Psalm 46: 8-11 - Our reading is the inspiration for tomorrow’s sermon
hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”
The Psalmist says, “God is our refuge and strength”
The careful
structure of the stanza is itself a poetic hedge against chaos:
The earth changes
God is in the midst of the city, which therefore shall not be moved
The nations are in an uproar
God is our refuge
The most enduring symbol of the Lutheran Reformation
is the seal that Luther himself designed to represent his theology. By the
early 1520s, this seal begins to appear on the title page of Luther’s works.
Here is how Luther himself explained its meaning:
First, there is a black cross in a heart that remains
its natural color. This is to remind me that it is faith in the Crucified One
that saves us. Anyone who believes from the heart will be justified (Romans
10:10). It is a black cross, which mortifies and causes pain, but it leaves the
heart its natural color. It doesn’t destroy nature, that is to say, it does not
kill us but keeps us alive, for the just shall live by faith in the Crucified
One (Romans 1:17). The heart should stand in the middle of a white rose. This
is to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace—it puts the believer into a
white, joyous rose. Faith does not give peace and joy like the world gives
(John 14:27). This is why the rose must be white, not red. White is the color
of the spirits and angels (cf. Matthew 28:3; John 20:12). This rose should
stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that a joyful spirit and faith is a
beginning of heavenly, future joy, which begins now, but is grasped in hope,
not yet fully revealed. Around the field of blue is a golden ring to symbolize
that blessedness in heaven lasts forever and has no end. Heavenly blessedness
is exquisite, beyond all joy and better than any possessions, just as gold is
the most valuable and precious metal.[2]
[1]
Luther’s Seal copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[2]
(From: Letter from Martin Luther to Lazarus Spengler, July 8, 1530 [WA Br
5:445]; tr. P. T. McCain)
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