A Mighty Fortress is Our God, ELW 503 & LBW 228
1 A mighty fortress is our God,
A sword and shield victorious;
He breaks the cruel oppressor's rod
And wins salvation glorious.
The old evil foe,
Sworn to work us woe,
With dread craft and might
He arms himself to fight.
On earth he had no equal.
2 No strength of ours can match his might!
We would be lost, rejected.
But now a champion comes to fight,
Whom God himself elected.
Ask who this may be:
Lord of hosts is he!
Jesus Christ, our Lord,
God's only Son, adored.
He holds the field victorious.
3 Though hordes of devils fill the land
All threat'ning to devour us,
We tremble not, unmoved we stand;
They cannot overpow'r us.
This world's prince may rage,
In fierce war engage.
He is doomed to fail;
God's judgment must prevail!
One little word subdues him.
4 God's Word forever shall abide,
No thanks to foes, who fear it;
For God himself fights by our side
With weapons of the Spirit.
If they take our house,
Goods, fame, child, or spouse,
Wrench our life away,
They cannot win the day.
The Kingdom's ours forever!
Devotion
For many of us, Reformation Sunday is not the same without a rousing rendition of “A Mighty Fortress.” It brings us into battle—the eternal battle between good and evil. But as this mighty hymn stirs our hearts to fight, it proclaims our inevitable defeat. We confess that “no strength of ours can match” the might of the evil one.
This makes sense in my life. Even as a pastor, whose business is praying and studying scripture and writing sermons and all kinds of righteous stuff, I encounter the power of sin in myself, the temptations and false gods that pull me away from God. Indeed, I have so little strength against that mighty tempter.
“But now a champion comes to fight” and the tables are turned. The devil is on the run. The “hordes of devils” that afflict us are no match for the God who fights by our side. And even if you or I lose everything—“house, goods, fame, child, or spouse” or even life itself—we win the kingdom.
So we march into battle confident in the promise and presence of God.
Prayer
Mighty One—we are lost without you. Stir us to join the battle whose weapon is the cross. Amen.