February - A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Lyrics
1. 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
does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
2. 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 his name,
from age to age the same;
and he must win the battle.
3. And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has 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.
4. 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, 1529)
Here is great information about the Hymn from Ghetty Music
- https://www.gettymusic.com/fhotm-september-21
Hymn Story
This hymn was written by Martin Luther 500 years ago. Martin Luther is an important person in the long story of the Church. He lived at a time when most people could not read the Bible for themselves or sing together like churches do today. But He believed so strongly that everyone should be able to read and sing God’s Word on their own and together. The Truth of God and the good news of the Lord Jesus is hope for the whole world!
Many people were angry at his thoughts and actions. He needed great courage. Like today there were also many diseases and wars and people struggled to see God’s light in all the darkness. Martin Luther wrote this hymn to give people confidence in God, that all His promises would be fulfilled and no power on earth could stop them.
There are several hymns we sing today that were not written in English. This was written in German and then translated into English and many other languages. There are many translations of the hymn but the one most widely known today was created by Frederick H. Hedge in 1853. Here is verse 1 in German - maybe you can try saying the words!
Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott,
ein' gute Wehr und waffen;
er hilft uns frei aus aller Not,
die uns jetzt hat betroffen.
Der alt' böse Feind,
mit Ernst er's jetzt meint,
groß Macht und viel List
sein' grausam' Rüstung ist,
auf Erd' ist nicht seinsgleichen.
Something to Think About
Do you know what a Bulwark is? It’s a strange word to our ears! In fact this hymn has many big words and ideas that you will not understand all at once. Sometimes learning an old hymn like this one it is like beginning to learn an instrument. You learn a little bit at a time and as you practice and grow up you understand more and more. The little bit you know is still so valuable and the more you know the more you enjoy the whole instrument, or in this case the whole hymn. This hymn has been around for 500 years so you will probably sing it all the way until you are old and your children too. So it’s worth starting to learn! For hundreds of years it has helped give courage to people just like you and me.
So what is a Bulwark? It is a strong wall. Like on a castle or the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. or a battle line in a war. We have many castles in Ireland. You can still see some that have lasted very well, but many have crumbled over time. Luther was describing God as a wall of protection around us; but a wall that unlike any other would never crumble. There are many things that can make us afraid and as we get older some of that grows. But God’s wall around His children is bigger than our greatest fear and bigger than any trouble we may face.
Our bodies are amazing but even they begin to crumble and do not last. Jesus came to earth to die on the cross for the sin that has broken everything in this world. He did this so that our souls, the deep forever part of who we are, would be fixed to how it was always meant to be. One day the Lord will heal us completely - body, heart, mind and soul! In this way we are untouchable!! We know that the Lord is in charge of all things. That’s why Luther could write,
‘Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill:
God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever!