Hymn of the Week – “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
Posted on October 25, 2016 by spiritofjoy No comments
This hymn is often referred to as “the battle hymn” of the Reformation. Many stories have been relayed about its use. Albert Bailey writes, “It was, as Heine said, the Marseillaise of the Reformation…It was sung in the streets…It was sung by poor Protestant emigres on their way to exile, and by martyrs at their death…Gustavus Adolphus ordered it sung by his army before the battle of Leipzig in 1631…Again it was the battle hymn of his army at Lutzen in 1632…It has had a part in countless celebrations commemorating the men and events of the Reformation; and its first line is engraved on the base of Luther’s monument at Wittenberg…An imperishable hymn! Not polished and artistically wrought but rugged and strong like Luther himself, whose very words seem like deeds”. As you can see, this is a hymn close to the hearts of Protestants and Lutherans, a source of assurance in times of duress and persecution. The text is not restricted, however, to times of actual physical battles. In any time of need, when we do battle with the forces of evil, God is our fortress to hide us and protect us, and the Word that endures forever will fight for us.
Luther wrote this text sometime between 1527 and 1529 as a paraphrase of Psalm 46, though stanza four comes directly from Luther’s own persecution experience. The most commonly used English version is a translation by Frederick H. Hedge in 1853. The text is full of battle imagery; this, coupled with the historic use of the hymn in actual battles, can be troubling for Christians who struggle with making sense of warfare. There is a case for arguing that we need to see this hymn in light of the history in which it was written, when Christians were fighting to defend their faith. However, this text also needs to be understood in terms of a spiritual struggle against the powers of darkness. Whether we believe in very real, physical demons and tempters, or less concrete forces, we are in the midst of a very real war between good and evil. That sounds very dramatic and almost cliché, but it is important to remember. Luther reminds us that we can’t simply sit back and watch as horrible things unfold in our world, but that we must join the battle, knowing that God is on our side, and that we fight for a side that has, in a sense, already won.