200 None of us can predict what slings and arrows of outrageous fortune may indeed come our way. 00:04:45.400 --> 00:04:51.780 One day life can be like a beautiful, tranquil summer's day, not a cloud in sight. 00:04:51.779 --> 00:04:58.619 And the next week can be caught up in some great and fierce and terrifying storm. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:06.979 There are those times when the very foundations of the earth seem to shake, nations rage, kingdoms 00:05:06.979 --> 00:05:15.219 totter, mountains appear to be carried into the very heart of the sea. And in such days, our hearts 00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:25.060 cry out for something solid, immovable, something that will not give way when everything else does. 00:05:26.200 --> 00:05:34.120 And by God's grace, the Holy Spirit has given us in the 46th arm a song for precisely such a time. 00:05:34.860 --> 00:05:42.360 Here we have the triumphant declaration of someone who has looked at the terrors of life full in the 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:50.259 face and found that God is wonderfully and amazingly greater than all those terrors. 00:05:51.639 --> 00:06:02.060 He wants us to look to the Lord. He directs our attention to God. Fix your eyes upon the living God, 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:09.939 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Look to Him, know Him, behold Him, delight in Him. 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:17.139 And as we read through the psalm, you will have noticed, I'm sure that there are kind of three main 00:06:17.139 --> 00:06:24.560 stanzas, each concluding with that little word. It's not usually read, Selah, is believed by many to 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:35.199 be a kind of musical term, probably indicating a pause. So, let's look at each of these stanzas in turn 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:43.459 this morning. Let's pause and see what they have to tell us about the true and living God. 00:06:45.219 --> 00:06:54.060 The first stanza, verses 1 through 3, let's look at this under the heading, God's power to secure us 00:06:54.060 --> 00:07:02.839 in a chaotic world. God's power to secure us in a chaotic world. God is our refuge and strength, 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:10.959 a very present help in trouble. So, the psalm begins with God and with what He is to His people. 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:21.620 He is our refuge and strength, a very present help. He is our place of safety, stability, and security. 00:07:21.620 --> 00:07:31.840 And it's not that God will be our refuge one day. It is that God is our refuge today. He's not some 00:07:31.840 --> 00:07:40.060 distant deity who may, on some future date, notice our distress and come to our help. He is the one 00:07:40.060 --> 00:07:49.540 who now, today, at this very moment of trouble, is our refuge and strength. John Golden Gay translates 00:07:49.540 --> 00:08:00.100 this verse as, we have God as a shelter and stronghold. He always offers Himself as a help in times of 00:08:00.100 --> 00:08:11.800 trouble. God offers Himself to us as our refuge and shelter, directly, personally, covenantally. 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:18.600 He is our strength and stronghold. He is our strength and stronghold, not merely a helper who supplies 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:26.360 strength, but the one who is our strength Himself, a very present help. 00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:38.100 The Hebrew here is emphatic. He is found to be a help exceedingly, abundantly, immediately, 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:44.960 right here in the midst of the storm. And so, the psalmist continues, 00:08:44.960 --> 00:09:06.580 It's a word picture, a description of the seething dynamic forces of nature breaking out in chaos and 00:09:06.580 --> 00:09:13.580 confusion. The ancient peoples did not take the earth's stability for granted. They had little 00:09:13.580 --> 00:09:20.280 protection against earthquake, storm or flood, and these raw forces of nature often threatened their 00:09:20.280 --> 00:09:28.780 very existence. And so, this is a picture of the dreadful calamities this world can throw at us, 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:36.639 the cataclysmic forces of nature that can wreak so much havoc in people's lives. It's a portrait of 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:44.319 seismic upheaval. Here is a people for whom their world is literally being turned upside down. 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:53.500 The psalmist doesn't deny the reality of the moving earth, the roaring waters, the trembling mountains. 00:09:55.419 --> 00:10:03.519 He looks straight at the very worst that can happen, the very disintegration of the created order, 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:14.039 and he says, we will not be afraid. Here are the chaotic times when things are so hard and difficult 00:10:14.039 --> 00:10:22.120 that it appears as if God is not in control. It's a portrait, isn't it, of extreme circumstances. 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:29.019 Here is a kind of worst-case scenario, times of earth-shattering turmoil, 00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:37.860 times when everything seems to be crashing down upon us, times when those things that we thought we 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:47.360 could depend on are in total flux, times when nothing appears certain or sure anymore. 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:56.620 Here are the circumstances of life that induce great fear and anxiety. 00:10:56.620 --> 00:11:07.600 There are great upheavals we must all face one day. That great storm of bereavement and loss of 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:16.100 dear loved ones with serious illness or cancer, depression, other mental health issues, persecution 00:11:16.100 --> 00:11:26.600 and opposition, Alzheimer's, dementia, loneliness, social isolation. And yet, even in such times, 00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:38.139 of utter chaos, the psalmist boldly declares, we will not be afraid. Not the words of a stoic, 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:45.779 gritting his teeth, stealing himself against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. These are words 00:11:45.779 --> 00:11:55.500 of trust and faith and dependence upon God. Now, how on earth can the psalmist make such a declaration? 00:11:55.500 --> 00:12:04.559 Is it because he is strong and self-sufficient? Is it because he is in some way superior to others? 00:12:04.779 --> 00:12:14.480 Is it because he's someone who's really got it all together? No, it says, he says, only because God is 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:23.759 our refuge and strength. This absence of fear in his heart is down to the power of the living God, 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:31.519 not because of anything in him, but rather everything to do with the Lord's power to secure him and hold 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:40.679 him fast. The Puritan writer Thomas Watson came across this quote from him. He says this, 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:51.039 God has never promised a charter of exemption from trouble, but he has promised to be with us in trouble. 00:12:52.319 --> 00:13:01.479 Better be in a prison with God's presence and God's promises than be on a throne without them. 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:12.180 I wonder if you're in a prison this morning, locked up with your fears, trapped by your anxieties. 00:13:13.180 --> 00:13:21.980 Friend, remember God's promise, promises to you in Jesus Christ. Think of him who, while he walked 00:13:21.980 --> 00:13:30.480 this earth, calmed the raging waters and the turbulent waves, he whose command to them was, 00:13:30.800 --> 00:13:40.080 peace be still. John in his gospel tells us that all things were made by him, and without him was not 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:48.039 anything made that was made. John 1.3, our world was fashioned by Jesus Christ. It bears his stamp upon 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:57.819 it. He is the one who is our refuge and strength. He is Emmanuel. He is God with us. For in Jesus Christ, 00:13:57.980 --> 00:14:06.199 the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob, our refuge. And yes, at times it appears we live in days 00:14:06.199 --> 00:14:13.500 when the mountains seem to be shaking, moral confusion sweeping over the nations like a flood, 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:20.860 ancient certainties swept away before us, the church tossed through to and fro by the winds and waves of 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:28.539 false doctrine. And yet his promise stands, I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. 00:14:29.539 --> 00:14:38.000 And that's why it's so important that we be found in him. That's why it's so important we put our faith 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:47.639 in him. Because, friends, there will be days when the mountains quake and our lives will be shaken. 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:54.419 There will be days when the waters roar and we will be engulfed in confusion and despair. 00:14:55.639 --> 00:15:02.759 There will be days when we will feel flooded by fear and anxiety, and we will cry out for help. 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:14.179 But to whom will we cry? Will it be to Jesus Christ a God-given refuge for fallen, broken, 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:19.980 rebellious men and women? Because faith looks and cries to Jesus. 00:15:22.059 --> 00:15:25.639 I love those words of John Newton's hymn, 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:37.480 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear. It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, 00:15:38.199 --> 00:15:47.879 and drives away his fear. God's power to secure us in a chaotic world. 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:58.000 And then secondly here, in our second stanza, God's presence to keep us in a hostile world. 00:16:00.100 --> 00:16:00.840 Verse 4, 00:16:00.939 --> 00:16:06.899 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in 00:16:06.899 --> 00:16:13.080 the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:17.139 kingdoms totter, he utters his voice, the earth melts. 00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:22.399 The Lord of hosts is with us. God of Jacob is our fortress. 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:30.159 Now, the picture depicted in the second stanza is one of deliverance and rescue 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:42.779 for the city of God. Calvin, in his commentary, notes how well the circumstances fit Jerusalem's 00:16:42.779 --> 00:16:51.000 miraculous deliverance from the armies of Sennacherib in the days of Isaiah. And you can read about that 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:58.659 in 2 Kings 18 and 19. And the imagery of these verses well suits such a scenario. There's a battle 00:16:58.659 --> 00:17:06.079 going on. Enemies are encamped around. They besiege the city of God. And we have this description of God 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:14.599 here as the Lord of hosts in verse 7. It's a literal translation of Lord Almighty, stressing God's 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:21.699 role as a leader of all the forces of heaven. Here is the God of battles, the God who fights for His 00:17:21.699 --> 00:17:27.259 people, a warrior who defends them as their shield, who will not let them be crushed. 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:36.339 Yes, mountains and kingdoms may topple, but not the city of God. Why? Because God dwells with His people. 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:44.019 It is the habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of them. The coming of dawn, the reference 00:17:44.019 --> 00:17:50.859 there is to a time of battle. First light was the moment when a besieged city would have been attacked. 00:17:50.859 --> 00:18:00.259 A terrifying moment of truth when its very future would be decided. But despite all the forces arrayed 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:10.899 against this city, she will not fall, for God is within her. God will help her when morning dawns. 00:18:12.179 --> 00:18:20.099 For this is the city of God. These are the people of God. And God brings to them the joy of His 00:18:20.099 --> 00:18:29.419 spirit. He brings to them gladness of salvation and life. Because this city has a water supply 00:18:29.419 --> 00:18:40.219 that will never run dry. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. While the waters of 00:18:40.220 --> 00:18:54.140 chaos rage, a gentle life-giving stream flows within. Not a river of human effort or of religious activity 00:18:54.140 --> 00:19:03.180 or devotion, but the very river of God's own presence. And you'll notice that this river makes His people 00:19:03.180 --> 00:19:13.700 glad. He brings life and joy. He nourishes them. The river that flows through the city, the source 00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:21.920 of gladness and confidence is, as Corey has already mentioned, our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus' words 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:30.100 in John 4, whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become a 00:19:30.099 --> 00:19:40.119 spring of water welling up to eternal life. Christ by the Spirit is the river whose stream makes glad the 00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:49.539 city of God. Spirit-given joy is what characterizes the people of God in every age and generation. We are 00:19:49.539 --> 00:19:56.000 people who rejoice in the Lord. Herman Bavinck writes, 00:19:56.000 --> 00:20:08.380 God saves by causing Himself to be known and enjoyed in Christ. In the gospel, God offers us Himself. 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:14.319 The great Anglican preacher of a bygone age, Charles Simeon, wrote this, 00:20:14.380 --> 00:20:22.019 The gospel is a fountain of life to a ruined world, nor is there a cistern in the universe 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:31.339 that can afford waters so salubrious. Calvin, our whole salvation, all its parts are comprehended 00:20:31.339 --> 00:20:38.519 in Christ. We should therefore take care not to derive the least portion of it from anywhere else. 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:46.259 Let us drink our fill from this fountain and from no other. And yes, friends, we are often tempted 00:20:46.259 --> 00:20:52.980 to drink from the broken cisterns of this world to try and find meaning and purpose and satisfaction 00:20:52.980 --> 00:21:00.220 in all kinds of places. Yes, in our work and career, health and appearance, qualifications, 00:21:00.859 --> 00:21:07.779 in our family, in our bank balance and sexual excitement, in our sense of self. And it's not 00:21:07.779 --> 00:21:16.460 that these things are bad, but they simply cannot provide the lasting joy that we crave. Such things 00:21:16.460 --> 00:21:26.420 will not quench our thirst. They will not and they cannot satisfy. I love the words of that old hymn, 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:34.460 I tried the broken cisterns, Lord, but ah, the waters failed. E'en as I stooped to drink, 00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:43.840 they fled and mocked me as I wailed. Now none but Christ can satisfy. None other name for me. 00:21:44.340 --> 00:21:53.980 There's love and life and lasting joy, Lord Jesus found in thee. And one day in the new Jerusalem, 00:21:54.680 --> 00:22:00.680 the river of life bright as crystal will flow from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:09.340 And yet until that day, the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son is that river in our 00:22:09.340 --> 00:22:18.400 hearts, refreshing us, gladdening us, sustaining us. The Spirit of God is with us, bringing us life and 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:25.920 joy and peace and hope, bringing us strength and courage for the struggles and the battles of this 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:35.300 life. And I know today that we're less than comfortable with the idea of a Christian life as a conflict, a battle. 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:47.380 But in a battle, we surely are. Great forces of evil arrayed against the church of God, besieged on every side. 00:22:47.380 --> 00:22:57.320 And yet our hope and confidence is not in ourselves. It's not in our gifts, our talents, our aptitude. It's not in our 00:22:57.320 --> 00:23:06.720 traditions or our great history. It is that we are dwelling in which God himself lives by his Spirit. 00:23:09.380 --> 00:23:10.360 Bavinck writes, 00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:21.979 What is that? 00:23:21.979 --> 00:23:24.119 What is that? 00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:32.039 I believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, the life everlasting. 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:34.139 Jesus said, 00:23:34.220 --> 00:23:41.159 I will build my church and the very gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And yes, the nations may rage and 00:23:41.159 --> 00:23:49.200 kingdoms may be moved, but when God utters his voice, when he speaks, the earth melts. And so we declare with 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:58.720 the psalmist, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. When all else crumbles, 00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:11.460 the city of God remains. God's power to secure us. God's presence to keep us. And thirdly and finally 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:21.799 here, God's peace to calm us. His peace to calm us in a frenetic world. And this third final stanza, 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:31.339 I think is understood best as an appeal to both God's people and also the surrounding nations. 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:37.960 Commentators differ a bit in their understanding. But in verses 8 through 9, the psalmist seems to be 00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:45.839 making a victory pronouncement to his own people. Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:52.079 desolations on the earth. He makes war cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, shatters the 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:59.619 spear, burns the chariots with fire. It's an invitation to God's people to look and see what 00:24:59.619 --> 00:25:07.500 Yahweh, their God, has accomplished. The battlefield after victory, the bow is broken, the spear is 00:25:07.500 --> 00:25:13.439 shattered asunder, the chariot burned with fire. And those words are a reference to the destruction 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:24.240 of an enemy's weapons. They signify complete and utter victory. The God who made the earth is a God who 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:30.440 unmakes the weapons of the mighty. He brings wars to an end because he is the sovereign Lord. 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:39.120 And because he is, his people are never at the mercy of blind fate or human tyrants. 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:47.959 They remain ever and always in the palm of his hand. Here is the reminder that we are in the hands of 00:25:47.959 --> 00:25:53.939 the maker of heaven and earth, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christopher Ashe, in his 00:25:53.939 --> 00:26:00.099 little commentary, says this, the verb cease here is the one from which we get the word Sabbath, 00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:08.740 the whole of creation, moving towards that Sabbath rest for which it groans. Our God, the great peacemaker, 00:26:09.240 --> 00:26:16.019 before whom all nations and peoples will one day bow down and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:24.539 Be still and know that I am God, verse 10. I will be exalted among the nations, 00:26:24.539 --> 00:26:31.139 exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob, our fortress. 00:26:32.639 --> 00:26:41.039 And in that verse, it appears that God is, or the psalmist rather, is throwing down the gauntlet 00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:50.200 to the nations around. These verses seem to be a challenge to the enemies of God. Be still and 00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:59.120 know that I am God. Now, this famous verse has often been understood as a kind of reflective, 00:26:59.580 --> 00:27:05.880 meditative sense. The idea of being that we should quieten our hearts before the Lord. In my youth, 00:27:06.340 --> 00:27:12.559 we would often, in church, sing the chorus, be still and know that I am God. And we would sing it in just 00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:18.799 that kind of way. It reads this verse as a kind of soothing balm. Amid the turmoil of this world, 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:23.779 retreat and be still in the Lord's presence. Commune with Him in the silence. 00:27:26.019 --> 00:27:29.539 But that is, I think, almost certainly a misreading of this text. 00:27:31.180 --> 00:27:38.599 If we understand these words are directed to the nations in uproar, certainly the word for God here 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:47.940 is not God's covenant name, but the more generic Elohim. Then this is hardly a command to still hearts 00:27:47.940 --> 00:27:56.100 and know fellowship with God. No, be still and know that I am God. It's not, I think, to be understood 00:27:56.100 --> 00:28:04.100 as a kind of gentle breath for us to repeat as a quiet song. It's more of a mighty roar. 00:28:05.460 --> 00:28:14.480 Here's God's word to the nations. And His word is this, be quiet, be silent, be still. 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:25.440 Well, cease your rebellion. Stop trusting in your horses and chariots. Abandon your hostility. 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:37.620 Acknowledge God's sovereignty and kinship, and know that He alone is God. Friends, a day is hastening 00:28:37.619 --> 00:28:46.419 on when the false gods and idols of war in which men so readily put their trust will be utterly routed. 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:54.639 History has one aim. It is not the glory of any man or any woman or any army. It is the very glory 00:28:54.639 --> 00:29:02.119 of God Himself. It's His name that will be exalted among the nations. It's His name that's going to be 00:29:02.119 --> 00:29:11.219 exalted in all the earth. The great kingdoms and empires of this world will all come to an end. 00:29:12.219 --> 00:29:21.479 Yes, they rise, and then they fall. Their statues corrode and crumble. Their emblems and proud boasts 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:33.980 soon forgotten. Their heroes faded from memory. Ancient generation. It's hard not to think of 00:29:33.980 --> 00:29:42.799 those images around the fall of communism in Eastern Europe back in 1989. Those huge statues of the heroes 00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:50.019 of the communist revolution toppled over and utterly smashed to the ground. Seventy years. 00:29:51.099 --> 00:29:55.899 The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. 00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:03.740 The great eternal self-existent creator of all things will be exalted among the nations of the earth. 00:30:04.680 --> 00:30:12.279 And friends, this is where our broken world is headed. Not perhaps and not maybe. He will be exalted. 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:21.899 Because there's one kingdom and one city that will stand forever. The city of God and the kingdom of 00:30:21.899 --> 00:30:32.220 our Lord Jesus Christ. And His memorial is no statue. It is an empty cross. His glorious name now 00:30:32.220 --> 00:30:41.480 proclaimed in the gospel as great among the nations. And indeed, that day is coming when the kingdom of this 00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:47.920 world, all the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. 00:30:50.579 --> 00:30:57.599 We began with Martin Luther. Well, his great hymn, A Mighty Fortress. 00:30:59.140 --> 00:31:04.940 Here in Scotland and the UK, it was translated, that hymn was translated by Thomas Carlyle. 00:31:04.940 --> 00:31:11.940 And in the final verse of his translation, this is how he puts it. 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:15.980 God's word for all their craft and force. 00:31:16.980 --> 00:31:18.580 One moment will not linger. 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:23.559 But spite of hell shall have its course, tis written by his finger. 00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:27.799 And though they take our life goods on our children wife, 00:31:27.799 --> 00:31:33.359 yet is their profit small. These things shall vanish all. 00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:37.899 The city of God remaineth. 00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:41.079 The city of God remains. 00:31:42.980 --> 00:31:44.639 Friends, what is your trouble today? 00:31:46.339 --> 00:31:50.240 Is it the roaring sea of doubt? Is it the trembling mountains of fear? 00:31:50.359 --> 00:31:52.379 Is it frailty in your own heart? 00:31:52.380 --> 00:31:55.760 Is it the hostility and antagonism of the world? 00:31:57.340 --> 00:31:59.020 And here again, the word of the Lord. 00:31:59.160 --> 00:32:00.880 God is our refuge and strength. 00:32:01.560 --> 00:32:03.080 A very present help in trouble. 00:32:03.940 --> 00:32:05.440 The Lord of hosts is with us. 00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:07.780 The God of Jacob is our refuge. 00:32:08.900 --> 00:32:10.640 His power will secure us. 00:32:10.860 --> 00:32:12.560 His presence will keep us. 00:32:12.860 --> 00:32:14.600 His peace will calm us. 00:32:14.599 --> 00:32:19.699 And he is with us supremely in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:24.019 Who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven. 00:32:24.199 --> 00:32:25.279 Who was crucified. 00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:26.659 Who rose again. 00:32:26.859 --> 00:32:29.500 And whoever lives to make intercession for us. 00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:32.959 In him all God's promises are yes and amen. 00:32:34.199 --> 00:32:36.419 In him we have a refuge that cannot fail. 00:32:37.379 --> 00:32:39.659 In him we have strength for every weakness. 00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:47.040 In him we have a hope that cannot fade even with the passing of the years. 00:32:48.580 --> 00:32:50.420 And so faith can sing. 00:32:51.800 --> 00:32:54.640 O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. 00:32:55.640 --> 00:32:58.500 Strong defender of my weary heart. 00:32:58.900 --> 00:33:01.200 My sore to fight the cruel deceiver. 00:33:01.480 --> 00:33:03.700 My shield against his hateful darts. 00:33:04.300 --> 00:33:06.820 My song when enemies surround me. 00:33:06.819 --> 00:33:10.159 My hope when tides of sorrow rise. 00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:14.439 My joy when trials are abounding. 00:33:15.319 --> 00:33:19.639 Your faithfulness my refuge in the night. 00:33:21.720 --> 00:33:22.980 Let's pray together. 00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:28.539 Lord, our prayer is that we might know you. 00:33:29.399 --> 00:33:30.500 The Lord of hosts. 00:33:30.779 --> 00:33:31.659 The God of Jacob. 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:35.259 As our refuge and strength. 00:33:35.259 --> 00:33:40.440 Lord, whatever our circumstances may be this morning. 00:33:41.440 --> 00:33:43.720 May your power secure us. 00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:47.059 May your presence keep us. 00:33:48.059 --> 00:33:50.480 And may your peace calm us. 00:33:51.720 --> 00:33:54.400 And may you lead us forward in faith. 00:33:55.879 --> 00:33:57.859 Always looking to Jesus. 00:33:58.859 --> 00:34:02.680 The author and finisher of faith. 00:34:03.539 --> 00:34:05.560 And we pray these things in his name. 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:06.600 Amen. 00:34:06.600 --> 00:34:06.700 Amen. 00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:06.700 00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:06.700 00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:06.700 00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:06.700 00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:06.700 00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:06.700 00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:36.679 Thank you.