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Our Mighty Fortress

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“Our Mighty Fortress”

Psalm 46:1-7 (46:7) – October 30, 2022

Here we are at Reformation Sunday, the week of the year when we remember Martin Luther posting his list of grievances against the church establishment of the Catholic Church, more than 500 years ago in 1517. These 95 grievances against the Church sparked a movement of protest that was felt around the world. And thus, the Protestant Church was born.

Our psalm reading today was Martin Luther’s favorite psalm. And, what a marvelous psalm to choose! Martin took this psalm to heart, for a whole host of reasons! These were literal reasons, too. The Lord was indeed his fortress, helping him to stay safe through all danger.

The official Catholic Church hierarchy certainly had it in for Martin Luther! After defending himself against strident criticism from scholars and theologians, and legal challenges for years, the official verdict registered by the Catholic Church was not in Luther’s favor. He broke with Rome in 1521. Because he would not recant his views on God, salvation by faith, and the Bible, Luther was officially on the run from the Catholic establishment.

I think of Martin on the run, like young David, after Samuel anointed him king. Martin Luther needed the Lord to be a strong and secure refuge for him, what with all the military and operational might of the Catholic Church coming after him! Looking at the first verses, “God as a Fortress against the threats of nature (verses 1-3). The dominant theme of the psalm is trust in God, first sounded in verse 1, “God is our refuge and strength.” [1] A mighty fortress indeed!

This brought me to thinking, how do you and I trust? Do we – do you trust God to be a secure protection for us and our families? If not, why not? Just like King David, we can see time after time where people from the Bible – both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament – trusted in God to be their refuge and strong fortress, as Martin wrote in the hymn we sang today.

We also remember Father Martin Luther – for he was a Catholic priest – as a sincere, devout follower of Jesus Christ. He thought long and hard about sin and confession, faith and grace. He thought a lot about God’s Word, and eventually translated the whole Bible – both Old and New Testaments – into German, the common tongue of his day and area of Germany. And, thank God that Martin was not only a theologian, but a skilled writer, translator, preacher and musician, too.

The Catholic Church hierarchy did not approve of the Bible translated into the common tongue, which was one of the reasons Martin was on the run. As we examine Psalm 46, one big feature of this psalm is the word “help.” “’Help’ has a more active sense, identifying God as one who takes action to assist those in trouble. Verses 2 and 3 indicate that God’s people need not fear the worst that nature can hurl at them, whether it be earthquakes or floods. Because no matter what, God will be with them.” [2]

Like Martin Luther on the run in parts of Germany, like King David in the wilderness of Israel, God can be our help and refuge, too. Let’s be clear: this psalm is not talking pie-in-the-sky, or looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. This psalm is clear and realistic. It does not promise “we as God’s people will be free from the ravages of nature or of war or of individual suffering. But they do promise that we will not have to go through these things alone. ‘The LORD of hosts is with us … ‘” [3]

This precious hymn written by Luther was not only a refuge from earthly disasters, but is also personal in nature. Rev. Janet Hunt, a Lutheran minister, mentions that she hears it “as much more personal now, knowing as we do that ‘the old satanic foe’ threatened him with the sorts of ‘woes’ one could only begin to understand if one has been there. The heart-wrenching, life altering death of a child, to name but one. The days and nights of struggling to hold on to faith when the Church which had borne the faith to him no longer lived up to its promises. The fear which must have possessed Luther as his very life was threatened.” [4]

Sure, with everything going on in the world today, we also have reason to be scared half to death! Yet, we have “a God who has been time-tested and, over and over again, can be trusted upon to keep you secure in your time of trouble. Either way – and in all times and circumstances – we have a God who has got us covered. That is what Psalm 46 declares. And that is what Luther wanted to proclaim in “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”” [5]

Can we – you and I – loosen our tight grip on all we are clutching to our chests, knowing that God indeed holds everything? Including us?

This Reformation Sunday, Psalm 46 talks of a refuge, and a help in our great need.

Yes, God is indeed our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. That’s something to truly celebrate. Alleluia, amen.


@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/reformation-day/commentary-on-psalm-46-12

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] https://dancingwiththeword.com/being-still-letting-go/

[5] “A Mighty Fortress is our God” is not the only English translation of Luther’s “Ein Feste Burg.” Thomas Carlyle, the nineteenth century Scottish commentator, offered this version: “A safe stronghold our God is still, a trusty shield and weapon.” Carlyle’s contemporary, George MacDonald, rendered stanza one, verse one, in this way: “Our God he is a castle strong, a good mailcoat and weapon.”

“The Lord Our God Helps Us”

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“The Lord Our God Helps Us”

2 Chron 32 be strong, fight battles

2 Chronicles 32:14-18 (32:1-3, 6-8, 10-14, 17-22) – July 29, 2018 – from Dave Ivaska’s book Be Not Afraid

Making comparisons can be devastating. It’s so human, isn’t it, for me to compare me and my stuff with someone else’s. In the magazine Psychology Today, I saw an online article on comparisons many people make. I know, from this article, that many of these comparisons are not about life-or-death matters. However, especially in the case of young people, mental comparisons can be extremely damaging, both psychologically and emotionally.

“You know those people who have more than you—money, acclaim, looks, whatever? The spike of envy they trigger is natural, and social media is primed to amp it up. But in a world where followers and likes can seem like rock-solid proof of a person’s worth, you don’t have to take the bait.” [1] How true, isn’t it, for us to make mental comparisons between us and them, whoever “they” are?

This isn’t just a 21st century type of problem. Comparisons have been going on for centuries, even millenia. Take our scripture reading today, where the army and people of Judah were comparing themselves with the army of Assyria. One really big problem: the Assyrian army had conquered many of the surrounding tribes and countries around Israel. The Assyrians not only said they were the biggest, baddest military power in the Middle East in this time period, but they had the battles and victories to prove it.

The country and army of Assyria felt confident they were on top. Listen again to 2 Chronicles 32:1 – “Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.” The Chronicler is not telling us the complete story here. He does not include what we learn from 2 Kings 18:13-16. King Hezekiah unwisely and unsuccessfully tried to satisfy the Assyrian king Sennacherib with gold and treasures from the temple. That blatant bribery didn’t work. [2]

From what it sounds like, the Assyrian king was strutting his stuff, surrounding and besieging the fortified cities of Judah, and even Jerusalem itself. The Assyrian army had been successful and victorious in many battles over the past one hundred years. King Sennacherib had every reason to believe they would continue to be victorious. So much so that he began to get too big for his britches. He started to boast, and even trash talk to the nation of Judah.

Let’s sample some of that ridicule and boasting, from the modern translation The Message. “You poor people—do you think you’re safe in that so-called fortress of Jerusalem? You’re sitting ducks. Do you think Hezekiah will save you? Don’t be stupid—Hezekiah has fed you a pack of lies. When he says, ‘God will save us from the power of the king of Assyria,’ he’s lying—you’re all going to end up dead.”

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Assyrian king trash talks some more: “Do you have any idea what I and my ancestors have done to all the countries around here? Has there been a single god anywhere strong enough to stand up against me? Can you name one god among all the nations that either I or my ancestors have ravaged that so much as lifted a finger against me? So what makes you think you’ll make out any better with your god? Don’t let Hezekiah fool you; don’t let him get by with his barefaced lies; don’t trust him.”

Any confidence the officers and the army of Judah had had would have been completely undermined. They must have been feeling really small and dispirited after all of this. I mean, the Assyrian army was the biggest, baddest army in the whole known world, and they were besieging Jerusalem! So much so that the Assyrians were playing tremendous psychological mind games with the people of Judah

This unhealthy practice might be similar to comparing so much we feel a constant sense of inadequacy and helplessness. The author of this magazine article from Psychology Today has a sense of inadequacy that “flares especially when she compares herself to friends, colleagues, and people from her past—many of whom linger in her awareness because of social media. There’s the college buddy who achieved her dream of becoming a performer and lives in a gorgeous home in a tony suburb. There’s the junior high rival, now a globetrotting public health specialist. “He’ll post, ‘Leaving today for Liberia to help with the Ebola crisis,’ and get dozens of comments like ‘You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met!'” [3]

Sure, the king of Judah had been previously unwise in trying to bribe the Assyrians, and he hoped they would just pack up and go home if the nation of Judah gave them a big enough payment or tribute. King Hezekiah’s army and officers are down in the dumps and really anxious and fearful about the Assyrian army outside the fortified walls of Jerusalem. What would you do in a similar situation, with intense anxiety and fear freezing your heart and mind?

The people and army of Judah fell into this trap so easily. And, frankly, I would agree with them. According to all reports, the Assyrian armies sure looked like the biggest, baddest army around. Listen: “18 Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city. 19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world—the work of human hands.” I really would half-expect to hear the Assyrians at a rally chanting “We’re number one! We’re number one!”

But, God says, “NO!” Here in this example of Hezekiah saying “Be Not Afraid!” in 2 Chronicles 32, we can surely find a prescription for the comparison trap. Here’s what King Hezekiah did. He held a rally of his own with all the army officers and government officials. He said, 7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.”

But, that is not all. God steps in, and sovereignly takes over. After Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah cry out to heaven on behalf of Jerusalem and the people of Judah, “21 the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king.” God’s angel kills everyone in the enemy camp! The Assyrian king is so cowed and dispirited himself that he slinks off to Assyria, his tail between his legs. Listen to our bible reading: “the king withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword. 22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. God took care of them on every side.”

This special kind of situation doesn’t happen a lot, where God’s angel kills all the enemy army, but it’s recorded here to show that God took care of the people! God will always be with us, even when we are walking through the bad guys, or in the middle of the dark valley, or during a raging storm. We are told to Be Not Afraid! God will be with us, even to the end of the age. Alleluia, amen!

[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201711/the-comparison-trap  By Rebecca Webber, published November 7, 2017

[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/studyguide2017-2ch/2ch-32.cfm David Guzik :: Study Guide for 2 Chronicles 32

[3] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201711/the-comparison-trap  By Rebecca Webber, published November 7, 2017

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2018: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!)