Trinity Fellowship

David was a man after Gods heart yet he suffered immensely. Questions of "why?" and "how long?" are common in his prayers. Many experience the feeling of pain when abandoned by others but the pinnacle of darkness is to feel abandoned by God. In spite of this David endured the darkness and found the resolve acknowledge God"s sovereign goodness. We can only claim this hope through the gospel. Since Christ was abandoned and accursed on our behalf , even through the darkness, we to can find joy and strength in his saving work.

The book of Psalms is a royal hymnbook that instructs us in the law of the Lord and tells us of his anointed king by working to move the truth of God from our heads to our hearts. That we would not just know the truth, but love and treasure it also. Psalm 46 does just that as it is an affirmation of faith that God is a refuge, a fortress for his covenant people. He is our remedy for fear in the midst of a tumultuous world, not just in general hardships, but specifically amidst the nations' rebellion against God and his anointed king. But God is not just our safe haven, the Lord is a warrior who fights for his people and makes peace on the earth by defeating his enemies. And while this psalm reflects upon a time of deliverance for Israel, it anticipates the ultimate deliverance of God's people when our warrior-king Jesus will silence all opposition and establish his rule on the earth.

a. David took his refuge in the Lord, as we all should. God is the creator and sustainer of all things. All things are under His providential rule and reign, and He has committed Himself to the redemption of His fallen creation. This means we have nothing to fear. The temptation to be anxious, to panic, and to fear means we often look for a way of escape instead of for a way to advance. David resisted the short-sighted counsel of his friends, and we need to likewise resist the voices and urges which would have us take the easy way out. Because the Lord sits enthroned in heaven. we have nothing to fear. The difficulties He sends are not designed to destroy but to strengthen those who are in Christ. Those who remain outside of Christ will indeed be destroyed and removed, in order for the righteous to claim their promised inheritance. The Lord's eyes miss nothing, and all will be set right. The same difficulties that destroy the wicked are fitting you to enjoy the presence and the gifts of the Lord forever.

Marriage and family are key pieces of the story that God is telling in His cosmos. The one flesh union between a man as covenant head and a woman who is building her home ideally pictures Christ as the true and perfect covenant head, building His kingdom through the work of His bride, the church. The union is close, intimate, life-giving, and fruitful. Christian childrearing is a means of fruitfulness, dominion, and fulfilling the Great Commission no differently than evangelism and missions, and we need to treat it with the same spiritual weight. Glory is always heavy, and this is why joy can indeed accompany even heartbreak, confusion, and exhaustion. Our charge in this series is for your eyes to be opened to the glory all around you. Being a man is glorious. Being a woman is glorious. Marriage is glorious, and the little people that result from that marriage bond are glorious. Christian, you are surrounded by glory on all sides. Ask the Spirit to help you see it, and then labour in the heavy joy as you fulfill your calling as man or woman, wherever God has placed you, determining to return His gifts back to Him 30, 60, or even 100-fold.

A woman's glory is her ability to fill and beautify the creation. After God made the man, He saw it was not good for him to be alone. Man without a woman is like Christ without a church. Nothing already made was up to this high and honourable calling, and so the situation called for a fresh creation from God. God made the man for dominion, and next He makes the woman for the man. Together, their task becomes both possible and rewarding. The woman is the glory of the man, which means she is the glory of the glory. She is the crowning jewel, the finishing touch, the magnum opus of creation. Her beauty, her diligence, and her tenderness ideally suit her for her calling to fill, create, nurture, and beautify. As she does this, she gains the love and the trust of her husband, her children, her church, and her community. The glory she has received from on high fills creation such that it redounds back to God many times over. A godly woman is a force multiplier. Women, what is God calling you to this week? Do you need to put your phone down to be more intentional with your little ones? Do you need to drop something else that is a distraction from your central calling? How can you use your glory to equip your husband to excel at his calling? Can you see the glory in the mundane task of sending little eternal people out into the world? Are there places outside your home that could be blessed by your gifts? You were made for fullness and beauty. This is your glory in Christ.

Sunday School discussion dedicated to the sermon series on biblical masculinity and femininity.