There IS a River

“In God We Trust – Part 2”

(Psalm 46:4-7, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, December 11, 2011)

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

The earlier verses of Psalm 46 speak of waters that are terrifying. They are a roaring tsunami that makes the earth tremble, so that the mountains themselves end up in the midst of the tumultuous sea. There has to be better body of water in the plan of God than the waves of destruction pounding upon the earth.

There IS a river.

The existence of the river of God is an important element of our faith. Jesus spoke of this river as one who knows heaven. John saw the river and wrote about it in the last chapter of the Bible. The prophet Ezekiel saw a vision of it long ago, and talked about it proceeding out from under the altar of God, starting as trickle of life, and growing until it covered the whole earth.

This heavenly river brings life wherever it flows. When Jesus spoke about it, he said to the woman at the well, “The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” This river will be in us, but it will also flow out of us.

Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” And then the apostle John adds, “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

But now Jesus has been glorified, and the Spirit has been given to those who believe, and heaven's river is flowing out of the hearts of His people all over the world. This river, which makes glad the city of God, has come down upon the earth in the coming of the Messiah. His coming is now coming to others through you. This river that makes the city of God glad in heaven is flowing out from you throughout the earth.

You have become the holy habitation of God. Be glad. Let the Word of God dwell within you richly, and let the Spirit of righteousness and peace flow forth from you.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

God will lead you in that good way. You can trust Him. He is in the midst of His heavenly Jerusalem. When Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, a new life began that was a heaven on earth life. That life was in Mary, and her soul rejoiced in Him.

But now, you have become the city of God. God is in our midst in His church. He inhabits this worship and He has claimed you. This is the only way that we are kept for everlasting life. The river of God has come to us and keeps us. This city of God shall not be moved.

There is still evidence of a very dark night over this weary earth. Yet the light of a new dawn can be seen. The Psalmist says, “God will help her (the city of God) when morning dawns.” Morning has already dawned in the coming of Jesus Christ. Morning has dawned in His resurrection. Morning has dawned in the gift of the Holy Spirit and in the preaching of Christ all over the earth. Morning has dawned in you who believe.

But we are looking for a yet more glorious day. God will help us when that newest morning dawns. In that hope we shine even now, for God is with us.

6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

This is not to say that all signs of trouble have already been banished. The nations rage. Shockingly. The kingdoms totter. Amazingly. So much has taken place in world events just since last Christmas! What will the next year be like?

The raging and tottering are not just among nations. Normal bonds of family affection and support are strained in our own country and in so many places throughout the world. In a way, this is nothing new. Before the first coming of the Messiah, God prepared His people for both Jesus and His forerunner, John the Baptist, with these words from the end of Malachi: ““Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.”

We are told by Jesus in one place in the gospels that if we could accept it, John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come. Part of his ministry in Israel prior to the public ministry of Jesus, was to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers. That means that normal family bonds were in very bad repair.

What is the answer for us when even family love and mutual regard are damaged? “In God we trust!” There IS a river, and that river speaks. He utters His voice, and the earth melts. He is able to melt every proud obstacle to His dominion.

7 The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

This God, the God of heaven and earth, The Lord of the heavenly hosts of men and angels, the God of Israel, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God who gave His Son to be born of Mary and to die on a cross, the God who knows you, and flows forth from you, is with us. He is our fortress.

Selah

If you want to make it through an overwhelming storm, you need a credible fortress. There is no firmer ground for faith and life than the Man who has the power and love to be a heavenly river that flows through us, a river that makes the new earth glad.

A baby starts out life as a most unlikely fortress against a tsunami. Yet Mary believed and rejoiced in God, her Savior. He was and is a mighty fortress, proven in the worst possible storm, the storm that was coming against us because of our sin.

Jesus took that storm of holy justice on the cross, and then He rose from the dead. He did that with full purpose; knowingly, willingly, and powerfully. He is a proven Savior, and a very safe refuge from every possible storm. He is reigning now over all from the city that will one day come down upon the earth and bring perfect renewal. In God we trust. This God is with us.

1. What is the river and the city that we sing about in Psalm 46?

2. Where is God?

3. What has God accomplished through the coming of Jesus?

4. Where is Jesus now, and how does that help us as we wait for his second coming?

New Testament Passage: Luke 1:39-56