Psalms of Sennacherib’s Siege #2: God Is Our Refuge

I. Introduction
A. We’ve been talking about an amazing incident which took place in Jerusalem in 701BC when the Assyrian army surrounded the city after conquering the rest of the land of Judah. The people of Jerusalem were outnumbered and outmatched and out-provisioned. Their doom looked inevitable.
B. This morning we focus on Psalm 46, which I suggest was written in the aftermath of God’s spectacular deliverance at this time, sending an angel to slay 185,000 enemy soldiers in the night.
C. This is the sixth time I’ve told you the story of Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem and God’s rescue.
D. There’s something missing in this story. It’s repeated three times in the OT (Is.36-37; 1Kg.18-19; 2Chron.32), but there’s something missing in all of them.
E. God’s spectacular deliverance calls out for singing and celebration and praise, but there is none of it in the story!
F. What an evil thing it would have been if they didn’t stop to praise God! It reminds me of the line in our hymn (“Mighty God, While Angels Bless You” by Robert Robinson, 1774) which refers to “such guilty silence” if we don’t sing His praise!
G. Isaiah 30:29–31 evens says that there will be songs. Speaking of the time when “the LORD will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger,” when “the Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of the LORD, when he strikes with his rod,” Isaiah tells us: “You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the LORD.”
H. What do you suppose happened in Judah in the days after this incident? These people were just delivered from certain death — and certain end to all the hope and promise of OT Israel. They were all that was left of God’s chosen people, the children of Abraham! And these were faithful people who had put their trust in the Lord. Of course there was praising! — over-the-top celebration, rejoicing and singing!
I. Then where is it? I think we have at least two songs of praise composed in the aftermath of the great deliverance of Jerusalem in the days of Sennacherib: Psalms 46 and 48 (and probably 47 as well).
J. Besides the fact that the story begs for a psalm of praise, what evidence is there that Psalm 46 comes from the Sennacherib event?
1. We can’t know for sure, of course. There was more than one great deliverance in Israel’s history.
2. But none fit the details and theme of Psalm 46 better than the Sennacherib incident.
3. First of all, the deliverance was of Jerusalem:
a. 4 “the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.”
4. Then there’s the warfare language, and in particular, bringing an end to warfare:
a. 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.”
5. And the fact that the deliverance was from the aggression of another nation:
a. 6 “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter”
b. 10b “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
6. And the siege language:
a. 7&11 “The God of Jacob is our fortress.”
b. 4 “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.”
(1) Ancient fortified cities were built on rivers, in case of siege.
(2) Jerusalem was unique in that it had no river.
(3) One of the great worries of being besieged in Jerusalem was the lack of water in the midst of the city. You can survive a long time if you have water.
(4) What is this “river whose streams make glad the city of God” referred to in v.4? Verse 5 tells us: “God is in the midst of her.”
7. And the language of kingdom-tottering (the kingdom of Judah was about to be destroyed):
a. 6 “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter”
8. And the doomsday atmosphere of the crisis:
a. 2-3 “The earth gives way, the mountains moved into the heart of the sea, its waters roar and foam, the mountains tremble.”
9. And the suddenness of the Lord’s intervention
a. 6 “he utters his voice, the earth melts”
10. And the fact that this deliverance was observable; there was someplace to go and point to what God had done:
a. 8 “Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth.”
11. And even the right time of day:
a. 5b “God will help her when morning dawns.”
II. Let’s now look at three ways God reveals Himself in this psalm: the gladdening river, the indwelling helper, the conquering voice.
A. The gladdening river (4 “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.”)
1. Rivers aren’t that big a deal around where we live. But that was not the case in the ancient world. And that was especially not the case in a city under siege.
2. Rivers were crucial to life and every major city was built on one – except Jerusalem.
3. In Jerusalem there is no river which makes glad the city of God. But in spite of the fact that there is no river which makes glad the city of God, there IS a River which makes glad the city of God.
4. A river flowing out from God is a Bible theme. E.g.:
a. Revelation 22:1 “The angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
b. Water from the rock in Exod.17:1-7 (“The rock was Christ.” 1Cor.10:4)
5. A river that makes glad?
a. God often plants us in places where there is no river, places of vulnerability. Why?
(1) He wants to be our help, our supply, our sustainer.
(2) He wants us to know that in the desert of life there is an oasis, a river of life, a river of constant supply of grace flowing out from Him.
b. And those who have access to this river of life thrive:
(1) Psalm 1:3 “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
(2) Isaiah 58:11 “The LORD will satisfy your desire in scorched places; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”
6. This river is not the only water in the psalm. There is contrasting water in v.2-3, representing the world without God: “the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”
B. The indwelling helper (1 “God is a very present help in trouble.”)
1. Even though earlier the people had said: “You have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies... Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?” (Psalm 44:9, 23-24), now it has become clear that He was there all along!
2. You see, He is a very present help in times of trouble, but He’s also very good at hiding and jumping out at just the right moment, just in the nick of time.
3. Isn’t this the way it is with us?
4. He wants us to be confident of His presence even when He’s hiding. He wants us to walk by faith not by sight (2Cor.5:7).
5. Like with the river/water, there is a contrast here as well, this time between:
a. the world in turmoil and turbulence: the earth giving way, the mountains crashing into the sea, the waters roaring and foaming, the mountains trembling, the nations raging, the kingdoms tottering, and
b. the secure city with its central Inhabitant and Governor: “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved.” v.5
C. The conquering voice (6 “He utters his voice, the earth melts.”)
1. Psalm 46 is what inspired Martin Luther to pen the hymn “A Mighty Fortress” which says, “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.”
2. This voice which melts the earth is the same voice which spoke light into the darkness and spoke life into being.
3. Hard things happen. Scary dangers confront us. But God is our deliverer. When He gives the word, our problems, our obstacles, our stresses vanish away.
4. The Lord may seem to be sleeping on His pillow in the fishing boat, and even while the boat begins to fill up with water, He may show no sign of helping. But before the waves have rolled over the boat, the desperate cries of His people have been heard and one mighty, authoritative word, ‘Peace! be still,’ hushes the storm and saves His people. (Mark 4:35-41)
5. “He will not come so quickly as to prevent us from feeling our need; He will not tarry so long as ... to let the enemy fulfil his purposes of destruction.” Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture
6. There is another contrast here, as in the first two. It is between the raging nations and roaring waters on the one hand and the Voice of power which melts the earth on the other.
7. And what’s the right way to respond when the Lord delivers, what’s the right way to react when glory shows up? That is answered in v.10: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
III. Application
A. Hebrews 12:1 is frequently misinterpreted. It says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
1. Witnesses do two things: they observe something and then they testify as to what they saw.
2. Many have taken this cloud of witnesses as lining the path of our race watching us run.
3. However, Heb.12:1 isn’t about the saints of old watching us as we run the race, it’s about the saints of old cheering us on with testimonies of the faithfulness of God. The point is that they are not witnessing us (though they might also be doing that), but are witnessing to us. That’s the context of Heb.11.
4. And what are they saying to us? Things like this: It works! It’s true! He comes through for His people in the end! He is worthy of being trusted! You’ll see! In the end it will all become clear! He never forsakes His people!
5. Notice that Psalm 46 doesn’t say, God was our refuge and strength. Therefore we did not fear. There was a river whose streams made glad the city of God. God was in the midst of her. God helped her when morning dawned. The LORD of hosts was with us; the God of Jacob was our fortress
6. This isn’t just something that happened 2700 years ago. This is for us!
7. God is our refuge and strength today! Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8. He’s the God of Jacob after all! He’s been in the business of being a fortress for His people for a long time! He’s the One who protected Jacob from his brother Esau’s revenge and from Laban’s fraud. And He’s the One who protected Jacob’s family from the famine by bringing them to Egypt. And He’s the One who protected them from the Pharaoh by delivering them through Moses and through the Red Sea.
9. Psalm 46 is the kind of thing the saints of old are saying to us: people who lived through times of great peril, people who faced times which looked completely hopeless. And now they line the paths of our race and they shout out to us as we go by:
a. It may not seem so, but the child of God is in a very safe place, a place of protection from everything that is scary in this world. God is your refuge. God is your strength. God is very present to help you in times of trouble. Because of this, you don’t have to be afraid even if the earth shakes, and everything which seemed solid comes crashing down. Rejoice, for God’s people are never left alone but are always well-supplied by Him who is a river of living water! God Himself lives among His people, such that they will never be destroyed. Though He may allow enemies to threaten in the night; God will intervene on behalf of His people when morning dawns. Oh, the nations will rage loudly, but when the Lord utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of the armies of heaven is with us; He is our mighty fortress. Open your eyes and see the works of the LORD, how he has obliterated our problems and our dangers. He stops the aggressor, smashing his weapons and burning his vehicles. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of the armies of heaven is with us; He is our mighty fortress. (My paraphrase of Ps.46)
B. Sadly, there is a flip-side to this. Just as the inhabitants of Jerusalem were the safest people in the world even though it didn’t look like it, so those who set themselves against the Lord and His people looked safe, but they were actually in great peril.
1. The same is true for any today who have not fled to the Lord for refuge, any who scoff at the Lord, at His truth, at His people, at His ways.