Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott
The Fortress of God
God is our refuge against the cunning and power of the ancient enemy.
A mighty fortress is our God, a good defense and weapon. He helps free us from every distress that has now struck us. The old evil enemy—he means it in deadly earnest now.1 Great power and much cunning are his cruel armor.2 On earth, there is no one like him.
The Champion of Faith
Human strength fails, but Jesus Christ, the chosen Lord of Hosts, fights for us.
Our own strength gets us nowhere; we'd be lost in no time. The right Man fights for us—the One God himself has chosen.3 You ask who that is? His name is Jesus Christ, the Lord of Hosts, and there is no other God.4 He must hold the field.5
The Defeated Prince
Though the world is full of evil, the prince of this world is already judged and defeated by a single word.
And even if the world were full of devils and they meant to swallow us whole, we still wouldn't be so afraid — we'll succeed all the same. The prince of this world, however fiercely he carries on, still does us no harm.✦6 That's because he has been judged.✦7 One little word can bring him down.8
The Eternal Kingdom
The Word of God stands firm, and even the loss of earthly life cannot hinder the inheritance of the kingdom.
They'll have to let the Word stand—and they won't get any thanks for it.✦9 He is with us on the field, with His Spirit and His gifts.10 If they take the body—goods, honor, child, and wife—let them go.✦ They gain nothing from it. The kingdom must still remain ours.✦11
Read the original Latin
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, Ein gute Wehr und Waffen. Er hilft uns frei aus aller Not, Die uns jetzt hat betroffen. Der alt böse Feind, Mit Ernst er’s jetzt meint. Groß Macht und viel List Sein grausam Rüstung ist. Auf Erd ist nicht seinsgleichen.
Mit unsrer Macht ist nichts getan, Wir sind gar bald verloren. Es streit’t für uns der rechte Mann, Den Gott hat selbst erkoren. Fragst du, wer der ist? Er heißt Jesus Christ, Der Herr Zebaoth, Und ist kein ander Gott. Das Feld muß er behalten.
Und wenn die Welt voll Teufel wär Und wollt uns gar verschlingen, So fürchten wir uns nicht so sehr, Es soll uns doch gelingen. Der Fürst dieser Welt, Wie saur er sich stellt, Tut er uns doch nicht. Das macht, er ist gericht’t. Ein Wörtlein kann ihn fällen.
Das Wort sie sollen lassen stahn Und kein’ Dank dazu haben. Er ist bei uns wohl auf dem Plan Mit seinem Geist und Gaben. Nehmen sie den Leib, Gut, Ehr, Kind und Weib, Laß fahren dahin. Sie haben’s kein Gewinn. Das Reich muß uns doch bleiben.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.12.31 — Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
- ↩John.16.11 — concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
- ↩Isa.40.8;1Pet.1.25;2Tim.2.9 — The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. 1Pet.1.25 — But the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word that was preached to you. 2Tim.2.9 — in which I suffer hardship even to the point of chains as an evildoer, but the word of God is not bound.
- ↩Matt.10.28-Matt.10.39;Luke.14.26-Luke.14.33 — And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Matt.10.29 — Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father. Matt.10.30 — But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Matt.10.31 — So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matt.10.32 — So then, everyone who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. Matt.10.33 — But whoever denies me before people, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven. Matt.10.34 — Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matt.10.35 — For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Matt.10.36 — And a person's enemies will be those of their own household. Matt.10.37 — Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt.10.38 — And whoever does not take up their cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Matt.10.39 — Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Luke.14.26 — If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. Luke.14.27 — Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Luke.14.28 — For which of you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Luke.14.29 — so that after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him Luke.14.30 — saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Luke.14.31 — Or what king, going to wage war against another king, will not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Luke.14.32 — And if he is not able, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. Luke.14.33 — So therefore, none of you who does not say goodbye to all that he has can be my disciple.
- ↩Luke.12.32;Dan.7.14;Heb.12.28 — Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Dan.7.14 — And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingdom is one that shall not be destroyed. Heb.12.28 — Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold fast to grace, through which we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe.
Notes
- 1 ↩"Der alt böse Feind" is the devil; rendered as the familiar personal foe, not a generic abstract evil.
- 2 ↩"List" here is craft/cunning/deceit, not a written list; "Rüstung" is armor/equipment for battle.
- 3 ↩rechte Mann: the true/rightful champion, not merely a capable man; erkoren: chosen/elected.
- 4 ↩Herr Zebaoth retained as the biblical title 'Lord of Hosts' (Sabaoth); not flattened to a generic 'Lord.'
- 5 ↩muß: necessity of outcome (he is bound to keep the field / the field is his to keep), not mere obligation under constraint.
- 6 ↩saur (sauer) sich stellen: sour, fierce, or forbidding demeanor; rendered as fiercely carries on to keep the force of the devil's intimidating show without archaic flavor.
- 7 ↩Das macht = 'that is because / that makes it so'; gericht't = judged/condemned (past participle of richten). Keeps the forensic force rather than a vague 'defeated'.
- 8 ↩Wörtlein is a diminutive of Wort: not mere chatter, but the tiny Word (God's Word / the Gospel word) that is enough to fell the devil.
- 9 ↩kein’ Dank dazu haben: Early New High German idiom—adversaries get no credit/thanks for their assault; the Word remains anyway.
- 10 ↩auf dem Plan: period sense is the battle-plain/field, not a modern ‘plan’ or scheme.
- 11 ↩Das Reich: God’s kingdom that remains with the faithful despite temporal loss; not a worldly political realm.
Luther's A Mighty Fortress Is Our God companion
Never lose the rhythm again
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Chosen Portion is a modern Book of Hours: it turns the fixed-hour structure this collection preserves into scheduled, tappable daily prayer on your phone.
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