Introduction: Psalm 46:7 is the source of Martin Luther's famous hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," according to the note in our hymn book. There are many other verses which speak of God as our fortress:
Psa 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psa 62:6-7 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Fortress building reached a peak in the 7th century BC at Ninevah in Assyria. Nineveh was more heavily fortified than any ancient city to that point in history. It had walls 100 feet tall and 50 feet thick. Three chariots could ride abreast on the walls. Its towers were 200 feet tall. A moat 150 feet wide circled the 7 miles around the city. The fortresses of Europe of the middle ages were puny in comparison. A fortress city such as Ninevah, if they had water and food, could resist enemy armies for literally years.
Psalm 46 emphasizes five wonderful truths about God our Fortress.
I. OUR FORTRESS IS MIGHTY.
Ninevah was a mighty fortress, but was eventually defeated. How mighty is God? Can God ever be defeated? He is the Almighty One! He is the one who spoke and created all things by the word of His power. Is anything too hard for God? Is there anyone who can successfully resist His will?
Read Hymn # 59 with me.....
"I Sing the Mighty Power of God that made the mountains rise;
That spread the flowing seas abroad, And built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at His command, And all the stars obey."
Luther understood that God was our strong fortress...
"A Mighty Fortress is Our God, A bulwark never failing"
II. OUR FORTRESS IS ALWAYS THERE.
Psalm 46:1 "An ever-present help in trouble."
Ninevah existed in one location, in the far North of present day Iraq. Chattanooga exists here, in the SE corner of Tennessee. It can't move. If you are in Nashville, you can't be in Chattanooga. If you leave Ninevah, and travel cross country, you can't flee inside the walls of Ninevah when danger threatens. But God is everywhere, all the time.
Psa 139:8-10 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
God promised to never forsake us. Wherever you are, God is there. President Bush wants to construct space stations on the Moon, and on Mars. God is already there, and even there God will be a fortress for His children.
III. OUR FORTRESS TAKES AWAY OUR FEARS.
Psalm 46:2-3 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
In order to be relieved of your fears, you need to be inside the fortress, not outside the fortress. Imagine a peasant working in his fields outside the walls of Ninevah, and seeing the Babylonian army approaching. He would be terrified! But put that same peasant inside the impregnable walls of Ninevah. As he looked over the 100 foot high wall, and saw the Babylonian soldiers completely stymied by the strength of Ninevah's walls, his fears would go away.
God relieves us of our fears when we are IN HIM, and when we are TRUSTING IN HIM. If you are not a believer, you will find no relief from your fears in God. If you are a believer, but you are not really trusting God with your life, you won't find much help either. You must be in Him, and you must put your life in His hands, and then your fears will go away.
Psa 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psa 27:3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. Psalm 91:4-6 His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
IV. OUR FORTRESS IS WELL-WATERED.
Psa 46:4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
In the Bible, water is a symbol of life. This was especially easy for the Israelites to understand, because they lived in a desert. Water is life.
The city of Jerusalem had a secret underground water supply. There was an underground spring outside the city walls to the East of the city, called the Gihon Spring. The word "Gihon" in Hebrew means "to gush forth." But during the reign of King Hezekiah in the 8th century BC, an underground tunnel, thousands of feet long, was constructed from that Spring, under the wall of Jerusalem, and into the city, and then to the Pool of Siloam. Even when surrounded by enemies, Jerusalem had water.
When you are IN GOD, you not only have safety and lack of fear, but you also have spiritual water and food.
Psa 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
V. OUR FORTRESS IS BOUND TO US BY A COVENANT.
Psalm 46:7, 11 repeats this thought twice for emphasis, when it tells us the Jehovah is "the God of Jacob:"
"The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
In Old Testament days, Israel (Jacob) was the Covenant people of God. He was bound to them, and they were bound to Him. He loved them, and watched over them. They were the apple of His eye.
Today, God's people of all nationalities, all who have faith in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, are bound to Him by the New Covenant in Jesus' blood. We will ALWAYS be His children. He will ALWAYS be our God. We may rely on Him fully and always, because He has bound Himself to us with the blood of His Son.
Conclusion: Psalm 46 tells us five facts about God our fortress:
Have you received Jesus as your Savior? Have you found what it means for God to be your fortress? Why not turn to Him today?