A Mighty Fortress Is Our God - Bible Study

A Bible Study Inspired by a Hymn

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Text: Martin Luther (1483-1546)

(Lutheran Service Book 656, 657)

Primary Biblical References: Psalm 46:1, 7, 11; Revelation 19:11–16; Romans 8:31–39; Ephesians 6:10–17

A mighty fortress is our God,

      A trusty shield and weapon;

He helps us free from ev’ry need

      That hath us now o’ertaken.

The old evil foe

Now means deadly woe;

      Deep guile and great might

      Are his dread arms in fight;

On earth is not his equal.

With might of ours can naught be done,

      Soon were our loss effected;

But for us fights the valiant One,

      Whom God Himself elected.

Ask ye, Who is this?

Jesus Christ it is,

      Of Sabaoth Lord,

      And there’s none other God;

He holds the field forever.

Though devils all the world should fill,

      All eager to devour us,

We tremble not, we fear no ill;

      They shall not overpow’r us.

This world’s prince may still

Scowl fierce as he will,

      He can harm us none.

      He’s judged; the deed is done;

One little word can fell him.

The Word they still shall let remain

      Nor any thanks have for it;

He’s by our side upon the plain

      With His good gifts and Spirit.

And take they our life,

Goods, fame, child, and wife,

      Though these all be gone,

      Our vict’ry has been won;

The Kingdom ours remaineth.

Reformation Sunday, the last Sunday in October, is observed by most every church identifying itself as “Lutheran.” Those who forgo this celebration on Sunday most likely do so because they have a special Reformation Day worship service on October 31. By far the most sung hymn in those services will be “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Those congregations that don’t get to sing it will hear their choir sing this “Battle Hymn of the Reformation.” It is, by far, the best known hymn Luther wrote and it has been said that a hymnal isn’t worth being called a hymnal if it doesn’t have “A Might Fortress.” The hymn has been translated into more languages than any other hymn in history.

There has been more written about Luther than any other person in history except Jesus Christ, I certainly can’t provide an adequate summary of his life and work here. Because his work as a theologian is so towering, his work in reference to singing is often overshadowed. Often the only hymn people can identify as written by him is “A Mighty Fortress,” but he actually wrote 37 different songs. Still, there is a reason why this is his best known hymn. It is simply great.

Congregational singing is one of the wonderful gifts of the Reformation. While other traditions struggled with the idea, Lutherans sang their hearts out. This is due, in no small part, to Luther’s love of singing. He bequeathed this love to those of us who follow in his wake.

“A Mighty Fortress” was written in German, Luther’s native tongue. What we have in English is a translation. It has been translated many times. Our hymnal actually has two different translations. This study draws from hymn 656.

Luther’s day was a turbulent time. Military force was used in an attempt to crush the Reformation. Luther himself was an outlaw, condemned by the Roman Church as a heretic and sentenced to death by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles. Anyone could legally murder him. He spent two years in exile at the Wartburg castle. In spite of all the human agents arrayed against him, Luther knew the battle was really a great battle against Satan and his forces. He also knew God was with those who stand with God. He drew real comfort from Psalm 46, and this Psalm provided the main ideas in “A Mighty Fortress.” Verses one and seven read:

^46:1  God is our refuge and strength,

                  a very present help in trouble.

^46:7  The Lord of hosts is with us;

                  the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Can’t you just hear, “A mighty fortress is our God, a trusty shield and weapon; He helps us free from ev’ry need, that hath us now o’ertaken”? Then again, in verse two, “But for us fights the valiant One, whom God Himself elected … Jesus Christ … He holds the field forever.”

The God of Jacob, the Triune God of the Bible, fights these spiritual foes. He is valiant. He holds the field, He is our victory. He is our mighty protector. Just to emphasize this point, verse eleven of the Psalm is the same as verse seven. The God of Jacob is with us, he is our fortress.

In Ephesians 6:10-17 Paul writes about this spiritual combat.

¹⁰    Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:10–17)

Reading these words of Holy Scripture, one cannot help but agree that Luther knew clearly about this deadly battle when he wrote, “The old evil foe now means deadly woe; deep guile and great might are his dread arms in fight; on earth is not his equal. With might of ours can naught be done, soon were our loss effected” and “Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us”. Yes, we may see human agents, but the real puppet masters are “the rulers … the authorities … the cosmic powers over this present darkness … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

How can we cope with such formidable evil powers? Paul tells us “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand”. The “Lord” is, of course, our Lord Jesus. Again the words of “A Mighty Fortress,” verse two, come to mind. “But for us fights the valiant One, Whom God Himself elected. Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is, Of Sabaoth Lord, And there’s none other God; He holds the field forever.” Paul lists the array of armor God gives us. It can be summarized in the Gospel and the blessings which flow from it. Some of those blessings are life, salvation, forgiveness, peace and the word of God

Luther writes “with might of ours can naught be done” (stanza 2). We need a champion. We see that champion in Revelation 19:11–16.

¹¹    Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. ¹²His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. ¹³He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

In this vision of heaven John sees the One who won the dreadful battle for us. “He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God” (v. 13). The living Word, Jesus (John 1:14), shed His blood on Calvary for us and proclaimed victory over Satan, sin, and eternal death with His glorious resurrection. Through faith in Him we have the same victory.

In Romans 8:31-39 Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions.

³¹    What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶As it is written,

      “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

                  we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷    No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul asks believers, if the Father didn’t spare His own Son, won’t He give us everything we need? The answer is “Yes!” Whatever happens in life, “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (v. 37). Can anything separate us from God’s loving protection (v. 39)? Nothing can “separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Stanza 4 echoes this truth.

The Word they still shall let remain

      Nor any thanks have for it;

He’s by our side upon the plain

      With His good gifts and Spirit.

And take they our life,

Goods, fame, child, and wife,

      Though these all be gone,      

      Our vict’ry has been won;

The Kingdom ours remaineth.

Two final comments: 

      1)   When you sing this hymn, you shouldn’t sing just verse one. If you do, you end by leaving Satan in charge. Sing at least two verses. 

      2)  There are two arrangements commonly associated with this hymn. The first was written by Martin Luther and is the more rugged of the two. The second was a modification by J.S. Bach. The Bach arrangement is the more common arrangement in non-Lutheran churches.