Meditations for Difficult Days - No. 3 - The River that Makes Glad
Pastor’s Blog - By Pastor Roy Summers
Psalm 46:1-3 "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."
Psalm 46:4: "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells."
Yesterday we considered verses 2-3, today just verse 4.
Water, water, everywhere!
One of my sons asked me the other day, "Dad do winters normally last so long?" We have had enough of rain and water, floods and downpours! Here in Worcester we can't wait until it all dries up and the sun comes out! We take for granted the abundant supply of water which makes our country such a "green and pleasant land" - and sometimes our rain is just too much of a good thing. But in the Mediterranean climate of Israel, it's exactly the other way around. Rain, so rare, is longed for and precious. Images of thirst are common. "I thirst for you" (Psalm 63:1) "in a dry and parched land where there is no water." Again the psalmist says “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants (longs) for you, O God." (Psalm 42:1)
Water is the Number One symbol of life in the Old Testament - let's bear that in mind as we consider verse 4 of Psalm 46 which talks about a "river" and its "streams.
"We're in this together"
But first, we need to back-peddle. If you've been following the previous devotionals you will remember that the pslamist is determined not to fear the present or future because God is with him. What I have not yet pointed out is that the pslamist is not talking "me" and "I" but always "we" and "us." He did not say "Therefore I will not fear", he said "Therefore we will not fear." And in these little "we" and "us" words lies a deep profound truth which Coronavirus will challenge deeply. The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion. Being on our own, I in my small corner and you in yours, is an idea foreign to the religion of the Bible. When we are converted we are brought into a family. Christianity is not like golf - which I guess you could play all on your own. Following Jesus is a team game like football. If someone said to you "I'm a footballer" and then described how they kicked a ball against a wall in their back garden every day for an hour, all on their own, but never played with a team, you'd soon say "You're no footballer!" Why? Because football is - by definition - a team game. So is following Jesus.
(May I ask you - how connected are you to God's people? For sure, you and I will not make it through the people-dry months of Coronavirus without fellowship. Fellowship by phone, by Skype, by Facetime, by perhaps coffee-at-a-distance?)
So the psalmist has been saying that together, he and all his believing friends will not fear the future. Now with this "togetherness" idea we can understand the water and streams of verse 5.
The Spirit of the Living God
Water in the Bible is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The best example of this is to be found in John 7 where Jesus said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." John goes on to explain the words of Jesus like this, "By this [streams of living water] he meant the Spirit." Before we became followers of Jesus we had no Spirit of God living in us. But one day, through the Word, the Gospel, the Holy Spirit changed our hearts and began to live within us all the time. We became a temple of the Holy Spirit. What an awesome truth! We are temples of God's Spirit! God within us! It is this Holy Spirit that the pslamist is talking about in our psalm. He likens all of God's people to the city of Jerusalem. Then he imagines a River running through the city, the people, with streams fanning out, such that the whole city, parched in the hot Mediterranean sun is living, watered and refreshed. That River is the Holy Spirit.
What keeps us going through tough times? Or rather, WHO keeps us going through difficult seasons? Why don't we just throw in the towel and walk away? Because we have the invisible Spirit of the living God dwelling within us, sustaining us, giving us life, upholding us, powerfully keeping us. The Spirit of God always works with and through his Word, which he inspired (2 Timothy 3:16) and which is his "sword" (Ephesians 6:17). So we are refreshed by the Spirit as we read the Word of God.
And here is the most significant thing of all: that Holy Spirit is most present, most active, most at work among his people when they are together. Yes, the Spirit of God lives in each one of us, individually, but in an extra super-duper special way, God's Spirit dwells in the gathered company of his people: "God's temple is sacred and you together are that temple" (1 Corinthians 3:17). When two or three are gathered in my name, said Jesus, there I am with you (Matthew 18:20).
Summing it all up
Isn't it wonderful, yet strange! In the midst of the greatest trouble imaginable (mountains falling into the heart fo the sea!) we find a group of people who say "We will not fear!" and who are experiencing living waters that "make them glad." So it should be with God's people in these days of pandemic. In the midst of this anxious world should be a people who are resolute because they trust in God, and strangely refreshed and "chilled" because the Spirit of God within them brings forth the fruit of joy and peace. What a contrast - and what an amazing witness we can be to a panic-buying fearful world! May we all know the Spirit's presence, both in our own homes and when we "meet on Sunday. "
May I encourage you to maintain the habit and discipline of being with us this Sunday morning, at 10:30 am, online, at manorparkchurch.org. Don't get out of the habit of Sunday morning worship. Let's meet up and experience streams making us glad.
A SONG FOR THE DAY
Holy Spirit, living breath of God,
Breathe new life into my willing soul.
Let the presence of the risen Lord,
Come renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see,
Give me passion for Your purity;
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.
Holy Spirit, come abide within,
May Your joy be seen in all I do.
Love enough to cover every sin,
In each thought and deed and attitude.
Kindness to the greatest and the least,
Gentleness that sows the path of peace.
Turn my strivings into works of grace;
Breath of God show Christ in all I do.
Holy Spirit, from creation’s birth,
Giving life to all that God has made,
Show Your power once again on earth,
Cause Your church to hunger for your ways.
Let the fragrance of our prayers arise;
Lead us on the road of sacrifice,
That in unity the face of Christ
May be clear for all the world to see.
Keith Getty | Stuart Townend
© 2006 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Integrity Music)
Sung beautifully here by Krystin Getty
A PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Dear gracious and loving Father in heaven, We thank you that we are not on our own. We thank you that the Spirit of the living God who first brought us to repentance and faith in your Son lives within our hearts. We thank you that he gives us life in the midst of death, hope in the midst of despair and gladness in the midst of sorrow. May we be more and more aware of his living presence, knowing that as we read His Word, and as we fellowship together, whether on the phone, or via the many wonderful other means of communication at our disposal today, the Holy Spirit will refresh us and make us glad. We ask this in the Name of Jesus, the one who first sent his Spirit upon the church, Amen
Pastor's Blog
This post is taken from our Pastor Roy Summers’ blog, where he discusses and comments on a wide range of current subjects and issues both in the world and in the church.