OUR MIGHTY FORTRESS
Psalm 46:1-11 "God [is] our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; [Though] the waters thereof roar [and] be troubled, [though] the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. [There is] a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy [place] of the tabernacles of the most High. God [is] in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, [and that] right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts [is] with us; the God of Jacob [is] our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts [is] with us; the God of Jacob [is] our refuge. Selah."
Those who flee to the Word of God for succor in situations of struggle and stress, have long recognized Psalm 46 as a vital source of strength and support. When Martin Luther was under serious and severe stress brought about by continuing satanic attack, he saw in his study of this great Psalm that, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." As he was tried in the test tube of trial and crushed in the crucible of crisis, he was moved to write the grand old hymn of the grand old faith entitled, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God, a Bulwark Never Failing."
If there has ever been a time in which God’s people need to read and heed the words of this Psalm and renew a personal and practical acquaintance with the God exalted by the hymn, this is the day. We live in a time of unceasing hustle and bustle. A hectic time of rushing to and fro on the face of God’s green earth. Our world seems to be ever seeking but never arriving at a place of peace and rest. In our perpetual quest for real and lasting release from life’s stresses and struggles we are somewhat like the dog chasing his tail. We spin around in endless circles, always seeking some sort of new, satisfying and stress free situation.
This restlessness and ceaseless seeking is reflected in a statistical study released just this week in Australia. It seems that the average age of those being married in our society has increased to twenty-eight. Seventy-five percent of those getting married have been living together for a significant period of time before marriage. But their separation and divorce rate over two times as frequent as among the remaining twenty-five percent who chose to please God by living singly before marriage.
Someone has said, "Three words describe our times: hurry, worry, and bury." There’s an oft-repeated saying that seems to characterize the effect of such a secular cultural philosophy upon our culture I have frequently heard it expressed in this manner by the average macho male in my door to door visitation, "I only plan to go to church three times in my life. The first time I went, they threw water in my face. The second time they threw rice. They third time they will throw dirt." This dismissive attitude is understandable among those who know not God. But we who know Him should take more time for Him.
There can be no doubt we live in stressful times. One scholar did considerable research in the area of human stress a number of years ago and came up with a stress scale relative to life change events. On this scale the death of a spouse rated 100 units. Divorce rated 73 units. Pregnancy rated 40 units. Remodeling or moving home rated 25 units. Christmas rated 12 units- etc. His study further indicated that no one in his own strength could successfully handle more than 300 units in a year without severe physical and/or emotional consequences.
It would seem that we not only do not take time to stop and smell the roses of life, but often seem oblivious to the beauty of the garden in which they grow. In this day of trouble and woe, we desperately need to pause and get our spiritual bearings once more. We need to rediscover Who God really is, what He wants for us and how He can and will bring it to pass.
We find the theme of our time as well as the solution for our troubles in the very first verse of this Psalm. We certainly live in a time of terrible troubles. I have read that the word "trouble" found here means "to be cramped, squeezed, pressed down" etc. We had a common saying in the South where I grew up that reflected the sort of stress and trouble that seemed to have no real or easy solution. We would say, "I’m caught between a rock and a hard place." We also had another apt expression, "He put the squeeze upon him." Those finding themselves in such stressful situations certainly knew what it meant to be squeezed and pressed on every side.
It would seem even the great apostle Paul was not immune to this sort of stress, "For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:.." (II Cor. 1:8)
But it also clear that Paul, as did the Psalmist, knew the solution. When he was pressed beyond measure, pushed down and his weakness came into play, he fled to God’s tent of protection and fortress of refuge. Later in the same letter, after describing in excruciating detail all the terrible dangers, persecutions and sufferings he had gone through for Christ’s sake and the pressures that had been placed upon his person. He said, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (II Cor. 12:9)
God’s message to us in this Psalm today is the same as in the day of David or Paul. When we are pressed and squeezed. When we slip to the end of the rope of our own strength and ability and then tie a knot in it and hang on for dear life with our very finger tips, we can surely say as they, "God is my refuge and strength. He is protecting me. He is surrounding me with His power and presence." We can say with the Psalmist:
THE LORD IS MY FORTRESS - I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN OR SCARED. It would seem that in the first three verses reference is being made to a natural catastrophe or phenomenon that is threatening disaster and destruction. The language conjures up images of earthquakes, storms, floods, mud slides and all manner of terrible and traumatic natural events. Our finite minds cannot conceive how much energy is involved and released in one thunder storm. The terrible destructiveness of a cyclone or hurricane is beyond our comprehension. The raw power of a severe earthquake exceeds our imagination. The Psalmist is saying that no matter how serious or stressful the situation, he will not be shaken or scared.
Being reared in tornado alley in the South I can easily identify with the uncertainty and fear associated with tornado alerts and warnings. Having weathered one of the more severe hurricanes on the North Carolina coast, I know the terrible threat posed by such a storm. Having felt the sudden heavy shaking of the earth under my feet on the island of Malatai in the Solomon Islands, I have some small sense of the fear that can be associated with such a natural event. Having inspected first hand the terrible destruction of the eruption of Mt. Pinatuboo and the subsequent mud slides on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, I have a slight insight into the terror that must have accompanied such a terrible natural catastrophe. Having witnessed a bush fire season in which brave fire fighters lost their lives and dozens of homes were destroyed, has given me some respect for the raging roar of such a natural disaster.
But the Psalmist says that even if the mountains should quake and shake, the mud slip and slide, the fire rip and roar, the winds whirl and blow, and the waters flood and flow, that God is refuge. He is our bridge over trouble waters. He is our shelter in the storm. The umbrella of His power stretches over us. The power of His presence surrounds us. The tower of His strength sustains us. Therefore we should not be shaken or scared. We should not be afraid.
We have many other precious promises in the scriptures that confirm that God is our fortress and we should not be afraid. Isaiah said, "Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isa. 41:10) Paul said, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." The Psalmist again says, "The LORD [is] my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD [is] the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)
These promises make it amply clear that in times of trouble and stress our God invites His people to shelter underneath His everlasting wing and rest in His eternal embrace. But the Psalmist does not rest with this great truth. He moves on and leads us to understand that:
THE LORD IS LORD IS MY FORTRESS - I WILL NOT SLIP NOR SLIDE. He does this by bringing to mind a city in which His people may safely dwell although being attacked by kingdoms and nations. We can see God is in the midst of it all. Therefore the city will stand fast. It will not be moved.
What great assurance for our day and time. If there has ever been a day when God’s people are the object of cruel attack, this is that day. If there has ever been a day when the powers that be are arrayed against the people of God, this is that day. If there has ever been a day when the dark forces of the principalities and powers of this world seem poised to overwhelm those who love and trust the Lord, this is that day. If there has ever been a day when the very existence of God’s people as a viable force in society seems to be under serious threat, this is that day. If there has ever been a day when the people of God are under siege, this is that day.
In such a time as this, God’s people surely need their feet planted soundly and solidly upon the Rock of Ages, the Rock of their salvation. The old song that became the theme song of the civil rights movement in America describes the need of our hour. We should surely say today, "I shall not be, I shall not be moved. . . . Just like a tree planted by the waters, I shall not be moved." Why? Because the Lord is my fortress and I cannot be moved.
I’m told that the word moved used here comes from a Hebrew term that means "to totter and shake." Just last week I walked into a room where someone was watching a biographical documentary on the life of Elvis Presley. Elvis was born and reared in a small Mississippi town some fifty miles from my own birthplace. I remember that one of his hits was the song, "All shook up..." As I watched the sad story of his life unfold, it struck me that the phrase "all shook up" could have been the tragic description of his life. His sad seeking for some sort of fulfillment and satisfaction was epitomized by a flight he made with his entire entourage from Memphis to Denver just to buy a particular sandwich to eat. It seems that he once said he would give a million dollars for just one week of real peace. Although he became America’s highest paid entertainer and perhaps the most well known entertainer of all time, he also became the very personification of stress. He evidently lived his life "all shook up".
In contrast, we who are anchored in the Lord can surely say, THE LORD IS MY FORTRESS - I WILL NOT SLIP OR SLIDE. We can say as the psalmist said, "When my city is under siege and under threat, I will not be shaken or moved - because the God of all strength and hope stands with me." But the psalmist does not stop here. He moves on to give us the thought:
THE LORD IS MY FORTRESS - I WILL NOT STRUGGLE AND STRIVE. In the third section of this wonderful divine poem, God says, "Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10) This comforting command comes after a description of destruction and death and the aftermath of depression. I understand the Hebrew term used here could be translated "relax" or cease struggling and striving. Even in the wake of the most disturbing and distressing events we can relax in the arms of our God. We can cease to struggle and strive.
It is true that in order to be saved we must rest in the Lord and His finished work, It is equally true that in order to know the fullness of His security and succor in our lives we must also lay our deadly doing down. God inspired the wise man to say it this way, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." (Prov. 3:5) He had the great prophet Isaiah to say, " But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint." (Isa. 40:31)
The major thrust of this concept is so patently clear. We cannot enter into the fortress of God’s strength and protection if we are running a mile a minute in the direction of self reliance. We cannot successfully seek the safety of His refuge while struggling with the stressful situations of life in our own strength. In the race of life, stress will always beat us to the finish line. In the battle of life, stress will always slay us in the way.
If God commands us to relax, why do we find it so hard to do so? If God in essence is saying to us "slow down", why do we so often act as if He is saying, "speed up"? Perhaps we should heed the advice I discovered in a book many years ago.
"Slow me down Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Teach /6
me the art of taking minute vacations - of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to smile at a child, to read a few lines of a good book. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values, that I amy grow toward my greater destiny. Remind me each day that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than increasing its speed. Let me look upward to the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well."
I wish I could say I have always heeded this advice. But I do know that those times I have gone aside and sincerely sought to slow down and cease my struggling and striving have been blessed times and often more fulfilling and productive is His service than times of great hectic activity.
The wonderful truths we have seen in this psalm just jump off the page insisting upon acceptance and adaptation in our lives. He wants us to know that God’s help is always near. That He is not a God who resides in the dusty pages of history, but is a God of the here and now. He is a contemporary God who not only made all that man has used to progress to this wonderful and challenging moment of history, but a God who operates in our time. A God who is ready, willing and able to supply the strength needed for survival and spiritual success in the twenty-first century. He is oue very present help in the times of our troubles.
He wants us to know also that the strength of our God is sufficient for any situation. He soars above all our stresses and can bring a solution for our most difficult struggle. In fact, He is the God of the impossible. Greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world. We can do all things through Him because He strengthens us.
He wants us to know that the key to all this is our weakness. It’s in the admission of our weakness that we make powerful contact with His eternal strength. It’s only when we throw in the towel, run up the white flag and surrender the fort of our own self will, that we are divinely enabled to fully enter the mighty fortress of our God.
I first read the following testimony of a religious man many years ago when I was much younger. But only now in the sunset years of my life have I really come to understand the pathos of his words:
"If I had my life to live over again, I’d try to make more mistakes next time. I would relax, I would limber up, I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of very few things I would take seriously. I would take more trips. I would be crazier. I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers, and watch more sunsets. I would do more walking and looking. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones. You see, I’m one of those people who lives life prophylactically and sensibly hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I’ve had my moments, and if I had to do it over again I’d have more of them. In fact, I’d try to have nothing else, just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead each day. I’ve been one of those people who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, a gargle, a raincoat, aspirin and a parachute. If I had to do it over I would start barefooted earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would plan hookey more. I wouldn’t make such good grades, except by accident. I would ride on more merry-go-rounds. I’d pick more daises."
Although it is obvious that this testimony is rather tongue in cheek, it speaks to many of us today. Especially to those who have long ago passed by the time of mid-life crisis that often prompts so many to say, "Is this all there is?" Is it not true that a real part of the golden years includes reflection upon the old adage, "Of all the words of tongue and pen, the saddest are, ’it might have been."
So let us take seriously the words of the Psalmist and the promise of God to those who will flee to for daily rest refuge. Let us truly say: "The Lord is my fortress - I will not be shaken or scared. The Lord is my fortress - I will not slip nor slide. The Lord is my fortress - I will not struggle and strive."
