Proof of History; Pronouncement of Faith

Introduction: The Setting and Structure of Psalm 46

0:02 Now let us turn to the 46th Psalm, Psalm 46, and I shall read the first seven verses this morning. Psalm 46, verses 1 through 7.

0:18 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth do change, and though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains tremble with the swelling thereof. There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved.

0:54 God will help her, and that right early. The nations raged, the kingmans were moved. He utters his word. In his voice the earth melted.

1:08 The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.

1:17 What is a child of God to do when facing impending danger and living in the midst of grave peril? What is the church to do when its enemies rage, and when its enemies bear the fangs of open hostility to the people of God? Well, Psalm 46 is a watershed of biblical principles which answer such questions as these. This particular psalm, so full of consolation to Luther and his companions during the period of the Reformation, has well been entitled the song of faith in troublous times.

2:01 Therefore, since we've entered upon a new calendar year with many dark shadows hanging over us, many foreboding clouds gaping, many gathering above us, it is essential, as the people of God, that we get our spiritual bearings and, by the grace of God, keep them, no matter what storms may rage about us, no matter what clouds may break upon our heads. And now, just briefly, to review the substance of our previous studies, we've said that the setting of the psalm is uncertain. It probably grew out of a situation in which the nation of Israel had experienced an unusual military deliverance during the period of the kings.

2:45 And we'll indicate in our study this morning why that is probably the most likely possibility of the setting. But, though we cannot say with certainty the precise historical setting, one thing is clear. The people of God in this psalm are in the midst of danger. The people of God are anticipating great upheavals.

3:07 The people of God are in the midst of danger. The people of God are in the midst of warfare, in the raging of the nations. Therefore, it is a psalm for the people of God in troubleless times. The structure of the psalm is very simple.

3:21 It breaks down into three stanzas, bounded by the little Selahs, verses 1 to 3, in which we have the general statement of confidence in God in the face of any imagined problem or upheaval. Verses 4 to 5, verses 7, we have the confidence of the church of God in the face of all her enemies. And then we have verses 8 through the end of the psalm, verse 11, something of the work of God in the midst of the earth in establishing the kingdom of His Son. Stanza 1 contains a declaration.

Review of God's Provision in Zion (Psalm 46:4-5)

3:59 God is a declaration of the reality and the being of God. A description of His relationship to His people. He is refuge, strength, and present help. And then that tremendous deduction of verses 2 and 3, in the light of what God is in Himself, in the light of what He is in relationship to His people, there is no ground for fear, even though the most stable things that we know as human beings suddenly are wrenched loose from their moorings and become unstable, nothing changes in God.

4:35 Nothing changes in His relationship to His people. And the second stanza, verses 4 through 7, is a picture of the city of God, Zion, besieged by her enemies. And yet in the midst of the siege there is no fear, there is no pushing of panic buttons because of the provision of God to His people. And that provision is described in a threefold manner.

5:04 There is the gladdening river, there is a river the streams whereof may glad the city of God, there is the indwelling keeper, God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved, and then there is the timely helper, God will help her, and that right early. And so the psalmist takes great consolation from these three tremendous aspects of God's provision for His people. Now then, we come in verse 7, verse 6, I'm sorry, to the proof of history which is a buttered list behind the assertions of verses 4 and 5. Here the statement has been made that though the enemies

5:48 of God surround Zion, the city of God, they can never cut off the source of supply. There is and ever shall be the river of grace with its many streams communicating all the necessary supply to God's people. God is always in the midst of His people. God will always help His people at the dawning of the morning.

The Proof of History: Man's Raging vs. God's Answer (Psalm 46:6)

6:14 Now, what is there in the past history of God's people to buttress such faith, to strengthen such an assertion of confidence? Well, verse 6 is a description of what we might call the proof of history. And then verse 7 gives us the pronouncement of faith. So then, having looked at the provision of God in verses 4 and 5, we now come to the proof of history attesting to the validity of that provision.

6:48 It's as though someone asked the question, how do we know it is so? How do we know that there is a river constantly supplying God's people? How do we know that God is in the midst of her and she will never be moved? How do we know that God will help her at the dawning of the morning, His morning, His time of appointment for the deliverance of His people?

7:12 Well, the history of Israel is a constant and monumental proof of these assertions of faith. And so the proof of history comes to us in these words, the nations raged, the kingdoms were moved, He uttered His voice, the earth melted. And in this proof of history you have a contrast between the activity of men and the answer of God. The activity of men, the nations raged, the kingdoms were moved. The answer

7:46 of God, He uttered His voice, and the earth melted. Let us then consider these things in that order. What was the activity of men with reference to the nation of Israel? Well, it's described in these words, the nations raged.

8:04 This word nations translated in the authorized version, the heathen, is the general word used to describe the hordes of the Gentile nations. I shall never know why, perhaps someone who's a bit more knowledgeable in the history of the reason behind some of the translations in the authorized or the King James version will give me an answer, but it seems almost arbitrarily the word was described or defined and translated heathen in some place, nations in others, whereas in the American standard it's much more consistent translated as nations. But it refers to the Gentile nations, the hordes of the

8:48 ungodly. And now it says of them that they rage. The heathen nations rage. And this is a very graphic word. It

8:58 means to make a great sound, a commotion, to be tumultuous. And it's the picture of a wounded lion in a cage stomping back and forth and bearing his fangs, and roaring and bellowing. That's the picture involved in the statement of the psalmist. The activity of men is an activity of raging. Psalm 2

9:22 is an extended commentary upon this raging, which finds its focal point the anointed of God, the Messiah, and the cause of God as it rests upon the shoulders of his Messiah. For we read in Psalm 2, why do the nations rage and the peoples meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. Here is this concerted effort to break away from the cords of restraint of Jehovah and his anointed.

10:00 And so the psalmist pictures the activity of the nations as one of violent raging, one of intense opposition to Zion, the city of God and to the people of God. Now in the course of that raging we read that the kingdoms were moved. A given segment of the nations organized and functioning as a geographic and political entity constitutes a kingdom. Amongst the hordes of the Gentiles there are specific and individual kingdoms. Now

10:37 as a kingdom comes to a place of prominence and it begins its conquest and its attempting to conquer the people of God, in the course of that conquest there is a shaking of the very kingdoms. The comment that Spurgeon makes on this I think is excellent and I shall quote it. A general confusion seized upon society. The fierce invaders convulsed their own dominions by drawing the population to urge on the war. And they

11:11 dislocated other territories by their devastating march to Jerusalem. Crowns fell from royal heads. Ancient thrones roared like like trees driven of the tempest and powerful empires fell like pines uprooted by the blast. Everything was in disorder and dismay seized upon all who knew not the Lord.

11:38 You have a description of this in one part of the old testament which may well be the historical setting of this psalm and I ask you to turn please to 2 Kings. 2 Kings and in chapter 18 we have a description of the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib and the hordes of the Assyrian army. Chapters 18 and 19 of 2 Kings and in 1911 we hear the claim of Sennacherib and his army. Behold thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria

12:22 have done to all lands by destroying them utterly and shalt thou be delivered on its way to the gates of the city of God. There is this claim that all the other nations have been moved in the path of this conquering army. Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers had destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rez and the children of Eden that were in Telassar. Where is the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad and the king of the city of Sepharvaim of Hena and Ivha.

13:00 You see what this claim is that the nations, the kingdoms have been moved before the advancing army of Assyria and this is the historical reality to which the psalmist makes allusion in this psalm. Whether it was the conquering of this specific army at this specific point in history or whether this was one incident thought of among many, the activity of men is described as that which actually moved kingdoms from their foundations and from their pillars. That which took years to establish and the whole structure of a kingdom with all of its intricate interworkings and relationships are suddenly

13:44 tottering and shaking before the raging of the nations. Now in the face of this activity of the raging nations and the tottering kingdoms, what is the answer of God? And here the contrast is absolutely beautiful. The nations raging at the scenting of the raging of kingdoms tottering.

14:08 What's God do? He just opens his mouth. He just speaks. He uttered his voice and the earth melted. Do you catch something

14:22 of the tremendous contrast? Here are men with all the amalgamated might of military genius and personnel and equipment raging, moving, tottering kingdoms, but at the appointed time when God would still the enemies of his people, he utters his voice and all of the opposition is nothing more than wax before the burning sun it melts away into nothing. That's the description the Psalmist gives us of the answer of God. Now what is this voice of God? And

15:06 it's an interesting study to trace through the concept of the voice of God throughout the scriptures. Let me just give a few suggestions that may whet your appetite. It is that voice that spoke the worlds into being out of the womb of nothing. I never ceased to thrill in reading Genesis chapter 1. I

15:26 meditated on it again this morning. And God said let there be and there was. And God said let there be and there was. And God said let there be and there was. The

15:42 creative voice that can bring galaxies into being just by speaking. It's that voice that brought a whole nation to dread and to terror when it thundered upon Mount Sinai. It is that voice that will one day speak and the graves will give up their dead and all the nations will stand in the presence of God for that awful, awful day of judgment. As one has said with what vigor these hurried sentences describe first the wild wrath and formidable movements of the foe and then the one sovereign word which

16:25 quells them all. As will the instantaneous weakness that dissolves the seeming solid substance when the breath of his lips smites it. And then this particular author gave a vivid illustration. Can you imagine mighty Niagara with all of its force and all of its tonnage of water and all of its roaring and foaming.

16:50 Can you imagine a man standing on the Canadian side and saying be frozen and immediately all of those things freeze into a solid silent mass. That's the picture here. All the tumult of the nations and God speaks and it melts away into nothingness. Because God is committed in covenant faithfulness to preserve his church Zion city of God at the appointed hour one word from his mouth and all his enemies must melt and fly away. And so

The Pronouncement of Faith: The Lord of Hosts and God of Jacob (Psalm 46:7)

17:27 verse 6 gives us a description of the activities of the nations and then the answer of our God. We're not applying much yet hold on we're just trying to open up the meaning of the text. Now then not only is there this lesson of history but will you notice the pronouncement of faith in verse 7. What lies behind this activity of God in speaking and melting all of his opposition. Even as

17:58 he did with the armies of Sennacherib and he went up the next morning and hundreds of thousands of the army were slain. God through the camp and spoke his word and vanquished his enemies. Well what lies behind this. You see the Psalmist is reasoning. He's

18:14 looking at this historical evidence. This proof from history that God is in the midst of his people. That God will help his people at the dawning of the morning and having displayed from history the covenant faithfulness of God. He digs behind it and says now why is it that this was so to our people in the past and will be to us in the present and in the future.

18:38 And he makes this pronouncement of faith and it pivots upon these two names of God. Jehovah of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. The answer to this question why such deliverance is two fold. The presence

18:58 of the Lord of hosts and the secondly the protection of the God of Jacob. The Lord of hosts is with us. Now what does this phrase the Lord of hosts mean? And again this opens up a whole vein of scriptural knowledge and consolation to God's people. This phrase

19:21 Jehovah of hosts is peculiar to the Korahitic Psalms. These Psalms that have in their title a Psalm of the sons of Korah. And they are found in control in conjunction with the time of the kings. And the first usage of this name of God is found in 1 Samuel chapter 1.

19:39 And the first time it is found in prayer. God addressed as such is in this same chapter. 1 Samuel chapter 1. And we read in verse 3. And this man

19:54 Elkanah went up out of his city from year to year to worship and sacrifice unto Jehovah of hosts in Shiloh. And then we have the prayer of Hannah in verse 11. And she vowed a vow and said O Lord of hosts if thou will indeed look upon the affliction of thy people. Now then what is the significance of this particular title of God?

20:25 Were the Psalmist and the Biblical writers careless and haphazard in their choice of the definite and different titles of God? No they were not. And rather than carry you out on an extensive Bible study that would take up the rest of our time so we couldn't complete our study. Let me read just several paragraphs in which one author has collated the Biblical materials and given us an excellent overview of the significance of this title of God.

20:53 It is computed that this title of God occurs some 260 times in the Old Testament but it is not found in any of the books written or compiled before the time of first Samuel. In the New Testament it is found only once James 5 and verse 4. The glorious title with which Isaiah who uses it some 60 times and Jeremiah some 80 times have especially made us familiar represents Jehovah the eternal one as ruler over the heavenly host that is over the angels and over the stars. The idea of the invisible God friend being the sovereign master of a host of those

21:38 innumerable glorious beings usually known as angels or messengers was no strange one to Hebrew thought. For instance already in the story of Jacob we find the patriarch calling the angels who appeared to him the camp of God. Genesis 32 1 and 2 In the blessing of Moses in the magnificent description of the giving of the law on Sinai we read of ten thousands of his saints. The glorious angel who followed Joshua to worship him under the towers who allowed Joshua to worship him under the towers of Jericho speaks of himself as captain of the hosts of the Lord.

22:20 Joshua 5 verse 14 It is especially noteworthy that here in these books of Samuel which tell of the establishment of an earthly sovereignty over the tribes that is the establishment of the king this stately title of the real king in Israel which afterward became so general first appears. It was the solemn protest of Samuel and his school against any eclipsing of the mighty but invisible sovereignty of the eternal God against the backdrop of the emergence of a temporal kingdom. In other words as Israel begins to have well trained armies as Israel has a kingdom with an earthly king and an earthly throne

23:05 God is concerned to forever preserve in her mind that the real captain over the nation of Israel the real sovereign over that people is Jehovah himself. And so it becomes the name which speaks of his conquering might and power coupled with covenant faithfulness. And now he says of this God the Psalmist does the Lord of hosts is with us that is he is with us as the Lord of hosts to function in his capacity as the Lord of hosts. Therefore whatever nation comes upon us comprised of thousands upon thousands

23:50 of well trained soldiers rank upon rank of men in chariot with crossbow and with weapons of war. What are these men? The Lord of hosts is with us and more are there in the army of God than the army of any earthly king that shall set himself to destroy Zion the city of God. This God is with us that he is with us committed to the cause of Zion with us to protect us with us to vindicate his own purpose.

24:26 And you have a wonderful example of this in 2nd Kings chapter 6 verses 14 and following the incident will be familiar to many of you I am sure the prophet and his young companion are in a situation of danger and we read in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 beginning with verse 14 therefore sent he thither horses and chariots and a great host here is the invading Syrians not Assyrians but Syrians horses chariots and a great host there is the key phrase a great host

25:11 and they came by night in company with the city about and when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth behold a host with horses and chariots was round about the city and his servant said unto him alas my master how shall we do here is the raging of the nations here is the raging of that nation which has moved kingdoms what shall we do there is their hosts and the answer is fear not for they that are with us are more than they that are with them and Elisha prayed and said Lord I pray thee open his eyes that he may see and the Lord opened the eyes of the young man

25:56 and he saw and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha when they came down to him Elisha prayed unto the Lord and said smite this people I pray with blindness and he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha you see the young man saw the host of the enemies of God Elisha says Lord there is another host over which you preside as Jehovah of hosts let him see he didn't say Lord bring the host he said let him see them they are there but his eye was not keen enough to proceed and dear brothers and sisters the hosts of God are there

26:39 the angels are sent forth to be ministers to the heirs of salvation they are there at his appointment in keeping with his own purpose and sovereign decree but we don't have the eye of faith to see them when we see the enemies of God with all their chariots and all their horsemen and all the imposing array of their might and strength we need to have the eye of faith that says the Lord of hosts is with us not he was not he shall be if we pray hard enough if we live straight enough if we earn his presence no no the Lord of hosts is with us and he is with us in the person of him who said I

27:23 will never leave thee nor forsake thee lo I am with you always even unto the consummation of the age and so the pronouncement of faith first of all focuses upon the presence of the Lord of hosts but then secondly it focuses upon the protection of the God of Jacob the God of Jacob is our refuge or our high tower now the term God of Jacob is a title which immediately focuses on the character of God as the God of sovereign grace and covenant faithfulness the God who came to Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees and entered into

28:07 covenant with him the God who renewed that covenant in Isaac and then said the elder shall serve the younger Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated we cannot use the term God of Jacob without thinking of sovereignty covenant faithfulness the movement of God to the unworthy in grace and mercy and this God he says is our refuge a different word from the word used in verse 1 here it speaks of a high tower of a stronghold an impregnable fortress if he designs that we should be attacked harassed and harried what of it they cannot touch us

28:52 without his kind and gracious designs permitting anything that comes to us he and his person as gracious sovereign electing this God is our place of safe retreat now our faith does not make it so his grace has made it so our faith merely brings us into the blessed and present enjoyment he has taken the initiative he has made us his people and therefore the God of Jacob is the high tower of his people but the scripture says that the name of the Lord is a high tower the righteous runneth into it and is safe the tower is there faith

Exhortation 1: Intelligent Conviction of Unchangeable Realities

29:37 is the feet by which we run into that protection that our God is now this I say is the pronouncement of faith made by the psalmist which gets behind that demonstration from history concerning God's faithfulness now I wish to bring some concluding observations and exhortations based upon the opening up of these phrases the first one is this an intelligent and certain conviction of the unchangeable realities of our relationship to God is the best preparation for facing the inevitable change

30:21 of life that's a long statement but I couldn't reduce it and say what I wanted to say so hang in I'll repeat it an intelligent that has to do with your head and certain conviction that has to do with your heart of the unchangeable realities of our relationship to God that's what we're talking about in this psalm is the best preparation for facing the inevitable changes of life see the constant emphasis from the very first phrase God is refuge strength present help verse four there is a river verse five

31:05 God is in the midst of her Jehovah of hosts is with us God of Jacob is our refuge what's the psalmist doing he's telling us that he has an intelligent and certain conviction of the unchangeable realities of his relationship to God and this was his preparation for the uncertainties and for the inevitable changes of life now some think that the best way to prepare for the uncertainties is by becoming an expert on all the possible calamities that can come to individuals and to the church and so they study the international conspiracies the communist conspiracy

31:49 and they can tell you how a communist is under every blade of grass and probably blended behind the curtains in this place

31:59 they can tell you of the conspiracy of the international bankers who are running the world and the conspiracy of the left wing and the conspiracy of the right wing and they fill their minds with all the possible conspiracies that are working and behind and beneath and above and within and without is it no wonder that they shake like a leaf in the wind at the slightest indication of some unexpected calamity coming upon the world upon the church upon society my friend as a Christian you have no business feeding your mind with all the possible calamities that can come to the world

32:43 that's not your business feed your mind upon the unchanging realities of your relationship to God God is refuge let God permit the communist to conquer the world God is still refuge God is still strength God is still present aid in trouble there still will be a river the streams where up will make glad the city of God dear Christians don't feed your mind upon the possible calamities oh you say we supposed to be the proverbial ostrich stick our head in the sand no no not at all

33:27 or to be reasonably and intelligently informed about general circumstances that we may know how to pray granted but listen if God can utter his voice and melt all of his opposition can't he melt any international conspiracy with a breath from his mouth surely he can he has who can explain what happened in Indonesia a few years ago who can explain that natural when the stage was fully set for a communist takeover and God blew upon it within days and toppled the whole business God can do the same whenever he chooses

Exhortation 2: Believing Apprehension of God's Names

34:10 Christian face the future not by looking at all of the possible calamities that can come and the sources from which they can come an intelligent and certain conviction of the unchangeable realities of your relationship to God is the best preparation for facing the inevitable changes of life second exhortation is this observation an intelligent and believing apprehension of the names of God is a great assistance to faith look how many different names look at how many different names of God are used in this song verse 1 Elohim

34:53 that's the word used for God there Elohim is our refuge and strength then we read down in verse 4b the holy place of the tabernacles of the most high and then we have Jehovah of hosts in verse 7 the God of Jacob again in verse 7 we have a repetition of the word Jehovah and Jehovah of hosts God of Jacob why all these different names for God was it just for poetic variation no no because God is known in his names in the unfolding of

35:38 the history of Israel God revealed himself in concrete historical realities and in those realities he revealed himself by his name these were not things that were just picked up as poetic titles of God they are part of the self disclosure of God and that self disclosure never came in abstract while the prophet was sitting on a rock somewhere meditating he said oh I've got a wonderful concept of God no no it came in the historical I want to use the word the historical exigencies of the people of God their straits when they were pressed in or hemmed in or God was dealing with them in a peculiar way then God revealed himself

36:23 in a new facet of his glorious being by a new name the wonderful thing of the new testament revelation is that all the names of God are embodied in his beloved son in whom he is revealed for he that hath seen me said Jesus hath seen the father and all that God was to his people as the Lord of hosts the God of Jacob he is all of these things in his beloved son in whom the full spectrum of his character has been revealed and an intelligent and believing apprehension of the names of God is a great assistance to faith there are times when we need particularly to act

37:07 faith upon him as the Lord of hosts as we think of impending dangers that involve the amassed wisdom and might and power of the enemies of the church we need to think of him in terms of his character the Lord of hosts who has at his disposal all the armies of heaven and can with the word of his mouth discomfit and disperse his enemies there are other times when we are cast down with the sense of our sin and our failure and we say yeah he is Lord of hosts but why would he ever include me within the sphere of his protection then I need to act faith upon him as the God of Jacob Lord I am just an old heel snatcher like he was

Exhortation 3: Spiritually Sensitive Knowledge of Church History

37:52 that's all Lord just a wily steaming failing heel snatcher but you are the God of Jacob Lord I take comfort you see you act faith upon him in terms of the name of that great and gracious God study the names of God by which he has disclosed himself to his people and let them be an assistance to your faith and then the third observation I would make this morning is this a spiritually sensitive knowledge of the history of the church can be a great source of instruction and encouragement to our faith a spiritually sensitive knowledge of the history of the church not

38:36 just church history per se but a spiritually sensitive knowledge of the history of the church the Psalmist you see looked back upon past assaults upon Zion past assaults upon the people of God and he said the nations raged the kingdoms were moved in the face of that raging but this is what God did and since that God is our God forever and ever he is with us he is our refuge we will not fear though the earth be moved and though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the sea here is a man making good use of his knowledge of the history of the church as he looks ahead he says the cause of Zion shall know no defeat

39:19 because God is in the midst of her he has shown his faithfulness in the past when it looked as though that nation would be utterly swallowed up God came forth to vindicate his own cause and his own purpose in a very real sense you see church history is an unfolding of Psalm 2 and I want you to turn there as I open up the meaning of that statement for a few minutes in closing this morning Psalm 2 why do the nations rage and the peoples meditate a vain thing the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying

40:03 let us break their bonds asunder cast away their cords from us that siteth in the heavens will laugh the Lord will have them in derision then will he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion I will tell of the decree the Lord said unto me thou art my son this day have I begotten thee ask of me and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession thou shalt break them with a rod of iron thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel church history is an extended commentary upon God's covenant

40:48 faithfulness to his own son in the face of the opposition of man against that anointed God says I have set him upon my holy hill here is the Lord Jesus exalted to the place of mediatorial kingship from which position what is he doing he is gaining his inheritance amongst the nations some from every tribe and kindred and tongue and nation those other sheep he is gathering to himself and the opposition goes on and the raging of the nations continues but in the midst of all of this what happens the son is receiving his inheritance the son is gaining

41:31 that for which he died and as the father has given to him this place of exaltation is the reward of his obedience unto death every single arm that is raised against the church has been raised ultimately finds itself stripped of its strength and broken by the might of God why is there a church a gathering of God's people committed to the word of God and obedience to the Christ who is set forth in this word it's certainly not because the enemies of God had said well we'll have a little no man's land and let a little trickle of light and truth no no if the enemy had his way there would be an obliteration of every last

42:16 vestige of gospel light and gospel truth and just when it seems he just about had his way in the midst of what are called those dark periods of the church what did God do he laid hold of a man here and a man there and preserved that light until it was his time to do what to come and vindicate the cause of his son in a mighty and in a greatly extensive manner and when this spiritual impetus of that movement had begun to wane and there was a declension of life and power that looked as though all might be lost God came forth again in the period of the evangelical awakening and to these shores came men

42:58 who had the vision of experimental religion there was the log college and there was the great movement of God under the tenants and these very very very pieces of terra firma in this area of New Jersey were witnesses of monumental movements of the spirit of God and this can be multiplied time after what is all of this it is an extended commentary upon God's commitment to vindicate the cause of his own dear son and so dear children of God read the history of the church when people come and say well things look awfully black I guess we just better dig a ditch and lay down and hope

43:41 the Lord will come and take us out of this mess ah my friends I want the Lord to come but I don't look for his coming as some kind of an out because his hands are tied and he can't handle this mess if he chooses he can come forth with power and crush his enemies in our generation vindicate his cause in such a way that it will make our heads to swim and our mouths to be filled with laughter and we'll sing the 126th psalm in a way we never could before when the Lord turned the captive of Zion then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing then said they among the heathen the Lord hath done great things for them whereof we are glad the Lord hath done great things for us

Conclusion: Assurance for Believers, Call for Unbelievers

44:26 whereof we are glad dear child of God this God is our refuge this God is with us therefore we will not fear if you're not a Christian you cannot say he is my God the Lord of hosts is with me the God of Jacob is my God my friend I wouldn't want to live in your shoes for one day not for one day with all the uncertainty of life in its most pleasant periods what a frightening thing to live in a day such as ours to know that the actings of a few minds and the pushing of a few

45:09 buttons and millions can be snatched off into eternity oh my friend what a blessed thing to know the God of Jacob is your God if you know him not I hope your appetite is wetted to seek the Lord while he may be found to call upon him while he is near to know that he is merciful to all who seek him in his beloved son and dear Christian stop reading all your books on the conspiracy and start baptizing your mind in the greatness of your God and fill your spirit in mind with the glory of his relationship to you and yours

45:53 to him then whatever comes we will be able to say with the psalmist therefore will not we fear though the earth be moved this God is our God forever and ever and he will be our guide even unto death let us pray oh Lord we thank you for the richness of all that is involved in your covenant faithfulness to us your people we could never have conceived that such privileges would be afforded to rebel sinners

46:37 and yet you have granted to us far beyond anything we could think of anything we could ever conceive and in grace and mercy you've brought us to yourself we thank you for these realities we pray that we may feed upon them Lord we ask that our minds may be filled with the glory and with the wonder of what it is to be your child we pray that whatever we may face individually and corporately as the people of God oh may we never be found as those who have no refuge may we ever be reminded that

47:20 you are as the God of Jacob our high tower we thank you oh Lord we thank you for this and we think this morning of many of our brothers and sisters who are being called upon to prove the reality of this in much more difficult circumstances than we we pray for them there in China for those who cannot meet publicly but who are finding that there is a river and they are drinking of those streams of grace hallelujah Lord bless them today oh bless them we pray those in Russia those in other places where there is open opposition to the visible church grant oh

48:05 God that the truths of this song may be the meat and drink to your people and marrow to their spiritual bones and oh help us to so store up its concepts that should the time come when we with them will know what it is to see the raging of men against Zion city of God that we will not fear knowing that you the Lord of hosts are with us you the God of Jacob are our refuge hear us oh Lord in our plea and seal to our hearts this your holy word we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ amen