Reformation Day 2024

Text: “7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:7)

Let me read you parts of two psalms. Which one seems more accurate? Which one sounds closer to what you experience each day?

“22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! 24 Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? 25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. 26 Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!” Psalm 44:22–26

…And the second. Again, which sounds closer to your personal experience?

“1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46)

Which seems more realistic: “God is our refuge and strength” (Psalm 46:1) and “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Psalm 46:7) or “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered” (Romans 8:36)?

“God is our refuge and strength”

Where is that refuge when evil people set out to destroy countless lives? You know very well the damage that other people have done to your life and to the lives of those close to you. Where were you supposed to flee in those moments? What refuge were you supposed to look for?

It would really be nice, wouldn’t it? It would not even need to be all the time, right? God is busy. He has a lot of people to look after. It would not need to be 24/7. But occasionally— some days more than others— a refuge would be nice. You can handle the stupidity you deal with every day, right? But then there are other days when you really need that refuge. It would not need to be 24/7, but it would be nice to have, at least when you call for it.

“God is our refuge and strength.”

Where was that strength the other night when you were overcome by that same temptation for the umpteenth time? A little bit more of that strength would have come in really handy right about then. The spirit was willing— mostly— but the flesh was weak. It has proved to be awfully weak— again and again and again and again....

“The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. ...9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.”

Nations are raging every single day. The bows and spears still seem pretty effective. In fact, they’re bigger and stronger and more effective. They’re definitely not broken yet. When, exactly, will He start “making wars cease to the end of the earth”?

“Be still, and know that I am God.” We’re waiting. Any time. Whenever you’re ready. “1  O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: 2  you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; 3  for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them” (Psalm 44:1-3). We are not asking for anything like that, but give us something. We’re waiting.

“A Mighty Fortress is our God”— those are nice words to sing when you are all dressed up on a Sunday morning. But are you still singing them on Monday morning? Are you still singing them on Wednesday afternoon? Are you still singing them late on Friday night? Where is this fortress? “The Lord of hosts is with us”? Where, exactly?

You know the answer. The Virgin has conceived and given birth to a Son who is Immanuel— God with us. It might be easy to question that first line— “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”— if that line is all you focus on. Remember all of the words of the hymn— For you fights the Valiant One whom God, Himself, elected. He took on human flesh to make your enemies His enemies, as well. On Good Friday, that battle raged. Even though it may have looked like the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh had the upper hand when He breathed His last, His empty tomb on Sunday morning removed any doubt that His victory has been won. The Kingdom yours remaineth.

It would be wonderful if God being our ‘fortress’ meant that he put up impenetrable walls around you, keeping anything unpleasant safely away from you. That is not the ‘fortress’. The ‘fortress’ is the cross of Jesus Christ where your sinful flesh was put to death.

The refuge is the baptsimal font where you were joined to Christ in His Victory— you were buried with Him, through baptism, into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead you, too might live a new life (Romans 6:1-3).

Sin need not disturb you any longer. You are baptized into Christ. You have comfort even stronger: Jesus’ cleansing sacrifice. Should a guilty conscience seize you, since your Baptism did release you, in a dear forgiving flood, sprinkling you with Jesus’ blood. Now that to the font you’ve travelled, all the devil’s might has come unravelled and against his tyrrany, Christ your Lord unites with you. The refuge is your baptism. You are baptized into Christ.

The refuge is the confessional. He invites you to bring your guilt and your shame and, rather than concealing it in darkness, or vainly trying to cover it with self-righteousness, you are able to confess it and receive the free and full forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

The refuge is the communion rail. He invites you here to eat and to drink of the same body and blood that He gave and shed for you on the cross. Here, the same strength that was able to endure the suffering of the cross is given to you.

For now, you do cling to that promise by faith: “A Mighty Fortress Is Your God.” It is a promise that you cling to in spite of what you see and feel every day. The nations will continue to rage. Evil people will continue to try to destroy you and those you love. But they will not succeed. They are not succeeding even now. Because what they intend for evil, God is using for Good. Even before you knew your need and cried out to Him for help, He was ready with a sign to assure you that He will not fail to bring that good to completion. This will be a sign for you: the Virgin has conceived and given birth to a Son who is Immanuel— God with you.

And the day is coming when you will receive the final deliverance from this evil world. “15  [You will stand] before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter [you] with his presence. 16  [You] shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike [you], nor any scorching heat. 17  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be [your] shepherd, and he will guide [you] to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from [your] eyes” (Revelation 7:15-17).

Psalm 44 may sound more realistic: “Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered” (Psalm 44:22). But “God is [your] refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore [you] 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” (Psalm 46:1-3). That is His gift to you in Jesus Christ.