Quiet Moments: Reformation (a mighty fortress is our God)
Celebrating and remembering the importance of the Reformation
Welcome to the third devotion in my recurring devotional series, “Quiet Moments” featured in Bethany Lutheran College’s student newspaper, The Scroll. In this installment, we take a look at the Psalm that inspired Luther’s famous hymn - “A Mighty Fortress” as we consider and remember the importance of the Reformation. Read last issue’s devotion here.
“God is our refuge and strength, a helper who can always be found in times of trouble. That is why we will not fear when the earth dissolves and when the mountains tumble into the heart of the sea.” – Psalm 46:1-2, EHV
If these words sound familiar to you, it is likely that you have heard them paraphrased in Martin Luther’s famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” where the first stanza reads, “A mighty fortress is our God, a trusty shield and weapon; our help is He in all our need, our stay whate’er doth happen; for still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; strong mail of craft and pow’r he weareth in this hour; on earth is not his equal.”
A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the Reformation, which marked the day that Luther first posted his “Ninety-five Theses” to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther was compelled to do so given the errors that he saw in the Roman Church of his day, which taught that salvation was obtained by good works and not by faith.
The Reformation could be considered a celebration of the restoration of the Gospel. Luther once again taught that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is through the merits of Christ that we are saved from our sins, not by our own doing. God is our refuge and strength who has graciously saved us from the turmoil of our sin. He is our help in every need and our strength in every battle. Amen.