Where is our true security?
By Rev Dr Andrew Cheah
One big issue we are facing today is the issue of security. Many people feel terribly insecure in light of what’s happening in our world. All over the world, people are being infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus. Many are in isolation, some are dying, and nobody knows who will be next.
Many governments around the world didn’t want to face this issue and ignored it for too long. Others took action early. In Malaysia we as a nation are working really hard to implement social distancing to slow the spread of the virus, and to try to prevent our health care systems from being overwhelmed. Please do cooperate with the authorities in this by staying at home unless you are exempted. It’s part of loving our neighbour.
But we don’t know if we will be successful. We don’t know if the curve can be flattened or the virus can be contained. The extent of the economic impact of this pandemic has yet to be seen. Things we took for granted just a week and a half ago, are now up for question. Our future doesn’t look as certain as it did and the things we looked to for security, suddenly don’t seem so secure anymore. Where is true security to be found?
Security in times of disaster in ancient Jerusalem
In Psalm 46, the people of Jerusalem knew that their city was secure – not because it had a great army, but because it had a great God. This was a God who loved them and protected them, who kept them safe from harm and danger, and who helped them when they were in need in accordance with the special promises or the covenant He had made with them.
They knew the all-powerful God had promised to defend them, and so they were perfectly secure. Because they were secure, they had no need to fear – even in the worst of disasters. Verses 2-3 poetically describe earthquakes, topographic movements and mountains collapsing. This picture is like the reversal of creation, reminding them of the end of the world. And yet God’s people said, “we will not fear” (verse 2).
As we speak, the world is facing a terrible disaster in the form of the COVID-19 virus. In the midst of this disaster we too can share the security of God’s people. But to be able to reach that point, we must first face the realisation that whatever troubles we face now are actually small in comparison to the troubles of the future.
The Bible warns us that there will be a time when creation really is undone. The end of the world really is coming. It is sometimes called the Day of Judgement, when God brings history to a close. God will punish the world – and each individual in it – for our sins, with perfect justice. It’s a disaster that will far outweigh the threat of coronavirus. And yet… if we are one of God’s people, we need not fear that Day.
There is judgement but also encouragement
In verse 4, the shaking mountains and roaring waters of Psalm 46 are followed by “a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God”. This picture reminds us of the Garden of Eden, and this city of God in ancient Jerusalem is where He dwells in His temple and rules through His appointed king. Whatever is going on outside and whatever the chaos the world faces, this city is serene.
But what were the threats that ancient Jerusalem faced? From verse 5, we understand that were most probably military attacks, resulting in the rise and fall of empires. “The breaking of dawn” refers to the time when most attacks happen. In verse 6, we see that God utters His voice and “the earth melts”. Remember that God just has to speak and the world was created. He only has to speak and empires would crumble.
In verse 8, we discover that this same God who protects His people also brings catastrophe on the nations – to those outside the city and who fight against Him. Verse 9 says He “breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire”. At the time of Psalm 46, the Assyrian army had camped outside Judah’s walls and laid siege on Jerusalem. King Hezekiah cried out to the Lord and in one night, God slaughtered 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp (Isaiah 37:36). Just like that.
In other words, peace comes through His judgment on the nations. God judges His enemies and rescues His people. In verse 10, He says, “Be still”. It means stop what you are doing. Cease your rebellion and surrender. “… and know that I am God” means that you are not god, He is. “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth”. This is a call to surrender to Him now before His judgement comes.
The Psalm ends with a word of warning for the nations, but also a word of encouragement for the people. The encouragement lies in verse 11, “The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
We are part of the new Jerusalem
When we come to the New Testament, we realise that this old city of Jerusalem, and Zion, the hill on which is built – pointed to something far better. For God dwells with His people, not in a temple in an earthly city but in Jesus Christ. Jesus said that He would destroy the old temple and in three days build it up again, referring to the temple of His body (John 2:19).
Jesus is the true temple. And like the temple, Jesus dwells in a city. Not the earthly city of Jerusalem, but the real city that Jerusalem was pointing to. Hebrews 12:22 says, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…” This Jerusalem is the real city which Psalm 46 foreshadowed, and if we belong to Christ, that is our city.
God promises that all who receive Him as their king and trust in Him to save them will be safe in His city when the judgement comes. My friends, if you are not yet following Jesus, God commands you and indeed He pleads with you now: Be still. Stop rebelling. Surrender, and know that I am God. Trust in my Son and be part of My city, where you can be totally secure. Not just now, but even on the Day of Judgement.
For this is where we will be with Him; enjoying His presence forever together with all His people, basking in His goodness, loving, serving and worshipping Him. There, we will be relating to Him rightly as our God, unhindered by our sin. For in that city, sin and its consequences will be gone forever.
We can’t see this city – except by faith. But we belong to that city. We are spiritually raised with Christ and seated with Him in that city. That city is our home, and the home of all who truly belong to Jesus down through the ages. No one can threaten this city – and no viruses can touch it. And whether we live or die on earth, we are still part of that heavenly city. And so whatever happens, we too are secure.
God is our strength and refuge
Let me be perfectly candid: some of us today may get sick in the next few weeks. All of us will face troubles, challenges and uncertainty. And unless the Lord comes first, all of us will eventually face death and the death of those we love, whether it be in this present outbreak or in the years to come.
But God is our strength and refuge. He is with us in the midst of our troubles. “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you,” He said (Hebrews 13:5). He will see us through, and things will be ok in the end. We can face tough times here with confidence because we know all this is temporary – and our eternal future is secure.
We can afford to hang loose with the things of this world, by not getting too caught up with them nor too worried about losing them because our real home is in the city. We can afford to make sacrifices now and to give up some of the things that other people chase to feel secure, because our real treasure is in the city. We can afford to suffer now because the glory we seek is in the city.
No matter what happens here on earth, no matter what we go through in our lives, no matter what illness we face, or griefs we endure – we are part of God’s eternal city. God is with us, and we are secure, forever.
Father, we thank You that by Your grace You have made us part of your city.
Thank you that Jesus died on the cross and rose again so that we can be there.
Please help us to trust in your promises,
and to live in this world with confidence as people of Your city.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen
This article was adapted from an online sermon preached at St Mary’s Cathedral Kuala Lumpur on 22 March 2020. It has been edited for length and used with permission.
About the Author
Rev. Dr Andrew Cheah is the Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral (SMACC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He trained as a medical doctor in Adelaide before embarking on a ministry apprenticeship followed by four years at Moore Theological College in Sydney. With his family he returned to Kuala Lumpur to serve the church full-time. Andrew is passionate about reaching the unreached with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus and is keen to see God’s people discipled to maturity in Christ and equipped for works of ministry. He loves to eat and can often be seen tucking into a hearty banana leaf lunch. Andrew is married to Judi and they have two daughters, Hannah and Beth.
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