Rev. Don Campbell
2 Kings 18:9-19:37; Psalms 46, 80, and 135
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, July 28, 2019
“THE DEVIL IS ALIVE AND WELL”
Very few professing Christians have not sung—or at least heard—Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” The first verse says,
“A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he, amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal”
Luther based the hymn on Psalm 46, which was probably written in response to the events in 2 Kings when Sennacherib was laying siege to Jerusalem. Hezekiah had prayed to God who heard him and spoke through Isaiah: “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land’” (2 Kings 19:6-7).
Sennacherib defied God and marched against Jerusalem, but God had heard Hezekiah’s prayers: “And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh” (2 Kings 19:35-37). The first three verses of Psalm 46 are:
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. (Psalms 46:1-3)
As Luther wrote, “our ancient foe does seek to work us woe.” The devil is alive and well on planet earth. Ironically, Satan does not want us to believe that he exists because when we truly believe that he exists, we will resist him, as Peter calls us to do: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
In the preface to “The Screwtape Letters,” C. S. Lewis wrote: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
CONNECTIONS
1. Satan laughs with delight because 65% of the nation’s youth do not believe that Satan is real. While the fear of Satan should not be the primary motivating factor for faithfully serving God, how can this disbelief contribute to one’s sinning?
2. Who is the greater danger to our society: the church of Satan or those who deny his existence? Why do you answer as you do?
