"Tranquility Despite Turmoil"

Psalm 46:1-3—God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, through the mountains SHAKE with its swelling.         Selah

 

Dr. Gary Cohen, the only living translator of the New King James Bible, will be with us this coming week.  He wrote a magazine article some time back on Psalm 46, stating it was  Luther’s Psalm, and Shakespeare’s Psalm. 

Psalm 46 is Luther's Psalm as it formed the basis for the hymn A Mighty Fortress is Our God. 

And, it is “Shakespeare’s Psalm.”

At a funeral for one who lived at the Glen Terra Assisted Living where we do weekly church services, there was a lady who was a member of the Shakespeare Society.  Several of the members were there, and so chose to speak on Psalm 46 as that is the only place in the Bible where we find encrypted the name of the only person honored for his work on the 1611 King James Version, William Shakespeare.  Shakespeare turned 46 in 1610, and on his birthday was presented with a copy of Psalm 46.  Told to count 46 words down  he found the word “shake.” [Count the words at the top of this page and stop at SHAKE. ]  Then, proceeding to the end of the Psalm and Shakespeare was told to count 46 words up (omitting the selah--a musical notation), and he found “spear.”  What an honor. 

 Now, I know what you are wondering? 

  Does Dr. Cohen’s name appear in the New King James Version? 

The answer is YES.  Qualifying that, it is yes in the Hebrew text out of which the New King James was translated, in fact it is found hundreds of times—cohen is Hebrew for priest!

 

Now a few thoughts on "Tranquility Despite Turmoil"

 

A.   God is our Refuge and Strength (v. 1)

1.     Our armies and  our fortresses do not provide security in a troubled world—the historical occasion for this is the time when Sennacherib came from Assyria to destroy Jerusalem.  He had an army of 185.000—and had swept over all the nations of the Middle East—now coming to one of the tiniest, Judah, smaller than the size of San Bernardino County

2.     God is a far better refuge from distress because the Lord is able to defeat all our foes.  We are soldiers of the cross of Christ, who become safe and strong as we remember our allegiance to God.

B.   If God is our Refuge, then we will not Fear (v. 2)

1.     With God on our side, how irrational fear would be. 

2.     Even if the earth is removed (the basis of life as we know it), yet we still stand secure in God.  There is no guarantee that bad things won’t happen, even if we try with all our might to keep them from happening.  God is our refuge always.

     That reminds me of a humorous story about a man on the streets of Belfast, Ireland, [where violence until just a few years ago has led to the deaths of many Protestants and Catholics].  He hoped to get home safely without being attacked.  Suddenly, a dark figure jumped out of the shadows and grabbed him around the neck. He stuck the point of a knife against his throat and asked, “Catholic or Protestant?  Seized with panic the man reasoned to himself, "If I say Catholic and he is Protestant—whoosh!  If I say Protestant and he is Catholic, I’m a goner. " Then he thought of a way out.  He said, "I’m Jewish."  The assailant chuckled, “Ha, then I am the luckiest Muslim terrorist ever to work the streets of Belfast.”

C.   The Tumult of the World is an Evidence of Sin (v. 3)

1.     Sin troubles the waters, and brings a storm of fury

2.     The believer knows that the Lord stills the raging of the sea, and holds the waves in the hollow of his hand—evil may ferment, wrath may boil, and pride may foam, but the brave heart of holy confidence trembles not.