A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Martin Luther was one of the primary reformers during the 16th century, issuing his 95 theses on October 31, 1517, nailed to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Many consider this date in history as the beginning of the Reformation. My wife, Rexanne, and I have been to Wittenberg. While on a trip to one of the libraries we work with in Berlin (OpenDoorLibraries.org), we took a side trip to Wittenberg and visited the city of Luther. We have a picture we took of the Castle Church in our den. As Luther stood before the Diet of Worms, a meeting of Catholic leaders demanding that he recant his teachings, he famously said, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me.”

Luther wasn’t just a priest and theologian; he was a writer of hymns. He was credited with helping bring back a real sense of worship to Sunday gatherings, which included singing. As he had sought to bring the Bible to the common man by having it translated into the local vernacular (German in his case), he also brought back congregational singing by writing hymns in German. Before this, Catholic services were in Latin and did not allow for congregational singing or even understanding what was said. 

One of Luther’s most famous hymns was A Mighty Fortress is Our God. Back in the days when the church I attended still sang hymns, this was one of my favorites. Luther once wrote, “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.” I agree that music is powerful, for good and for bad (reference a lot of modern music that applauds immoral values). But in the right context, at church, for example, music helps us remember concepts that we easily forget if we just hear them spoken or just read them. That is why the Psalms are so powerful. Songs the Jews sang.

Speaking of the Psalms, Luther’s A Mighty Fortress is Our God was inspired as he read Psalm 46.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way. Still, the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam… Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Truth be told, I’ve always had a negative reaction when modern song leaders refer to the singing portion of a service as “worship. Yes, music touches our hearts, but that doesn’t make it “worship” any more than the preaching and teaching, the offerings we bring, and certainly not any more than the communion time. In fact, when you search through the New Testament, it is hard to find any place where any of those things are called worship. Romans 12:1 says, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” As I understand it, worship occurs not so much during Sunday services, but when we allow those services to direct us toward humble service, helping others, and telling them the good news of Jesus. God is honored (worshipped) by our actions more than by our words and songs. Faith without works is dead (James 2).

But that doesn’t mean music shouldn’t hold an important role in assisting our discipleship. As we address each other in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19), we encourage our souls, we make the message memorable. It is much easier to remember the lyrics to a song we sing than the scripture we memorize, so when songs accurately reflect biblical truth, they aid us in planting such values within our minds. Rejoice, and sing to the Lord. Our God is a mighty fortress!