Psalm 46 - Our Mighty Fortress

INTRODUCTION:

Interest:

We started this morning’s service by singing the great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” This is remarkably familiar hymn to most of us, having been loved by the church for centuries now. Many of you probably know something of the story how this hymn came into existence. Martin Luther wrote this hymn during the early years of the Protestant Reformation. Of course, Martin Luther himself is permanently connected with the Protestant Reformation as the Reformation itself is generally dated from is act of nailing his famous 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31st, 1517. That single act launched a written battle between Martin Luther and the Church of Rome which came to head in 1521 when Luther refused to recant of his position before the Diet of Worms, an official trial by the Church of Rome where he was charged with heresy. The result was that Luther was declared an outlaw and a heretic And was forced to go into hiding.

Luther wrote several hymns during his life, this being the most well-known, and it is unknown exactly when he composed "A Mighty Fortress” other than sometime between 1527 and 1529. What is known is that when Luther was forced into hiding in 1521, he did so in the Wartburg Castle in Germany, a solid fortress constructed on a precipice overlooking the town of Eisenach.

Involvement:

While it is unknown if Luther was visualizing this castle when he wrote this song, it is known that he was meditating upon the psalm that we will be looking at this morning. Luther paraphrased Psalm 46 and embedded images of Christ within his hymn to show that for the Christian, Christ is the solid fortress that God has provided.

Context:

Yet, even more than with the circumstances surrounding Luther’s hymn, the circumstances surrounding the writing of Psalm 46 are completely unknown. All that we can say with any certainty is that at some point it seems that Jerusalem had been attacked but God had intervened on behalf of His people and shattered the enemy. Whatever the event was, that event caused our psalmist to write this magnificent poem that we will look at today.

Preview:

Much like Martin Luther, my goal this morning is for us to meditate upon this psalm. The main idea presented by this psalm is a glorious idea: God provides a refuge for his people. That idea, though, demands a response from God's people. This proper response really is the lesson that we should learn this morning as we think on this psalm: Our faith in God is displayed through our response during difficulties.

Our psalm naturally breaks into three sections, three stanzas. Each stanza is most likely divided in your Bible. Each stanza is also marked off by the word “Selah.” I would expect that you probably have that word printed on the right-hand side of the column in most of your Bibles. I don’t believe that I have mentioned this term since we started working our way through the second book of the Psalter, but it is found fairly often in the Psalms. It is most likely a musical notation of some kind. This term “Selah” may have indicated a musical interlude or a change in intensity or some other kind of modulation as these psalms were put to music. We should remember that the psalms were the songbook of ancient Israel. In fact, the superscription over this psalm says that it was for the choir director. Martin Luther was following a strong historical precedence when he put these ideas to song.

Transition from introduction to body:

Our faith in God is displayed through our response during difficulties. In the first 3 verses, the focus is on the fact that…

BODY:

I. God provides our safety

Read these verses with me please…<read Ps 46:1-3>.

The song begins with this wonderful confession of faith in God; It presents God in a very personal way. Notice also, though, that this is a corporate confession of faith; it talks about “our” God. God provides our safety.

Transition:

But why must God provide our safety? The reason that we see presented in these verses is because…

A. The world will generate chaos

There is no indication in this first stanza that the nation had faced any sort of military attack. Rather, the imagery that is used is one of natural disaster. The psalmist pictures of the whole earth as if it were in chaos--mountains are shaking and waters are roaring. He uses these word pictures to describe the feelings that come over him when the whole world seems to come suddenly crashing down all around.

Illustration

Many of you can likely relate to this idea of being surrounded by chaos right now. We have had it on a small scale in my house over the past couple of weeks as Grace has taken on a sewing project. She has taken up the task of sewing skull caps for several of her nurse friends. Now that the nurses are being forced to wear face masks all day long, they are having troubles with their hair getting tangled in the elastic, so they've taken to wearing these caps over their heads. Grace has sown many of these caps over the past couple of weeks, and in the process our dining room has looked like a small cloth explosion.

For those of you suddenly thrust into the world of homeschooling, you probably feel like your world is in total chaos now as you try to get your children to do their lessons each day through the online options they have been given. Others of you are having to adjust to the disruption that comes from having your spouse in the house all day long. And all of us are surrounded by a world faced with sudden change, causing it to feel like we're surrounded by chaos.

Transition:

Well, what we should recognize from our psalm is that the world will always generate chaos. The particular form of chaos will vary from time to time and place to place, but the fact of its existence will be a regular element of life. This is why we need the second point that is brought out in these first 3 verses;…

B. God sustains us in every difficulty

This is really the idea that the psalmist begins this psalm with…the well-known verse 1, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” In this verse , we have 3 wonderful word pictures the describe how God's presence is there protecting His people in their time of difficulty.

First, God is our “refuge,” meaning that He is the One who protects us from life's troubles. He is the place where we go to recover in a safe and secure environment.

Second, God is our “strength,” indicating that He is the One who enables the righteous to do what they need to do. When we are to weak and frail to carry on, God gives us the ability to take one more step of obedience.

Third, God is our “help,” meaning that God will step in and do for His people what they are unable to do for themselves. The word that we have translated as “trouble” at the end of the verse is a word that means being caught in a strait or finding ourselves in a tight bind so that we are unable to move on our own. When that happens, God is there to “help” us by pulling us through to where we can move again.

Application

This is who our God is; He is the God who provides our safety. Our faith though is displayed by how we respond to this truth. The world will generate chaos for us. We need to remember that God sustains us in every difficulty and refuse to let the chaos overwhelm us. Our Faith shows itself when the chaos of the world around us drives us to our knees, clinging to the safety we find in God through prayer rather than responding with stress and frustration. How have you been responding to the chaos that has crashed around you over the past month? Have you responded by spending more time in prayer in the word of God? Or have you responded by worry and negativity?

Transition:

God provides our safety. Our faith in God is displayed through our response during difficulties.

In the second stanza of this Psalm we find another truth,

II. God provides our stability

Let's read this stanza…<read Ps 46:4–7>.

The image of a refuge gives way in this stanza to that of a stronghold, a stronghold that stands secure and unshakable. It is a place of stability provided by God to His people.

Transition:

In these verses it is clear that the city of Jerusalem has been attacked by nations who mounted an assault against the people of God. From this, we should recognize that…

A. The world will generate attacks

The particulars are not significant, what the psalmist wants us to see is that the nations had risen up against God's people. They are described in verse 6 as making an “uproar.” That word “uproar” is the very same word that our writer used to describe the noise that the crashing sea made in verse 3. The nations are pictured as crashing against the city where God's people were located.

Application

The benefit of not knowing the particulars of this attack is that it allows it to represent all attacks that come against the people of God. It allows us to be reminded that we will regularly experience attacks from those who hate God. It allows us to expect that we will frequently hear of more and more attacks.

Illustration

Even now, during this coronavirus pandemic, we hear of attacks against God's people. For example, most of you have probably heard of the mayor in Mississippi who tried to fine churchgoers for gathering for services in the parking lot in their cars. The logic of this opposition fails when examined against the goal of slowing the spread of the virus. It is clear that these actions can have no direct impact on preventing the spread of the virus as the people were not physically interacting with each other. Rather, the motivation for these fines appeared to be a antagonism directed toward God's people which likely point to an underlying hatred of God.

We can rejoice that we have not experienced similar attacks directed against Christianity and worship in our state at this time, but we really should not be surprised whenever we hear of such. Nor, should we be surprised should we experience such ourselves.

Transition:

The world will generate attacks because the world rages against God and His people. What we must remember, though, is what the rest of this stanza teaches;…

B. God sustains us in every difficulty

God sustains us in every difficulty. The very same idea as presented in the first verse of this psalm. While it may seem as if the world is aflame, God remains unshaken. He is the constant source of stability for His people. In fact, if the people of God are attacked, it are those who attack who are actually shaken as we are told in verse 6. See there were it says that the kingdoms “totter”? That is the same word as is translated as “slip” in verse 2. It is also the same word that is translated as “moved”” in verse 5. No matter how hard the world attempts to shake God’s people, in the end those who attack God are the ones who are shaken. God’s people cannot be moved because God sustains them.

The challenge comes for the people of God to remember this truth. The people of God must remember that they have God's presence, He dwells with them. Verse 7 rings out this truth with a refrain focusing on the covenant connection that the nation had with God. He is the “Lord of hosts”—“Yahweh of hosts,” the God who has mighty armies at His disposal to face any attack that comes. He is the “God of Jacob,” the covenant-making, covenant-keeping God of the patriarchs. This is the God who is their fortress.

Application

This is, also our God. If you are listening today and you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior; you are in a covenant relationship with God. Faith means that you accept that you are a sinner deserving of punishment because you have sinned against a holy God. Faith means that you believe that a just God must punish your Sin. Faith means that you believe that a loving God sent His own Son, Jesus to take that punishment in your place. Faith means that you believe that in grace, God will accept Jesus’s death as the payment for your sin on your behalf. Faith means that you are no longer trying to earn God's favor through your own actions; you are now resting entirely upon the work of Christ. Faith means that you have a covenant relationship with the covenant-making, covenant-keeping God who created the new covenant through Jesus Christ, a covenant that is ratified in your life when you place your faith in Jesus.

This is the God who cannot be shaken as the world throws attacks at Him by attacking His people. This is the God who will sustain us in every attack. Do you trust in this God? Notice, that verse 4 shows that understanding of the stability of God makes the people of God glad. Do you have joy because of the stability that God brings? Do you have joy knowing that God sustains you in every difficulty? Do you have joy that God is your stronghold? Our faith is revealed by our response to the truth that He provides stability amid any and every attack.

Transition:

God provides our stability. The world will generate attacks. But God sustains us in every difficulty. Our faith in God is displayed through our response during difficulties.

In the final stanza of our psalm, we see that…

III. God provides our stillness

Read these final verses with me…<read Ps 46:8-11>

Did you notice as we read these verses that the tone changed? Where is the previous sections we're celebrating truths about God, this section issues a call to come and respond to God. To come and behold the works of God.

Transition:

What works of God are we to see? The first thing to notice is that…

A. The world will experience judgment

So often, it seems as if the response that scripture holds out to us for dealing with hostility directed toward us as the people of God is just a reminder that God will judge. That is what we have here. God is the One who will bring desolation to the earth in verse 8. That word “desolation” carries the idea of horrific or atrocious events. The particular form of desolation that is presented in this section is that of judgment. God is going to bring judgment upon the enemies of His people so that they will be crushed. Their weapons of war will be annihilated—their bows will be broken, their spears will be cut in two, their chariots will be burned. In other words, their might will be shattered when God judges them.

Judgment, though, can have a redemptive purpose. There is an invitation issued in this verse to come and see the works of God that goes beyond the current people of God. We see this truth most clearly in verse 10 where the nations who are currently opposed to God are called upon to “cease striving.” I know that many of the English versions translate verse 10 with the phrase “be still.” In fact, that translation has made this verse a well-loved verse by God's people to picture a quiet stillness that God’s people should have in their knowledge of Him. The original word in the Hebrew, though, carries the idea of “ceasing” or to abandon” an action rather than the idea of being quiet. And in the context, it is actually directed against those currently engaged in hostility against God’s people so “cease striving” is a good translation. The idea is that those in rebellion against God are called upon to stop their rebellion. They are to recognize God for who He is, and exalt Him across the earth.

Application

We need to recognize that God will be exalted; nothing that anyone attempts can possibly prevent that from coming about. God will be exalted through judgment. God will be exalted through repentance. We see this idea clearly in Philippians chapter 2 when we are told that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord do the glory of God the Father. We need not worry whether God will be exalted or not.

But we are called upon to issue the call to repent while there is time. We are called to inform people of the judgment that is coming. We are called to warn them that they will experience judgment personally for their current rebellion against God. We are called to issue an invitation to cease striving against God now, while they can. We are called to encourage them to repent while there is still time into exalt God for His forgiveness so that they will not be found exalting Him through their judgment. In other words, we are called to give the gospel message of Jesus Christ to those who need it, even those who are hostile to us because of our faith. Too often our response to those who are hostile to us because of our faith is that of trying to avoid their hostility by avoiding them. Our proper response should be to call them to cease their rebellious striving while they can by trusting in Jesus themselves.

Transition:

The world will experience judgment. This truth is intended to be a comfort to us. That truth should also remind us that

B. God sustains us in every difficulty

The refrain of verse 7 is repeated in the final verse of this Psalm. It really is the same idea as laid down in the very first verse. Yet now, because of the context reminding us that the world will experience God's judgment, this final time it expresses gratitude on behalf of God's people. Gods people can express their faith because they know that God will set the record straight in the end. This reminder allows God’s people to “be still” in the sense that this psalm really represents—a ceasing of their own striving. God is still with His people. It does not matter what attack God’s people experience from a hostile world; God is still their stronghold. Nor do God's people need to take up the battle themselves; God's people do not need to seek their own salvation. God's people have already ceased their own striving against God, and for that reason God’s people can cease their striving against every difficulty that comes into their life.

Now, this does not mean the God’s people are passive, unaware of what is happening around them. No, the Christian life for God’s people is far from a passive life. What it means is that God's people's focus is on serving God regardless of what happens around them. God’s people are concerned with obedience to God’s word and will not allow the circumstances of life to distract them. Stillness for God’s people is a stillness that results in a singleness of focus—the focus of faith.

Application

This has real-life impact for us. A focus of faith that believes that God sustains us in every difficulty allows us to resist the temptation to worry when the world crashes around us. This focus of faith allows us to resist responding to hostility with hostility ourselves. This focus of faith allows us to respond with love to hatred and with joy to hardship. This focus of faith is found by remembering that God sustains us in every difficulty because He is with us, and He is our stronghold.

This repeated refrain is one that God's people need to hear again and again. There is nothing that can take our gaze away from God and strain our faith faster than difficulties in life. We need a regular reminder that God is with us. We need a regular reminder that God provides our stillness.

Illustration

Weekly worship is one way we get this regular reminder that God provides our stillness. We need to be taken back on a regular basis to the word of God. We need to be re-centered in our thoughts and emotions on a regular basis. We need to be surrounded by others who will encourage us find joy during difficulties. We need be reminded that we are not going through our difficulties alone, but that God is with us. Let me encourage you during this time when we are unable to physically gather, be faithful to the regular reminder that you need; join our live stream services faithfully. Also, let me encourage you to seek out every opportunity to engage with each another. Be creative about it, much like Erin Smith was this past week when she set up a Zoom time for people to simply talk. Send each other notes of encouragement. Remind each other to thank God that He sustains us in every difficulty. Remember, it is how we respond to difficulties that displays our faith.

Transition from body to conclusion:

God provides our stillness. The world will experience judgment; God sustains us in every difficulty. Our faith in God is displayed through our response during difficulties.

CONCLUSION

God provides our safety. God provides our stability. God provides our stillness. Our faith in God is displayed through our response during difficulties.

In Martin Luther’s well-crafted words:

A mighty fortress is our God,

a bulwark never failing;

our helper he, amid the flood

of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe

does seek to work us woe;

his craft and power are great,

and armed with cruel hate,

on earth is not his equal.

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;

Lord Sabaoth his name,

from age to age the same;

and he must win the battle.

Our faith in God is displayed through our response during difficulties.