September 24, 2017
If you have your Bible, turn to Psalm 46. When Scott returns next week, he is going to lead us in five-week series on the theology of the Protestant Reformation. I know we’re so close to finishing our study on the gospel of Mark, but the month of October is an important month for Protestants. October 31, 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 theses. That event sparked a reform movement that rediscovered the gospel and changed our world. I’ve been on staff at Alliance for 5 years now. We have been talking about October 2017 for 5 years. It’s a big deal. You’ll hear Pastor Scott’s passion for the series next week, but I wanted to get the blood flowing before we officially jumped in.
Perhaps you’re wondering why you’re turning to the psalms. We don’t usually think of the psalms when we think of the Reformation. If you’re familiar with Luther, you know that the two books of the Bible that made the most impact on his theology were Galatians and Romans. His lectures on these texts from 1515-1517 developed his understanding on the doctrines that we’re going to explore over the next five weeks. But most people agree that Luther’s personal transformation began in 1513 when he lectured on the Psalms. His study on the psalms didn’t show him the doctrine of justification by faith, but it did change his life. You could say that Luther’s personal reformation began when he meditated on the psalms. These texts gave him confidence in God. Psalm 46 was one of his favorites. It is recorded that in his darkest moments, Luther would say to his friends, “Come, let us sing the 46th psalm and let them do their worst.” It was this psalm that inspired the great Reformation Hymn that we’ll be singing a lot over the next few weeks, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. This morning I’d like to explore this influential text that changed Luther’s life. It’s a psalm that we need to wrestle with and apply in our own context.
Psalm 46
To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.
[1] God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
[2] Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
[3] though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
[4] There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
[5] God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
[6] The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
[7] The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
[8] Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth.
[9] He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots 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 of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Let’s pray.
This psalm dramatically shows us that God is our refuge in a world that is falling apart. I enjoy teaching the psalms because they often have an outline built in. This psalm has three movements separated by the word selah.
- We must enter the fortress of God (1-3) (God protects us in life’s storms)
- We must dwell in the fortress of God (4-7) (God gives us peace in life’s storms).
- We must look out from the fortress of God (8-11) (God will silence the storms).
Let’s start with the first stanza. When life falls apart, we must run to God. The psalm couldn’t start with a more exalted line: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear. Does this verse describe your mindset the last year or two? I think everyone agrees that our world is falling apart. But do you watch the news and say with confidence, we will not fear! I feel like our theme verse over the past year or two has not been verse 1, but verses 2 and 3. These verses focus on their dreadful situation. The psalmist offered 4 poetic images: the earth had given way. The mountains had been tossed into the heart of the sea. The waters were roaring and foaming. The mountains were trembling. In other words, this was not a good time to be alive. It might be difficult for the modern mind to make sense of these metaphors. We can’t really imagine Howard’s Knob trembling at the thought of Myrtle Beach. But in the biblical world, the mountains and sea each carried a significant meaning.
Throughout the Bible, the mountains are the image of stability. They don’t move. Many ancient people believed the mountains served as the pillars of the earth, which kept the heavens in place. If you grew up in this area, you know what I’m talking about. Literally everything about your life has changed – except for the mountain range behind your house. In my little valley in Avery County, it was Spear Tops. Year after year, everything changed – except for those dual peaks looming over our home.
If the mountains represented stability, the sea represented chaos and instability. It represented a reversal of God’s created order. Think about it: God judged the world in Genesis 6 with a flood. He was returning the world to its original uncreated order at the beginning of Genesis 1. Years later, when the nation of Israel was running from Egypt, they passed through the water. This image of the sea might not instill as much fear in the modern mind, but we still try to capture the theology of this when we baptize new believers. In two weeks, we’ll bring out the big silver tub and plunge new believers in and out of the water to show that their old life is gone. It has died in a watery grave – like Israel, like Jonah, like Jesus. They’ve been resurrected into a new life.
So, the mountains represent stability, and the sea, chaos. But in Psalm 46, the sea wins in dramatic fashion. The waters roar and foam. The mountains shake with fear. In this text, what we thought was unmovable was consumed by what we fear most. Perhaps you felt this way when the towers fell 16 years ago. Or maybe you felt it when the economy tanked in 2008. Or when the phone call came. Or when you got the diagnosis in the doctor’s office, or the pregnancy test, or the giant F on your report card, or the notification from the bank. Sometimes in our broken world, the chaos wins. Sometimes the sea swallows the mountain.
How should we respond? This is the question that everyone is asking, isn’t it? We all understand verses 2-3. We all know that our world is falling apart. But what do we do about it? We go back to verse 1. The people of God must respond with confidence. We will not fear because God is our refuge and strength. He has proven himself over and over. The mountains may tremble, but we won’t. God is our fortress.
I know this might sound a bit dramatic. It might even sound impossible if you are prone to anxiety. But don’t underestimate the power of these words. As a child and young adult, Martin Luther was overwhelmed with anxiety and depression. In fact, the reason he became a monk in the first place is because he got caught in a thunderstorm. Overwhelmed with fear, he made a bargain – not with God – but with St. Anne. He promised that if he survived, he would enter the monastery. Luther was looking for a refuge. He needed to escape the storm. But he didn’t find shelter in the monastery. In fact, his religious devotion only fueled his anxiety and depression. He said that he almost killed himself with his vigils, prayers and reading. He stayed up late into the night, wrestling with the devil. He starved himself. He refused to use a blanket in the cold, stone rooms. The first time he tried to administer the mass, he was so overcome with fear that he locked up and ran out of the church. It was a miserable time for Luther.
I’ll say this gently, but this encourages me. It will be very easy to remember Luther’s triumphs over the next month. His defiant posting of the 95 theses changed the world. His speech at the Diet of Worms is one of the most courageous moments in church history. But he wasn’t naturally courageous. He was scared – like you and me. But as he studied and applied the truth of God’s word, his life changed. He finally found the refuge that he was looking for – not within the walls of the monastery, but within the words of Scripture. There is evidence that depression and anxiety followed him throughout his life, but in his darkest moments – when his world fell apart – he trusted in God’s word. The reformation is 500 years old, but we need men and women with this type of conviction in the Word of God. Come, let us sing the 46th Psalm, and let them do their worst.
So, in life’s storms, we must enter the fortress of God. In verse 4, however, the text shifts dramatically. The next stanza gives us a glimpse of life inside the fortress of God. Read the text again:
[4] There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
[5] God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
[6] The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
[7] The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
The contrast couldn’t be any more pronounced. The swirling, thrashing waters of the sea are replaced by a gentle, life-giving river. The instability of the mountains is replaced by the sure foundation of God’s city. The presence of fear is replaced by the presence of the Most High. As you deal with the storms of life, this is important to remember. The first stanza gives us confidence. The second stanza gives us joy. God’s fortress is not barren and deserted. It is not a cold and empty building. It is filled with life.
The original audience of the 46th psalm would have known that strong walls aren’t enough. Many of the greatest cities in the history of the world fell in spite of their strong defenses. When an invading army approached a well-defended city, they’d simply set up camp and wait for everyone to starve. Problem solved.
We might not defend ourselves inside of a tall city wall anymore, but we do try to defend ourselves. Our modern world has given us all sorts of ways to defend ourselves from the storms of life. You can buy insurance. You can save up for the future. You can devote yourself to a political cause or a politician. You can buy a home security system. You can drive the safest car on the road. These options are very appealing in a world that is falling apart. These walls might bring you security, but they won’t bring you joy and peace. In fact, don’t you find it ironic that these man-made security systems often bring even more fear and anxiety? They might protect your stuff or your body for a while but they can’t bring you life.
According to Psalm 46, the people of God shouldn’t have this problem. God protects us from the chaos, but he also gives us life. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. We shouldn’t leave the chaos of the world to find more chaos within; we are supposed to find the life-giving presence of the Most High.
But, this isn’t always the case, is it? I talked with two people this week that went to church as a kid, but they were ultimately driven away because it was defined by fear. This is so backwards. Perfect love drives out fear, not the other way around. Fear shouldn’t drive people away from our churches. The people of God should be defined by joy. I’m finding that most people outside Christianity can tell you what our position is on most of the big moral issues right now. But most of them have never heard the gospel. They see our walls, but they don’t see our life. Do we talk about the gospel? This is why I’m so excited to spend the month of October talking about the doctrines that bring us life! This is what we need and it’s what the world needs to hear.
I believe that the Reformation was so successful because, by and large, the Reformers understood this. When Luther grappled with the psalms, his theology changed, but his life also changed. He became defined, not by fear, but by joy. He got married. That was extremely revolutionary. He had children. He actually liked his family. They brought so much joy to his life. One of the enduring legacies of the Reformation is Luther’s Table Talks. You can find records of his dinnertime conversations with his family and friends. Every evening, they would gather around a home cooked meal and talk late into the night. I find it interesting that they rarely talked about the reformation movement that was furiously sweeping through Europe. Instead, they talked about God. They talked about Jesus. They talked about the gospel. You have to remember that the gospel was lost for generations. Can’t you imagine the joy around those meals as they talked about God’s free grace? Can’t you imagine the joy they experienced as they finally read the Bible in their own language? May we be defined by the same love and passion for Jesus and his Word.
Now, this joy won’t make our problems go away. But it will put our problems in the right perspective. The stanza ends with my favorite lines in the Bible. We get a glimpse of the chaos again, but it doesn’t seem as powerful this time. Listen to verse 6: The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters his voice, the earth melts. The nations gather to flex their muscles, but God utters his voice and their silenced. As the hymn says, one little word shall fell him.
This brings us to the 3rd and final stanza. So far, we’ve entered the fortress. We’ve experienced the peace and joy of God’s presence in his fortress. Now, the psalmist will take us to the window and ask us to look out. He will paint a vivid picture of the future. Read the text again:
[8] Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth.
[9] He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots 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 of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
This stanza is a prophecy. The psalmist wants the people of God to imagine the final battle when all of God’s enemies are finally destroyed. This is language that the church of Jesus Christ needs to recover. We are a prophetic people. Come behold the works of the Lord! Maybe our churches are filled with fear because we have lost our vision of the future. We’ve become shortsighted. We’re so concerned with winning our small battles that we’ve forgotten that the war is already won. We must cultivate a powerful vision of the future so we can proclaim the truth to a dark and dying world. This stanza gives us such a vision.
Come look at what God has done. He has stopped war. He has rendered the weapons of war useless. Can you imagine it? We might not feel the weight of these words in Watauga County, but the people of the Congo can. The Middle East can feel it. Christians in Korea can. Aren’t you ready for God to diffuse the last nuclear bomb? God is on his way to crush the enemy and make it all stop. You might not feel the sting of war, but you certainly feel the destructive consequences of sin. You feel the arrows of the devil. You see the destruction of hurricanes and earthquakes. We need to be reminded of our future. Revelation chapter 20 provides a stunning vision of Satan’s demise. It will all end one day. Here’s the context: after a thousand years of bondage, Satan will be released and gather billions of soldiers to compete against God. He’s absolutely furious. He’s well-armed. Listen to the battle goes down (Revelation 20:7-10)
And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Game over. His craft and power are great; he’s armed with cruel hate. On earth is not his equal. But one little word shall fell him. It’s not a fair fight. Satan will be silenced with a simple word. Do you believe it? Hold onto this vision.
This is a good time to talk about the most famous verse in the psalm. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. I have always assumed this verse was talking about having a personal quiet time in the morning. But it’s clear from the context that its not. Full disclosure: I believe personal quiet times are good. But Psalm 46 has something better in mind. These words are a direct command from God, to his enemies, to shut up. Do you remember when the disciples woke up Jesus in the middle of the raging storm? He didn’t turn to the disciples and say, “just have a quiet time; you’ll be OK.” No, he looked at the waves and said: Peace! Be still! And they stopped.
These words are part of our prophetic vision. When God speaks the word, all hurricanes will disappear. Every cancer cell will go away. The weapons of war will be broken. And Satan will be silenced. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. May we cling to this compelling vision of the future!
Luther derived a great amount of confidence from this psalm and I hope that you will, too. God is trustworthy. You need to constantly sing this song, though, because at times, he doesn’t seem trustworthy. The final battle has not yet occurred. God’s enemies have not been silenced yet. Satan is on the prowl. He threatens to undo us! At times, it seems like Satan gets the glory. It seems like the sea overcomes the mountains. Cancer sometimes wins the battle. Sometimes chaos overcomes. In these chaotic moments, Satan will tempt you with a fake refuge. He offered it to Jesus. He took him to the highest pinnacle on the temple wall and said, I can protect you. He took him to a mountain and showed him the kingdoms and said, I can give this to you. Jesus refused. 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 chosing. Does ask who that may be, Christ Jesus it is he! The Lord of Hosts his name. From age to age his same. And he must win the battle.
When the darkness comes, cling to Jesus and say with Luther, “Come, let us sing the 46th Psalm and let them do their worst!”