Perspective changes things. Think about paying taxes. Most of us don’t like that idea—at least, not at first. But consider a different perspective. When he was young, Marshall Rosenberg recalls how his father and grandfather took pleasure in paying their taxes. They had moved from Russia to North America and could see how the government (to whom they were paying taxes) had programs to protect them, to police the streets, and to provide other social services, which was more than they could say for their former existence. It was a matter of perspective. (Nonviolent Communication, 139) Bob Benson tells the story about a friend of his who had a heart attack. It was touch and go for a while. But he recovered. In fact, he started doing very well. Bob asked him, “Well, how did you like your heart attack?” “It scared me to death, almost,” came the reply.“Would you like to do it again?”? “No!” “Would you recommend it?” “Definitely not.” Bob went on to ask a series of questions which revealed a new reality in his friend’s life. His marriage was healthier, he had a deeper sympathy and compassion for people, and his faith was much deeper than it was before. So he asked him again, “…how’d you like your heart attack?” (Max Lucado, You’ll Get Through This, ) His point was this. Even though the heart attack was bad, it caused a chain reaction which improved his life on the whole. Things were actually looking up. It was a matter of perspective. As a boy, Viktor Frankl survived the concentration camps of World War Two. After seeing what he had seen and after going through what he had gone through, he once remarked: “I do not forget any good deed done to me, and I do not carry a grudge for a bad one.” (Man’s Search for Meaning, 162) Being subjugated to horrible things gave him a new perspective. He was more thankful for the good he received, and he didn’t hold a grudge. Life was too short, too precious. His experience changed his perspective. But what is perspective, anyway? The idea of “perspective” has to do with seeing things, and with seeing things more clearly, or with seeing them more broadly. On a camera when you change the perspective of your shot, you are zooming out to see more, or going to a wide-angle. The idea is the same when we apply it to life. It is trying to see or perceive more about our situation, or about life in general, so that our mental lens isn’t focused too narrowly and exclusively on our problems. With that in mind, here’s how we can think about perspective: Perspective is about seeing the bigger picture and right-sizing our problems. When we have problems they can take over our minds. They can consume our thoughts. They’re all we think about. They get out of proportion. Like that camera lens that is too narrowly focused, we can zero-in on the challenges we are facing and lose sight of the bigger picture—and lose our peace in the process. ‘Right-sizing’ isn’t about denying our problems, but putting them back in proportion to where they should be. Let’s try to demonstrate this visually. Up there on the screen is a circle. That represents your lens. It’s narrowly focused on a wolf. Since that’s all you can see, you think that’s all there is. But this next slide shows you what it’s like to zoom out to see more of the bigger picture. That allows you to see something in addition to the wolf. It’s a fence. Well, that certainly makes you feel better. Let’s go one step further. We zoom out even more to see a massive lion who has been trained to protect you. That certainly changes the landscape pretty drastically. Quite often in moments of fear or uncertainty, we lose that bigger picture perspective. We only see the wolf. That wolf might represent a worry we have or a situation we’re facing which fills us with dread. That’s why perspective is so important. Perspective changes things. We are in a teaching series about the most famous Psalms. Today’s passage is Psalm 46, and it is about regaining big picture perspective as we face problems in life. As I grew up, I recall hearing this psalm on certain occasions, like Remembrance Day or other times of national or global concern. I think the reason for that was (and is) because in those times of trouble, when it feels like the world itself is coming undone, we can narrowly focus only on the problems, and neglect the bigger picture. Therefore, we need the reminder that God is not so quickly or easily defeated. Psalm 46 is sometimes called a ‘song of Zion,’ referring to Jerusalem, the city of God. God is a protecting warrior of the holy city and of his people as they face the dread of their enemies. Let’s note the title. There is an instruction “to the choirmaster.” This means that the choirmaster is here being given instructions about how it is to be performed. (Remember from the introduction to this series on the most famous psalms, that these were originally worship songs.) This piece is “of the sons of Korah.” 11 psalms are cited as being “of the sons of Korah.” This was a Levitical family who had certain responsibilities related to worship. Another aspect of the title is this: “According to alamoth.” This means “soprano voices” or “maiden voices.” Let’s dive in. Psalm 46:1-11 (ESV) TO THE CHOIRMASTER. OF THE SONS OF KORAH. ACCORDING TO ALAMOTH. A SONG. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Verse 1 is the thesis statement. God is our refuge. He is also our strength. Not only is he our place of protection, but he is the source of our strength when it is required. He is a very present help in trouble. In Hebrew, the word here for “very” is an adverb (it carries the meaning of greatly) and is meant to give emphasis, meaning that God is a present help in trouble “greatly”! So the word “very” or “truly” should have emphasis. God is a VERY present help in trouble. He’s not far off and aloof; but actively engaged and close. The chief warrior is on the front lines. The King himself, armed for battle, isn’t standing at the back, but commanding from the front with the rest of the troops. This verse is quite famous. No matter what kind of trouble we are facing, the fact that we can call upon a God who is both our refuge and strength is exceedingly comforting. In the book Soul Searching, we learn about research done with 3000 young people. What they found was that many shared these basic beliefs about God: • God wants us to be nice and fair • The purpose of life is to be happy and feel good about yourself • God only really needs to be involved in your life when needed to solve a problem • Good people go to heaven when they die The book calls this view “Moral Therapeutic Deism.” There are various articles online about it. I point it out simply because, although popular, this is not consistent with the God we find in the Bible, including Psalm 46. Don’t get me wrong; I value when people believe in God and want to know more about him, and I appreciate that different people are at different places in their journey of faith. But the God we discover in the Bible is a personal, exciting and up-close. As such, he is “a very present help in trouble.” 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah With the warrior King armed and ready, “we will not fear” despite what we see unfolding around us. Several examples are given. The earth gives way and the mountains are moved into the heart of the sea. The earth isn’t literally breaking apart, nor are mountains literally tumbling to the heart (i.e. deepest places) of the sea. This is metaphorical language meant to express ideas like “the world is falling apart” or “the ground is giving away under my feet.” I think that all of this imagery is meant to make us think that creation itself is coming undone—that we are reverting back (or so it seems) to the chaos that existed before God shaped and fashioned things with his specific design. This world-is-shaking effect is how we might feel when a nation declares war on another, or we hear about the conscription of our young people, or a country experiencing a terrorist attack, or the announcement of a pandemic or economic recession. More personally, it could be the loss of a job or a dreaded diagnosis or a family member in grave danger. These things can make us feel as if all that is reliable and steady is not. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. In verse 4 we find a different scene, a much more calm and peaceful one. Previously the waters and seas roared as a place of turbulence and danger. Here in verse 4 we turn to a different kind of water; there is a river whose streams made Jerusalem glad. The impression we are given is that the streams that flow through the city symbolize health and vitality. God provides for his people and his city. God is in the midst of his city; “she shall not be moved,” we are told, meaning that nothing can uproot and destroy her. He will help her “when morning dawns,” perhaps an allusion to his rescuing power after a dark and troubling experience of night. It was not uncommon for enemies to attack in the morning, so perhaps this is a reference to that kind of a circumstance. Thinking more specifically, perhaps the psalm writer (the sons of Korah) had in mind that time when God’s people awoke to find the land littered with 185,000 dead Assyrian soldiers who were trying to besiege the city. (See Isaiah 37:36). 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah In verse 6 we learn about countries who are in a rage; entire kingdoms totter—kingdoms which once seemed secure, strong and eternal. But in contrast to God, everything is but a breath. God “utters his voice” and things change, the earth can even melt. Such is the sovereign and almighty power of our warrior-King. John Calvin puts it succinctly: “His arm is strong enough to break all the efforts of the enemy.” (Commentary on the Psalms.) Picture his arm, unyielding and colossal, accomplishing his will over the nations. There are times when we need that reminder. Verse 7 signals the end of section one in the Psalm. It’s a line which is repeated at the very end as well. We are told that the “LORD of hosts” is with us. This is the Lord of his heavenly armies. He is not against us, he is WITH US! Affixed to this is the statement that the “God of Jacob is our fortress.” Jacob was one of the patriarchs, of course. This is a way of identifying that we are standing in a family of faith which stretches back generations. The God who was faithful to our ancestors continues to be faithful to us today. This is a part of his unchanging and eternal care for his people. It is at this verse that we come across the word “fortress.” To be honest, I’ve never really been in a fortress. I’ve been to Casa Loma. I’ve watched the series Downton Abbey which seems pretty fortress-like. But a real fortress defends against an army, has battlements, it protects you. And so with God. Also of note at this verse is the fact that Martin Luther, the great German Reformer who lived in the early 1500’s used this psalm as the inspiration for the enduring hymn, A Mighty Fortress is our God. A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal. And verse 3: And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us; The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him. I love it. Then we come across the word “Selah.” Much ink has been spilled about this term. In short, the meaning is uncertain. Many scholars have speculated that this is a musical term of some sort. 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. Beginning at verse 8 we are invited to come and “behold the works of the LORD” and “how he has brought desolations on the earth.” What is desolation, you might ask? It is devastation or destruction. The context is defending his city, people and nation. It is the wreckage of a warrior-King who is also a father, defending his own children with a love which is fierce and unrelenting. Just as he brings these kinds of desolations, he “makes wars cease to the end of the earth.” He intervenes for his purposes of ultimate peace. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire (or, more literally, “wagons.”) Here we picture warriors being deprived of their weapons of destruction. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah The first part of verse 10 is the most well-known from the Psalm, even more than verse 1. “Be still, and know that I am God.” In Hebrew, the statement to “be still” is in the plural meaning it is addressed to a group of people. We aren’t told who the intended audience is. Perhaps the warring nations who threaten God’s people are told to cease and desist. If they just realize that the Lord (Yahweh) is God then they will stop their pointless assault. Then again, it may be that the command to “be still” is directed toward his own people. Perhaps they are worrying and fretting and fearing on account of the blood-thirsty nations. Perhaps they themselves need the reminder that their God is the warrior-King who is in control of human history, including their own immediate circumstances, perilous though they may be. If they truly “know” that God is God, then they will start to trust that God is God and act in a way that is consistent with that fact. A line from a Ross King song comes to mind: “the things that I’m afraid of are afraid of you.” And that insight brings back perspective and peace to the people of God. Hebrew language scholar Robert Alter translates this verse as “Let go, and know that I am God.” He explains that the origin of the verb is to “relax one’s grip on something.” (165) Well, my friends, we could certainly apply that to a whole host of areas in our lives! ‘Let go, relax your grip, and know that God is God.’ Here, I think, the phrase is meant to make us hit the pause button—to cease and desist—and to trust that God is in control, and that we are not. How often is our worrying and over-functioning and scurrying the result of thinking it’s all up to us? But it’s not. Australian Mark Sayers points out how counter-cultural this is in a time when so many people value busyness and constant productivity: “Waiting on the Lord,” he writes, “seeking His voice, is an act of revolutionary stillness.” (NAP, 162) When we think about revolutions we usually picture people chanting in the streets, demanding change and advocating for certain types of actions against some perceived injustice. These days, seeking the sovereign voice of the Lord, and then waiting for his prompting, that is an act of “revolutionary stillness.” He leads, we follow. Albert Mohler was once giving a speech to students about the importance of firm faith. He said, “Don’t just do something, stand there!” Pardon? He was playing on the usual expression, “Don’t just stand there, do something!” It’s a saying which is meant to compel us to jump into action; after all, ‘actions speak louder than words,’ right? Mohler’s point was that there are times when our frantic actions are sometimes pointless if we haven’t first thought through what we believe, why we believe it, and commit ourselves to standing firm. “Don’t just do something, stand there!” Or, in the words of verse 10: “Before anything else, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’” Continuing. “I will be exalted among the nations,” God says. “I will be exalted in the earth.” The realization that God is God will be known not only among his own people, but to the ends of the earth and in the eyes of all. Notice what he does not say. He does not say I might be exalted among the nations or I might be exalted in the earth. He will be exalted among the nations; he will be exalted in the earth. He is declaring what will be true for everyone everywhere. This should give us confidence that his victory is assured, and we belong to him. To finish we are again given the words from verse 7. “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah” We end our look at the text there. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. I started off by talking about perspective. Here is the definition I offered: Perspective is about seeing the bigger picture and right-sizing our problems. Psalm 46 teaches us about the big picture. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble! God is in command! God is who he says he is! And this fact should “right-size” our problems. Just like we did before, let’s depict this visually. There in the centre image are three words: Fear, uncertainty, dread. These are general words but each of you will know what those realities are in your own life. Notice the circle. That’s the lens of your mind focusing exclusively on those painful realities. But Psalm 46 gives us more perspective about what reality is like for God’s people. In the next frame, the lens widens, it zooms out, and we discover that yes fear and uncertainty and dream might still be there, but so are insights about who God is and what God does in our lives. He is our eternal refuge. In Christ we are forgiven and made right with God forever. Our everlasting redemption is secure. Psalm 46 tells us that he is ‘our strength,’ meaning he provides the strength we need to face the difficulties we experience. But there’s more. We zoom out again, seeing more of the big picture as revealed to us in Psalm 46. There we discover that he is our fortress against the enemy. He protects us. He does battle for his people. Each and every day you and I don’t even know how many times God has interceded on our behalf to thwart the malicious plans of our adversary. In addition, we are given the armour of God (as articulated in Ephesians 6) whereby God will equip us for battle in the spiritual realm. We also see in that next lens that God is a very present help to us in trouble. He is not distant; he is close. We can call on him and he will intervene for his people. And then, the final wide-angled lens reveals that this same King works all things for our good. This isn’t from Psalm 46, but is implied. It is a quote from Romans 8:28. On the other side we see that life isn’t random, but that God is bringing unity to all things as the great reconciler and prince of peace. In Psalm 46 we are told that he makes wars to cease; one day our creation will be at rest. In Ephesians we are told explicitly by the apostle Paul that God is actively bringing unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10). Violence will lose. Pain will end. Discord will be a thing of the past. The Lord will in fact be exalted among the nations and in the earth. With all of this in mind we come to the intended result in verse 10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” About this verse I want to point out that the phrase “be still” (as we have discussed) doesn’t necessarily mean quiet time. It means that sometimes, but not all the time. It refers to an inner stillness. Inner stillness flows from a growing knowledge of who God is and what God is doing. Notice how in this verse it says to “Be still, AND know that I am God.” Even while we deal with the difficulties of life, we can experience an inner stillness because we have a growing knowledge and increasing confidence of who God is and what God is doing. David Helm has said: "The more you spend time looking at the big picture, the better your grasp of the big picture will be." (EP, 70). In ancient Israel, this would have been a good news story for people in the city of Zion worried about the attack of foreign nations. Today, it is also good news for us as we deal with our own fear, uncertainty, or dread. My encouragement to you is this: Let go and know that God is doing a good job at doing his job. The phrase ‘let go’ does not mean ‘do nothing.’ We still need to go to school or work or get groceries. We still need to love our neighbours and our enemies and be disciples and make disciples and worship. It is a reference to grasping on to things which are beyond our grasp in the first place. It refers to letting go of trying to be God, of trying to control everything, to having to solve everything yourself, of having to have all the answers. How do you need to apply this to your own life? What do you need to let go of as you trust that God is doing a good job at doing his job? When you look at Handel’s Messiah, that famous musical piece written and first performed in the middle of the 18th century, which continues to be played and enjoyed today, you can’t just look at one sheet of music. Nor can you listen to just one small section of it, especially in a minor key. It sounds strange. But when you pull back and listen to the whole thing, you can appreciate the majesty, the beauty, the grandeur which tells us so much about the life of Christ. And so it is with life. Perspective—seeing the bigger picture—changes how you see things, including your own problems. As we face our various fears, uncertainties and dreads, Psalm 46 helps us do just that. Let’s say it together. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; 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 fortress. Amen.