A Mighty Fortress


(Image courtesy of https://reviveourhearts.com.)
"The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
He utters His voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our fortress.  Selah
Come, behold the works of the LORD,
How He has brought desoloations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
He burns the chariots with fire.
'Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!;
The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our fortress.  Selah" (Psalm 46:6-11).
I had wanted to write about the role of God's creation in relation to our Creator, but recent political events - specifically the bizarre obstructions of a Senate meeting - have changed my course today.

I don't watch the news.  We have a TV only to watch a carefully selected number of movies on rare occasions.

I don't listen to the news on the radio very often.  If I do, it is a brief story on Christian radio that I hear.

I primarily get my news from two old fashioned sources: the local newspaper and a magazine that is mailed to my house.  These hard-copy publications are, in my opinion, more reliable than an internet site or a "breaking news" story on TV.

Plus, it makes for a more dramatic conclusion when I'm through reading it: wad it up, tear it up, and throw it in the trash (okay, usually the recycling, but trash sounds better).  This is much more relieving than simply clicking the little trash icon or pushing a button with my thumb.

Disagreements on Capitol Hill and arguments in the political world, however, are inescapable today no matter what news source you view, it seems.  The polarization of American politics is deafening.  The rift in America will continue to grow unless the Gospel reshapes our nation's landscape - from church-goer to farmer to congressman.

As much as I hate to admit it, I was afraid and anxious of the days ahead after reading the headlines earlier today.  This feeling of anxious, worry, and fear begins in my heart and quickly stretches out to engulf my whole body.  I can literally feel the anxiety moving from my chest outward to my extremities.

But the Gospel of Christ comes to me in power during those times.

In only a few short seconds, the Spirit catches me, and I am able to preach to myself the truth and return to solid ground.

This is what king David and other worshippers of the one true God did often in the Old Testament.  We have these accounts recorded for us in the Psalms.

In Psalm 46, the writer is reminding himself of God's sovereignty, possibly in the midst of an anxious situation.  God's sovereign authority is great comfort to us in an uncertain world.

The psalmist reminds himself that there is one who reigns over ALL things.  Colossians 1:16-17 says that God has made through Christ all things and "all things were created by Him and for Him."  This means all things are under Him ("created by Him") and will bring Him worship (created "for Him").

Oh, how I love God's sovereignty!  My God is the King of kings and the Lord of lords!  Nations may argue, divide, make wars; sin may run rampant across the landscape; yet it is the Lord who "makes wars cease" and "breaks" the strong man's armament.

Dearly beloved, let us cast our anxiety on the Ruler of the world.  Let us run to Him for refuge and safe-keeping.  For in the city of God there is a river whose streams make glad the holy people of God (Psalm 46:4).  There is joy and life and peace and gladness and strength and safety and salvation in the God of the world through His wrath-bearer, Jesus Christ!

The LORD God has the last word, brothers and sisters.  And let us be sure that it will be strong and powerful and irrevocable.  Let us be sure that our good, holy, and awful King will be exalted among the entire earth, for great and terrible is His strength against the wicked.  On the day of His coming, when mountains are tossed into the seas and the earth melts at His voice, all will know that He is, indeed, the King of all!


"A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing" (Martin Luther).

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