Earthquake But Not Heartquake

Earthquake But Not Heartquake

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 27, 1887,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the
mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar
and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling." Psalm
46:1-3.

THIS Psalm is a song for all Israel–for all who are truly the chosen
of God, called to be His own people–should exhibit a fearless courage.
The peace of God which passes all understanding should keep the hearts
and minds of all who rest in God. If, indeed, the Lord is our refuge
and strength, we are entitled to seek after a spirit which shall bear
us above the dreads of common men. It is not every man that can sing
this Psalm–he must belong to the believing company, he must have God
to be his God–and he must, like Israel, have learned the art of
prevailing prayer, or else he cannot sing the song of peace amid
commotion and calamity. No man can truly sing this Psalm but those who
are redeemed from the earth.

While this is a Psalm for all Israel, it is specially marked as
committed to the charge of the sons of Korah. Korah, Dathan and Abiram
perished because of their presumption–they went down alive into the
pit–and the earth closed upon them. They and all that appertained unto
them were swallowed up. But we are astonished to read,
"Notwithstanding, the children of Korah died not." I attribute their
singular escape to the Sovereign Grace of God who spared them when
their kinsmen were destroyed. They were made singers in the courts of
the Lord and surely they would sing with peculiar emphasis these words,
"Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed." They saw the
earth open her mouth and swallow up the offenders of their household
while they were preserved by Sovereign Grace. Surely the tears must
have stood in their eyes when they sang this verse and thought of the
opening gulf at their feet. The circumstance under which a man is saved
will influence the rest of his life. To be saved of God from between
the teeth ofjudgment is a rescue so special and vivid that the subject
of it learns to sing aloud unto the preserving Lord! Delivered from so
great a death, Believers learn to trust that the Lord will yet deliver
them. When conversion is especially remarkable, the music of gratitude
is pitched in a high key and the converts reach notes which are
impossible to others. It is for sons of Korah to sing, "Therefore we
will not fear."

It is significant, also, that this Psalm was to be sung "upon Alamoth,"
which, in all probability, means that it was to be set to music
suitable for virgin voices. The hallelujah at the Red Sea was chiefly
in the hands of Miriam and the maidens of Israel–she took her timbrel
and the daughters of Israel followed after her, singing unto the Lord.
This is a Psalm of the same sort. You virgin souls, arise and sing unto
God, your refuge and strength! Awake, you hearts that follow the Lord
fully in the fervor of your first love, and lift your voices to the
Lord! Come, you that have been kept pure and unde-filed in your words
and ways, you whose hearts are chaste to the love of Jesus Christ–you
are called upon above all others to sing, "God is our refuge and
strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into
the midst of the sea."

It was because Luther's heart was chaste towards God and his whole mind
virgin towards Divine Truth that he delighted to sing this Psalm. In
the days of the most furious opposition he was known to say to
Melancthon, "Come, let us sing the 46th Psalm and let the devil do his
worst." So, too, when Luther was dead, Melancthon heard a girl singing
this Psalm and he said to her, "Sing on, dear daughter, mine, you know
not what comfort you bring to my heart." We read of the armies of
Gustavus Adolphus singing this Psalm before their victory at Leipsic.
So, you see, the young, the simple, the guileless may sing that which
nerves warriors for the battle–

"God is our refuge and our strength, In straits a present aid;

Therefore, although the earth remove, We will not be afraid.'

This morning, as I shall be enabled, I shall say a little, first, upon
the confidence of the saints– "God is our refuge and strength, a very
present help in trouble." Then I will speak upon the courage which
grows out of it–"Therefore we will not fear." We shall close with a
brief survey of the conflicts to which that courage will be sure to be
exposed–"Though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be
carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be
troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling."

I. First, then, let us carefully consider THE CONFIDENCE OF THE SAINTS.

God's people have a sure confidence. Other men build as best they may,
but true Believers rest upon the Rock of Ages. Their confidence is
altogether beyond themselves. In this song there is nothing about their
own virtue, valor, or wisdom. The heathen moralist boasted that if the
globe, itself, should break, his integrity would make him stand
fearless amid the wreck. But the Believer has a humbler, though a truer
reliance. Though the earth is removed, he is undismayed. And this does
not arise from his own personal self-sufficiency, but from God, who is
his refuge and strength. He is fearless, not because of his original
stoutness of heart and natural firmness of will, but because he has a
God to shelter and uphold him. If he does not fear calamity, it is
because he fears God and God, alone.

Our Psalm begins with God, and with God it ends–"The God of Jacob is
our refuge." We may be as timid by nature as the conies, but God is our
refuge. We are as weak by nature as bruised reeds, but God is our
strength. We never know what strength is till our own weakness drives
us to trust Omnipotence. We never understand how safe our refuge is
till all other refuges fail us. When the earth is removed and the
waters of the sea roar and are troubled, being driven both from land
and sea, we hide ourselves in God. You who are strong in yourselves
imagine strength where only weakness can be found–you seek the living
among the dead and substantial confidences amid the "vanity of
vanities." If we look to ourselves for courage, we shall fail in the
hour of trial. When the earth is removed, the mightiest men are the
first to shudder! The greatest boasters become the worst cowards. For
confidence and peace we must say unto the Lord, "All my fresh springs
are in You."

This confidence is gained by an appropriating faith. Peace comes to me
not only by what God is, but by what God is to me. "God is our refuge
and strength." "This God is our God." You never enjoy the goodness and
greatness of God if you view them in an abstract manner. You must grasp
them as your own. It seems a daring act for a man to appropriate God,
but the Lord invites us to do it! He says, "Let him take hold of My
strength."

Why hesitate to make the appropriation? Look at the men of the
world–they would appropriate the whole earth if they could–continents
are not too wide! It is no fault of theirs if they do not hedge in the
stars and monopolize the sun. And shall not the Christian appropriate
those heavenly things of which he is made the heir–an heir of God, a
joint-heir with Christ Jesus? Let us join with the Prophet Jeremiah in
his comfortable soliloquy–"The Lord is my portion, says my soul;
therefore will I hope in Him." As with Thomas, we behold the print of
the nails! Let us say with him, unto our blessed Redeemer–"My Lord and
my God." The deep peace which is our right and privilege will not be
ours unless, with assured faith, we take the Lord to be ours in all the
fullness of His love. Come, let us now say–"God is our refuge and
strength."

This confidence will be greatly sustained by a clear knowledge of God.
"Acquaint yourself with God, and be at peace: thereby good shall come
unto you." If we were greater students of God, how much happier we
would be! Pope said, "The proper study of mankind is man." It is a
deplorably barren subject! Say, rather, "The proper study of mankind is
God." When men of God make God their study, then they discover in Him
those things which make Him a refuge for their hours of danger; a
strength for days of labor and a help for emergencies of every kind. We
ought to be able to say more of God today than we could a few years
ago. Our general notion should now branch out into instructive
particulars. We ought to now see the varied blessings which come to us
from God and to speak of Him under a threefold description as "our
refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

We notice under the Old Testament dispensation that certain sacrifices,
like the doves and pigeons which were brought by poor Israelites, were
simply cut in two and were laid on the altar. But other offerings which
were brought by richer Israelites were more carefully divided. Take the
offering of the rich to represent, as a type, the ideas of those who

are well taught in knowledge and have a greater experience of the
things of God and then you see how matters of detail were mentioned.
When bullocks were presented we read of the fat, the head, the legs and
the inwards–so here we read of refuge, strength and help. The more we
know the Lord, the more shall we perceive that He is full of blessings
to us. "They that know Your name will put their trust in You." You
shall be saved by the little knowledge which trusts God–but your peace
shall be far fuller and deeper if you know the deep things of God and
understand His secrets, for then you shall not be afraid of evil
tidings since your heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.

If you are, as yet, a timid Believer, seek to grow in the knowledge of
God, for thus shall you learn to say, "Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth be removed." Half our fears are the result of
ignorance. Truth as yet unknown would greatly encourage us if we did
but perceive it. If we knew more of God we would be bold as lions.
Therefore I exhort all true Believers here to dwell much in the
Presence of God and ask to be instructed in the Nature, the Character,
the attributes of God–yes, the purpose, the promise and the Providence
of the Covenant God of Israel. To know Him is eternal life! Solid peace
which no calamity can destroy must come from God–from God appropriated
and from God grow-ingly known.

All this will be certified to us by our experience. This Psalm is best
sung by men and women who know what they are singing because they have
felt the preserving and delivering Grace of God. I shall put it to you
this morning, you that know the Lord, can you not say by experience,
"God is our refuge"? You have fled to Him–have you not found a shelter
in Him? There have been times of trial so severe that you could not
endure its force, but were compelled to flee from it. You fled to
God–was His door closed against you? Did He bid you go elsewhere? Did
He upbraid you for your presumption? And when you have hidden yourself
in God, let me ask you, has He not afforded you a very blessed retreat?
When you have entered into your chamber, shut your door and hidden
yourself with God, have you not been at perfect peace? Yes, you have
been as safe and as happy as Noah when the Lord shut him in!

Look at the little chicks yonder, under the hen! See how they bury
their little heads in the feathers of her warm bosom! Hear their little
chirps of perfect happiness as they nestle beneath the mother's wings!
"He shall cover you with His feathers and under His wings shall you
trust–His truth shall be your shield and buckler." Have you not found
it so? My happiest hours have not been in the days of my mirth, but in
the nights of my sorrow! When all waters are bitter, the cup of Divine
Consolation is all the sweeter. For brightness, give me not the
sunlight, but that superior Glory with which the Lord lights up the
darkness of affliction! It is not necessary for happiness that a man
should be prosperous in business, or applauded by mankind–it is only
necessary that the Lord should smile on him! It is not essential to
happiness that he should be in good health, or even that he should be
naturally of cheerful spirit–God gives us the truest health in
sickness and the most tender joy amid depression. Brothers and Sisters,
"God is our refuge." It is many a day since first we went to Him and we
have been many times since, but He has never failed us once. I appeal
to the aged and the experienced here–and I know that the older they
are and the more tried they have been, the more steadfast will they
bear their witness that "God is a refuge for us."

We can also say that God has been our strength. When we have not been
afflicted, but have had arduous labor to perform for God, we have been
made to feel and mourn our weakness–and then the Lord has made us to
glory in infirmity because His power has rested on us. What multiform
shapes that strength has taken! Many of you have had strength for the
daily battle of business life, others for domestic life. Under fierce
temptations you remain unconquered; under stern duties you remain
unwearied; you have had strength for exhausting service or crushing
suffering. Had you been left to your own wit and wisdom, they alone
could never have sufficed you–strength of mind has been given from
above. See the widow, left penniless, who has brought up a family of
children! Can she tell how she did it? See the girl placed amid coarse
and brutal men of licentious character–she remains pure–but can she
tell you how? God is our strength in ways unknown to ourselves. Our
trials are all different. No two of us have proved the Lord in exactly
the same way, but yet our testimony is uniform–the Lord has been
all-sufficient, His strength is perfect! Thus far we find that promise
good, "Your shoes shall be iron and brass, and as your days, so shall
your strength be."

We have also proved another thing, namely, that God is "a very present
help in trouble." We have had helpers after the flesh who have not been
present when we needed them–perhaps they have studiously kept out of
the way–at any rate, just at the pinch when we have said, "Oh, that
so-and-so were here," our friend has been at the end of the earth. But
it has never been so with God. Has He not said, "Before they call I
will answer them and while they are yet speaking I will

hear"? Just there where the burden pressed, God has been immediately
present to lighten the load! He is not only present, but very present.
More present than our nearest friend when most present. God's Presence
permeates us. He is not only by our side, but He is within us, in the
heart of our thoughts, at the springs of our life. Beloved, you have
sometimes complained that God was absent from you. Because of your sin
He has hidden His face from you. But let me ask you, did you ever find
the Lord absent in your hour of trial? In the burning furnace, if ever
anywhere, you shall see "one like unto the Son of God." He has said,
"When you pass through the waters I will be with you." Wherever else He
may supposed to be absent, He will be sure to be present in trouble.

Now, this is matter of experience and because we have experienced it,
therefore we will not fear though the earth be removed. Having already
tried and tested God, we are not going to doubt Him, now! We feel
something of the mind of Sir Francis Drake, who, after he had sailed
round the world, was buffeted with a storm in the Thames. "What?" he
asked, "have we sailed round the world safely and shall we be drowned
in a ditch?" So do we say at this day! Helped so long and helped so
often! God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,
why should we fear? How dare we fear?

Once more, dear Friends, in order to realize the fearlessness of which
this text so sweetly sings, we must not only have a past experience at
our back, but an immediate enjoyment of the Divine help. If you can
truly sing in your soul, "God is my refuge and my strength," then it
will be impossible for you to be afraid. A sense of the nearness and
graciousness of God will be an antidote to fear. I know that it is so
in alarms and distresses which come under my observation. I have often
stood at the bedsides of dear Brothers and Sisters, members of this
Church, when they have come to die, and I have, without exception,
always found them perfectly restful and free from fear. It is a sorrow
to see friends full of pain and to know that they are dying, but the
various interviews that I have had with the departing have left no
impression of gloom on my mind, but the very reverse!

I came this week out of a quiet bedchamber where I saw a Sunday school
teacher passing away. It was a little sanctuary. Everything so quiet,
peaceful, happy. Death cast no shadow over the sweet face. Heaven
lighted the features. It seemed more like a marriage day than a death
day. Why are these dying beds so happy? Because these people have any
goodness of their own? Far from it! Without exception they disown it.
Because they are strong and self-contained? No! I might speak of young
and old Believers, greatly emaciated by long sickness, and yet as
greatly strong in faith. What brings this peace? Truly, the Lord was
there! His realized Presence makes death a small matter. Do we not
sing–

"Oh, if my Lord would come and meet, My soul should stretch her wings
in haste, Fly fearless through death's iron gate, Nor feel the terrors
as she passed"? The Presence of God with the soul of a Believer
swallows up death in victory! Anything else that is terrible in time or
in eternity loses its terror in the Presence of the mighty God of
Jacob. Thus have I shown you where the confidence of the Christian
really lies.

II. I come, secondly, to notice THE COURAGE WHICH GROWS OUT OF IT.

This courage is very full and complete. "Therefore we will not fear."
It does not say, "Therefore we will not run away," but, "therefore we
will not fear." It does not even say, "Therefore we will not faint and
swoon in dread," but, "Therefore we will not fear." The Presence of God
does so stay the soul and quiet the heart, that fear, which has
torment, is driven away. Nature fears, it could not be otherwise. But
through Grace, the Heaven-born spirit triumphs over nature and its
fear. God does not take away from us those natural fears which lead us
to seek the preservation of life, but He masters them by a serene
security of heart produced by His Presence. We are perplexed, but not
in despair. We see the position to be full of danger and yet we know
that we are in no danger, the Lord being near. "Therefore we will not
fear." It is a most delightful thing when the heart is placid because
we believe in God and in His Christ. This peace is the peace of God
which passes all understanding–no pretence of peace–but a Divine
reality which the world can neither create nor destroy!

Then, further, this courage is logically justifiable. It is not the
courage of nature, which may be a mere brute virtue, such as dogs and
bulls possess. Neither does it grow out of lack of feeling. The courage
of the Christian is not the hardness of the stoic. The stoic boasts
that he does not feel. The Christian does feel–feels as keenly as
anybody and much more than most. And yet, for all that, the conscious
love of God lifts him above fear! The Believer's fearlessness is

founded upon argument and so the Psalmist words it, "Therefore we will
not fear." Because God is present as the refuge of His people, it is
unreasonable for them to fear.

Observe, then, dear Friends, that whatever happens to the man who has
God to be his God, he need not fear because none of these things will
affect the ground of his confidence. No calamity will change God's love
to us. Suppose we should witness an earthquake, a tempest, a famine,
pestilence, a war–none of these would separate us from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord! These temporal calamities do not
touch the vital matter–such things have no influence upon the
unchangeable love of God except to make it more clear!

Suppose, again, that the most awful things were to occur. Would they
not occur according to God's decree? We believe in a God who has
arranged all things according to the counsel of His will. Do you
believe that anything is left to chance? Is any event outside the
circle of the Divine Predestination? No, my Brothers and Sisters–with
God there are no contingencies! The mighty Charioteer of Providence has
gathered up all the reins of all the horses and He guides them all
according to His infallible wisdom! There is a foreknowledge and
predestination which concerns all things–from the motion of a grain of
dust on the threshing floor to that of the flaming comet which blazes
across the sky. Nothing can happen but what God ordains and, therefore,
why should we fear?

Again, nothing happens without the Divine Power being in it. The Lord
says, "Behold, I have created the smith that blows the coals in the
fire. I have created the waster to destroy." The most violent and
wicked men could not move a finger if strength were not lent them by
the Lord. As for the catastrophes of Nature, is not the Lord distinctly
in them? Who shakes the earth? Is it not God that looks on it and it
trembles? When the mountains vomit fire, is it not because He touches
the hills and they smoke? Our Father works all things–therefore should
His children be afraid?

Furthermore, do not you and I believe that God overrules
everything–that even that which naturally might be called evil is
turned to good account? The Lord's goodness extracts the viper's tooth
and supplies an antidote to the poison. It was evil, but God transmuted
it into good by the alchemy of His Divine wisdom. Who is he that can
harm you? "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and
every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall
condemn."

Furthermore, we know that nothing that can happen, however tremendous
it may be, can shake the Kingdom of God. Our chief possession lies in
that Kingdom and if that is secure, all is safe. The gates of Hell
shall not prevail against that Kingdom and, therefore, whatever is
imperiled, our highest, best and most vital interests are safe beyond
the shadow of harm. Suppose an accident should take away our lives? I
smile as I think that the worst thing that could happen would be the
best thing that could happen! If we should die, we should but the
sooner be "forever with the Lord." If in the quiver of God's Providence
there should lie an arrow which shall bring us death today, it would
also bring us Glory! So, if the very worst that can befall us is the
best that can come, why should we fear? I think this is good reasoning,
is it not? If you are, indeed, a Believer, and if God is your refuge
and your strength, there is a logical reason why you should not yield
to alarm.

Now, this fearlessness is exceedingly profitable. If a man is able to
contain himself and possess his soul in patience through the Presence
of God, he will not do that which is foolish. Men, when they are
frightened, are in hot haste and hurry themselves into folly. As if
they were turned to children, men in their alarm will act without
reason! In fact, terror is a kind of madness. Many absurd actions have
been performed under the influence of panic. In times of danger the man
who is calm is the most ready to use the proper means of escape.
Presence of mind is invaluable and the best way to secure presence of
mind is to believe in the Presence of God! In cases of sickness, the
patient who does not fret is the most likely to be cured. We have had
among us, just now, instances of dear friends in this Church who have
been called to undergo most serious operations. And it has been a
wonderful help to them that they have known no dread, but have been
passive in the Lord's hands.

Our Lord Jesus was always sweetly serene and this was one element of
the wisdom of His behavior. In the struggle of life, a cheerful
fearlessness is a grand assistance. Here is a man on the Exchange and
things are going heavily against him. Prices are falling and all that
he can do appears to make bad worse. If that man gives way to fear, he
may plunge into utter ruin. But if he can step aside a minute or two
and breathe a prayer to God, he will pull himself together, and when he
comes back he will coolly survey the situation and act with discretion.
Lose your head and you lose the battle! Lose your heart and you have
lost all. To him who knows no fear there is no fear, provided that his
forgetfulness of fear arises

out of his memory of God! For the prudent government of life as well as
for its enjoyment, the overcoming of fear is a great help.

Fearlessness also assists in keeping us from doing wrong. The man who
can trust God with consequences will not do wrong in order to escape
from losses. The man who yields to the fear of man is apt to conceal
his convictions and if he does not deny the faith, he is apt to attempt
a compromise–and that is the most dangerous operation which a
Christian man can enter! If faith in God lifts us up above the fear of
losses and sufferings, we shall say to every form of temptation, "Get
you behind me, Satan."

One thing more I desire to say about this fearlessness, namely, that it
brings great glory to God. If you are enabled to rise above fear in
times of alarm, then those who see you will say, "This is a man of God,
and this is God's work upon his soul." I knew a youth, [Brother
Spurgeon is speaking of himself] near 40 years ago, who was staying
with relations when a thunderstorm of unusual violence came on at
nightfall. A stack was struck by lightning and set on fire within sight
of the door. The grown-up people in the house, both men and women, were
utterly overcome with fright. The strong men seemed even more afraid
than the women. All the inmates of the house sat huddled together. Only
this youth was quietly happy. There was a little child upstairs in bed
and the mother was anxious about it, but even her love could not give
her courage enough to pass the staircase windows to bring that child
down.

The babe cried, and this youth, whom I knew right well, who was then
but newly converted, went upstairs alone, took the child and, without
hurry or alarm, brought it down to its mother. He needed no candle, for
the lightning was so continuous that he could see his way right well.
He felt that the Lord was wonderfully near that night and so no fear
was possible to his heart. He sat down and read a Psalm aloud to his
trembling relatives who looked on the lad with loving wonder. That
night he was master of the situation and those in the house believed
that there was something in the religion which he had so lately
professed. I believe that if all of us can, by God's Grace, get such a
sense of God's nearness to us in times of danger and trouble, that we
will remain calm and we shall bring much honor to the cause of God and
the name of Jesus. Holy confidence sings Psalms by its spirit and acts.
It is well to sing in the language of David, "God is our refuge and
strength." But it is better, still, so to act that all can see that we
do not fear though the earth is removed!

III. Time has fled and I must ask your patience while I now dwell for a
little while upon the third point, THE CONFLICTS TO WHICH THIS
FEARLESSNESS WILL BE EXPOSED. If you become fearless through the
Presence of God, that courage will be tested.

It will be tried in ways novel and unusual. "Though the earth be
removed." This is a terrible novelty. Those who have been in
earthquakes tell me that the feeling is most singular. It does not seem
like a common shake, but as if everything had given way at once. You do
not know what to do–the very foundations of everything have slipped
from under you. Suppose that the Lord is about to try us in new and
unheard of ways? Yet, having the Lord to be our refuge, strength and
present help, we will not fear. New trials will bring new Graces and
prove the value of old promises.

Certain trials are very mysterious and threatening. It would be a great
mystery if we were to see "the mountains carried into the midst of the
sea." There they have stood for ages and should they take a leap, we
should be at our wits' end to account for their motion! If some giant
force plucked them up by their roots and hurled them into the center of
the ocean, we would be amazed. But some afflictions are of that
order–you cannot understand them. The sting of sorrow often lies in
the unseen. What we cannot comprehend astounds and appalls us. Yet, my
Brethren, we need not fear if God is with us, though the mountains were
hurled into the midst of the sea! The Lord could put them back into
their places again. If all the devils in Hell had a hand in your
trouble, you need not, therefore, be alarmed, for one God is greater
than millions of demons! If all the legions of the pit rushed forth in
hosts innumerable as flying locusts, all armed to the teeth and eager
for your blood, yet the Lord of Hosts being with you, you would march
through them as a man goes through a field of grass! One lion does not
fear a flock of sheep and one man who trusts in God is master of armies
of adversaries. Therefore, we will not fear, "though hills amid the
seas be cast." Our God is mightier than all mysterious forces whatever.

Some trials also seem to be utterly ungovernable–"Though its waters
roar and be troubled." You cannot do anything with the sea when it
rages. It hurls itself aloft in great masses! It yawns in fathomless
abysses! It rushes, it whirls, it sinks. As for its noise, it drowns
your thoughts. The water is here, there, everywhere when the deep once
begins to break loose! And certain troubles seem to be of like
nature–they rush upon you all of a sudden, they multiply like swelling

waves, they drive furiously, they carry all before them–and yet, even
then, we need not fear! If God is with us, He is mightier than the
noise of many waters, yes, than the mighty waves of the sea! There is
no reason to fear noise and none, even, to fear the sea, for, "the Lord
sits upon the flood; yes, the Lord sits King forever." Let the sea roar
and let its waters be troubled–our faith shall never yield to fear.

Sometimes we get afraid through sympathy with the fear of others.
Observe, "Though the mountains shake with its swelling," as though when
the sea had taken to roaring and trembling, the mountains followed it
in sympathy! So, when we see the strongest people giving way and panic
seizing upon them, we are apt to yield. But if God is with us and we
can hold firm to the Truth that He is our refuge and our strength, we
shall not fear.

"Well," says one, "what is the practical run of all this?" Why, just
this. There may come to you and to me great and unexpected trouble–and
it will then be well to rise out of the reach of fear. War may soon
burst upon us. The political atmosphere is charged with war and we may
be surrounded by it before the year grows old. We have enjoyed, as a
nation, so much of rest within our own island that we have grown
somewhat secure–but even if war were at our gates–those who have made
the Most High their refuge need not fear.

Something worse than war is threatening. Anarchy seeks to make havoc in
the streets. There are plenty of signs and tokens that a breakup of
social order is desired by not a few. Fierce spirits are eager to
repeat among us the horrors of the French Revolution. To break down,
divide, destroy, disintegrate is the policy of many. The earthquake of
society is more to be dreaded than the quaking of the globe and we are
within measurable distance of such a catastrophe. Shall we lie down and
die? No, verily, we will not fear, though the earth is removed. If God
is our confidence we need not be afraid, though the heathen rage and
the people imagine a vain thing. The unloosing of the bond of society
is a thing to be dreaded more than an incursion of wild beasts, but the
Lord reigns and, therefore, right will prevail.

Perhaps some of you feel this sad depression of trade weighing upon
your spirits. "I do not know what is coming of it," says one. "I do not
think I shall long be able to provide for my family." Yes, but if God
is your refuge and strength, I beseech you, do not lose heart. "Trust
in the Lord, and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and verily
you shall be fed." This depression is to you what the earthquake has
been to the Riviera–but yet you must not be buried in despair. Hope
on, hope always.

"Ah," says one, "but I fear the return of persecution. Popery is making
rapid strides and may come into power again." I am not quite so much
alarmed about that as some are, but even if it were so, we must not
show the white feather. Do not be afraid! He that helps His people is
stronger than their adversaries. He can deliver from the jaws of the
lion and He will deliver without fail.

As for myself, I am often sadly tossed about because of the heresies
and false doctrines of this present age. It grieves me to the heart to
see the lack of spirituality among ministers and of holiness among
professing Christians. It cuts me to the quick to see the utter rubbish
and poison which is preached instead of Christianity. At times it looks
as if all things were going wrong! The men to whom one looked as
pillars, forsake the faith, and the staunchest give way for the sake of
peace. We are apt to cry, "What will become of us?" But if God is our
refuge and strength, we need not be afraid, even amid general apostasy!
While God lives, Truth is in the ascendant. I remember years ago
meeting with that blessed servant of God, the late Earl of Shaftesbury.
He was at Mentone with a dying daughter and he happened, that day, to
be very much downcast, as, indeed, I have frequently seen him and as, I
am sorry to confess, he has also frequently seen me.

That day he was particularly cast down about the general state of
society. He thought that the powers of darkness in this country were
having it all their own way and that, before long, the worst elements
of society would gain power and trample out all virtue. Looking up into
his face, I said to him, "And is God dead? Do you believe that while
God lives the devil will conquer Him?" He smiled and we walked along by
the Mediterranean communing together in a far more hopeful tone. The
Lord lives and blessed be my Rock! As long as the Lord lives, our hope
also lives! Gospel Truth will yet prevail! We shall live to see the old
faith to the front again! The Church, like Noah's dove, will come back
to her rest and bring something with her which shall prophesy eternal
peace.

Now, my beloved Friend, think about yourself a minute and all the
trials which may yet beset you. If you are to be afflicted with
incurable sickness and gradually to pine away amid multiplied pains,
yet you need not fear! If you are to be an invalid from this time forth
to the end of your days, yet be not greatly depressed in spirit, for
the Lord's Presence will sustain you. If heart and flesh both fail, God
will be the strength of your heart and your portion forever! By-and-by
you

and I will have to die unless the Lord should suddenly come. What then?
Then will the earth be removed, so far as we are concerned! And then,
as far as our experience goes, our mountain will be carried into the
midst of the sea! But since God is our refuge and strength we ought not
to dread the day.

Look into the Book of Revelation and you will see that tremendous
events are foretold. All things shall be shaken; all the glories of
earth shall melt away. Confusion, like the first chaos, shall cover all
things; the earth shall rock and reel and the stars shall fall from
Heaven. But even then we will not fear, since God will be our very
present help. Some people dine on horrors. They are not content unless
a future is set before them spiced with dread. I confess that I am not
of their mind. The Lord Jesus has made an end of horrors for me.
Whether we live or die, we shall be "forever with the Lord." And to be
where He is, is to be far away from fear! There will come a day when
the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall rise–but we fear not
resurrection! There shall be a day of days for which all other days
were made, with its Great White Throne, pomp of angels and judgment of
the quick and the dead, but, Beloved, though that day shall burn as an
oven, we will not fear because we are secure in Christ Jesus! Therefore
let us stand at the window and look out at the storm–and see the wreck
of matter and the crash of worlds without a trace of fear!

I thought, as I read my text, what an awful case the ungodly must be
in, for the very things which men most dread, namely, the falling of
mountains and the gaping open of the earth, will become the desire of
terrified sinners at the last! How great must be that horror which will
altogether eclipse the horror which sends myriads flying in panic from
their homes! When sinners shall see the face of Christ in His Glory,
they will beg the mountains to fall upon them and the rocks to cover
them, to hide them from the dreadful vision! The face of Love is
terrible to those who have rejected it! Oh Sinners, what will be your
anguish when you shall seek death and not find it?! What will be your
dismay when even a tottering mountain, reeling with earthquake, shall
be regarded as a friend?! Oh, that you would escape from the wrath to
come! Oh, that you would, by faith, take Jesus to be your refuge and
your strength!–

"You sinners, seek His Grace, Whose wrath you cannot bear; Fly to the
shelter of His Cross, And find salvation there."