Meditations for Difficult Days [4] She will not Fall

She will not Fall

Psalm 46:1-4 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells."

Psalm 46:5, "God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day."

These Days of Falling

One evening this week I walked into town to visit someone at the Hive, an airy can-sit-six-feet-apart sort of building in Worcester. Then I went off to Asda and Aldi to buy simple produce: eggs, pasta and tomato ketchup.  Guess what? None available. One shop worker said he thought that chickens weren't laying any more! The shelves in Aldi were all but wiped out. I have never seen anything like it before.

All around us hearts are fearful, and that fear is leading to panic buying and hoarding. I predict there are going to be some big garage sales this summer!

My dentist was fearful. "I'm self employed" she said "and next week we're drastically reducing our services and only going to see emergency patients. How will I get paid?"

Companies fear insolvency and collapse.

People all around us are fearful of the future.

The calm repose of Psalm 46

As we travel through Psalm 46 verse by verse, we are confronted with a wholly different attitude to potential future disaster. The psalmist is looking at a far greater disaster than Coronavirus. He's musing over the wiping out of mountains as they fall into the sea - an earthquake or volcanic eruption of Pompei proportions. The objects universally regarded as most firm and reliable, turning out to be unstable.

And yet he is not fearful, "we will not fear."

Why? Because he trusts in God, his refuge and God his strength. Because of this supernatural and wonderful gift called "faith" or "trust."

Why won't we fall?

In the midst of such turmoil, the psalmist is sure that God's people will not fall. Why? Verse 5: "God is within her, she will not fall. God will help her at break of day."

The church won't fall, the people who make up the church won't fall, because God is within the church, within his people, within all who follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

The only Kingdom that will never end

The world despises the church, quiet and always in the background of world affairs. But if the truth be told, the Church is the most powerful institution or kingdom on earth, and the only Kingdom that lasts forever.

Daniel interpreted the meaning of a strange vison God gave to King Nebuchadnezzar (Read Daniel 2, a large statue). The long and short of the vision was that one world power after another would rise until the Roman empire. Then, in the days of the Roman empire, a new and mighty Empire would arise which  would grow to fill the whole earth. That new Empire was the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, made up of men and women from every tribe and nation spread right across the globe.

That Kingdom, this glorious Church, cannot fall, because God is within her.

And God loves her. His Son died for the sins of the church and rose from the dead for the life of the church. Jesus ascended to the right hand of the throne of the Father to rule over everything for the benfit of the church! (Ephesians 1:22)

God has invested too much into the Church to let her fall!

The greatest privilege

I have an American passport which means that I am protected by the most powerful nation in the world. But for sure, America's dominant staus won't last. One day another world power will emerge - will it be China? And after China, another, then another, until the end of time.  So while I am "proud" of being an American I am far more "proud" to belong to God's everlasting Kingdom  - and far more secure.

Are we thankful that by grace we belong to God's eternal Kingdom?

The global Church will not fall, Manor Park Church will not fall, Community Church Warndon will not fall, you will not fall, I will not fall, because God is within her, within us, within you, within me. By his powerful Spirit.

"God will help her at break of day." Armies took a break at night and resumed hostilities at daybreak when they could see. Should hostilities arise against his people, God will help his church.

Summing it all up

Our hope does not rest in our scientists, though we thank God for them. Our hope does not rest in Boris or Donald, though we pray for them. Our hope rests in God who will not let the Kingdom of Christ, the Church fall, because that's where he dwells in this present age. We can say with the Apostle Paul, "Who can separate us from the love of Christ?" - the question is expecting a "No!", "Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8)

A SONG FOR THE DAY

The song I have chosen is a new hymn which reminds us that should we fear our weak faith will fail, Christ will keep us.

When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast.
I could never keep my hold through life's fearful path;
For my love is often cold; He must hold me fast.

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.

Those He saves are His delight, Christ will hold me fast;
Precious in his holy sight, He will hold me fast.
He'll not let my soul be lost; His promises shall last;
Bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast.

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.

For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast;
Justice has been satisfied; He will hold me fast.
Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast
'Till our faith is turned to sight, When He comes at last!

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.

Habershon & Getty

Sung movingly by Shane and Shane, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkRiOMJNuTU

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our gracious and loving Father in heaven,

We thank you that, by grace, we are citizens of your eternal Kingdom. We thank you for the promises that because we are loved by God and because his Spirit lives within us, we shall not fall.

Help us to cling onto your mighty promises and believe your infallible Word.

We pray for the Church worldwide. We pray especially for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one through the present pandemic, and those who are facing persecution becauce of their faith in Christ. We think especially of Pastor Wang Yi, sentenced to 9 years in prison in China. Be with him by your Spirit today.

We ask these things in the Name of the Lord Jesus

Amen