“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
Written by Dr. Marcus J. Serven
Following the great spiritual conflict at the imperial diet at Worms between Martin Luther and his accusers (1521), the Roman Catholic Church issued a Papal Bull proclaiming Luther’s excommunication. Not only was Luther’s soul threatened, but also his physical life. A supportive German Prince, Frederick of Saxony, providentially arranged for his “kidnapping” from the Roman Catholic authorities. Heavily-armed knights, loyal to Frederick, disguised themselves as common thieves and captured Luther, whisking him off to a castle high in the mountains of Thuringia. For almost a year he lay hidden in “The Wartburg” under the false name “George the Knight,” or Junker Jorg. During this time he grew a beard and carried a large sword to complete the disguise. Although the Reformation went on without him, he did not fall into a period of melancholy and apathy. Instead, he used his time of concealment well, translating the entire New Testament into the German vernacular (1522). He also began work on a translation of the Old Testament which he completed later (1534).
Moreover, during this time of forced detainment he wrote many stirring hymns of which “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” is the best known. Based on Psalm 46, the words of verse one were especially powerful to the solitary Reformer–“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” It has been reported that while watching the smoke from the many peasant campfires in the valley below, Luther became discouraged by feelings of loneliness and discouragement. A fresh wind, though, blew the smoke away, and he was greatly encouraged by the thought that the Lord could blow his own fears and doubts away. Roland Bainton writes,
That great battle hymn of the Reformation, “A Mighty Fortress,” appeared only in a later hymnbook. Here if anywhere we have both Luther’s words and music, and here more than elsewhere we have the epitome of Luther’s religious character. The hymn is based on the Vulgate version of the Forty-sixth Psalm, for Luther in his personal devotions continued to use the Latin on which he had been reared. Whereas in this psalm the Hebrew reads “God is our refuge.” The Latin has “Our God is a refuge.” Similarly Luther begins, “A mighty fortress is our God.” Though the Forty-sixth Psalm is basic, it is handled with exceeding freedom and interwoven with many remembrances of the Pauline epistles and the Apocalypse. Richly quarried, rugged words set to majestic tones marshal the embattled hosts of heaven. The hymn to the end strains under the overtones of cosmic conflict as the Lord God of Sabaoth smites the prince of darkness grim and vindicates the martyred saints. Luther’s people learned to sing…A Jesuit testified that “the hymns of Luther killed more souls than his sermons.”
Roland Bainton, Here I Stand, 270-271
When you consider the promises of God contained in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength,” and how Luther lay safely hidden in the Wartburg Castle, then it is easy to understand his powerful lyrics written in the context of his captivity. He rejoiced that the Lord had delivered him from his enemies for a season, and that he was able to continue the spread of the Reformation through his translation of the New Testament, his books, and his hymns.
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.
–from the Trinity Hymnal
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Sources:
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” in the Trinity Hymnal. Revised Edition. Atlanta, GA: Great Commission Publications, 1990 [page 92].
Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. New York, NY: Meridian Books, 1950.
Dr. Marcus J. Serven, ThM and DMin
The Genevan Foundation – Copyright November 2012 – All Rights Reserved