Reformation 2020
Psalm 46
October 25, 2020
Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID
There is nothing quite like the music on Reformation Sunday. We get to sing some of the greatest hymns of Christianity today, those beautiful songs proclaiming the Gospel. Out of all of them, there is nothing quite so beloved as “A mighty fortress.” This beautiful hymn, based off of Psalm 46, boldly proclaims the truth of Scripture and our confidence in Christ who has overcome the devil, forgiven our sins, and grants us eternal life through faith in Him. So let’s take a look at Psalm 46 to see Christ, our mighty fortress, in the Psalm.
The Psalmist boldly proclaims, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, through the mountains be moved into the heart of sea, though its waters roar and foam, through the mountains tremble at its swelling.” The Psalmist’s confidence is striking. Like a military commander, the Psalmist declares and rally’s God’s people around the certainty of God’s action and God’s victory. This is why Psalm 46 was such a fitting song for Luther to base “A Mighty Fortress” upon. It stirs up the courage of God’s people in the sure and certain confidence of Jesus’ victory upon the cross and over the grave.
These opening verses of the Psalm could be understood in two way. Literally, the words refer to the undoing of the created world, perhaps the end of this age – a terrifying future. But it could also be figurative, referring to the present troubles of living in a fallen world. These are not unconnected. Troubles are not new in the history of the world. The shaking of the earth and the of the rocking of the mountains are always lurking around the corner of our lives. Trouble can strike at any time and destroy the sense of stability we may have had. So are these last days that we are living, the trials and troubles of this world, political and societal turmoil a sign that the end is near? In a sense, yes. Present troubles are always hint of the final judgment. But again, this is not new, the Church has lived in the end times since Christ’s resurrection, always with the prayer upon her lips, “Come, Lord Jesus.” And so the Psalmist calls us back to Christ who is our refuge and strength so that we will not fear no matter what happens. We live in the belief that God actively controls everything and no one can escape His reach. It is God who delivers both disaster and deliverance.
The voice of this Psalm is the voice of the Church, the Holy City, which is the dwelling place of God, our refuge and strength. Behind these confidence cries of faith, the gnawing questions, “Where is God to be found? How is He a refuge and strength? What does His help look like here and now in my life?”
The Psalmist responds, “There is river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” The dawn of that day, is the day of resurrection, God’s victory over chaos and death. The imagery of a river harkens back to peace of Eden, to the beginning of creation, and the presence of God walking with Adam and Eve. But it also points to Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, Jerusalem was referred to as the City of God, for it was the location of the Temple, the place where God was present for His people. The City of God, located on Mt. Zion, is the place of the holy habitation of the Most High. This was the only place where God’s people were supposed to offer sacrifices but also where the blood of the sacrifice of the atonement was sprinkled on the people. But even these things were only a shadow of the reality that was to come.
We proclaim with the Psalmist, however, that the holy habitation no longer names a place but a person. This is what St. John was referring, when He proclaims in the first chapter of his Gospel account, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt, tabernacled, among us. And we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In Jesus, God is present for His people. In Jesus, the city of God no longer refers to a geographical location but to a people, to God’s people, to the Church of God. In His Church, the Lord dwells as a refuge for sinners, and from out of Christ flows rivers of living water that make glad by bringing eternal life and the forgiveness of all your sins, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe (Romans 3:22).
Peace now reigns inside this holy City, peace with God and peace with one another by means of Jesus. He reconciled us to the Father by His death and resurrection, freeing us from the slavery of sin, keeping us in the house of the Lord forever as a beloved son. The Lord gathers us around Himself, around Jesus, around the place where peace is offered and given and strengthened, in His Word and Sacraments where God is readily found as a very present help in trouble.
At every turning point in the psalm, the Psalmist brings us back to the one thing we are to remember: “The Lord of hosts is with us…” In Hebrew, Yahweh Sabaoth immanu. Yahwhe, the Lord of the heavenly, angelic host, is with us. The last word of course, is the beginning of Immanu – el “God with us”. This of course, refers to Christ, the Lord, who abides with us, His people, even to the end of the world. These words bring us to the Church, where we gather around the life giving Word and Sacraments where God dwells with His people in mercy and grace, and to receive His Spirit to help, to strengthen, to protect us as we wait for the eternal city and the garden at the end of time, the New Jerusalem, where God Himself dwells in the midst of His people, a mighty fortress who is our God. In the end, we return to the City of God, and to the Garden and the future heavenly Jerusalem.