Life under God’s Protection Psalm 46
Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God our Father, our mighty fortress, and Jesus Christ, His Son, our refuge and our strength.
We’re going to talk about (1) living under God’s mighty protection, from Psalm 46.
It begins with an affirmation and a promise that the Lord God and not another, is our strength.
(2) God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
God is our strength to believe, and through faith in Him, even our greatest troubles, even our most formidable foes, sin, death, the devil, and the corrupt, fallen world, are overcome, all of them.
Faith in Christ overcomes our troubles because faith depends on and is focused on, not ourselves, but on God, who has the power help us deal with ou troubles.
One of the three foundational truths of the Reformation is (3) faith alone, we’re saved by faith alone.
God’s gift of faith takes us away from being obsessed with ourselves, thinking everything in this world is about us, it all depends on us, the whole world will end because I’m having some problems… faith takes us from that place, that quagmire, and attaches us to the One who everything really is about, and who we really need, and need most, and who can help us most: our Triune God.
(4) In this psalm, we proclaim He is our strength, and not another.
We can draw strength from others, other people and other things, and that’s not necessarily bad, not if they’re good things, and if we keep them in their proper place.
God is our primary power. Nothing and no one can give us the kind of strength, and the amount of strength, that the Holy Spirit gives.
As (5) Philippians 4:13 says, I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.
Jesus has the power to overcome even death for us. He showed that through overcoming His own death: dying for us and then rising to life again.
(6) There are great powers in this world; powerful people, powerful institutions, some good and some evil, but none compares to the power of Christ and the love of His Church.
As far as evil powers in this world, the devil seeks to influence not just people, but also institutions, and nations, and all the world.
We see evil and greed for power at work in the invasion of Ukraine and other unjust wars and conflicts around the globe.
We see evil at work as crime grows in our cities.
We see evil at work as people riot and break in and loot.
We see evil at work in mass shootings of innocent children.
Evil and the devil are at work in us when we look with prejudice on people who are different than us, who look differently than we do, or believe differently than we do, and we hate them and try to hurt and persecute them because of it.
And we see the power of evil at work in other ways, more subtle and tricky, less obvious, but no less powerful and misleading.
For example, in our world, especially in western society, there’s a battle being fought for the minds and souls of our youth, and people of all ages.
It’s a battle about how we see and understand the world and life in general.
There’s a growing attitude of (7) secularism in our western culture, the denial or ignoring of God and of all things spiritual.
This is the clever work of the devil, and it’s sadly effective.
So why would the devil promote a world-view that denies or doubts the existence of all things beyond the natural world, like God and angels and Heaven, but also denies the existence of the devil, and the fallen angels, and Hell – why would the devil try to influence the world into believing that he and his domain don’t even exist?
Because it’s to his advantage; it serves his evil, destructive purpose.
If people think he doesn’t exist, then they’re unaware, and they become more vulnerable.
As Scripture tells us, the devil is an opportunist, prowling around like a hungry lion, looking to devour all that he can; (8) we need God’s protection.
In the end, all who deny God, end up with the devil, in his eternal domain of hatred and sadness and suffering, all those things he loves in his sick sort of way.
What a bad horse he is to hitch your wagon to.
Yes, he is powerful and influential, and the fallen world is evil, but fear not.
As God’s faithful baptized, child, have no fear of the evil adversary.
As our psalm says, (9) Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Even when it seems that our world is crumbling all around us, falling to a place that’s beyond repair…
Even when it seems that the Church is giving way to the fallen world…
Even when it seems that the Gospel is being replaced by secular thought, or other false religious thought…
Even when it seems that greed and injustice and prejudice and immorality and danger and violence rule our world, still we refuse to live in fear and defeat, because our God has already won the war for us…
(10) He is a mighty fortress, and His Word is a rock for us to stand on.
Let the devil spew his lies; we have a Promise, a Word that’s already proven itself true when Jesus rose, as He said He would.
Safe in His Word, we stand secure as evil rages around us; and with the help of God, we counter it with deeds of goodness, and words of love and truth.
Even when the world falls for the devil’s deceit and for secular lies, the Church, the people of Christ, stand protected on the Rock of truth, the eternal Gospel, as our Epistle says, God’s everlasting, unchanging Word.
And so we boldly believe another of the three great truths of the Reformation, and of Christianity, (11) Scripture alone.
God’s Word is the one truth we can always trust and depend on; the one truth that will set us forever free, as Jesus promises in our Gospel.
So let (12) 6 the nations rage, let the kingdoms totter; He lifts His voice, the earth melts.
When Christ returns, He’ll lift His voice above the noise and turmoil of the earth, and all resistance will melt away. The world will no longer be able to deny who He is.
So let us not resist His voice, rather let us be His voice to the world, and His helping hand.
Let us hear His voice in His Word, and welcome His presence among us and within us, for, (13) 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
The Lord of hosts, God with His army of angels is with us, protecting our lives and souls from the destructive power of the devil and demons, and guarding our minds from the unrelenting influence of our sinful, secular-minded culture, trying to pressure us into denying or disregarding God and all things spiritual.
(14) From all that would hate and deceive and destroy us, including our own sin within us, God’s love and His Word protects us; His Spirit fills us, and His grace envelopes us.
And so the third great truth of the Reformation, and of the Gospel, by (15) God’s grace alone we have forgiveness, life, salvation, and all His present and eternal blessings.
Richly and eternally blessed, let us quit our vain and incessant striving for worldly things, our believing in worldly lies and following worldly ways; instead, let us trust in His mercy, believe His Word, and rest in His grace.
When the world goes crazy around us, we can stay calm with God and His grace within us.
We have only to know and believe that God is God and we are not.
As He tells us, (16) 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Be still, trust in Christ and carry on, for (17) 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Our God is a mighty fortress; nothing ever has nor ever will, defeat or overcome Him.
So with the psalmist we say, (18) The Lord is my strength and my sure defense; He has become my salvation. Psalm 118:14
Rejoicing in His sure salvation, (19) living under His mighty protection, and saved by His amazing grace, let us rest in His mercy, serve Him with joy, and abide in His peace, which passes our understanding, and guards our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, our Lord, our Protector, and our Mighty Fortress. Amen.