A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, in saying “Repent,” intended that the whole life of believers should be repentance. – Martin Luther, Thesis 1

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. – Psalm 46:1

I have been doing a lot of data entry at work lately, and as mundane as it is, I have been using the opportunity to listen to a lot of sermon podcast from this past weekend (November 1). While most I would classify under the Matt Chandler term “Christless expounding on nothingness,” the most amazing fact I noticed was the complete lack of references to the significance of the Reformation weekend.

On October 31, 1517, pastor and theologian Martin Luther wrote to Albrecht von Hohenzollern, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, protesting the claim that freedom from God’s punishment of sin could be purchased with money (indulgences). He enclosed in his letter a copy of his Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, which came to be known as The 95 Theses. I have posted what I consider the most important thesis above, and having read a few biography’s on Luther, I understand that he was attacking the medieval notion of sacramental penitence with this specific thesis. This kind of “repentance” could be limited to isolated outward acts, leaving the rest of our lives safe from the absolute upheaval of true repentance. Luther contended that real repentance opens us up to endless personal transformation, leaving nothing about us untouched.

This brings me to the title of my post. One of the greatest songs that I associate with the Reformation and Martin Luther is Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (A sure stronghold our God is He). Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott was written by Martin Luther somewhere between 1527 and 1529, approximately a decade after he presented his theses to the Archbishop. It was only later, in 1852, when Frederick Hedge translated the text to the more familiar 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

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God is a paraphrase of Psalm 46, a psalm that greatly encouraged Luther during a time when Luther and his followers were going through a particularly rough patch of opposition with the Emperor, Charles V, seemingly determined to suppress the new “Reformation” movement. The word “bulwark” in the first line is an old word for a structure of protection and support, the “refuge and strength” described in the Psalm. Luther modulates the text into a New Testament setting and describes the true battle we’re fighting. The powers of evil and the devil are at work against us, but the name of Christ is power enough to defeat them authoritatively and finally. Luther’s original composition became immediately popular with the common people of Germany, being sung continually in the streets and chanted by the martyrs as they awaited their grim fate.

Considerable dispute surrounds the origin of the music, with some attributing it to Luther himself. Others give the honor to the great J. S. Bach; and it’s true that Bach did use the tune as the basis of one of his many chorales; however, Bach was not born until 1685, over a hundred and fifty years after Luther’s great song first appeared. It seems clear then, that Martin Luther rightly deserves the credit, if not for the original composition, at least for adapting it, possibly from an old German folk tune.

Martin Luther wrote many songs to teach people biblical doctrine in a way that was memorable and comprehensible, but much more important than the music, however, is the message; and what a message this great song has for the people of God. It turns their eyes and thoughts away from the afflictions of this world, and the opposition of Satanic hosts, and fixes them upon the person of the Lord Jesus, the Lord Sabaoth as Luther so rightly refers to Him in one of the verses.

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
You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He
Lord Sabaoth is 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 pow’rs, 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

Since Reformation day has already come and gone this year, I would like to remind people of some of the basic theology that came from Martin Luther and the Reformation, as well as some questions to consider for the coming year:

Ad Fontes (To the Sources) – Do we read the Bible as often as we read books about the Bible?

Sola Scriptura (By Scripture Alone) – Is Scripture alone the supreme authority to which we direct thoughtful attention each day?

Priesthood of Believers – Do our neighbors and friends see in us a commitment to gospel ministry worked out in a regular routine of service?

Solus Christus (Through Christ Alone) – Do we enter God’s presence directly and with confidence by virtue of the high priesthood of Christ?

Sola Fide (By Faith Alone) – Do we rest in our Lord’s finished work, accessed by faith alone, as the sole basis of our right standing with God?

Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone) – Do we regularly communicate the good news of Jesus’s death, resurrection, and new creation, believing that the Holy Spirit will extend redemption through the foolishness of this message to save lost people and transform the world?

When Luther posted his theses, he undermined self-reinforcing Christianity (which is not Christianity), and he launched a new era of self-challenging Christianity, which is the power of the gospel. The world needs this kind of gospel disturbance. Carbondale needs it. I need it.

Shelby out!

P.S. I still consider Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 in D major, op. 107, ”Reformation,” one of the greatest musical settings of this hymn.