A Mighty Fortress

Preliminary:

Invite to Psalm 46.

The Reformation was a time fraught with all types of theological and doctrinal turmoil and out of it came somewhat of a clarity or at least all of the tangled threads of thought were gathered up and tied together into a five neat little ribbons if you will even if it took us till the twentieth century.

It produced the Five Sola’s - we are not going to talk about them tonight at length but I’ll just share them with you briefly

•Sola Gratia (grought - ee- ah) – Saved by grace alone

•Sola fide – through faith alone

•Sola Christus – In Christ alone

•Sola Scriptura – according to scripture alone

•Sola deo Gloria – For the glory of God alone

The Reformation was pushed along yes by the teaching and preaching of Martin Luther - but you know what his detractors feared the most?

HIS MUSIC -

Then Sings My Soul Special Edition: 150 of the World's Greatest Hymns Stories A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

In the forward of a book, Luther once wrote: ‘‘Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits . . . . A person who . . . does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God . . . does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.’’

We would not have congregational music were it not for Martin Luther

Luther wrote: “Let God speak directly to his people through the Scriptures, and let His people respond with grateful songs of praise.”

He also said...

•“If any would not sing and talk of what Christ has wrought for us, he shows thereby that he does not really believe.”

It wasn’t the early Methodists who were men of two books - that came from Martin Luther - The Bible and a Hymnbook was the preacher’s standard church tools and resources.

His detractors feared and often lamented that the German people were singing themselves into Luther’s terrible doctrines, and that his hymns destroyed more souls than all of his writings and sermons.

Luther is recorded by some historian’s and hymnologists to have written over 100 songs. Now his songs were still heavily influenced by the Metrical Psalm singing of that day - but we are given a little more of Luther’s creative side in a paraphrase of Psalm 46 which became his most famous hymn and is called the Battle Hymn of the Reformation

Luther who is said to have had a fine tenor voice and a master of flute and guitar - when he would face difficulty or danger would often resort to A Mighty Fortress is our God by saying to his associate, “Come, Philipp, let us sing the 46th Psalm.”

Read Psalm 46

Psalm 46 KJV 1900

To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. 1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, What desolations he hath made in the earth. 9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot in the fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Now Luther’s hymn as we have it in our hymn book is a translation of what he wrote in German. There have been over 100 known English translations - and those translations are going to vary in language. But I want to use Frederic Henry Hodge’s translation which is the one we have in our hymnal (p.41)

OUTLINE

Confessing God’s Protection (1-3)

God is our refuge and strength - a very present help in trouble

Then Luther writes: “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing”

A fortress - A fortress was used as a metaphor to describe God as our defense. He is mighty to guard, protect, and keep his people safe.

A bulwark - A “bulwark” refers to a defensive wall or fortification that is part of the fortress. So a bulwark that never fails is a wall of a fortress that can never be breached or broken into.

So God is a fortress and bulwark - a refuge and strength.

Psalmist says: A very present help in trouble

Luther writes - Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing

The flood of “mortal ills” that befall us as God’s people can be more than just sicknesses;these mortal ills could be any hard times or circumstanceshumans face on earth. God is our helper in the midst of all these challenges we face.

Luther continues: “For still our ancient foe - that would be Satan - doth seek to work us woe - to he is working to bring woe—danger, distress, or worse—upon us.

His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal

Satan’s craft—his diabolical skill and cleverness—and his power are both significant, in comparison to our power. There is no equal to him on earth. No human could stand against him. To top it off, he hates believers. His main aim on earth is to steal, kill, and destroy God’s work and God’s people. Let’s just say this verse ends on a very negative note.

Experiencing God’s Presence (4-7)

The Psalmist talks in this section about how “God is in the midst of her…[the city of God] she shall not be moved - God shall help her, and that right early....The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Luther seems to encapsulate this in his next verse

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: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His name, from age to age the same

“Lord Sabaoth” simply means “Lord of Hosts.” “Hosts” is not talking about hospitality, by the way; it’s talking about armies—armies of angels. Jesus is the Lord of the armies of angelic warriors of heaven.

Zechariah 4:6 “6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, Saith the Lord of hosts.”

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Terminology

The phrase “Lord of Hosts” communicates God’s role as a warrior who fights both in the cosmic conflict against divine forces and through human historical events for His people, Israel. The phrase appears 285 times in the Old Testament, with a high concentration in the Prophets (especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).

Luther is trying to remind us that we are no match for our ancient foe who is out to work us woe - but we have the right MAN on our side - the man of God’s own choosing - and this Man - CHRIST JESUS is the same yesterday today and forever HE IS LORD SABAOTH - and HE MUST WIN THE BATTLE

It’s not just “He must” win, as if it’s our only hope if he wins(though that is absolutely true); this implies a certainty that Jesus will win the battle. He must win, because there’s no other possible outcome in this war. It’s a foregone conclusion..

Acknowledging God’s Power (8-11)

Verse 3 reads:

Near to the Heart of God: Meditations on 366 Best-Loved Hymns October 31: A Mighty Fortress

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him.

WE WILL NOT FEAR -

Psalms We Will Not Fear

Psalm 46, a psalm of radical trust in the face of overwhelming threat, invites people of faith to hold steady before nameless dangers. This was a popular psalm after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, or the October 1987 earthquake in Southern California. It was widely read after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that devastated Asian seacoasts.

It was also one of the psalms read when people flocked to churches following the September 11, 2001, terror attack on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Human-created terror instills fear. However, responding out of fear usually accentuates violence, as it did following the 9/11 event and the following wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

We don’t have to fear

…we refuse to fear, because God has already decided that his truth will win the war.

Then catch something I find amazing and powerful - “WE WILL NOT FEAR - that’s good, but then Luther goes on - “FOR GOD HATH WILL HIS TRUTH TO TRIUMPH...” oh he could have stopped there and that is enough to shout about but he goes on look at that little clause

FOR GOD HATH WILLED HIS TRUTH TO TRIUMPH THROUGH US

And the amazing part is that his truth will triumph through his people! We get to play a part in his victory.

The Prince of Darkness is another title for Satan. And he is grim, or worrisome or harsh. But we are not afraid of him—we don’t tremble for him.

This ancient foe - this worker of woe we don’t have to fear becuase the right Man is on our side - because the LORD of SABAOTH is here and we don’t have to tremble for the Prince of Darkness grim

because ONE LITTLE WORD FROM THE LORD OF SABAOTH WILL FELL HIM!!!

Revelation 20:10 “10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

The devotional we use for staff devotions this week put it this way - “The Devil will take a final dip in the fiery pool”

All our woe, distress, fear, persecution, hardship, trials - in one final word from THE WORD will fell him

Near to the Heart of God: Meditations on 366 Best-Loved Hymns October 31: A Mighty Fortress

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;

The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth:

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;

The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,

His kingdom is forever.

This is a direct reference to Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:28: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

The powers that be may kill your body. But God’s truth goes on. God’s word will never fail. And God’s word promises eternal life to those that believe in Christ.

We have a mighty fortress GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH

Remember that this week.