A Mighty Fortress
from EIGHTH COMMANDMENT on SermonAudio Hosted by Dr. George Grant
According to popular legend, the frontiersman Daniel Boone first laid eyes on the bluegrass region of central Kentucky on June 7, 1769. To gain this initial sight, Boone and his companions scaled a 700-foot sandstone outcrop called Pilot Knob, which gives a commanding view over the surrounding dense forest. After weeks of traveling over forbidding mountains, fording raging rivers, and narrowly escaping imprisonment by hostile Shawnee warriors, their ascent of this tower-like hill must have given the haggard frontiersmen a sense of relief. The expansive view of what he called "ample plains [and] beauteous tracts below" must have been mingled with hopes for future blessing and security in what would be his new home in subsequent years. Pilot Knob is now a Kentucky state nature preserve, and the summit still provides stunning views of this rugged region, with the addition of (on clear days) the skyline of the city of Lexington 40 miles in the distance. I had this spot, which I had the pleasure of hiking earlier this year, in mind as I was setting the text of Psalm 46 for congregational worship. The language of a "refuge," a "help in trouble," a fortress amid mountains, rivers, and hostile enemies paired in my mind with this lonely outpost where American settlers first found a refuge in the land the natives called a "dark and bloody ground." While not as venerable a setting of Psalm 46 as Luther's EIN FESTE BURG, I hope that the bluegrass inspired PILOT KNOB has helped you engage with this beautiful text from the Scriptures over these past few weeks. —Henry C. Haffner
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