A MIGHTY FORTRESS
IS OUR GOD
A mighty fortress
is our God, a sword and shield victorious;
he breaks the
cruel oppressor’s rod and wins salvation glorious.
The old satanic
foe has sworn to work us woe!
With craft and
dreadful might he arms himself to fight.
On earth he has
no equal.
No strength of
ours can match his might! We would be lost, rejected.
But now a
champion comes to fight, whom God himself elected.
You ask who this
may be? The Lord of hosts is he!
Christ Jesus,
mighty Lord, God’s only Son, adored.
He holds the
field victorious.
God’s Word
forever shall abide, no thanks to foes, who fear it;
for God himself
fights by our side with weapons of the Spirit.
Were they to take
our house, goods, honor, child, or spouse,
though life be
wrenched away, they cannot win the day.
The kingdom’s
ours forever!
Text: Martin
Luther, 1483-1546; tr. Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978
Used by
permission. © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, admin.
Augsburg Fortress
Martin Luther —
along with being a reformer, a theologian, a fiery preacher and a
Bible translator — was also an exceptional musician. He wrote, “I
am strongly persuaded that after theology, there is no art that
can be placed on a level with music, for besides theology, music
is the only art capable of affording peace and joy to the heart.”
I love music,
too. So Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress,” is not only a
treasured Lutheran hymn; it’s also beautiful music. Lutherans sing
it on Reformation Sunday as a reminder of the trials Martin Luther
faced as he challenged the religious hierarchy of his day.
“A Mighty
Fortress,” based on Psalm 46, reflects Luther’s awareness of his
own – and our own – intense struggle with Satan. In difficulty
and danger, God is with us.
Luther’s words
give hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak, truth to the
disheartened and belief to the unbeliever. There is nothing that
can keep God from being our salvation. He is our strength, our
warrior, our helper. He is with us forever.
Our God, our
mighty fortress, keep us this day from harm, from evil. Continue
to strengthen us in our beliefs and in our struggles. We love you
for loving us.
