Fellow-Redeemed,
Make no mistake. It was a crisis of epic proportion. Would the church herald the good news that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ? Or, would Satan’s lie that you could earn or buy the forgiveness of sins bury the gospel even deeper? This mighty struggle was more than one man vs. the secular government and the Roman church. The Lutheran Reformation was about Jesus’ promise to Peter, “On this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” [Mt. 16:18]
We benefactors of Jesus’ promise opened our celebration of the gospel by singing a hymn closely associated with the Reformation It is a good hymn also because this is the first Sunday of end time. We have a more ancient song of similar thought in Psalm 46. Luther likely wrote A Mighty Fortress in the late 1520s. He based the hymn, of course, on Psalm 46.
What is the message the Psalm writer and Luther wanted to convey when they put pen to paper? God Exercises His Rule Over the World in Christ. If Psalm 46 were a coin, it would have two sides; on one side, the Holy Spirit has engraved the crises of life and the comfort God provides during those times. On the other, he has engraved the final conflict and the perfect peace the end of time brings.
There are going to be crises in life because we live in a fallen world. There are the losses of health and job. There are the deaths of loved ones. There are conflicts between parents and children, between brothers and sisters. Our neighbors or coworkers ridicule us for our Christian faith. You could make your own lists. At times, we may quiver like a helpless little rabbit hunters are pursuing. Where can I run to and hide so that I am safe?
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” A refuge is an impregnable fortress; a mighty fortress we might say. It is the cleft in a rock face where the little cony can take refuge from the hunter who wants to kill it. Strength is the stronghold where a warrior’s family is secure while he fights the enemy. Our God is that refuge, that strength in the crises of life both material and spiritual. God does provide my daily bread. He is the Lord of life and death. He has forgiven all my sins for Jesus’ sake. God exercises his rule over the world in Christ.
Psalm 46 is a musical history book in a sense. When the Egyptians chased the fleeing Israelites, God drowned Pharaoh’s army. When the Assyrians under Sennacherib threatened Jerusalem, “the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp.” [2 Kings 19:35] Later, Sennacherib’s two sons murdered their father.
There are times in history when it seems the very earth is giving way under our feet. I suspect many believers along the northeastern seaboard might be thinking along those lines. There is uncertainty about what will happen in the election this coming Tuesday and what will follow for our country as a result.
More and more visible church bodies pull the rug out from under the faith of our fellow believers by lying in God’s name with false doctrine especially about the way to heaven. This is nothing new. Nor is it new that in the church, “the LORD almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress.” When Luther and the other reformers stood their ground on the Word of God, the Lord helped them free from every need that had them overtaken. Such things are precursors of the end of all things. Until that end, the church, the spiritual body of Jesus Christ will remain safe and sound until its final triumph.
Many cities in our country are great because their founders build the cities on rivers; Detroit, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, St. Louis to name a few. God has built his city, “the city of God,” on the river of the gospel of Christ. God dwells within us in the Word and sacrament. These means of grace make the church strong so that we will not fall. God exercises his rule over the world in Christ.
The Psalmist declares a second certainty. The final conflict will bring perfect peace at the end of time.
As we gather today, “nations are in an uproar; kingdoms fall.” Will this be the day “he lifts his voice, the earth melts?” I can imagine Luther thinking his day would have been a good time for Jesus to come and take what was left of the church into heaven. Paul had the same hope.
We do not waver in our assurance that the end is coming soon. God will help his church “at the break of day.” This Hebrew idiom indicates that the darkness of night is short and only temporary. The church has endured false teachings and those who have gathered around them “teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” [two Tm 4:12] for 500+ years since the start of the Reformation. The church will continue for the few more days we have until it goes into eternity.
When that day appears, we are safe in judgment. One of the questions in the Bible Information Course I am using now asks, “Why Shouldn’t We Fear The Final Judgment?” The answer is “We have nothing to fear, for Christ has given eternal life to those who believe in him.” The believer is like the wise person who stands under a doorway in an earthquake. This is where they tell you to stand. It is the strongest protection and safest place when the rest of the building collapses around you.
What will take place at the end? “Come and see the works of the LORD. The desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.” All the warring among men will cease. All the warfare between God and man, which has ended in Christ even now, will cease completely as God takes his church into perfect peace in heaven.
We have that perfect peace in Christ by grace alone, by faith alone, and by Scripture alone. With the same command Jesus used to quiet the wind and waves on the Sea of Galilee so his disciples would not drown, the LORD commands all people, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” For unbelievers this means to be quiet in their opposition and know they will lose in the end. For believers it means there is no need for crying out in worry and fear and know that the battle is not ours but Christ’s.
God is exalted among the nations as we, the church, the city of God, proclaim the cross and empty tomb of our Savior. We bring our visitors down to the riverside of the gospel in Word and sacrament. The LORD God stills our fretful minds and hearts through the forgiveness of their sins.
The church still is “militant,” fighting against Satan and his lies. However, the victory already is ours as God exercises his rule over the world in Christ. In the end, we all will be part of the church “triumphant.” No earthly government, no ecclesiastical powers can enslave our hearts. Jesus’ promise has good application for Reformation and end times, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” [Jn 8:31,32] Amen. <SDG>