God's Provision for His Church

The point: Get your spiritual bearings from the scriptures when facing foreboding clouds over the nation and world.

Luther would encourage Melanchthon to sing Psalm 46 when opposition was intense, illustrating the psalm's power to bring comfort and confidence in troubled times.

proved to be such an oasis to Luther and his companions amidst the heat of opposition in Reformation days, the psalm that called forth Luther's great German paraphrase, now translated into our English, And there's just something in the saying of it that makes you feel the weight of its truth. And as we indicated in our previous study, when the heat would get intense and Tim and Melanchthon began to tremble, Luther would say, come, Philip, let us sing the 46th Psalm. And in our previous study, we looked at the setting of the psalm, and we cannot identify it with any precision. His psalm is,

3:46 - 4:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin details the first provision: 'the gladdening river,' identified as the 'river of water of life' from God's throne, conveying His life and grace through various means. He…

The analogy of an advancing army cutting off a city's water supply illustrates the critical importance of a secure water source for survival, highlighting the preciousness of God's 'river' to His church.

This is poetic language and it's suffused with the language of God. It's suffused with poetic imagery. Back in the days when there were such things as cities, self-contained units, bounded by high protective walls and secured by thick barred gates, it was most essential that a city to be safe have a good stock of food laid up against the time of siege and that there be an adequate supply of water.

21:03 - 21:35 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not be squeezed into the world's mood of fear and apprehension, but remember there is a river that makes glad.

Martin recounts feeling the tremble of powerful waves against a reinforced concrete wall in Aberystwyth, Wales, but not feeling it from a nearby mountain. This illustrates the contrast between the terrifying, raging seas (worldly upheaval) and the calm, gladdening river (God's grace) that sustains His people, even when mountains tremble.

There is a river that makes glad. And as I was meditating upon the contrast, my mind went back to that wonderful summer three years ago when you sent me and Mrs. Martin and the family to Wales to exchange pulpits with Pastor Thomas. And one of the things we used to love to do would be go down when the tide was high there in the promenade.

28:25 - 28:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second provision is God as the 'indwelling keeper,' meaning God is in the midst of His church. This indwelling presence guarantees the church's indestructibility, not due to…

Martin recalls a childhood ditty, 'With Christ in the vessel, we'll smile at the storm,' to illustrate the indestructibility of the church because Christ, the Son of God, indwells it, making it impossible to perish.

And as again, as I was meditating upon this, my thoughts went back to childhood days. It's a bad sign when you start thinking of childhood days, isn't it, Mr. Dwight?

37:03 - 37:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third provision is God as the 'timely helper,' who will assist His church 'at the dawning of the morning.' This help is certain, though its timing is God's, and the history of…

The simple, urgent cry of a drowning man for 'Help!' illustrates the profound significance and sufficiency of God's promise to 'help' His church in dire straits, emphasizing that it is precisely what is needed.

When you're in the situation where help is the word you need, it's amazing how you're satisfied with its little four-lettered simplicity. Any other verbiage almost seems irreverent. A man's drowning. What does he do?

40:29 - 40:45 Read in full sermon