A Mighty Fortress Is Our God Part 1
SUMMER Psalms (2025) • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
The psalms are arranged in books or collections of psalms.
Today we find ourselves in BOOK 2.
It actually begins in Psalms 42–44 with some hard questions that every Christian asks at some point.
“Where is God? Why does he allow his people to suffer through tragedies?”
Psalm 45 begins to answer these hard questions by teaching that Christ is a mighty king and a faithful bridegroom.
God loves His people. He will not let you go.
Psalms 46–48 describe God as the king of a city who fights for his people and protects them.
These psalms are recording God’s presence in the city of Jerusalem: God’s temple and the king’s palace were both in Jerusalem.
But on this side of Calvary and Pentecost, and with the whole Bible in our hands, we recognize that these songs are describing a city that is is bigger and greater than Jerusalem in its hayest of days!
Ultimately these songs are about a better city—the heavenly Jerusalem, where God dwells with his people.
AS PEOPLE OF GOD, WE HAVE THE PROMISE OF A CITY CALLED HEAVEN.
AS PEOPLE OF GOD, WE HAVE THE REALITY OF BELONGING TO A NEW KINGDOM…
some of that, we get to experience NOW
some of that, we get to experience in Eternity
You hear this referred to often as the NOW and the NOT YET of the promises of God!
BTW, its way better than those old NOW & LATER candies from some of our childhoods.
HERE IT IS FOR YOU NOW:
You will experience trouble. But if you follow Jesus, don’t be afraid—you live in a “strong city” - THE KINGDOM OF OUR GOD!
Even when the world is shaking. God surrounds you with walls of salvation.
—-
Psalm 46 Is the basis of Martin Luther’s hymn, “a mighty fortress is our God.”
The backdrop of this Psalm is pointing to is probably found in 2 Kings 18-19; 2 Chronicles 32; Isaiah 36- 37. That may be good homework reading for you this week.
Just when you thought you were done with the Old Testament in our reading plan.
As personal a psalm 23 was when we worked through it you’ll notice that the pronouns of psalm 46 are we us and our. This song was meant to be sung together for encouragement and worship.
1. OUR PROMISE OF PROTECTION
1. OUR PROMISE OF PROTECTION
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
GOD IS
GOD IS
NOTE this Psalms begins with God!
HE IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE NOT!
HE HAS SOMETHING THAT WE DON’T!
HE KNOWS SOMETHING THAT WE CANNOT!
HE IS GOD - WE ARE NOT!
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
THIS GOD IS OUR REFUGE & STRENGTH
A VERY PRESENT HELP IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE!
REFUGE
REFUGE
The word translated “refuge” in verse 1 means “a shelter, a rock of refuge,”.
In vv7, 11 means “a stronghold, a high tower, a fortress.”
Both words declare that God is dependable when everything around them seems to be falling apart.
But He doesn’t protect us in order to pamper us.
He shelters us…to strengthen us…to SEND US BACK OUT TO THE REAL WORLD with its duties and dangers!
GOD is not just a comforting thought for tough situations.
GOD is not just a ticket out of Hell and into HEAVEN.
A refuge is ONLY as good as it is ACCESSIBLE AND ABLE TO WITHSTAND THE DANGERS AND PROVIDE SAFETY!
STRENGTH
STRENGTH
HE IS OUR JOY
HE IS OUR STRENGTH
You DO NOT have the strength in yourself to please God or live for Him day by day!
HE LITERALLY GIVES US WHAT WE NEED TO GIVE HIM WHAT HE DESIRES!
A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD - VERSE 2
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,
And He must win the battle.
VERY PRESENT HELP
VERY PRESENT HELP
“in distress, He has been SO FOUND!”
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.
HE IS THE GOD WHO IS THERE!
Wherever you find yourself…HE’S THERE.
HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU ALONE…
It doesn’t depend on how you feel
It doesn’t depend on what you see
It doesn’t depend on what you believe
It doesn’t matter how good you’ve been that day
HE IS THE GOD WHO IS THERE!
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
22 For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
5 … “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
YOU DON’ T HAVE TO RUN INTO THE TEMPLE
YOU DON’T HAVE TO GET ANYWHERE PHYSICALLY
This is the fruit and reality of the Day of Pentecost where God poured out His Spirit on
The people of GOD know the presence of GOD because of the SPIRIT of God alive IN US
He works IN US to lead us, pointing us to JESUS, so that we can point others to JESUS
GOD is WITH US!
Now the difficulty of having the Lord as our refuge is that you cannot physically see him, like you could a castle or fortress.
Yet the benefit of having the Lord as our refuge is that he is always right there.
Our refuge is only good if we can get there in time, and since the Lord is “always found,” we can run to him at any moment.
TROUBLE
TROUBLE
The word “trouble” describes people in tight places, in a corner and unable to get out!
Just saying this makes me nervous….makes my skin crawl.
I don’t like tight spaces.
I don’t like seeing people depicted in tight spaces.
Years ago when we went to Israel (2017)…
Hezekiah’s Tunnel:
Hezekiah’s Tunnel, part of Jerusalem’s water system, is located under the City of David.
It connects the Gihon Spring with the Siloam Pool. According to 2 Chronicles 32:2–4 and 2 Kings 20:20, this tunnel was dug during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judahto prepare Jerusalem for the imminent attack of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib. In the Bible, Hezekiah redirected the water through old and newly dug Jerusalem tunnels.
There were two options.
ONE THAT LOOKED LIKE THIS: (Super tight)
and another path that went on top that took you to the same place. It was not enclosed - no tight spaces.
WHILE I REALLY WANTED TO EXPERIENCE EVERYTHING I COULD ON THIS TRIP - Ashlie took the path you see on the screen; I took the open way.
Tight spaces can cause all sort of emotional, physical, and anguish.
They can impact us spiritually too.
The tight space mentioned in this text is NOT a tough email they have to respond to.
It is not having to suffer through adjusting your “out-to-eat” budget because you are a little low on funds that month.
ISRAEL IS BEING SURROUNDING HERE - IN BATTLE - ON ALMOST EVERY SIDE.
THEY ARE BEING Harassed, intimidated, bullied, threatened, and real danger is imminent.
AND THE PEOPLE OF GOD WRITE THIS SONG AND SAY…LOOK AT THE NEXT VERSE WITH ME:
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
THE RESPONSE - WE WILL NOT FEAR
FEAR NOT / DO NOT BE AFRAID = 365x in Scriptures
WHY WON’T WE BE AFRAID?
GOD IS OUR REFUGE
GOD IS OUR STRENGTH
GOD IS THERE
GOD IS A TRUE HELP
GOD IS ALWAYS RIGHT ON TIME!
He is always ON TIME for HIS PURPOSE and HIS PLEASURE
THERE IS NO TROUBLE THAT GOD CANNOT CONQUER
THERE IS NO TROUBLE THAT MAKES GOD NERVOUS
LET’S READ THE REST OF THAT THOUGHT
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. Selah
2. OUR PEACE IN CHAOS
2. OUR PEACE IN CHAOS
The picture being painted here is a world-threatening earthquake.
The ground is moving and the mountains in the seas shake, causing waters to roar and foam.
This is a disaster of cosmic proportions.
CONTEXT: In the ancient Near East, the mountains ‘in the heart of the sea’ are the pillars of the earth that also hold the sky in place. The thought of those mountains tottering suggests that the earth is about to collapse and the sky about to fall.”
Chaos is seeking to reassert itself and destroy the order of creation.
We see that so much in our culture today don’t we?
Lies trying to squeeze out the truth
Savageness trying to squeeze out civility.
Chaos trying to squeeze out order.
But, don’t you see it in your own home at times?
sometimes, we hold the door open to the seeds of chaos, don’t we? We are inviting it in.
God help us to stop that.
this is NOT the point of today’s sermon.
Rom 12:2 / JB Philips wrote
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.
THE POINT OF THE TEXT TODAY IS: In the midst of such a threat of chaos, the people of God are confessing that God is refuge and strength, and they will NOT BE AFRAID!
CONCLUSION:
CONCLUSION:
What about you?
Are you overwhelmed?
Does Chaos better describe your thought life than peaceful?
Does your world feel like its totally crumbling?
>>>> LET’S STAND
There are 2 ways for me to address this:
FOR THE CHRISTIAN
GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH
GOD IS THERE! NOT JUST AS A PASSIVE COSMIC OBSERVER
HE IS REALLY PRESENT
HE SEES YOU
HE CARES
HE CAN HANDLE IT!
GOD WILL WORK IN YOU WHILE THE WORLD IS WORKING “ON YOU”!
GET IN HIS WORD
BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
STAY CONNECTED TO THE CHURCH
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
2. FOR THE ONE LISTENING WHO IS NOT A CHRISTIAN YET…
The terror and chaos of the world coming unglued here IS NOTHING compared to the judgment coming for those who don’t put their faith and trust in Jesus
7 …when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
God CAN BE YOUR REFUGE…from His wrath
God IS YOUR STRENGTH OF SALVATION - you cannot save yourself; He has already done all the work necessary
RIGHT NOW, will you cry out to Him to save you?
If you are sensing that need even now - He IS EVER PRESENT and your Sin is the thing that is SQUEEZING YOU…to DEATH!
He can deliver you from this trouble…
You need peace in chaos…
You need Jesus…
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Repent & Believe the Gospel
LET ME STIR UP SOME ENCOURAGEMENT FOR MY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS & SISTERS:
Take a moment and reflect: How have you personally experienced God as a refuge during challenging times in your life?
What are some practical steps you can take to remind yourself of God's presence in moments of chaos?
after prayer: TELL SOMEONE THIS WEEK! MAYBE AS WE GATHER LATER…
GOD IS OUR REFUGE; WE WILL NOT FEAR
