Streams of Grace From Mt. Zion

The Western World would be changed in many ways for the better by Martin Luther's bodly challenging the norms of his day. The dignity of each member of the church, music and vocation, would be looked at in entirely new ways. But in the midst of this turmoil, this opposition, this change, there was a building confidence in God, and in the word of his God over all else. A bold determination to see God's word and His gospel go out to all people. There was a growing trust in this Mighty Fortress who had approved his work and had protected him in all his toils and dangers. God continued to help him advance in these reforms. And this is the forge, the backdrop, in which this hymn and this passage should be considered.

What happens if the earth were to be removed, nothing can shake the Church. We have an impenetrable, unchangeable, and unconquerable refuge in God. There is nothing in God's creation that can keep you from ruin and destruction. Stable health, weath, and government all gone in a moment. But those who trust in the Lord will find a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God. He is sovereign over the destructive waters, and brings peaceable rivers. The river cheers or makes glad. The Spirit of God brings abundant graces in their need. How does God in Christ cheer us? It is with the word and the gospel ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. How rich is this!