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A Mighty Fortress?

It might be surprising that the name Martin Luther is found in the Roman Catholic We Celebrate hymnal. His anthemic hymn of the Reformation, A Mighty Fortress, appears under the byline of Dr. Luther. And indeed, the melody is Luther’s, but only his first two lines and the last line of stanza one are in the lyric. The rest of the hymn (also a paraphrase of Psalm 46) was written by the 20th century Roman Catholic hymnwriter Omer Westendorf (1916-1997).

Of course, the four stanzas written by Dr. Luther, though there are several English translations, are well known to Lutherans all over the world, as well as the original German and translations into many modern languages.

The version known to most members of LCMS churches is found at LSB 656.

Stanza One:

A mighty fortress is our God,
A trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from every 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.

The hymn begins by paraphrasing Psalm 46:1: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Luther takes the hymn in the direction of spiritual warfare, that we are in a fortress under God’s protection while we are being assaulted by the “old evil foe.” This stanza ends on a temporary note of helplessness: God’s people being in a dire situation.

Stanza Two

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.

This stanza carries forward the gloom and desperation of the first stanza, but quickly pivots to Christ, our Champion, who is none other than God. He has come to defeat the devil.

Stanza Three

Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill;
They shall not over pow’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.

Having set up the battle between Satan and Christ, Luther comforts us with the invincibility of Jesus in our own lives of spiritual warfare, and the impotence of the devil to have his way with us in our temporal lives. “One little Word,” the Word Made Flesh, who came as a little one, is the one with the power to protect us by felling Satan, and indeed all of the demons that surround us.

Stanza Four

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.

This final stanza fits in well with the struggle of the Reformation churches. It begins with the Word - where Stanza Three left off. The Word is a double entendre: both the Word of God in Holy Scripture, and the Word Made Flesh: our Lord Jesus Christ. The forces of the institutional church, Satan, and the world conspired to silence the Word, but they were compelled to let it remain, despite their lack of gratitude for it and for Him. The stanza reiterates that Christ is with us, and fighting for us. For the devils are very real and they are brutal. This temporal life is a minefield.

I read somewhere that this hymn was composed in the aftermath of the death of the 13 year-old Luther daughter Magdalena. The Luthers apparently took comfort in Psalm 46, even though the devil took their daughter from them. And in fact, the enemies of the cross: the devils and their allies in the world, can take everything from us, but they still gain nothing. For in Christ, we still have the victory.

Psalm 46 makes the same triumphant confession, though A Mighty Fortress applies specifically it to the struggle against the devil in this fallen world. It is indeed a hymn of spiritual warfare and an encouragement to steadfastness by the grace of God in Jesus Christ when fighting Satan.

But here is the three stanza version from Westendorf:

Stanza One

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bullwark never failing.
Protecting us with staff and rod,
In power all prevailing.
What if the nations rage
And surging seas rampage;
What though the mountains fall,
The Lord is God of all,
On earth is found no equal.

The first two lines are a translation of Luther’s words, as is the last line. But the last line in Luther refers to Satan, whose supernatural strength would overwhelm us without Christ’s divine intervention. Westendorf sidesteps and ignores the devil completely, and applies Luther’s words to God in general (not to the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ), nor is he waxing on evil from whom we need rescue. The lyrics and rhyme also come across as weak and forced.

Stanza Two

The waters of God’s goodness flow
Throughout the holy city,
And gladden hearts of those who know
Great tenderness and pity.
Though nations stand unsure,
God’s kingdom shall endure;
In power shall remain,
In peace shall ever reign,
Our God, the God of Jacob.

This verse does somewhat carry Luther’s final thought that the “kingdom ours remaineth” while not connecting it to us as “ours.” Again, the rhyme and meter sound forced, and the martial triumphal tone of Luther’s hymn is missing.

Stanza Three

Behold! What wondrous deeds of peace,
From God, our sole salvation,
Who knows our wars and makes them cease
In every land and nation.
The warrior’s spear and lance
Are splintered with one glance;
Our guns and nuclear might
Stand withered in God’s sight;
The Lord of hosts is with us.

This stanza is weird in its interpretation of Psalm 46, in its deviation from the spiritual warfare of the original hymn, and in its forced and trite language about nuclear disarmament and gun control. Of course, the entire hymn never mentions Satan, the devils, or spiritual warfare. It also never mentions Christ. Unlike the powerful and defiant tone of Luther in the face of the loss of his daughter, this hymn sounds like a bloodless cerebral exercise: a college assignment in English Lit gone bad because of a looming deadline and the want of facility with language, not to mention a lack of life experience.

Luther’s A Mighty Fortress is a confessional and lyrical masterpiece that will continue to stand the test of time. Westendorf’s is an embarrassing dud: a clunker that will not likely survive until the next century. Our Roman Catholic brothers would do better to either simply eliminate A Mighty Fortress all together, or just suck it up and include Luther’s original by way of appropriation. Publishing this one was the worst of both worlds: keeping the name of the “arch-heretic” in their hymnal, but with a bland piece of writing that only goes to exalt Luther’s linguistic and theological acumen to be superior to this mess.

Larry BeaneComment