Be Still and Know I AM God!
Text: Psalm 46 God is Our Fortress
When Job had been devastated by a series of incredible tragedies, he sat in sackcloth upon a bed of ashes for seven days and seven nights.1 His friends traveled a great distance to sit at his side during this period of immeasurable grief. When Job finally broke his silence, he lamented that “the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.” Many of us endure trials in life that are similarly devastating. We’ve lost loved ones. Battles against cancer. Struggle with various forms of addiction or substance abuse. Financial stress or the stress of a job that is not a passion but necessary to make ends meet. Natural disasters strike without mercy or discretion. Men of small faith wage enormous wars that affect the entire world. Psalm forty-six was written during just such a time of overwhelming turmoil in Jerusalem.
As a monk in Erfurt, Martin Luther prayed the Psalms seven times daily, going through them all at least once a week. As Wittenburg University’s newest professor, his first lectures were on the Psalms. He knew them by heart as well as knew their power as prayers for all times and situations. And, he knew the overwhelming battle of the soul against sin and the power of the devil intimately.
Luther would repeatedly turn to the Psalms for solace and strength. With the continent of Europe in upheaval, he found great comfort in the soul-lifting truths of the Psalms. Specifically, in 1527, Luther faced one of the greatest difficulties of his life as the Black Plague swept across Germany and much of the European continent. During this time, Luther’s son almost died, and his own body was fainting under the mounting pressure. Amid this personal conflict, Luther found himself contemplating the promises of Psalm forty-six, an encouraging psalm of trust in the invincibility of the Lord. Soon after, he penned the song which would become known as the battle hymn of the Reformation: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, A Mighty Fortress is Our God.