But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. (Psalm 59:16)
For the last couple of weeks, I undertook a large renovation project as a team of one. In truth, I enjoyed the project immensely. As I worked, I listened to Christian worship music for hours. It was a good reminder of the merits of a life focused on giving glory to God. Certainly, drudgery work is mundane and uninteresting,when the work is foremost focused on God, even the mundane can be exciting and fresh.
This week I continue to celebrate. A lot of the Psalms are a reflection of men and women who are celebrating God in all kinds of life circumstances. The Psalms are examples of people working from a state of depression, joy, or perhaps even stress when their life was in danger. The truth is, A mighty fortress is our God, regardless of our circumstances.
Martin Luther’s (German language) song translated to English by Frederic Hedge, is entitled ‘A Mighty Fortress is our God”. It originally came out of Psalm 46 (vs 1,2, 6,7, and 11), and has lyrics which provide a worthy devotional thought for this week. Since Frederic Hedge was a Unitarian, some of the impact of Martin’s truth was watered down, and deserves some extra thought. A good original read on this subject is an article by David Mathis, found here. I encourage the reader to look at the supporting Bible verses for each of the truths penned by Martin Luther in his well known hymn, which have withstood the test of time.
Verse 1 truths
- God is a mighty fortress, which we can think of as a never-failing, solid, wall-like structure, raised for our defense (a bulwark). Martin Luther’s version also includes the element of offense in addition to defense. Literally, Martin used “a good defense and weapon.”. God does not just defend. He also attacks.
- God helps when we are overwhelmed by the flood of mortal ills, according to Hedge. Martin’s prose is more sweeping, and stronger: “he helps us get free from every misery.”
- God’s enemy (Satan) will seek to do us harm, whenever he can. He is sly, cruel, and hateful. Hedge softens the prose, and Luther is more expansive and extreme. For example, Luther says ‘Satan “does not do anything to us” ‘– which is a lot more forceful than Hedge’s claim “his rage we can endure.”
Verse 2 truths
- If we attempt to do anything in our own strength, we will eventually lose.
- Thankfully, Jesus Christ is on the side of those who stand for God. Luther alludes to Romans 8:28, and Ephesians 1:11: “ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan ” Hedge says less (“Through him who with us sideth”), captures the “with us” but ignores the sovereignty of “according to the plan.”
- Jesus is known as Lord Sabaoth, which is an Old Testament reference to the ‘commander of angelic armies’ (note- more than one army). Needless to say, His power and strength are comforting. He can get us through every situation.
- God/Jesus is steadfast and unchanging regardless of our circumstances.
Verse 3 truths
- Even when the world presents us with tons of problems (ie, devils) that want to unravel us, we do not have to fear. Hedge concedes a world full of ‘devils’. I agree that we can think of demons as little devils, but there is only one real devil. Luther makes it clear that even with one devil, we are in an unshakable position of strength. God has willed that His truth will triumph through us.
- Think about it:
- We have nothing to fear from Satan. Regardless of how angry Satan may be, he is going to lose to God.
- God is the Creator. He spoke life into existence. One Word from Him will mean the end of Satan’s dominion.
- Hedge uses “from age to age the same” in place of “there is no other God.” A close examination reveals this as the biggest alteration from Luther’s text. and theology. By using this phrase, Hedge drops Luther’s reference to Jesus as God (since a Unitarian would not agree with that assertion). The context of Hebrews 13:8 provides a link to equate Jesus with God in an unchanging way, and Hedge ignores this.
Finally, Hedge’s last line (“His kingdom is forever”) loses Luther’s “for us” (literally, “The kingdom must remain for us”). It’s a small loss, yes, but sweet and important. This is the great for-us-ness which the Reformation so wonderfully recaptured. In Christ, we not only catch a glimpse of God’s spectacular kingdom, but we’re invited in. We become part of the reign from the inside (even, in some real way, reigning with him, 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 20:6) — in a kingdom that not only remains forever but is for us, for our eternal good and everlasting joy.
