Sermon, October 4, 2026, Psalm 46, Guest Pastor Dennis Judy #gbcny​​​​​​​​​​​ † gbcny.org

Psalm 46 as a Psalm of Trust

The psalms can be categorized and grouped into many different ways. They can be categorized by various means and methods. This Psalm 46 is a psalm of trust. The psalms of trust serve as a powerful reminder of God's steadfast faithfulness.

They serve as an encouragement and strength that comes to God's people through trusting Him in every situation and in every circumstance of life. We don't know who wrote Psalm 46. We don't know the occasion upon which it was written.

Over the years, commentators have linked this psalm to various Old Testament episodes of Israel as they were being threatened by their enemies and when God intervened. But we really don't know. We really don't know the author and we don't know the occasion.

Yet that does not rob the psalm of its relevance to us today and its value for us as Christians as we live our life every day. Psalm 46 celebrates the Lord's salvation in terms that apply equally to Old Testament Israel and the New Testament church.

Psalm 46 speaks to the church of Jesus Christ and to every individual within her. So what is true of the church of Jesus Christ is true for each individual believer. And this psalm has been a source of strength and encouragement for many Christians down through the centuries.

Charles Spurgeon said, No one can know the hearts that have been lifted as these majestic lines have been read in the sick room, in the house of mourning, the dungeon of persecution, and in the narrow chamber of suffering and tragedy.

So I would like to consider Psalm 46 this morning and have it as the Holy Spirit applies it to your heart to have it encourage you this morning. This is the purpose of Psalm 46. Oftentimes we need to be encouraged.

Oftentimes we need our strength in the Lord to be, our faith in the Lord to be strengthened. Psalm 46 does just that. It strengthens our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was written for and to God's people, particularly in times of trouble.

You see this word trouble in Psalm 46 and we will talk about that in just a moment. But this word trouble means to be in a very tight place which there is no apparent escape. It could be in our words, it could be you're between a rock and a hard place.

It could be that the walls are closing in. The Hebrew word trouble can be translated as distress or anguish or even tribulation. Distress is a state of extreme anxiety or an extreme anxiousness and it often is characterized by a sense of helplessness and suffering and the source of it could be external but it could also be internal.

Anguish is a profound expression of emotional or physical distress that can arise from various circumstances. The Psalms often capture this emotion, this raw emotion of anguish. In Psalm 6 verse 3, David cries out, My soul is greatly troubled, but you, O Lord, how long?

The prophets also speak of anguish particularly in the context of judgment and exile. The prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 21 .3 described his own experience. He said, My loins are filled with anguish.

Pangs have seized me like the pangs of a woman in labor. I am bowed down so that I cannot hear. I am dismayed so that I cannot see. In the New Testament, anguish is often connected to the sufferings of Jesus Christ and also to the trials that we as his followers often face.

Jesus himself experienced great anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed as recorded in Luke chapter 22 verse 44. And in anguish, he prayed more earnestly and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Our Lord Jesus Christ felt anguish. Also, we certainly know the Bible speaks much about tribulation and this word trouble can be considered tribulation. Tribulation in a biblical context refers to those severe trials and that severe suffering as a result of those trials that believers often experience.

The term means literally a pressing of affliction. Have you ever felt that way? A pressing upon your soul. It is often associated with the testing of faith. You know we are to live, the just are to live by faith.

This is how the just live. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and we live by faith alone. And oftentimes in this world with the trials and tribulations and the distress and the anguish that we experience, our faith is often tested.

So this is what trouble means. And we need to understand and I know we know this by experience that we as Christians are not exempt from trouble. We live in a fallen world and we are all sinners. We live in a fallen world and as Christians we must understand that we will experience trouble in this world.

Trouble Is an Inevitable Reality for Christians

Jesus said in John 16 verse 33, in the world you will have tribulation. In Hebrews chapter 11 verse 35 through 38 mentions all sorts of trouble faithful Christians have had to endure. The writer to the Hebrews says some were tortured, others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment.

Some were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats. They were destitute, afflicted, mistreated. They were considered unworthy by the world wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth.

These are troubles that Christians experience in our life. Now you and I may not experience, we may not endure troubles like this, but we might. Only the Lord knows. But if you are a Christian, you will face times of trouble.

You will face times of distress and anguish and tribulation. This is an inevitable reality of living in a fallen world in the weakness of our flesh. Perhaps you are right now experiencing trouble. Perhaps trouble is right around the corner.

Only the Lord knows. But here is the good news. And this good news is broadcast for us here in Psalm chapter 46. Here is the good news. There is safety in the mighty power and the comforting presence of God.

There is safety in the Lord. Psalm 46 speaks of any and every situation that believers may face. All the problems of this world that we experience every day. The problems and the struggles we have. The moral and political corruption that is all around us.

The social unrest and the societal insanity that we are seeing today. The economic uncertainties, international conflicts, terrorist threats, persecutions of all sorts, and the spiritual challenges of the world may sometimes make us wonder, is there any safe place?

Sadly, there is no safe place anywhere in this world. But there is a safe place in the Lord when trouble comes. If you are in Christ, you are in God's protective custody. This is the message of Psalm 46.

In the words of Martin Luther, the father of the 16th century Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther said this, We sing this psalm to the praise of God because God is with us and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends His church and His world against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of hell, against the implacable hatred of the devil, and against all the assaults of the world, the flesh, and sin.

I quote Martin Luther because Psalm 46 has been called Luther's psalm. In times of danger and distress and discouragement, in times of tribulation and persecution, Luther would often say to his best friend and ally, Philip MacLanthan, he would say, Come, Philip, let us sing the 46th psalm and let the devil do his worst.

This psalm was the foundational text for the hymn that we sang this morning, that famous Reformation hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Luther saw his hymn as a paraphrase of this psalm and he made explicitly Christian what was already implicit in the psalm.

Luther saw a deeper spiritual reality represented in the psalm. He saw it was a contest between the demonic and Christ. It was a contest, a conflict, between the demons of this world and Christ's people.

Behind all the enemies listed in Psalm 46, Luther said, It is our ancient foe. He wrote, For still our ancient foe does seek to work as woe. His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate on earth is not his equal.

And that ancient foe, Satan, is supported by all of his cohorts, as Luther wrote, this world with devils filled. We live in the kingdom of darkness. We live where Satan is seeking whom he may devour. And his demons are constantly on the attack.

But also, the psalm's call, Not to Fear, rings clearly in Martin Luther's hymn. He wrote again, We will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him.

His rage we can't endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him. We can see how Martin Luther drew great strength and encouragement through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit applied the wonderful, beautiful, glorious truths of Psalm 46 to his heart.

And it should do that for us today as well. Luther went on to say that that gives him great confidence. The word gives him great confidence, as Luther wrote. He said, Did we in our own strength confide?

Our striving would be losing. We're not the right man on our side. The man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He. Lord Sabaoth is His name. From age to age the same. And He must win the battle.

So we must see Psalm 46 the way Luther saw it. Luther saw rightly that Psalm 46 wasn't his psalm. It was Christ's psalm. And that His promises are Christ's promises to and for His people. So if you are a Christian today, if you are in Christ by faith alone, the promises of Psalm 46 are for you.

In fact, the promises of God are all for you. We know what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 20. He said all the promises of God find their yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our amen to the glory of God.

All the promises of God are for people who are in Christ. In Christ alone. So again, if you are a Christian, if you are in Jesus Christ through faith alone, if He is your Lord and your Savior, the promises of Psalm 46 are for you.

The vital message of this psalm is that in times of danger and chaos, in tribulation and anguish, in times of apparent disaster, God is the shelter for His people. He is the shelter of His people from our enemies.

And He is the strength for us to live for His glory. So whatever trouble you may face as a Christian, the God and the Christ of Psalm 46 is all sufficient. So let this psalm encourage you this morning.

Let this psalm cheer your heart as we consider it this morning. As we look at our psalm, we will see two things here about when trouble comes. Number one, when trouble comes, there is safety in the almighty power of God.

Safety in the Almighty Power of God

And secondly, when trouble comes, there is safety in the comforting presence of Almighty God. Even when there appears to be a global threat against you and against the church of Jesus Christ, there is safety in the almighty power of God.

Notice Psalm 46 begins the best way that any passage can begin with the word God. God is the subject and object of this psalm. And the psalmist sets the tone for the entire psalm in verse 1 with the affirmation, God is our refuge and our strength.

A very present help in trouble. Here the psalmist makes two assertions about God's almighty power. First, God's power is totally sufficient. God's power is never lacking. The psalmist says God is our refuge and strength.

In verse 1, literally refuge is, He is for us a refuge. We know that a refuge is a shelter from danger. It is a safe place to go during a violent storm. It's where you hide from the attacks of your enemy.

And the psalmist says that this is our God. God is our refuge. Many times there will be when everything's going well, others may be with us, but when things begin to go bad, when our life begins to tumble in on us, God is our strength.

God is our refuge. And the Lord continually invites us to seek refuge in Him. To take refuge in Him. The Lord wants all of His people to be able to say with confidence the words of Psalm 91, verses 1 and 2.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Can you say that confidently today? Likewise, the psalmist says, God is our strength.

When we are assaulted by an enemy who is stronger than us, we are weak. We are frail. When we have enemies that come against us and seek to do us harm and are assaulting us, the psalmist says God is our strength.

Where do we find strength? We find strength in the Lord. There are times when God permits the attacks of the enemies to come. Attacks upon your faith, whether it's sickness or sorrow or some crisis attacks your family or a recession or you've lost your job.

Whatever the assault may be, sometimes God permits that assault, but God will give you strength to resist and to endure and to prevail. The prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40, verses 30 and 31, says even youths shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted.

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. You see, it is in waiting upon the Lord that we have our strength renewed.

Our strength is found in the Lord. So God's power, the psalmist reminds us, is totally sufficient. And also, secondly, God's power is always available. And His power is available in great measure. God is not only our refuge and strength, but He is, as we read here in verse 1, He is also a very present help in trouble.

Literally, that means in trouble, He will be found a help exceedingly. When His people are in trouble, and we seek help from Him, we find it. We find help. And we find it in a magnificent measure. So the psalmist begins with the assurance that God is not only sufficient, He is not only sufficiently able to protect us when trouble comes, but He will also, He will help us when trouble comes.

And He will do so in great measure. God is our very present help. You know, help that is not present when we need it is of no value. An anchor which is left at home is of no value to a sailor in a boat who is being tossed to and fro on a violent storm.

But when trouble comes in your life, you need never ask, where is God? God is always there. God is always available. God is fully present in the midst of trouble. He doesn't have to show up because He's already there.

That's why the author of Hebrews can say in Hebrews 4 .16,. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. So there is safety in the almighty power of God when trouble comes.

His power is totally sufficient. And His power is always available and in great measure. And notice then, the psalmist's response of faith in this almighty power of God in verses 2 and 3. The psalmist writes,.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. These verses depict for us cataclysmic events.

This is poetic language. This is hyperbole. Here the psalmist describes the nature and the severity of the trouble that we may have to face. He talks about the earth giving away. He talks about the mountains being moved into the heart of the sea, and the waters of the sea roaring and foaming, and the mountains trembling at the swelling of the water.

He speaks of the severity of the trouble that may come to you and me. The trouble may be so severe, it may be so pressing, that it seems as if the whole world is coming down upon us. It seems that the whole world is being turned upside down.

It seems that the foundations of the earth are crumbling beneath our feet. And even hell itself seems to be opening up to swallow us. This is how the psalmist describes this trouble that Christians may face.

The severity of the trouble, but also he speaks of the nature of the trouble that may come to you and me. The psalmist depicts an earthquake and its subsequent tsunami and floods. He says the earth gives way and the mountains move into the heart of the sea.

The waters roar and foam. Mountains are trembling at its swelling. Trouble may come like this. It may come with a suddenness. And it may be very threatening. And there is nothing that you can do about it.

And there is no way to resist it. This may be the nature and the severity of the trouble to come. And there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it from happening. But here, as we see from the psalmist, you may not be able to control your circumstances.

We know the Lord is in control of our circumstances. We don't control them. The Lord does. But we can control how we respond to them. It is the response of faith in the Almighty God. Notice the first part of verse 2.

Therefore, we will not fear. We know that word therefore is there for a reason. It points back to what was said previously. It points back to the beautiful words of Psalm 46 verse 1. This is the application that the psalmist makes in the first words of verse 2.

Therefore, because of what he just said of our great God in verse 1, we will not fear. The psalmist here addresses a common emotion that we all have. Especially when trouble comes. And that is fear. Fear paralyzes us.

It paralyzes our faith. We stop in our tracks. And often times we retreat and we run away. Fear and faith are mortal enemies. The presence of one undermines the other. So if God is not your refuge and strength, there is much for you to fear.

But if God is your refuge and strength, if you trust in the Lord, He will chase your fears away. We must understand when the psalmist says we will not fear, he doesn't mean that our minds will be exempt from all feelings of fear when trouble comes.

We are emotional creatures. We are not destitute of feeling. It isn't that you won't feel fear. What he means is that whatever may happen, you will not be overwhelmed with terror, but rather you will receive strength and courage from the Lord to calm your fears and to alleviate them.

The psalmist portrays for us then the victory of faith over the whole world. Faith is the victory that has overcome the world. In the midst of trouble, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, faith in our Lord and our Savior triumphs over all fear.

Our fearlessness in times of trouble therefore has its foundation in the assurance of the almighty protection and help and presence of God. When we rely upon God alone and put our trust in Him alone, we will not be overcome by fear when trouble comes, and we will be able to persevere.

We will be preserved in security and in safety amid the troubles of a fallen world. We are reminded in the New Testament many times, we're told, do not fear. Fear not. The word Jesus told His people that.

That obviously tells us that we are people who fear. We are people who often tremble in the face of trouble. But we are not to fear. We have no reason to be overwhelmed with terror when trouble comes.

Because God is always there to protect us and to help us in His compassion and armed as He is with almighty invincible power. You see, you live by faith in the almighty God. And really, this is a proof of our faith.

When trouble comes, even the most cataclysmic trouble, God is your refuge. So hide yourself in Him. God is your strength. So find strength in Him. And God is your very present help. So commune with Him every day in His word and in prayer and seek His help and lean upon Him.

And you will not fear when trouble comes. I think of that old hymn that I grew up singing. Many of you may know it. What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms. I have blessed peace with my Lord so near.

Leaning on the everlasting arms. This is the life of a Christian. Leaning upon the everlasting arms of our almighty God. There is nothing to dread or fear when you are in the unfailing arms of the Lord almighty.

Safety in the Continual Presence of God

We also see there is safety in the continual presence of God. Notice again in our text in verses four through seven. 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. The nations rage. The kingdoms totter. He utters His voice. The earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress.

So while verses one through three point our faith to God who is able, verses four through seven point our faith to the God who is there. To the God who is present. To the God who is with us. And there are two great promises in these verses to encourage you and to strengthen you in your faith.

Number one, God's constant presence with us. And number two, God's timely help for us. And we notice here the scenery shifts from verse four. Or the scenery shifts in verse four. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

We ought to see and to feel the tension between this verse and the previous verse. Where we're told the mountains roar in foam and the mountains tremble at the swelling of the seas. There is noise and there is violence and there is chaos in verse three.

This is what we find in the world. And then in verse four abruptly the scene shifts from the raging sea to a quiet river. This is the presence of God. The Hebrew word here translated river describes a perennial and gentle stream of water.

And the psalmist says that the streams of this river make glad the city of God. Make glad means to give joy, to refresh, to cause, to rejoice. So this river with its gently flowing streams of water sustained and nourished and refreshed the land and its people, Jerusalem, the city of God which was the holy habitation of the Most High.

So the immediate reference here was to Jerusalem, which with the temple was the holy habitation of the Most High. And the river the psalmist speaks of here refers to the stream which flowed from Shiloh and passed through the city of Jerusalem which was their source of strength and it was their sustenance of life.

This is the immediate reference. But there is here certainly another great reference, a greater reference. By use of imagery, the psalmist was speaking of the church of Jesus Christ. In Christ, we are now the temple of God.

We are now the holy habitation of the Most High. God is with us and in the midst of us by and through His Holy Spirit. Verse 5, God is in the midst of her. He is with us and He is in us by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

We are in Him by faith in Jesus Christ and He is in us by His Holy Spirit. So we are the temple of God. We as Christians who are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. We are the holy habitation of the Most High.

So the psalmist here, his greater reference is to the church of Jesus Christ, to all of God's people. And the river whose streams make glad the city of God is the ever-flowing streams of God's grace.

God gives us grace. This river is a symbol of the peace and the blessing of His presence in the church and the grace that He gives to His church through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The river is God Himself and the outflow of His own grace to our souls.

So God the Holy Spirit sustains us. He nourishes us. He strengthens us. He makes us glad. Notice that He makes glad all who trust in Him. The gift of God which is living water is God Himself and it is the ever-flowing source of all refreshment, of all strength, of all blessedness.

It is Jesus Christ who supplies this living water by the Holy Spirit to all who come to Him in faith. This is what Jesus told that woman at the well in Samaria in John chapter 4. Jesus told her, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.

Everyone who drinks of this water, referring to the water in that well, will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Later on in John chapter 7, verse 37 -39, we read that on the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Here then is a blessed promise to each one of us as Christians.

This is the blessed promise to the church of Jesus Christ. God is in the midst of us. And His grace flows to His people. We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

And He continues to give us grace. And God's grace is constant and ever-flowing and all-sufficient. He gives all-sufficient grace and He gives it abundantly. The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9, He said, God said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

He told Timothy in 1 Timothy 1 .14, The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that is in Christ Jesus. This is that ever-flowing, overflowing grace of God. You see, it is grace that we need in our times of trouble.

We don't need to run to other places. We don't find help in this world. There is no place that we can go in our times of trouble that will really truly help us. Because what we need is the grace of God.

And we need to go to the Lord. He is always with us. He is ever-present. And His grace is sufficient. And God gives grace abundantly to all who ask Him. What you and I need as Christians every day, what the church of Jesus Christ needs every day, is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God.

And this is the promise of Psalm 46. Like a river, God gives grace in ever-flowing streams. God's love, His peace, His power, His almighty yet gentle presence constantly flows into our souls. And as to the effect of the flowing of God's grace to your soul, like a river, the ever-flowing streams of His grace makes you glad, makes you happy, content, and peaceful.

This is that peace of God, that passive all-understanding. And it comes through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is His continual presence with us. He is in the midst of us. And He gives us all sufficient grace.

And also, as we see in verse 5, because God is in the midst of us, we shall not be moved. What a precious promise. Why will we not be moved? Because God is in the midst of us. This word move means to totter and shake to the point where you're being overthrown.

We shall not be moved because God will help us at His appointed time of deliverance. Notice verses 5 and 6. The psalmist says God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage. The kingdoms totter.

He utters His voice. The earth melts. In ancient military campaigns, fighting commenced at first light. They would not attack at night. But as soon as the sun came up, as soon as morning dawned, the enemy would attack.

And the psalmist says God will help us when morning dawns. What this means is God will help us when the time is right. God will help us when we need it. When the danger is at its greatest, when the enemy is prepared to make his assault, God is in the midst of us and He will help us when morning dawns.

Here is the great consolation. It is our great consolation. It is the great consolation of the church. God is in the midst of us and He will help us when morning dawns. And we need to remember this. It may seem like to us that morning will never come.

But morning will come. In God's perfect plan. And when morning dawns, what will God do? He will help us. When morning dawns, God will commence fighting for His people. He will fight for you. He will fight for the church of Jesus Christ.

Even when the nations rage, as the psalmist says, this refers to that raucous noise of an angry mob and a violent army. When the nations rage, when the world is stirred up and agitated with wrath and anger against the church, they growl and they roar.

And they are in a fighting posture, ready to pounce. The kingdoms totter. The kingdoms of this world. This tottering speaks of an instability, an unpredictability. There is a general convulsion among the nations of the earth against the church of Jesus Christ.

With indignation, they are tremoring in a tumultuous, furious manner to oppose the church of Jesus Christ and to fight Christ's people. But notice the deliverance that comes from God when morning dawns and He utters His voice.

Verse 6, the nations rage, the kingdoms totter, He utters His voice, the earth melts. This envisions worldly rebellion against divine authority. I'm reminded here of Psalm chapter 2, verses 1 and 2. The psalmist says, why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed. You may have asked yourself, what is wrong with people? You may have asked yourself, what is wrong with this world?

This world. People of this world are in rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ. They are in rebellion against God Almighty. That is what's wrong with this world. And notice how God responds. He utters His voice and the earth melts.

It's like an ice cream cone in the hot sun. It melts. This is why we have the victory. No matter what the enemy may do, because God has the last word. The God who spoke this world into existence, the mere power of His voice, He causes the nations who rage against Him to melt.

God speaks here of His almighty power on behalf of His people and on behalf of the church. The omnipotent voice of God quells them, quells them all, and everything dissolves simply when He commends it to.

Where will you find a more wonderful thought than this? Then the simple word of God, the utterance of the almighty God conquers all our opposition. Although the whole world rages against us and confounds all things with their increased madness, they will be brought to nothing.

This is the promise of God. They will be brought to nothing in a moment when God shows Himself mighty. This is the God who's with us. This is our God. This is the continual presence of God with us. How this ought to encourage us and increase our faith in God.

And the psalmist emphasizes this in verse 7. And I will close with this verse. Here is the premise upon which the entire psalm is built. This is why the psalmist repeats it in verse 11. This is why he closes the psalm with this.

This is the ground of our calmest confidence in God and the great security of the church at all times. Notice verse 7. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Notice here the unshakable ground of your faith in God.

When you know Him personally by these two mighty names. The psalmist says, the Lord of hosts is with us. He is the Lord. That name, Jehovah. It proclaims His eternal being. He is the one who dwells above and outside of time in absolute, unchanging existence.

He is the one who is the creator and the source and the sustainer of all life. And He is the one to whom everything returns. And He is the Lord of hosts. Or the Lord of invincible armies. The armies of the heavenly host of angels.

There is no earthly army like the army of the Lord. There is no earthly commander or earthly king like the Lord our God. This describes God by a title that is indicative of His sovereignty, of His supremacy, of His dominion over everything.

Over all creatures and everything. The essential idea of this title is this. Everything is under His command. And everything moves at His command. He is the supreme ruler of the universe and the heavenly host.

He is Jehovah God. He's the absolute commander and master of all the combined forces of the universe. And they move at His command and in obedience to His will. And here, the psalmist makes this point.

This eternal master and commander of the armies of the universe is with us. Oh, what a blessed thought. The Lord of hosts is on our side. We are under His command. We are in His kingdom. He is our defender.