by Deborah Macomber
Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483 in Germany. He died at the age of sixty three.
He is well known for the stand he took when he nailed his ninety-five thesis to the door of the Cathedral of Wittenburg on October 31, 1517.
Martin Luther based his hymn on Psalm 46:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
"A Mighty Fortress" was the battle cry for all those involved in the Protestant Reformation Movement. It was also a great source of strength for many martyrs.
This hymn has been translated into almost every language known on earth. There are about sixty different translations in English alone.
Luther wrote the text for this hymn in 1529. By the 1900's, there were over eighty translations!
The translation that we normally use today is the translation of Fredrick Henry Hedge. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studied in Germany, and later became a Harvard Professor.
The tune, Ein' Feste Burg, was composed by Luther for his text, but many believe he got the tune from a Gregorian chant.
References:
LindaJo H. McKim. The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion. (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993), pages 186-187.
Kenneth W. Osbeck. 101 Hymn Stories. electronic ed. p.14
