Reformation Sunday October 26, 2014 A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD (PSALM 46:1-11) 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear, He burns the shields 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 Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah Introduction: Often called the Battle Hymn of the Reformation, Martin Luther's A Mighty Fortress Is Our God has been translated into almost every known language. During times when the Reformation seemed utterly lost, Luther would say to his dear friend Philip Melanchthon, Let's sing the forty-sixth Psalm. A Mighty Fortress draws its inspiration from Psalm 46. Luther wrote at least 35 other hymns. (By the way, as a young student, Luther earned money to pay his school fees by singing in the streets of Eisenach. Luther also played the lute, and singing always was an important part of his life.)
A Mighty Fortress so captured the spirit of the Protestant Reformation that when Protestant emigrants were forced into exile or when martyrs went to their death, A Mighty Fortress always seemed to be the song they chose to sing. Let us examine four key terms in this powerful and inspirational Psalm 46, and then all the more catch the spirit of the Reformation in our own hearts and lives. Focusing on These Four Terms I. Our Refuge (1:1a) The Hebrew word for refuge is machseh, which can literally refer to a shelter from rain or a storm and figuratively refers to being protected from danger. Another excellent verse where refuge (machseh) is Isaiah 25:4: For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge (machseh) from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall. Martin Luther was no stranger to opposition. Because he had been so carefully studying the Bible, he got himself into BIG trouble with the religious hierarchy of his day. Verses like Romans 1:16 made a huge impact on his core world view: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. As a result, he penned his infamous Ninety-five Theses, which said NO to works-righteousness in which people thought they could buy their way into heaven by their good deeds. Luther particularly hammered away at the practice of indulgences, pieces of paper approved by the Pope that could be purchased with money. Here is what Luther wrote to the Archbishop of Mainz, while he was a parish priest in Wittenberg [from the pamphlet About Martin Luther ]: Papal indulgences are hawked about under your illustrious sanction. I regret that the faithful have conceived erroneous notions about them. They believe that if they buy a letter of pardon, they are sure of their salvation they also believe that indulgences free them from all guilt of sin. Because of this teaching, the Church ordered Luther to appear in Rome to answer charges of heresy. Fortunately, Luther s prince, Elector Frederick the Wise of Saxony, intervened to insist that Luther s hearing be held on German soil. At the Diet [a formal assembly] of Augsburg Luther was examined by the papal representative, Cardinal Cajetan, and refused to recant his views. Fearing that he might be taken in chains to Rome, he fled from Augsburg. Because Luther s Prince Frederick was in favor with the Pope, Luther was temporarily safe and free to debate his ideas publicly with the scholar, John Eck. Luther argued that the papacy was of human, not divine, origin. He quickly became a national figure. Reform ideas spread. The Pope s answer was to issue a Bull [papal order] threatening Luther with excommunication unless he recanted. What did he do? Luther publicly burned the Bull, and was excommunicated in January 1521. He was thirty-eight years old at the time. He was later summoned to appear before the Imperial Diet at Worms to answer charges of heresy and subversion. In April 1521 Luther stood before Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Here is what he proclaimed: Unless I am convicted by Scripture or by right reason I neither can nor will recant anything, since it is neither right nor safe to act against conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, God help me. Amen. Emperor Charles issued an Edict that proclaimed Luther a heretic and put him under the Ban of the Empire. All of his works were proscribed. Luther s very life was in danger, because the Ban meant that he could be killed if he stayed in the Empire
for more than twenty-one days. What kept Martin going through this storm of opposition, this whirlwind of antagonism? The Almighty God was his refuge (machseh). II. Our Strength (1:1b) Who is foolish enough to just stand out openly in a blistering storm? Hardly anyone, that is, physically. Yet spiritually, on a daily basis, there are people who are seeking to stand against the storms of life in their own strength with their own resources by their own ingenuity. Why is this so? Because of sin. The point of Psalm 46 is that we need God as our Shelter, as our Refuge. The reason He is our Refuge, is because He is our Strength. God s strength ( oz) or power is a key theme throughout Scripture, which inspires confidence in us, His people. It arouses us to worship Him in praise, as Psalm 28:7 brings out: The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. Here is what Martin Luther had to say about music: Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise. She is a mistress and governess of those human emotions...which control men or more often overwhelm them...whether you wish to comfort the sad, to subdue frivolity, to encourage the despairing, to humble the proud, to calm the passionate, or to appease those full of hate...what more effective means than music could you find? [Taken from the website by Christian History Institute] He is the song from the depth of our hearts, because He is the strength of our very lives. III. Our Ever-Present Help in Trouble (1:1c) He is our Strength to the point of being our Ever-Present Help in Trouble. This description of God teaches us that He is the best Friend that we could ever have. Exodus 33:11 says that the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Repeatedly in Scripture Abraham is called a friend of God (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23). Even Job, in the midst of his tragedies and intense grief calls God his friend: My intercessor [God Himself] is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God (Job 16:20). However, the most remarkable passage in all of Scripture regarding divine friendship is John 15:13-15 in which our Lord Jesus affirmed this: Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. True friendship is a key theme in the Bible. Here are just a few verses on this subject: - A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17 - A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 - Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Proverbs 27:6 - If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesias-
tes 4:10 There may be nothing more disappointing than a fair weather friend, as is brought out in these quotes from Scripture: - Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him. Proverbs 19:4 - Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. Jeremiah 9:5 Here are some popular sayings from 1,001 More Humorous Illustrations on true friendship: - A friend is someone who is there when the good times aren t. - Real friends are those who, when you ve made a fool of yourself, don t feel you ve done a permanent job. - We really only need five things on this earth: Some food, some sun, some work, some fun, and someone. - A friend is one who steps in when the world steps out. - A friend is one who never gets in the way, except when we are on the way down. IV. Our Fortress (1:7, 11) Not only is the Lord our Refuge, our Strength, our Ever-Present Help in Trouble (our Best Friend!). Above all, He is our Fortress (misgab), which may also be translated stronghold, retreat, high place, secure height. Safety and security in the ancient world were epitomized by reaching and remaining on a fortified height that was inaccessible to one s adversaries, whether human enemy or wild beast. Even though the Lord is close to us as our Refuge, Strength, and Best Friend, He is above and beyond all. Nothing is too difficult for Him! While you and I may feel perplexed, puzzled, bemused, or befuddled, not so our God! Here what He says in Isaiah 55:8-9: For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Before these two verses, it is written: Let us turn to the LORD, and He will have mercy on us, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. God is lofty (Isaiah 55:8-9), but lofty in mercy, power, and grace (Isaiah 55:6-7). Yes, one day He will ultimately make wars cease to the end of the earth, break every bow, shatter every spear, and burn every shield with fire (Psalm 46:9). Why? Because He is our Refuge, Strength, Best Friend, and Fortress. How can this be accomplished? Because of divine love and the power of His Son s cross and empty tomb. Abiding in Our Mighty Fortress, Pastor Steve Waterman