A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Welcome to New Horizon. Please open your Bibles to Psalm 46.

Martin Luther- “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing...”

Much language that is not often used today.

Martin Luther- “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 word 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.”

He would say, “Come, let us sing the 46th Psalm, and let them do their worst.”

Read Psalm 46:1-7- “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 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.”

Pray.

Some truly awesome structures in life.

Hilton hotel in Springfield. One of my favorite buildings. Until I had to run up it as a child.

1. Images describing life.

Trouble.

Umbrella idea under which everything else falls.

Hebrew- tsara- trouble, distress, affliction, anguish, tribulation.

Not overly specific words, but instead words that are used to generally describe the difficulties of life.

In a way, the psalmist begins with the general in order to note just how difficult life can be.

Life is a balance of both the good and the bad. Bliss and trouble. And never only one, but both.

Martin Luther- “Our helper he, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.”

Brilliant use of language- a flood of mortal ills prevailing.

Guessing we can imagine this- the ills of a mortal life that seem to flood our lives and threaten to prevail against us.

Earth gives way.

Mountains be moved into the sea.

The waters of the sea roar and foam.

The mountains tremble.

The language of natural terror.

The most majestic and lasting of structures.

Mesa Verde vacation.

The psalmist goes to the greatest in order to express inclusion.

Doesn’t mention a small earthquake. Or a 12 hour rainstorm and flash flooding.

Though all these things happen. Even if these happen, God is our refuge and strength.

The earth giving way reminds us of the chaotic and uncontrollable nature of this world as it impacts our lives.

Life occurs in such a way that we never feel we truly have a grasp on those things outside of our control.

Natural disasters, illness, death. They strike immediately and without warning, reminding us that we are powerless against them.

The nations rage.

The kingdoms totter.

The language of manmade terror.

Again, to the greatest in order to express inclusion.

Not mentioning specifics, but instead and general upheaval of the manmade structures of life.

Easy to believe that what you possess, what you are currently experiencing, will always be the case.

Cinderella man- James J. Braddock- Scene at the beginning of the impact of the Great Depression.

World leaders become corrupted. World markets fall. Nations attack one another. Kingdoms crumble and cease to exist.

And we as individuals have little control over such events when they occur.

Psalmist speaks against the idolatry of trusting life as it is.

Remember, life is a mix of both bliss and trouble.

We see it in the smallness of life. Can happen on a much bigger scale.

Look at the structures of the earth, the mountains, plains, rivers, oceans, and remember that they are no place in which to find your security.

Look at the structures of people, laws, politicians, nations, and remember that they are no place in which to find your security.

Where, then, do we look?

2. Images describing God.

Refuge and strength.

Fortress.

God is on the side of His people, God is on the side of His Church.

A present help.

Importance of the word- present- something that can be found, something that can be proven- accessible.

Consider the nearness of God as a refuge. A refuge is of little help if it is distant, or far off.

A river in the city of God.

River is described as making glad or joyful the place of God’s people, referred here as a city.

No river in Jerusalem.

Instead, spiritual river.

Our greatest need is for God to dwell among us, to be present in our lives, like a river running through a city.

Oscar Jospeh- “Now we behold the gentle flow of the river, gliding through the city, with music in its ripples and sunshine in its flash and refreshment in its waters, parting into many arms and yet one in diversity, and bringing life and gladness wherever it comes. Not with noise nor tumult, but in silent communication, God’s grace and peace refresh the soul. Power is loud, but Omnipotence is silent. The roar of all the billows is weak when compared with the quiet sliding onwards of that still stream.”

We become what we trust. We are what we eat.

The storm never overtook the disciples while Jesus was in the boat (Mark 4).

God of Jacob.

God of history.

Oscar Joseph- “We reach back into the past and lay hold of the Helper of the men of old as ours. What He has been, He is; what He did, He is doing still. The river is full today, though the van of the army did long ago drink and were satisfied. The bright waters are still as pellucid and abundant as then, and the last of the rearguard will find them the same.”

The same God is at work and continues to work in the same ways. He was trustworthy then, He is trustworthy now.

3. The response of God’s people.

The psalmist lays out a process.

Realization.

We realize the emptiness and powerlessness of created people, kingdoms, riches, possessions.

Remember- the psalmist changes perspective.

Reason why mountains, waters, kingdoms were mentioned. They erode, they fail, they collapse.

The greatest possible structures in all of life will fail us, will not provide what we truly need, will not protect us as we seek protection.

This ought to lead us to look elsewhere, which takes us to step two of the process.

Trust.

The world collapses around us, where do we look? To the river and the presence of God.

This is the foundation of faith, by which we receive our salvation.

Martin Luther- “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing. You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he...”

Finally, how should we accordingly live?

Fearlessness.

Psalm 46:10- “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Imagine the audacity of the psalmist to write such words. The earth is melting and giving way, kingdoms are shattered. Be still and contemplate God.

Live without fear, live in peace.

Martin Luther- “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill: God's truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever!”

Martin Luther- “Come, let us sing the 46th Psalm, and let them do their worst.”