The story of Martin Luther should be well known by now, especially after all the attention given to the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation just three years ago. It was on October 31, 1517, on the eve of All Saints Day, that this young Augustinian monk posted his “95 Theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. While this first step dealt primarily with the sale of indulgences and the Roman Catholic sacrament of penance, Luther’s study of the Bible soon led him deeper to “rediscover” the glorious doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, and all founded on Scripture alone (the “Five SOLAS”).
Luther had been headed toward a career in law, which was what his father had expected and desired. But traveling along the road, a sudden thunderstorm so terrified that young student that he cried out in fear, “St. Anne, save me and I’ll become a monk.” She was the patron saint of miners, the work his father performed. Much to the anger of his father, Luther left his studies at the University of Erfurt and entered the Augustinian monastery in that city, where he was also subsequently ordained there as a priest in 1507.
He devoted himself wholeheartedly to the life of a monk, earnestly seeking God’s favor. He later wrote, “If ever a monk could get to heaven by his monkery, it was I.” But the more he worked at it, the more he felt hopelessly damned by a God who demanded a righteousness that Luther could not achieve. He confessed later that he did not love this God; he hated Him! To try to help his troubled conscience, his superiors sent him on an official mission to the city of Rome to find solace in the church. But the trip had exactly the opposite effect. He was appalled by the blatant hypocrisy and immorality of the clergy. After climbing the famed 28 steps of the “Scala Sancta” on his knees with other pilgrims, as the church promised reduction in purgatory for every “Our Father” prayed along the way, he stood up at the top and said out loud, “Who knows whether this is true?”
Sometime after that, he was sent to the city of Wittenberg to be a theology professor in the new university there founded by the Elector, Frederick the Wise. It was there that his study brought him to the wonderful realization that God did not demand Luther’s righteousness; rather that God Himself provided that righteousness as a gift to be received by faith: Christ’s perfect righteousness! The truth opened up in his heart in Romans 1:17, “The just shall live by faith.” This is how he later described that moment. “I felt that I had been born anew and that the gates of heaven had been opened. The whole of Scripture gained a new meaning. And from that point on the phrase, ‘the justice of God’ no longer filled me with hatred, but rather became unspeakable sweet by virtue of a great love.”
Luther continued to grow in his appreciation of the gospel. He wrote, taught, and mentored, with the result that this rejuvenated love for the Savior spread throughout Europe, and came eventually to the New World. During the year that he was in hiding at the Wartburg Castle, he translated the Bible into German, virtually creating the modern German language. He transformed worship by bringing the preaching of the Word to its rightful central place. And he wrote 36 hymns, so that people could sing the praises of God, rather than just listen to the plainsong chants of the clergy in a language (Latin) they could not understand. “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” is his best-known. Our hymnals also include “Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Grasp,” “From Heaven High I Come to You,” and “From Depths of Woe I Raise to Thee.”
He married a former nun, Katharine von Bora, and they raised six children to know the Lord. He even wrote a catechism to help them learn biblical truths. Together they lived in the Wittenberg monastery as he continued to teach in the university. Though excommunicated by Pope Leo X and condemned as a heretic, we thank God for his faithfulness. We also remember his boldness as he stood before the Emperor and the princes of the Roman church at the imperial Diet of Worms in 1521. When he was asked if he would recant all his writings, spread on the table before the court, he famously replied:
Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.
We celebrate these events every year at the end of October, and often with a special festival service on the Sunday prior to the 31st. At those services, we obviously put “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” to work, both as a congregational hymn, and in special organ and choral compositions based on it. Luther also wrote the music for the hymn. An incorrect “folk tale” has long circulated that he “stole” the melody from a common bar song in the taverns. To the contrary, Luther used the finest music forms known in his day. That false idea arose perhaps because the music is in “Bar Form,” a common medieval structure in which the musical phrases are presented in this sequence: A – A – B.
“A Mighty Fortress is Our God” is based on Psalm 46. He wrote the hymn sometime between 1527 and 1529, a decade after posting his “95 Theses.” He was still under the condemnation of the Roman Church, condemned as a heretic, and in danger of being captured, tried, and executed, as so many other had been. He was blessed to be under the protection of the local ruler, Elector Frederick the Wise, who provided protection for him. And so, when Luther wrote those words, he was proclaiming his confidence in the Lord to preserve him against the combined forces of church and state that threatened him. More than that, he wrote the words, recognizing his – and our – real enemy is none other than Satan himself. We still have to deal with that same enemy. And so, this “battle hymn of the Reformation” is our profession as well, looking to the same God who is our fortress.
In stanza 1 we sing the images directly from Psalm 46, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” In past ages, cities were built with walls to protect the inhabitants, making it a secure fortress against attackers. God Himself is our fortress. Our ancient foe is none other than the Devil, a very crafty and powerful adversary. He seeks to harm us, and there is no one on earth as his equal to be able to protect us.
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.
In stanza 2 we sing that if we put our trust in ourselves, we would be lost regardless of how earnestly we fought against that satanic foe. We need someone to come and fight for us. We need someone that God chooses. And that person is God Himself in the person of the Son. His is the Lord Sabaoth, the commander in chief of the armies of heaven! He is our champion, and is guaranteed to win the battle.
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.
In stanza 3 we face the enemy, recognizing that Satan and his vast army of devils are fierce and dangerous, totally devoted to wreaking havoc in the world, in the church, and in our lives. But though his rage is terrible, it will not shake us. It won’t be easy, but we can endure that, knowing that his doom is certain. “One little word shall fell him.” Revelation shows us the Son of God with a sword from His mouth. He will merely speak a word, and the battle will be over. How we long for that day!
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.
In stanza 4 we rejoice in that victory. Though Satan will fight to the very end, that one word, spoken by the Word of God, Jesus Himself, will achieve the victory in a moment. Until then, the Lord has gifted His people with the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit so that we can stand firm, using the Christian’s armor in Ephesians 6. We can give up everything, even our very lives if we are called to martyrdom. But God’s truth will still abide, and we will be alive in His kingdom with Him and all the saints forever.
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.
Here is a recording of the hymn being sung in worship. Notice that on the third stanza, the choir sings it in the rhythmic pattern that Luther would have known. It is a much “livelier” rhythm than we’re accustomed to!
Mendelssohn’s Fifth Symphony is sometimes called the “Reformation Symphony” as he included “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” in the final movement. You can listen to that last movement here.