THE TSUNAMI HAS COME. BE STILL MY SOUL.
You may not have had a chance to say “good-bye.”
Death, depression, or divorce came uninvited to your door.
The waters are roaring.
The mountains are trembling.
You may wonder how you can possibly go on.
It’s time, as Martin Luther used to say to his despairing friend,
Philip Melanchthon, “Come Philip, let’s sing the Forty-Sixth.”
God is our refuge and strength
a very present help in trouble
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling
Psalm 46:1-4
The forty-sixth psalm is meant to inspire hope in the midst of a storm. Just as Jesus was present and in control when the disciples were in the midst of the storm on the Sea of Galilee, so He is a “present help” in your tsunami. This short psalm, of just eleven verses, can help you face your storm. It has inspired some of the greatest hymns of Christendom: A Mighty Fortress and Be Still My Soul.
Like the psalm we recently studied, Psalm 42, this too is filled with water pictures. It opens with a tumultuous storm, the verses that inspired A Mighty Fortress. But it then takes you to a scene of the new Jerusalem, a very real heaven, where there “is a river whose streams made glad the city of God.” It concludes with the famous verse 10: “Be still and know that I am God.”
How often in Scripture God uses pictures of water to describe our emotions. If you are not in a tsunami now, if you live long enough, you will be. You will feel like the waters are roaring and foaming, and the mountains trembling. That is how you feel when you lose a spouse, a child, a marriage, your health…
But this imagery, William Brown explains in his book, Seeing the Psalms, is not meant to convey fear “but confidence, even joy.” It is true that the nations may be in tumult, that natural disaster will come, that death of a loved one may knock, unbidden and unwelcome, on our door — yet God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. This storm is temporary, for Psalm 46 goes on with another much more peaceful picture:
- Katsushita Hokusai, 19TH CENTURY JAPANESE ARTIST
There is a river whose streams make
glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High,
God is in the midst of her; she shall not
be moved.
God will help her when morning
dawns.
(Psalm 46:5)
This week we will:
I. Study Psalm 46 and finish contemplating the great hymn Be Still My Soul.
II. Look at some key verses on heaven and discuss one book on the New York Times best seller list called Heaven is for Real. (I’ll tell you right now I’m skeptical of the book but look forward to some earnest discussion from strong and perceptive women.)
III. Listen to the Midday program and report. Link
IV. Listen to a wonderful message and report our thoughts. Listen either to this amazing sermon on Job from Keller — one of my favorites from the series: Link
Or to this free sermon from The Gospel Coalition by Nancy Guthrie entitled “Is your church a safe place for sad people?” Link
Come sisters, let’s “sing” the Forty-Sixth. ” That’s what Luther would tell his melancholy friend when Philip was convinced the storm would win. We need these truths so in grief and in these tumultuous times. God is with us, “a very present help.”
PART I.
BIBLE STUDY AND BE STILL MY SOUL
ICE-BREAKER:
What stood out to you from the opening? How do you identify with the emotions expressed in Psalm 46:1-5?
1. Read Psalm 46:1-3 slowly. These are the verses that inspired A Mighty Fortress.
A. What is the very first statement in verse 1? What emotion is it intended to inspire?
B. Name one way God has been “a very present help” to you recently in the midst of a big or small trouble.
C. Describe what is happening in nature in verses 2-3. Comment on Hokusai’s painting of the tsunami which I chose to represent these verses.
In a sermon delivered at Redeemer, John Piper noted this parallel in Psalm 46:
The word used to decribe the waters “foam” is actually used again, but translated “rage” in verse 6. In other words, nature and nations are both raging.
The word used to describe the mountains “tremble” is actually used again, but translated “totter” in verse 6. Both nature and nations are tottering.
Therefore, whether your tsunami is a literal one from nature, or from terrorists from nations, or from personal circumstances, God is greater.
(If you aren’t opposed to marking your Bible, you might circle these four words and draw two lines to show they are the same Hebrew word.)
D. Do you have a comment on Piper’s exegesis and how it relates to any terrors you have?
2. Read Psalm 46:4-5
A. To what has the menacing sea changed into in verse 4?”
B. Name one way that your ocean of grief has turned into a life giving stream. (Or you may not be there yet.)
C. Comment on the painting by Hokusai I chose to describe this mood.
True believers make up the city of God, a city that will one day descend from heaven, a “holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2) Heaven will come down, believers will fill it, and God will be in the midst of her.
D. Contemplate this Monet of Venice and its river at sunrise. It made me think of phrases from Psalm 46:4-5. Comments?
- Venice at Sunrise Claude Monet
There is a river whose streams make
glad the city of God…
God will help her when morning
dawns.
3. What do you learn about God from Psalm 46:6-9?
4. How does the psalm close?
5. Psalm 46:10 needs to become a practice of our lives. What are some very practical ways we can “be still and know?”
6. Contemplate these lyrics and take a few that help calm your soul and comment on them.
Verse 3:
Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fulness all He takes away.
Verse 4.
Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
PART II. CONTEMPLATING HEAVEN
When Steve died, one of the books I read was Don Piper’s 90 Minutes in Heaven. I also heard Piper speak. It comforted me, but still, I had reservations about basing my theology of heaven on someone’s experience instead of on Scripture, though it seemed in many ways to line up with Scripture.
- Heaven is for Real Todd Burpo
I’ve gotten letters from people I love and respect who have found great comfort in this new bestseller, Heaven is for Real.
I feel a bit like Scrooge, but I hope heaven isn’t like this. Everyone is wearing robes with sashes, Jesus is sitting on a throne, and we all have wings. It sounds to me like a child’s idea of heaven rather than the real thing. Here’s an excerpt from the book, describing a conversation between Todd and his son, Colton:
“What do people look like in heaven?”
“Everybody’s got wings.”
Wings, huh!
“Did you have wings?”
“Yeah, but mine weren’t very big.” He looked a little glum when he said this.
“Okay…did you walk places or did you fly?”
“We flew. Well, all except for Jesus. He was the only one in heaven who didn’t have wings. Jesus went up and down like an elevator.”
Heaven is real — but this doesn’t seem real. I don’t know if the little boy had a dream and it has gotten out of control or if something much worse is going on or if I’ll be apologizing to Todd Burpee in heaven. But I do know that I don’t want to base my theology of heaven on someone’s near death experience. I want to base it on Scripture. Isn’t it interesting that these books are on the top of the New York Times Bestseller list? People are so hungry to know about the afterlife — but not too discerning on where to get their information. I was relieved at The Gospel Coalition to hear Nancy Guthrie say the same thing. (Her message is one you may listen to this week.)
7. What do you think? Have you read any of these books on near death experiences? What are your thoughts and why?
I know that the images of heaven in revelation are challenging — for this vision of John is full of symbolic pictures. For example, I am hoping “streets of gold” simply means the very best — but if it is literal, He will help me love it, I know.
What is most comforting to me is the understanding that the two books I am going to recommend explain, that according to Scripture, heaven is not some ethereal place, but just as real as earth. God never made anything that wasn’t good. So He will reform the fallen earth and join heaven and earth together.We will have new resurrected bodies like Jesus did (and no wings!) we will laugh, love, and eat the best of food. We will hug and recognize one another. There will be no more pain, no more tears, and no more death. Jesus has gone to prepare this place. It took him six days to make this world — just imagine what heaven will be like! And I love that He said, “If it were not true, I would have told you.” (John 14:1-2)
The two best books I’ve seen, based on Scripture, are both called Heaven.
The first, by Randy Alcorn, takes a few more liberties as Alcorn uses his imagination, but still, it resonates with the truth of Scripture. The second, on the right, is by Joni. Both blessed me immeasurably.
I listened to Max Lucado speak on heaven, with similar ideas as in these two books, but then he said, “But if I’m not right, I’m still going there!”
I went out to eat with Kathy Troccoli after Steve died and was lamenting: “How can he be happy when his family is so sad?”
She quipped, as only Kathy could, “If I’m not happy in heaven, I’ll slit my wrists.”
And as Sara Groves sings, “I don’t know about bright lights at the end of tunnels…but I know to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and from what I know of Him, that should be very good.”
8. What do you think heaven will be like? What Scripture on heaven ministers the most to you?
Part III. UPDATE: Here is the link to the “God of All Comfort, Part 6″ on Moody Radio: Link
Part IV. Listen either to Keller’s message on Job (Link) or Nancy’s message from The Gospel Coalition and comment here. Link
9. What’s your take-a-way for the week?
WHEN YOU CAN’T SENSE THE PRESENCE OF GOD
It’s Ash Wednesday — a perfect time to begin in earnest to seek God, especially in the desert times.
We’re going to look at a psalm that I know can really help those of you in pain, those of you who are not sensing the presence of God, or those of you who long to be a comfort to others. It’s Psalm 42 and there are four vivid water pictures in it that can soothe and heal. The first is really a picture of no water — it’s a picture of the psalmist who identifies with a thirsty deer who has come all the way down the mountain, absolutely panting for water, but the river bed is dry!
He longs to sense the presence of God like that dying deer longs for water, but WHERE IS GOD???? Isn’t it comforting that God knows we will feel like this at times and gives us this picture? The psalmist says, in effect, “My only water is my tears, day and night.” (verse 3) That’s where some of you are, right now. God sees you, He understands, and He cares.
My prayer is that you will not give up. When I was preparing to write this chapter, “Deep Calls to Deep” I had an experience that was one of those rare moments when I absolutely knew the God who made the universe was speaking to me, and to you, my friends. Here it is, from The God of All Comfort:
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I was at my cabin in Wisconsin, almost three years after Steve’s death. Here, I do not pull my shades at night for I love seeing the sun sink into the waves of Green Bay as I go to sleep. Sometimes I wake just before the dawn—and a very few blessed times I have opened my eyes to see the vague shapes of a doe and her fawn drinking deep draughts from the bay. They come silently, before the world awakens, hoping they are safe.
In the dawn’s dim light, I have tried, unsuccessfully, to photograph them. Even my best photo is simply shadowy shapes, which my dad claimed were just stumps in the water that my fertile imagination desired to be deer.
I have never seen them brave the open water when the sun is up.
Until the day I began researching the word pictures of Psalm 42—beginning with the image of the deer panting for living water. Though I am often suspicious of people who have constant God sightings, I must admit, this was a God sighting.
Sunday, July 22
Two years and nine months after Steve’s death
Thank You, Lord. I am amazed at what You just did for me, for the readers of the book I am planning to write. I want to record it now, lest I forget.
When I saw what a beautiful morning it was, with the lake like rose-colored glass, I decided to have my time with You on the dock. I was immersing myself in Psalm 42. I sang “As the Deer” and “All Who Are Thirsty.” I began reading various translations of verses 1-2 of the psalm, turning the phrases over in my mind, asking You to “quicken” me and help me see, when suddenly, I was startled by a large shape moving on my right, below me, on the beach.
The timing was so uncanny I thought at first I was imagining it. But no. There she was. A graceful doe, and right behind her, her fawn. Gentle steps clicking softly over the rocks, beside the dock, and into the water. Then they stood like statues, except I was so close I could see them breathing.
The doe was alert, her nose quivering. I feared she would smell me, prayed she wouldn’t. All was still, and I was frozen in my deck chair, holding my breath.
I was so aware that this was a gift from You. The overwhelming thought of Your mindfulness of me. Of this book and its readers. I knew there was something You wanted me to see—so I was as alert as the doe. I knew better than to try to get my camera. I stayed motionless, praying I would see, really see—through the living picture to the meaning.
She walked gently, her fawn followed—just barely into the water, ready, if necessary, to bolt. Then—the picture that will forever linger in my memory: she spread her long legs so as to reach the water, her long neck reaching down. Her fawn did the same. They drank and drank. Deep draughts.
A seagull cried and her head came up, ears taut. Then, soft head down again.
I shifted just a bit to see them better. My book, Derek Kidner’s commentary on the psalms, open to Psalm 42, fell from my deck chair. Her head came swiftly up and she bolted, her fawn scrambling after mother over the rocks.
I stood to watch them go—white tails disappearing into the woods. Gone. As if it never happened. Yet it did, and the picture lingers in my memory, this gift from You.
What did I see that I believe God meant for you and for me? I saw a deer so thirsty that she braved the danger of daylight and humans to come. I saw a deer in a position of prostrate piety—the same position that God is pleased to see in us in body, but certainly in heart, as we show how earnest we are to hear from Him.
Suffering is like salt, increasing our thirstiness. In grief, we can recognize that our thirst is for God and press harder into Him, still believing that He is sovereign, caring, and our only hope. Or we can look to quench our thirst through drugs, constant sleep, destructive relationships, or work. We can abuse our bodies through cutting, or overeating or undereating—hoping to make atonement or to gain control of lives out of control. But those “sources of water” are mirages that can neither quench our thirst nor soothe grieving souls.
Only God can do that. And God longs for us to thirst for Him as the deer thirsts for streams of water. The word pictures in the psalms ultimately point us, in a kaleidoscope of ways, to Jesus. But we will not see Him unless we come in prostrate piety, earnestly desiring the Spirit to open our eyes.
Come, like a thirsty deer.
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Here’s your homework. I promise you this will minister to you if you come like a thirsty deer.
1. Read Psalm 42 in its entirety as an overview
A. What question does the psalmist keep asking of his soul? What does he tell his soul to do?
B. Find the four water pictures in the psalm. We’ll be looking at them in depth, for each is filled with meaning, but for now, simply find them and identify the verses they are in.
2. I’m hoping that many of you will download and listen to Tim Keller’s sermon on Psalm 42. It’s 2.50 so I realize some of you won’t be able to do it. But it is 2.50 well spent. Paste this into your browser and listen to it and give us your comments.
http://sermons.redeemer.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=18063&ParentCat=6
3. Some of the songs that might minister to you with this are:
As The Deer (but does this post shed new light on that) (Any fresh renditions you know of?)
All Who Are Thirsty (Kutlas and other groups do this beautifully)
Why Are You Downcast? (a group from India: Abney, Swapna… does it with wonderful water sounds)
The Deep Deep Love of Jesus (Many groups, and Amy Shreve’s is beautiful)
Give us your recommendations and thoughts.
4. If you are one who simply is not sensing the presence of God — tell us and we’ll pray for you.
5. If a verse pops out at you from Psalm 42, comment on it.
6. We talked about this psalm yesterday on Midday Connection — and also had a great interview with Elisa Stanford, on her feelings when her first child was born with Down’s Syndrome. If any of you listened and have a comment on that or anything in the interview, would love to hear it. (You can listen to past programs online.)
Praying for each of you!