A Mighty Fortress

Psalm 46
Years ago a young woman asked to have the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” sung at her wedding, explaining that it had been a favorite of her deceased father’s. It then fell to me as the minister to make sense of the matter for folks who attended the wedding. Why would a young woman be thinking about fortresses and bulwarks on her wedding day? Why would she request a hymn with the words, “Our helper, He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing”? What meaning on this particular day might she find in the words, “Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also…”? Yet the more I thought about it the more sense it actually made to me. Here was a young couple bringing their lives together, facing a lot of uncertainties in themselves and in each other, wondering what the future would bring. What better time to lay claim to God’s work for humanity in the person of Jesus Christ, even if it did come in a rather foreboding musical style?

Martin Luther wrote “A Mighty Fortress” — a classic of the Reformation –– based in part on Psalm 46 and the words, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Luther himself faced many difficult challenges in his life and obviously took great comfort from the psalmist’s assurances that God protects and defends God’s people. This was good news indeed for a man who was willing to challenge the Roman church in all of its power and glory. As the psalm reminds us, “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea” (v. 2). As Luther knew, it is Jesus Christ in whom we encounter God-with-us. It is Jesus Christ who lived in such a way as to demonstrate that God is in control, that God is a mighty fortress, “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” It is Jesus Christ who reaches out to us in the pages of scripture, who is willing to die for us, and who invites us to trust and believe in him.

Our God is a mighty fortress, when “the mountains shake at the heart of the sea,” when our lives teeter on the brink of uncertainty; or when we enter into new relationships, even if we have a pretty good idea of where we are headed. Whether we seem threatened by the forces of this world, or we find ourselves living in relative safety and peace, God remains a mighty fortress for us, come what may.

Prayer: Lord, give us your guidance and protection, all the days of our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.