A Mighty Fortress is Our God

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 doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Martin Luther (Life/Hymns) (1527) transl. from German by Frederick H. Hedge 1853

It is less than fashionable, and even objectionable, to refer to God in militaristic terms today.  The songs of today speak of wonder, love, devotion, praise – of God’s great love, His ability to save, comfort, redeem, cleanse, heal and give life.  We sing of sheltering under His wings, in the shadow of His love and under His mighty hand.  We don’t think of them in military terms – Luther lived at a time when trusting in God, as He reveals Himself in His Word, was a matter of life and death.

For most of us reading this (maybe I flatter myself writing ‘us’!) we live in comfort – fearing at worst scorn or other relatively small emotional losses of relationship – we find little comfort in the battle hardened singing of this song.  But there are many around the world who look to God for victory in the midst of ferocious danger and savage opposition.

This hymn was written in the midst of the social and political upheaval which had arisen out of the European Reformation.  Luther had lost friends to the flames of persecution and suppression and faced the prospect of them for himself.  The words of Ps46 lie at the core of this hymn.

We sit in ease and comfort and think the call to ‘be still and know that I am God’ is somehow at odds with the proclamation that God is a God who leads His people into a battle.  We would do well to listen to the hymns of the past and the voices of God’s people suffering around the world: Our God is a Mighty Refuge because He is the Mighty Warrior who has beaten the Evil One and will one day judge him, subdue him and consign all evil to an eternity of God’s justice.

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.   (Selah)

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.   (Selah)

Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.   (Selah)

Psalm 46

Dear Christians, one and all rejoice

Dear Christians, one and all rejoice,

With exultation springing,

And with united heart and voice

And holy rapture singing,

Proclaim the wonders God hath done,

How his right arm the victory won;

Right dearly it hath cost him.
.

Fast bound in Satan’s chains I lay,

Death brooded darkly o’er me;

Sin was my torment night and day,

Therein my mother bore me.

Deeper and deeper still I fell,

Life was become a living hell,

So firmly sin possessed me.

.
My good works could avail me naught,

For they with sin were stainéd;

Free-will against God’s judgment fought,

And dead to good remainéd.

Grief drove me to despair, and I

Had nothing left me but to die,

To hell I fast was sinking.

.
God saw, in his eternal grace,

My sorrow out of measure;

He thought upon his tenderness—

To save was his good pleasure.

He turn’d to me a Father’s heart-

Not small the cost—to heal my smart

He gave his best and dearest.

.
He spake to his beloved Son:

’Tis time to take compassion;

Then go, bright jewel of my crown,

And bring to man salvation;

From sin and sorrow set him free,

Slay bitter death for him, that he

May live with thee forever.

.
The Son delighted to obey,

And born of Virgin mother,

Awhile on this low earth did stay

That he might be my brother.

His mighty power he hidden bore,

A servant’s form like mine he wore,

To bind the devil captive.

.
To me he spake: cling fast to me,

Thou’lt win a triumph worthy;

I wholly give myself for thee,

I strive and wrestle for thee;

For I am thine, thou mine also;

And where I am thou art. The foe

Shall never more divide us.

.
For he shall shed my precious blood,

Me of my life bereaving;

All this I suffer for thy good;

Be steadfast and believing.

My life from death the day shall win,

My righteousness shall bear thy sin,

So art thou blest forever.

.
Now to my Father I depart,

From earth to heaven ascending;

Thence heavenly wisdom to impart,

The Holy Spirit sending.

He shall in trouble comfort thee,

Teach thee to know and follow me,

And to the truth conduct thee.

.
What I have done and taught, do thou

To do and teach endeavor;

So shall my kingdom flourish now,

And God be praised forever.

Take heed lest men with base alloy

The heavenly treasure should destroy.

This counsel I bequeath thee.

Martin Luther 1524

Martin Luther wrote at length of the freedoms Christ has won for those who place their hope and life in Him.  He faced a corrupt political situation so wrapped up in the clothing of the church of his day (and vice versa) that his call to reform that which was corrupted lead to THE Reformation - not a remodelling of what was, but a church shaped anew by what had been forgotten, laid aside or rejected of Scripture's high call to God's people.

German, as a language, is not given to brevity but it is great in precision. This hymn , one of Luther's many, focuses on the work of Jesus and is far better in the German than the English: not that I'm offering to translate it afresh!  The hymns and songs of the day were used to teach and exhort the men and women in the newly forming churches of the reformation.  This explains a didactic tone which would not sit too well in our church gatherings today.

But I think WE* are poorer for not singing some of the great hymns of the past to one another - songs which exhort us to look to Jesus, correct our self centredness, rebuke our sinfulness and remind us of the great and finished work of Salvation done for us and in us through faith in Jesus, the Son of God, through the power of His Holy Spirit!  Four hundred years down the line and we are too forgetful, too easily distracted, too dispassionate and too self-obsessed to learn the lessons which Luther learned, which Jesus entrusted to all who would follow Him 2000 years ago: 

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

Col 3:16

*If at this point you think 'but we do in my church' 1.be thankful and sing those hymns with gusto! 2.don't be smug and pray! :o)