The Divine Exchange

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Hymn Story: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.

 

The one hymn that most symbolizes the Protestant Reformation is "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." In it, Martin Luther proclaims his confidence in God and rallies all Christians to war against evil. Basing his words on Psalm 46, he victoriously states "We will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us." Those persecuted and martyred for their convictions during the Reformation sang these words.

Luther understood the power of evil: After he posted his ninety-five theses on the door of Wittenberg's Castle in 1517, he faced years of trials and persecution, he was excommunicated from the Roman church, and he continually faced threats against his life and his freedom. Other reformers had been persecuted and burned at the stake.

But he also knew "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in danger" (Psalm 46:1) and so he wrote "A Mighty Fortress is our God," proclaiming boldly that "the prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him . . . one little word shall fell him."

Since he wrote it in 1529, Luther's hymn has been translated into nearly every language. There are said to be over eighty English translations alone to this hymn, but the version most used in the United States is the translation by Frederic Henry Hedge in 1852.

The first line of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" is inscribed on the tomb of Martin Luther at Wittenberg. And its powerful words and tune continue to live. The hymn was sung at the funeral of President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, March 1969. And it was also included in the National Service of Prayer and Remembrance, held shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks against America.

Listen to it here - A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

The Westminster Confession of Faith

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The Westminster Shorter Catechism

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A collection of hymns, for the use of people called Methodists.

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Hymn Story: And Can It Be

Romans 5:8

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

Charles Wesley, founder of the movement known as Methodism with his brother, John, was ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1735. However, three years later, the evening of May 21, 1738, reportedly after prolonged Bible reading he wrote:

"At midnight I gave myself to Christ, assured that I was safe, whether sleeping or waking. I had the continual experience of His power to overcome all temptation, and I confessed with joy and surprise that He was able to do exceedingly abundantly for me above what I can ask or think."

Another writer states that he recorded in his journal:

"I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoiced in hope of loving Christ. I saw that by faith I stood."

Two days later, his journal reported that he had begun writing a hymn. This hymn was likely "And Can It Be" because of the vivid testimony of stanza four. This hymn and "Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin" were the first of the 6000 plus hymns that he wrote. Also, it is reported that his brother John sang a hymn to the tune CRUCIFIXION on his own conversion to "vital religion" three days later. Although it was not stated what hymn it was, the Foundery Tune Book, published by John Wesley in 1742, paired "And Can It Be" with CRUCIFIXION.

"And Can It Be" was first published in John Wesley's Psalms and Hymns in 1738, then in Hymns and Sacred Poems in 1739. From middle of the nineteenth century on, "And Can It Be" has been set to SAGINA.

 

Listen to it here: And Can It Be

Hymn Story: God of Our Fathers

Psalm 46:7

The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

 

Daniel C. Roberts, the 35 year-old rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, a small rural church in Brandon, Vermont, wanted a new hymn for his congregation to celebrate the American Centennial in 1876. He wrote "God of Our Fathers" and his congregation sang it to the tune RUSSIAN HYMN.

 

In 1892, he anonymously sent the hymn to the General Convention for consideration by the commission formed to revise the Episcopal hymnal. If approved, he promised to send his name. The commission approved it, printing it anonymously in its report. Rev. Dr. Tucker, who was the editor of the Hymnal, and George W. Warren, an organist in New York city, were commissioned to choose a hymn for the celebration of the centennial of the United States Constitution.  They chose this text and Warren wrote a new tune for it, NATIONAL HYMN, including the trumpet fanfare at the beginning of the hymn.

It was first published in Tucker’s Hymnal, 1892, with this tune, then in 1894 in the Tucker and Rosseau’s Hymnal Revised and Enlarged. These lyrics were also set to the hymn tune PRO PATRIA in Charles Hutchins’ The Church Hymnal.  But NATIONAL HYMN prevailed and it is the tune to which "God of Our Fathers" is always sung today.
 

Listen to it here: God of Our Fathers