Psalm 46

What do you do when life falls apart? In this episode, we unpack Psalm 46 and discover why God is our refuge, our strength, and our ever-present help in times of trouble.

Inspired by the faith of persecuted Christians who chose worship over fear, this conversation is a reminder that God's presence is greater than any crisis. If you need hope and encouragement, this episode is for you.

Share this with someone who needs courage, and tell us which verse anchors your faith.

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Transcript

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Singing Scripture Into Memory

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Alright, so let's look into the word of the Lord today. And you know, when I was growing up, when I used to listen to a lot of songs. In fact, one way I started learning the scripture is just by singing the scripture. I like the Maranata singers, you know, because they would sing the scripture in a song. When if you hear songs like Seek ye first the kingdom of God, before I knew that it was a Bible verse, I used to sing it in the Sunday school. Or let's say, rejoice in the Lord always, cast your burdens. All those things, I knew them as songs first. Then later on, I came to know that they are Bible verses. I liked it. You know, that's the way I learned. I also like this one group called as the Hosanna Integrity. Why? Because they were always singing the scripture. They would take a Bible verse or a Bible passage and they will add some melodious tune to it, and that's how they used to. And I think Sunday school should be like that. You know, that's the easiest way to learn the if you can hum the scripture, it kind of stays. Even right now, like, you know, I mean, like, I still keep humming those songs which I learnt in the in the Sunday school, you know, because that's one reason why we should get our kids into the Sunday school, right? Yeah, because when they learn those things when they are young, even when they are young old, they it is still like, you know, it's still in their heart, still in their mind, still on their tongue, also. Alright. So one of the songs that I really liked learning or liked listening to is by Hosanna Integrity. They sang a song and they combined Psalm 46 and Psalm 23. It says, The Lord is my refuge and my strength, a present help in times of need. He is my fortress, my deliverer, my father, my friend indeed. Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will not fear any foe, for thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. He will not leave me alone. I

QR Code Notes And Resources

SPEAKER_00 2:14

still remember the words of the words of the song. And by the way, before we go ahead, you should scan the QR code that you see on the screen. Why? Because this will take you to the UVersion Bible app, and you will have all the all the sermon notes that I'm going to preach to you. In fact, it will have some nice YouTube links also. YouTube links about everything that I'm going to share today. And uh most of what I prepared today, I will not be able to preach just because time issue. But then you can go home, save this up, access them whenever you want. You know, sometime in the middle of the sermon, mean uh you find it interesting, and I see people clicking the pictures and all. Pictures of the whatever you see on the screen and all. Don't do that. Just scan this. You will get that verse also, whatever you see later on, plus a lot more. Plus a lot more. So I mean, I'm trying to get into this practice of like, you know, making sure that you have even more information than what you get on a Sunday, Sunday sermon. At least when I'm preaching, you know, that's what I'm trying to trying to achieve. So

Persecution Report From Pakistan

SPEAKER_00 3:17

I was going through this one article by the voice of Matthias. Now, this is kind of a magazine which uh deals with Christian persecution all around the world. They are the ones who report about how the church is facing troubles throughout the world and all. Now, Christianity is the world's largest religion, no doubt about it. But just because it's the world's largest religion doesn't mean that you know it has the upper hand in very many areas. Christianity is also the world's most persecuted religion. The most persecuted uh people group or like uh the religious group in the world are Christian. 52 plus countries have either partially or completely banned the Bible in the world, and they have restrictions about our worship. Or even if the so-called democratic countries, they are democratic on paper, but in practice they are hostile towards Christianity. The churches are burnt, people are threatened, pe Christians are killed, severe persecution. In many countries, they are like, you know, either forcibly kind of converted, uh mean or they'll removed from their country, they have become minority of the minority. So I was reading an article by this group, and they kind of reported, they recover reported about a place called Jaranwala. It's in Pakistan. And I've been reading about, let's say, the church at Pakistan. Minorities have decreased, decreased through the years. Church faces persecution. In many cases, you know, they will kidnap girls, force them into marriage, into some other religion, and they just can't escape it. And I mean, even though, like a church person gets a job, he will never get a top post, nowhere else. You know, he will only get a second or a third grade, third grade post and all, because that's how they treat the church. And recently, there's been an intensification of persecution. Churches are burnt down, houses and properties of church Christians are burned down. But what surprised me most is the way church people behaved, or the believers behaved when they faced persecution. They saw their houses burnt in front of their eyes, their property looted in front of their eyes. The people who looted them, beat them up, they were dancing, they were making fun of them, and after they have done everything, the church believers would come together, gather around the ruins, so the debris, the burnt ruins and all, they would join hands and they were singing psalms. In fact, one of the links that I have shared, it will also give you an interview about what kind of songs the church was singing. In Punjabi and Urdu, they call it the Zabur. Psalms are called the Zabur. In many cases, they are singing the songs of lament, meaning crying. But in some cases, or the most popular psalm that they started singing is Psalm 46. And it really made me wonder. That's why I studied Psalm 46. And as I studied, it kind of blessed my heart. Really blessed my heart, and that's what I want to share with each and every one of us, each and every one of us today. And

Why Psalm 46 Is Sung

SPEAKER_00 6:41

let's start with the introduction of Psalm 46, and then we will read out that Psalm. The Psalm just starts by telling it is for the director of music, meaning it is a song, it is put to music, you are supposed to sing it. And when are the Pakistani Christians singing it? When they are going through their worst time, they should be creeping and crying. If somebody loots me, if somebody takes away something from me, I will complain. Number one, I will get thoughts of revenge or I will complain, complain, I will stop trusting God. Why? Because the immediate question in the face of loss when I go through is where is God when I'm going through persecution? But then I learned a lesson from them. They sang a song, they decided to sing a song. And it says of the sons of Korah, you should do your own research on this. That's an interesting read, you know, about the sons of Korah, what their role is, what their kind of you know background is. And then it says, according to Alamat, meaning it just means maidens or let's say ladies. And it is understood that it is a soprano, meaning it's a high-pitched voice. They sing in a very high pitch. In the sense, one of the pitches that you can never really ignore is high pitches. You know, your sons and daughters in that when they are kids and all, when they feel hungry, they make that high-pitched noise. Now it kind of irritates. This is a high-pitched song or a psalm. And they sang it, meaning this song should be heard. This song should not be ignored. So the church people sang it when there was destruction all around them. And the words of the song go something like this.

Psalm 46 Read And Framed

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Let me read it for you. God is our refuge and strength, He's mighty and He is strong. A very present and well-proved help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth should change, and though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its roaring, there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, a holy dwelling place of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved. God will help her when the morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered and were moved. He raised his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Come, behold the works of the Lord who has brought desolations and wonders on the earth. He makes the walls to cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold, he is our refuge, and he is our high tower. Powerful psalm. And it really made me wonder. In the face of destruction, why is such a song of confidence being sung? Spurgeon, C. H. Spurgeon spoke about this psalm and he said this this is the song of holy confidence. Martin Luther. He kind of paraphrased this song into a this psalm into a song. You know, he he wrote a hymn called as A Mighty Fortresses are. It's based on this psalm. It's a powerful hymn. Read that hymn itself, it is so nice. We're going to look at just three words. Just look at the first verse. And even in that first verse, we will look at only three words. God is our refuge, God is our strength, very present help in time of trouble. Just these three things we will be looking at. I was a little confused, you know, how to categorize a psalm like this. You know, there are group of psalms in the Bible wherever, whichever psalm has the word Zion or Jerusalem, we categorize them as the songs of songs of Zion or the Psalms of Zion. This psalm talks about a city, but it doesn't talk about Zion, neither does it mention Jerusalem. And if I read the Psalm, it's given to understand it's talking about a city which might not be earthly. A city where the throne of God, throne of God is. It really made me wonder how to categorize this psalm. And like, you know, I mean, one thing I figured out is there are good number of Psalms, good number of Psalms, whose first verse always becomes the foundational work. Not all the Psalms, but a good number of Psalms. In fact, the most popular Psalms, the first verse becomes the core verse, and everything else is dependent on the first verse. For example, Psalm 23. What is the first verse? The Lord is my okay. You can say it loud, it's all right. The Lord is my shepherd, and every other verse after that is somewhere dependent on that first verse. The Lord is my shepherd, therefore I will not be in want. Meaning, because the Lord is your shepherd, you don't you lack nothing. Because the Lord is your shepherd, your protection is sure. Because the Lord is your shepherd, he will lead you beside the still waters. Because the Lord is your shepherd, you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The first verse is the foundational. You can also read Psalm 91. He who dwells in the shadow of the most high. Some of you really know this. Shadow of the Most High. Then all the other 16 verses after that, or 16 mean areas where you will be affected because God is your refuge, because God has become your shelter. So I thought this psalm also falls under that category in a manner of saying, Yes. The first verse is still the foundational, foundational verse. The Lord is my refuge, Lord is my strength, very present help in time of in time of trouble. Let's

Refuge When People Turn

SPEAKER_00 13:48

look at the first word, refuge. Twenty times you will see this word repeated in the Bible or in the Old Testament. It's a Hebrew word, literally means a shelter. Sometimes appears also very figuratively. It can also mean hope, or it can mean place of refuge, place of shelter, or a place of trust. A very powerful aspect of God, meaning if God decides to protect you, or else if you run into the presence of God in your problem, in your bad time, you are secure and you are safe. Not going to look at all the 20 times, but let's look at three or four times. Psalm 62, verse 7, it says, In God is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. They said David wrote this time when David was going through a very bad phase in his life. Either Saul was behind him or his son Absalom was against him. We don't really know the context for sure, but we know it is trouble from within the family. Saul is very close to David, right? Though he is king, he is David's father-in-law. David respected King Saul so much, he got at least two times. Two times when he could kill Saul, but he doesn't kill Saul out of the respect that he has for him. Saul, though he has backslidden, he's still anointed by the Lord. And David said, I will not touch him. Whatever God wants to do with Saul, let God do it, I will not touch him. But when Saul himself is trying to kill him, David just runs. Or it could be Absalom, one of the favorite sons of David. Tall, handsome, long hair. When his own son turns against him. David by this time is very old. What can he do? You know, I mean, you know, one thing I figured out is, you know, especially in the Eastern context, our families are our last refuge. Or let's say our strong refuge. And I know this for sure. Why? Because, you know, even if the whole world turns against us, if our family is with us, we are still strong, right? You know, I was a kid, like, you know, in if anybody did anything to me, I would say, Mamma Mikchipta. I will say, Daddy, I'll tell my dad. Why? Because that one place I know I will be accepted even when I'm weak. The whole world can turn against me. But if my family is still supporting me, I'm still strong. But in David's case, his own family is against him. His own family has turned against him. So, in that context, going through that kind of a situation, David says, in God is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength, my refuge, is in God. Meaning, even if your own people misunderstand, people who are supposed to protect you, be with you. Even if they disappoint you, even if they turn against you, God will still be your refuge. God will still come to your protection. God will still come and be with you. Now I got many friends like this. People not from a Christian background, from some other faith who received Jesus Christ. They lost their properties. And you know, I mean, uh in weird, in some of our areas, we have something called as honor killings. They would rather see their children dead than try to figure out, give them the freedom to follow whatever they want. In those cases, God is our refuge. God is with, is with us. The second time, Psalm chapter 91, verse 2. This is a popular psalm. Everybody knows about this. It says, I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I, in whom I trust. Again, it's a powerful psalm. I read it, I read it. Whenever I'm scared, I kind of quote it all the time. God is my refuge. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High God will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, He is my He is my fortress. The most popular kind of idea that people have is David wrote this psalm. Could be, but I think the more logical way of thinking is Moses wrote this. Doesn't matter, it suits both of their contexts. But it is written when they were facing the hardest situations in their life. There is an enemy all around. There's enemy that has surrounded them. There are traps that are set for them, traps that they don't, they're not even aware of. In that time, they wrote a psalm telling, God is my fortress, I dwell in the shadow of the Most High. He is my, he is my refuge. And believe me, times have changed. But the way people scheme and plot against each other has only become more cruel, right? There are people who will laugh in front of you, but behind you, they are scheming against you. You know them, right? Okay, be quiet. If you're laughing, you know what I'm talking about. There are people who do that, happens everywhere. Office, politics. You start anything, you start a small group, also, you will get kind of these kind of things. It's novel in now, it's come to be known as human nature. No, it's a fallen nature. But God says, I will be your refuge, I will be your fortress. The next one, Isaiah chapter 25, verse 4. You know, I love this verse, I love this book, the book of Isaiah, and especially chapter 24 to 27, they call it the apocalypse, the little apocalypse in Isaiah. Meaning, these are the places where God is giving out his judgment. God is talking to all the nations and he is judging them. A dangerous book. At least the first part of Isaiah, it deals with Israel, you have committed idolatry, you have not lived up to the standards of the law. So that's why Assyria is going to arise and is going to take you into captivity. Just because, just before the Assyrian captivity was about to happen, I mean Isaiah was preaching, Isaiah was pleading with them. Isaiah was telling, God is not happy with what you have done. And so frustrated he becomes, he addresses God and he says, He talks about God like this, and he says, God, for you have been a stronghold for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm, a shade from the heat. Meaning, God, this is the reputation that we that you have amongst us. You are a shelter from the storm, oh God. You are A shelter to those people who are in distress and needy. You know, one thing I know is we can go through our hard time when we can call on the name of God, He's always there to be with us. Amen. He's always very close to us, always very close to us. Joel chapter 3, verse 16 is another time where we can hear the word refuge. And I found it to be very powerful. And it starts just very powerful just because of the first, the way the way the the sentence, the verse starts is powerful. It says, The Lord will roar from Zion. I mean the picture is of a lion roaring, and that's majestic. They say that roar can be heard miles away. And if anybody can hear the roar of a lion, that means it is announcing its territory, it's announcing its influence, telling, be careful. If you can hear me, don't come. The Lord will roar from Zion, but the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the children of Israel. Now look at the context of Joel chapter 3. Now it is again little kind of you know the end time context. The the the the topic is the day of the Lord, meaning God is going to pick up a day when he will pronounce judgments. And this is also a chapter where God is telling his people, Israel, even though you're scattered here and there, even though people played around you, they destroyed you, they mocked you, they made fun of you, they ill-treated you. Even though they did like that, God is telling, I will gather you. I will gather you from all the corners of the earth, and I will bring you to myself, Zion. He'll I'll bring you to Zion. But then God is telling, I will not just gather you, I will gather everybody that hurt you. I will gather the Philistines, the Moabites, the Ammonites, I will gather the I mean all kinds of people who have ever mistreated you. I will gather all of them in the valley of Jehoshaphat. Let me read it for you. I mean, Joel chapter 3, verse 1 reads like this: it says, In those days and at that time, meaning, God is telling, I have appointed a day when I will gather everybody. So Israel was very happy because Israel knew I might be going through a bad time right now, but that day is going to come. That one day it's going to come. In those days and that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, again the Jewish people are very happy. Why? Because they can be mistreated now, but someday the Lord is telling, the Lord is telling, that day I will restore your fortunes. That day, whatever has been taken away from you will be given back to you. And I am given to understand they will be given much more than what they lost. And verse 2, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. So there is a valley named after Jehoshaphat. And God says, I will bring all those countries there. And he says, There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance. So Israel rejoiced that day. Because even though they go through persecution now, even though the enemy rejoices, one day will come when the Lord will gather the enemy, and it says, I will put them on trial for what they did to my people Israel. Now take comfort in some of these verses. Why? Because you know there are times who times people deal with us wrongly. You know, I wait patiently, observing them what will happen to them. Sometimes I see God punishing them, but in not all in all cases, sometimes I see people seemingly get away with the wrong things they have done. Na na na, that's what I think in this time frame. But in God's eternal time frame, God will gather them on that great day. And on that great day, he will gather them and say, Why did you treat my child like that? Why did you misbehave with my children? That great day will come, but on that great day it says, When the Lord rolls from Zion, He will become a refuge to everybody who has put their trust in the Lord. Everybody who's suffering for the Lord, but you have still put your trust in the Lord, God will be your refuge. The second

Strength That Parts The Sea

SPEAKER_00 27:12

one, the first one is refuge. The Lord is our refuge, the second one is the Lord is our strength. Oz is the Hebrew word for strength, and uh it's used at least 92 times. 92 times it is used referring to God. And uh over here we are just talking about the strength of the Lord. Sometimes, you know, strength is also spoken of as the strength of the enemy, strength of the nations. I'm not really looking at all of them, but the strength of the Lord is what we are going to, what we are going to look at. Exodus chapter 15, verse 2. Now it is uh it is the context of this verse is 400 years of slavery has come to an end. Israel is in Egypt for 400 long years, and they were slaves for most part of that time, and they had no capacity, no ability to deliver themselves. So, but through a string of or a series of events, God rescues them, God delivers them, they cross over the Red Sea, and in the Red Sea they see the mighty Egyptian army drowning, and once they cross over the Red Sea, Moses and Miriam they start to sing a song. We know it as the song of Miriam. And the part of that song, it starts like this: it says, The Lord is my strength, the Lord is my song, he has become my salvation. The Lord is my strength and my song and my salvation. Why is Miriam and Moses singing this song? Because when you live for 400 years after as a slave, generation and generation after a slave, you would not, your mind, your thinking pattern changes. You cannot even think to come out of a I mean of a condition like that. You will not, no matter how creative you are, you are bound not just physically, you are bound spiritually, emotionally, mentally. You do not have the capacity to think about yourself as free people. You cannot even come up with thoughts of telling, how can I escape this enemy? How can I get rid of this enemy? The only reason Egypt, I mean Israel came out of Egypt is because of God. The only reason they walked through the Red Sea is because God parted the Red Sea. The only reason that they were saved from Egypt because God drowned that army in that in that Red Sea. You know the only reason we are saved here right now, because Jesus saved us. Jesus died on the cross for the cross for us. So Moses sang a song. The Lord is my strength. The Lord is my is my song. Psalm 68, verse 33. It also talks about strength to him who writes upon the highest heavens. Behold, he sends forth his voice, a mighty voice, and it says, Ascribe strength to strength to God. No, really, it blessed me when I read this. I when I read this psalm, Psalm 68. You know, they say that this is the psalm that David wrote as he was bringing the ark into the city of Jerusalem. You remember that story? The first time David tried to bring the ark into the into the city, he put it on a bull cart and God didn't like it. So after some time they repented, and the next time the Levites were carrying that ark, and David was dancing in front of that, in front of that ark, and he was singing this song. He was singing this song, and part of that song, verse 33, reads like this to him who writes upon the highest heavens, behold, he sends forth his voice, a mighty voice, ascribe strength to strength to God. And how do I know that you know David mean wrote this when he was bringing the ark? Because the psalm itself, Psalm 68, verse 1, it starts with a verse telling, May God arise and his enemies be scattered. And you go to the book of Numbers, Book of Numbers, chapter 10, verse 34-35, is the time when is the time when uh Moses gives instructions. And Moses tells the Levites, whenever you lift the ark of the covenant, when you put it on your shoulder, you should say the words, may God arise and the enemies be scattered. That's powerful telling. He says, But when you put it down, when you lift it off your shoulders and you put it down, say the words, now the Lord has come to dwell among the multitudes of Israel. That's what he that's the instruction that he gave. So the Israelites faithfully followed it. Whenever the ark was lifted, they would say, The Lord arise and the enemy be scattered. They sang it, they ascribe strength to the Lord. Interestingly, another thing that I found with this chapter is it calls God as a cloud rider, meaning he writes on the clouds. Sometimes the word that is used is heaven, shamayim is the word, can mean clouds of heaven, anything. He writes on the writes on the clouds. The only other, I mean it is used a couple of times here and there and all, but Daniel also talks about this. Daniel talks about a person who writes on the clouds, and Daniel says the Son of Man is riding on the clouds. Psalm 68, it actually says God is riding the clouds. Daniel says the son of man is riding the clouds, and the book of Revelation, chapter 1, says it is Jesus who rides the clouds. You know, that's one way you can say that Jesus is God. Revelation chapter 1, verse 7. Let me read that. It says, Look, he's coming with the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. The only one who was pierced was Jesus. He's riding the riding the clouds. My God is strong. My God is powerful. The third one.

Help That Arrives Fast

SPEAKER_00 34:26

He's an ever-present help. God is my refuge, God is my strength, an ever-present help in times of in times of need. Literally, the Hebrew word is Ezra. Ezra meaning help. And again, it appears many times in the Bible, 26 times it is used of God. Let's look at some of them. Deuteronomy is one book which Moses wrote when he was very old. He was one around 120 years old. Most of his peers, like you know, people of his age, are dead and gone. Joshua and Caleb are still there, but all that other generation they perished in the wilderness because of their disobedience. Their children and their children, those are the people that Moses was leading, meaning an elderly person leading his grand and great-great-grandchildren. He's leading that group of people. He's very well respected, and I'm sure by this time his heart has become a loving heart. He's instructing people, telling, when you go to the land, behave in this way. When you go to the land, listen to the voice of voice of God. He is pronouncing blessings on the various tribes of Israel. And when he looked at the people of Judah, and it was like very easy for Moses to do. The camp was arranged according to the tribes. So he probably looked at the tents of Judah and the blessing that he pronounced, or like this is the comment that he makes, rather. He says, and this he said about Judah, verse chapter 33, verse 7. Hear, Lord, the cry of Judah, bring him to his people. With his own hands, he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his force. Meaning Moses is crying to God, telling, God, Judah is trying hard. Judah is facing his enemies on his own. God, please help him. Please help Judah, our Lord. You know, I'm also a little bit like Judah. I also try to figure out everything or live out my Christian life on my own. Just like any one of us, right? We all try everything on our own. When we miserably fail, then we say, oh, Devuda. Right? I mean, Billy Graham at one time, you know, he spoke about this weird behavior of human beings. And he says that, you know, it's only when the doctor says, prepare your coffin, then we will write, take the prayer card in the church and write it there, please pray for me. Before that, we will try everything in our ability. God often becomes the last option. And he says, if God was your first option, probably the situation will not worsen at any time. So I also try to live out a Christian life by myself. And honestly, I can tell you, I failed miserably. I tried to fight temptation, I tried to fight a lot of things on my own by myself. And I failed miserably. Anyone like me? Those you lift your hands, same pinch, all the others are liars. Every one of us, we can't do it on our own. We cannot live a Christian life on our own. That's why we depend on the Spirit of God. That's why we depend on the grace and the mercy of God. If God doesn't help us, we are miserable losers. So I depend on God. That's why I read the Bible, that's why I pray. That's why I fellowship because I cannot do anything by my own. I need everybody. We need to depend on God. So Moses prays, God, look at Judah trying its best. God, please go and help them. Okay, few verses later, he speaks about Jashuran. And he says, verse 26, 33, verse 26, There is no one like the God of Jeshuran. He rides across the heavens to help you, and on the clouds in his majesty. Powerful promise. And I think that promise is for all of us. There is no God like our God. Because when we pray, He comes fast to help us. He's very quick to hear and hear our hear our prayers. You know, I mean, there's a lot of goodwill that, like, you know, a lot of good I want to do to a lot of good people in my life. The people who are close to me, like, you know, we want to be there for our children, for our friends, for our brothers and sisters, right? Whenever they are in problem, we want to be there for them. But the problem with that is we have limitations. If somebody is struggling in some other far land, in a faraway place, I can't be there immediately. Or even if I have good intentions of helping, I might not have the resources to help them. I can pray for them, I can feel for them, I want to do something, but I'm limited. But not without God. He's omnipotent, he's omnipresent. He's one prayer away. One prayer away. So when you go through your problem, all that you need is God. God does something. Okay, we know this hymn. What referend we have in Jesus. Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in. I think we should start singing hymns in this church. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Some of the so nice, man. Good understanding of God is just because I sang these hymns. One prayer away. One prayer away. Psalm 20, verse 2. May he send you help from his sanctuary. They say it is a royal psalm. David only wrote it for a congregation, meaning he wanted a lot of people to sing it. And it should be sung on an eve of a battle, meaning, if tomorrow I'm going to go to a battle, today I should gather a congregation and make everybody sing. May God send his help from his sanctuary. It's just like I'm asking everybody, pray that God is going to help me. God will be my strength, a present help, even as I face the struggles of my struggles of my life. Meaning, you know, I mean the the academic year has just begun, and in another three weeks or so, you know, the schools and colleges don't waste time. They'll give tests. One week they will teach, and after that, test it, test it, test and test. And just before the test, all the students they should do this. God help me in my you should study and then pray. Or when you're facing your interviews, just before you go, say, God help me. God promised his help.

Closing Prayer And Commitment

SPEAKER_00 42:19

Come, why don't we just stand in the presence of the Lord today? Three things that we have seen today. Psalm chapter 46, verse 1. The Lord is our refuge, the Lord is our strength, a present help in times of need. So the church came together, they saw their persecutors are rejoicing. They are people happy because they destroyed the properties, the lives of the children of God. But then there is something about the Christian spirit. Even when we are low, even when we go through the first phase of our life, we will still sing a song. We will still stand and say, God, you are strong, you are able. There is something just about being Christian or a child of God. When everything around is against us, when hostility surrounds us, there is something from within us which will say, Lift up your hand and bless the name of God. We have learned how to bless God when everything goes well in our life. But the church worldwide, and this psalmist is telling, even when you go through those struggles, even when you go through your dark valleys, even when nobody cares about you, people abandon you. Can you still lift up your hands and say, God, I will still praise you, God, I will still bless you. You are my refuge, you are my strength, my help in time of need. If you agree with me, why don't you lift your hand? Why don't you lift your hand, make a commitment to God, telling, God, no matter, come what may, no matter what goes on, oh God, in my life, oh Lord, I'm making a commitment that I will praise you, oh Lord. If people can mock me, oh God, people can accuse me, oh God. My own family can turn against me, oh Lord, they can loot me, they can do whatever they want to do with me, oh God. But I will rise and say, God is my refuge, God is my strength, my help in time of need. I will not abandon you, oh Lord. I will have the courage, oh God, to stand. Stand and say that you are my God and I serve only you. My enemy will vanish, oh Lord. Those who oppose me, O God, will go back into the dust, O Lord. But your word will prevail. Your promises, oh God, will be eternal, oh God. So, God, we are making a commitment today, oh Lord. We are making a commitment, oh God, here in your house, oh God, where your presence is, oh God, among your children, oh God, our fellow brothers and sisters, oh God, in the middle of your church, oh God. We are making a commitment, oh Lord, we will worship you, we will honor you, oh God, with the fruit of our lips, oh God, we will worship you, oh God. By the way we work with our hands, we will worship you, oh Lord. Just by the way we live our lives, oh Lord, we will worship you and we will honor you, oh God. So God be glorified.