PSALM 46<\/b><\/p>\n
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth he removed<\/i><\/p>\n
(Psalm 46:1\u20132a)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
One of the most difficult tasks for Christians is to maintain faith when providence seems to run contrary to God\u2019s promises. God has promised that He will strengthen and deliver His people. Yet there are times when we think our strength will fail at any moment, when God\u2019s deliverances seem far off. The Israelites felt this way more than once, but the faithful always held fast to God\u2019s promises, trusting in His sovereignty. The English Puritan Thomas Watson once wrote, \u201cGod promised David to give him the crown, to make him king; but providence turned contrary to His promise; David was pursued by Saul, was in danger of his life; but all this while it was David\u2019s duty to trust God. The Lord oftentimes, by cross providence, brings to pass His promise.\u201d Psalm 46 shows how the people of Israel trusted in God even amid trials, for they knew that \u201cGod is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
This psalm focuses on God\u2019s providence to remind the people that God is in control, that He will bring about His promises in His own way, and that His people are to \u201cbe still\u201d and know that He is God. By elevating God\u2019s providence in the minds of the people, the psalmist extols the power of God. Unlike the impotent gods of foreign nations, the God of Israel lives and acts, able to accomplish His will and bring about His purposes. Therefore, \u201cthe faithful have no reason to be afraid, since God is always ready to deliver them \u2026 and is also armed with invincible power,\u201d Calvin wrote. \u201cHe shows in this that the true and proper proof of our hope consists in this, that, when things are so confused, that the heavens seem as it were to fall with great violence \u2026 and the mountains to be torn up from their very foundations, we nevertheless continue to preserve and maintain calmness and tranquility of heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word providence<\/i> has all but disappeared from Christian vocabulary. In times past, believers often spoke of Divine Providence directing their lives. They faithfully beheld the \u201cworks of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth\u201d (46:8). Too often we attribute to chance what rightly belongs to God. Let us, then, bring back into the church a right understanding of the providence of God, praising Him for His preservation.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
1 Samuel 13\u201314<\/p>\n
Luke 14:1\u201324<\/p>\n
Read Matthew 6:25\u201332. What does this passage say about God\u2019s providence? Think of times you attributed events under the canopy of God\u2019s providence to chance. Why is it more comforting to think of providence instead? Notice God\u2019s providential governing of your life and the world around you today and thank Him.<\/p>\n
For further study: Deut. 33:26\u201329 \u2022 Isa. 25; 41:8\u201310<\/i><\/p>\n
thursday<\/p>\n
april<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PSALM 46 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth he removed (Psalm 46:1\u20132a). One of the most difficult tasks for Christians is to maintain faith when providence seems to run contrary to God\u2019s promises. God has promised that He will strengthen and … Continue reading “DIVINE PROVIDENCE”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12218\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}