[Unfortunately this sermon was not recorded. Below is a written summary.]

Some people look for trouble, and they find it. It’s always somewhere close by. However, most of us are trying to avoid trouble, but no matter what you do, some kind of trouble will find you sooner or later. It may be something you can handle by yourself, but maybe not. The poet who wrote this psalm begins it with the main point he wants to get across when trouble shows up: “God is our refuge and strength.” The second part of the first verse emphasizes this confidence: “a very present help in trouble,” meaning that God’s help is well-proved, attested, and readily available.

To make his point that God can handle any kind of trouble that may drop into your life, he uses extreme natural disasters that would be catastrophic if they were to happen: some mountains collapsing into the oceans and the remaining mountains quaking at the turbulent, rising waters – basically the earth falling apart. Because God is our refuge and strength, even if something so devastating as the earth disintegrating were to happen, there is no reason to fear.  GOD IS OUR HELP

Not only does God’s overwhelming power eliminate fear even if the earth were destroyed, but he is the one who has controlled the actions of men and nations. His name is the LORD of hosts, meaning that all the angels are his army, ready at his command to destroy any opposition to his rule. God is the one who has ended the empires of the past - Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome – and has caused wars to cease. Isaiah 40 says it like this: “All the nations are as nothing before him…[he] brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth emptiness.” Since he has done all that, and even the most powerful of men and nations are at his mercy, what do God’s people have to fear?

The first question of the Heidelberg Catechism asks, “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” Listen to the answer: “That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul – to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.” Since he rules over the power and violence of men and has freed you from the tyranny of the devil, there is no reason to fear disaster or the actions/words/plans of men.  GOD IS OUR HELP

But this certainty and freedom from fear is not something everyone can have; it is for those who live in the city of God, the dwelling place of the Most High. If you belong to Jesus, then according to Philippians 3 you are a citizen of that city already; your citizenship is in heaven, and you are already the dwelling place of God the Holy Spirit. And it’s not just that you have a place there, but you are refreshed and nourished by the living water that God supplies. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” This is the fruit of love, joy, and peace from the presence of the Holy Spirit in you.  GOD IS OUR HELP

Notice that verse 7 is repeated in verse 11 which must mean it has particular importance for us: “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” The name LORD is all capital letters, meaning that in Hebrew this is the tetragrammaton, the Four Letters, YHWH, which scholars think is pronounced Yahweh, from which we get Jehovah. It probably means “I AM” or “I AM WHO I AM.” He is reminding his people, us, that not only is He the God all-powerful who commands the myriads of angelic spirits and rules over the nations, but he is always present wherever you are and whenever you are in trouble. He is there for you. He says, “Call to me and I will answer.” GOD IS OUR HELP.

But he also is the God of Jacob. The name Jacob means deceiver. Jacob took advantage of his twin brother Esau to get the rights of the first born; he lied and deceived his father Isaac to get him to give him the blessings promised to Abraham. He was cunning and self-serving, not someone we would want to consider a role model. Why didn’t God remind people in trouble that He is also the God of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Samuel, or David, men who were honored for their obedience, integrity or faith? It is true that God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which means “one who has prevailing power or influence with God, a prince of God,” but the psalmist uses the name Jacob, not Israel, to encourage people in trouble who need God’s help.

Why is it the God of Jacob who is our fortress, our helper in trouble? I’ll give you two reasons. First, God helped Jacob when he was in trouble because God had chosen him. When he was running from his brother Esau’s anger, God gave him a dream affirming the covenant he had made with Abraham that was then passed on from Isaac to Jacob. Paul writes in Romans 9 that it was not based on anything Jacob had done, either good or bad but “in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who call.”

God made that covenant, and he would deliver Jacob from trouble to maintain it. That covenant and God’s protection was not a reward for Jacob’s goodness; it was all of God’s sovereign grace. God has made a covenant with you, if you have repented of your sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That covenant of grace, God’s gift of salvation for you, cannot be broken; it is sealed and secured with the blood of God the Son. It is not a reward or payment for your obedience; it is all of God’s sovereign grace. He will help you in the midst of trouble and be your fortress of safety because of his faithfulness to his own covenant promises to you.  GOD IS OUR HELP

The other reason the name “The God of Jacob” is particularly helpful to us in our troubles is that Jacob learned from his trouble. Although those troubles were mainly a consequence of his own sin, and he suffered because of them, it was fruitful for his relationship with God. The Lord was a refuge for him; his troubles, even the ones self-inflicted, did not destroy him. At the end of his life he said, “God has been my shepherd all my life long to this day…[he] has redeemed me from all evil.” In a similar way, as you turn to the Lord for comfort, strength, and instruction in the midst of your troubles, you will find him to be the help that you need.  GOD IS OUR HELP

The command in verse 10 applies to one and all. If Jesus is not yet your Savior and Lord, “Be still, and know that [he] is God. [He] will be exalted in the nations, [he] will be exalted in the earth.” Be assured, he will be exalted in your life. Take time, make time, to consider your position before the LORD of hosts, the sovereign over all of nature and the affairs of men and nations. Make sure he is exalted as your Redeemer when you stand before him soon.

If Jesus is your Savior and Lord, “Be still, and know that [he] is God.”  Take time, make time, to see him as your refuge, your fortress from the stress, the troubles, of life. Thank him, worship him as the God of Jacob who has covenanted himself to you through the blood of his Son and will help you in your troubles because he is faithful to his promise that he will never leave you nor forsake you. You are his…forever. GOD IS YOUR HELP.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hoe through grace, comfort your hearts and stablish them in every good work and word.