- Psalmody: Psalm 119:46; 34:1–2, 11, 22; Psalm 48:1, 12–13; Psalm 48:14; Psalm 118:16–17; Psalm 12:7
- Lection: Revelation 14:6–7; Romans 3:19–28; Matthew 11:12–15
In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today we remember the Lutheran Reformation; the events, the people that God aused to return His Church to the purity and truth of His Holy Word just over 500 years ago. A lowly monk had questions that he wanted to discuss with the learned men of the Church, because his own wrestling with and meditation upon the Scriptures had opened his eyes to the spiritual danger Christ’s Church was increasingly facing due to doctrines and desires of men being exalted above those of God. It is by this eventually-former monk that we have our namesake: Evangelical Lutherans; Christians benefitting from the hard work and sacrifice of Martin Luther that helped bring us back to being people true to the Gospel, bona fide Evangelicals. Luther gave much, taught much, administered much, sacrificed much, yet he would be glad to step aside and decrease, just as John the Baptist sought to do, and point to the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, so that Christ may increase among us even here today.
We shall though make a little more use of Dr. Luther by following his pointing finger to the Scriptures, by following the voice, by following his pen, his poetry that he put to music in edifying song. Our hymn of the day is the great Reformation battle cry “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” a true, Christian staple of confidence in the Almighty One to whom all believers belong by His good gifts and Spirit. Luther crafted his words well, but the source of their truth laid not in him or any other created man, but in the Spirit of God. Psalm 46 is the basis for the hymn that has become a Lutheran theme song, and upon the much older spiritual song we will ponder this morning. There are 11 verses to it by our numbering, a shorter yet bold psalm, the entirety of which we shall walk through, thinking upon this Mighty Fortress Who is our God, Who is exalted far above all other places to which we could look for help.
Thus, verse one: “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” One verse and already we confess in accordance with the Scriptures that there is a God, and that this God is something to, in, with, and for us. This Almighty One is our refuge and strength. With these words we are taught that if He is a refuge, our refuge, then a refuge must be needed. We walk in danger all the way, danger that makes refuge necessary. If He is our strength, then we are weak, even if we deny it to be true and continue striving in vain day after day to rely upon our own strength. We are weak and feeble on our own as is seen in how easy it is to bring about our death. We are soft creatures. One car crash, one exact stab, one simple ruptured blood vessel is all it takes. We must prepare our food well to avoid sickness, while the rest of the animals simply eat. We are not invincible regardless of how much we keep trying to convince ourselves that we can stave off death by our efforts or inventions. God numbers our days, which goes to show just how evil the world’s rulers and governments can become by seeking to snatch the Kingdom from the Son. He is our very present help in trouble, in all the trouble ever to happen to us, including any that burdens our minds or hearts, be it from the devil and the world or the trouble that we struggle with within by confronting our sin.
Verses two and three: “Therefore [since God is our refuge, strength and very present help], will not we fear, though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Even if true disasters strike where your eyes witness the earth itself literally falling away, lands crumbling into the sea as it rages in chaotic turmoil, if the refuge and strength that you have in God is enough to face even that without fear, then it is more than enough for standing firm in the Truth when and where He is proclaimed into your ear and placed upon your tongue. Do not cower at the words of man, his talk, his philosophies, his demands, or the devil with his nullified accusations when you have the strength of God on your side against it all; a strength so complete that by it you are to fear not even mountains crumbling before your eyes. Who are they when compared to God? Believe Who God is. Repent of doubting Him, of your trust in other false gods, of your hope in earthly might that can be carried away into the midst of the sea by one little word from the Lord that can fell all threat to the soul. Pray for the Lord of Hosts to help your unbelief, because you know that the trouble that you face isn’t only from out there. You know what troubles you when you sit at home when you peer into your secrets. You know what troubles you when you lie down at night, when you go about your tasks, when you visit the doctor, when you get one of those phone calls, when you encounter others in need and your reluctance to help. You know your struggles with anxiety, or with worry, or with depression, or with aches and pain, or with disease, or with grief over sin finally acknowledged and seen in its effect. You know that you need not look far to see that there is trouble upon you. And you know that you need not look far for your very present help in trouble. God is your refuge. God is your strength. Though the world itself crumble around you or the turmoil within seem to overtake you, in whatever shape it shows up as, do not fear. Your Mighty Fortress is trustworthy in all things. Don’t doubt but believe in Him.
Further with the psalm, “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.” Where is this city, this holy habitation? It is where He promises to be for you in His Church in His Word and Sacrament! “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.” God will help you by His blessed means. This is promise and God keeps every promise that He makes. Do not doubt. Do not allow any shred of unbelief to dwell within you in any way regarding whether God is a capable fortress, whether God is good to you, whether He tends to your every need. He does, without fail. He is in your midst. Look where you know where to find Him for your refuge, for your strength, for your help. Because of Him, you shall not be moved.
We continue: “The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered his voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our fortress.” A mighty Place is He with unbreakable protection and refuge, a truly fortified high place. The psalmist confesses that God is our fortress, and indeed the LORD of hosts is a mighty One. Not nations; they rage. Man thinks that in them is power. Such foolishness will have its day. Justice will be served by the Coming Judge of both the living and the dead. Those without hope in Him strive to make this life a utopia that serves fleeting desires before time runs out. The kingdoms totter because they are built on the strength, desires, and foolishness of man, and shall be ruined by such contributions. Only one Kingdom shall have no end and its King reigns with all authority from Heaven on high. Those who lived on the plain in the land of Shinar thought that they could make a name for themselves by building up for themselves a name equal to or above the name of God. They fell into the same temptation that Satan placed before Adam and Eve in the Garden: “Do this and you will be like God.” Those drunk on power do not aim to sober up. Do not be fooled. Do not trust them. They will fall. The Lord will judge them. He utters His voice, the earth melts. But for you, beloved, hear and take comfort that in all this, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Yahweh, the Ancient of Days Who commands the mighty armies of heaven is your refuge. He is with you. The God of Jacob, the True One of the Promise of salvation, He is your mighty fortress.
Verses 8 and 9: “Come, behold the works of the LORD, What desolations he hath made in the earth. 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.” In all that rages inside and outside of you, even as all that is against God rages with its most ferocity, it is the LORD Who overcomes them. For you fights the Valiant One, the Christus Victor, the Victorious Christ, Jesus Christ is He of Sabaoth Lord, Who has purchased and won you by winning the battle in which you at one time, dead in your trespasses, stood against Him in your sin, and there’s no other God. He counted you not as enemy, but as His mission, His desire, His treasure, His prize, His own beloved and thus He died so that you may live. Facing this battle of true life and death, the war that was waged with your very soul at stake, along with all the other sinful tottering and raging of worldliness going on every day, the victory over it all does not depend on you. He is with you every step of the way. Even as trials and tribulations bear down on you in full force, the Lord says, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” You need not struggle in your own strength, in your own understanding, in your own ability to endure, because it is the Lord Who is God. Be still and trust Him to fight for you, to be your very present Help. He is what you need. Even when His paths lead through suffering that comes by His hand for your endurance of faith, He is fighting for you. He is your refuge against the worst that the devil, the world, and your sinful nature can throw at you. He is your strength. He is your Mighty Fortress.
In all that you face today and in whatever is still yet to come, always seek His refuge here. Do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred. Cling to Him through it. The Reformation is monumental for us because by its return to this Mighty Fortress, by its unwavering dedication to godliness, goodness, and salvation as given to us in God’s Word and Sacrament, we are again here in the Lord’s house, in Him, our refuge, receiving His strength. Protect this in your life, yea, with your life, and trade it for nothing. Go forth in confidence from above because the LORD of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our Mighty Fortress.
In ✠ Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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