Luther was poet, a preacher and a musician. He not only gave people the translated Bible, but also a
legacy of timeless hymns. Although he only left 37 hymns in writing, they are among the most
beautiful church hymns of all times. No Christian hymn has been translated into more languages than
Luther's “Ein’ feste Burg". Sometimes called "the Battle hymn of the Reformation", it is the most
famous and extensively sung hymn throughout the world, having been translated in 163 different
languages and dialects, over seventy in English alone.
legacy of timeless hymns. Although he only left 37 hymns in writing, they are among the most
beautiful church hymns of all times. No Christian hymn has been translated into more languages than
Luther's “Ein’ feste Burg". Sometimes called "the Battle hymn of the Reformation", it is the most
famous and extensively sung hymn throughout the world, having been translated in 163 different
languages and dialects, over seventy in English alone.
| Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott |
Some writers have mentioned the Diet of Worms as the time of its origin. Others think that the hymn
was composed in 1527 when Leonard Keyser, a friend of Luther, was burned at the stake, or that it
was penned for the tenth anniversary of Luther’s nailing of the famous 95 theses upon the
Wittenberg Church door. This hymn was sung during the important Diet of Augsburg in 1530 when
Luther was a fugitive in Coburg and it is said he sang it in the mornings or played it on his lute.
was composed in 1527 when Leonard Keyser, a friend of Luther, was burned at the stake, or that it
was penned for the tenth anniversary of Luther’s nailing of the famous 95 theses upon the
Wittenberg Church door. This hymn was sung during the important Diet of Augsburg in 1530 when
Luther was a fugitive in Coburg and it is said he sang it in the mornings or played it on his lute.
It was a hymn of comfort to the persecuted Huguenots in France, to the Salzburg exiles of 1732 and
by the army of Gustavus Adolphus during the Thirty Years War. It was sung in German cities and
towns during the Reformation by adult worshippers during their church services and by children in
the streets. It was sung by Prusssian armies and by both Protestant and Catholic German troops
during World War I. It has been sung by oppressed people world wide, by people both happy and
sad, by night and by day and in churches and on the roadways. On his tombstone at Eisleben is
carved the first line of the hymn: “Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott”
by the army of Gustavus Adolphus during the Thirty Years War. It was sung in German cities and
towns during the Reformation by adult worshippers during their church services and by children in
the streets. It was sung by Prusssian armies and by both Protestant and Catholic German troops
during World War I. It has been sung by oppressed people world wide, by people both happy and
sad, by night and by day and in churches and on the roadways. On his tombstone at Eisleben is
carved the first line of the hymn: “Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott”
music from sermon-online.de
| 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 fur uns der rechte Mann, Den Gott hat selbst erkoren. Fragst du, wer der ist? Er heisst Jesus Christ, Der Herr Zebaoth, Und ist kein andrer 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 sau’r 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’n 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’n Gewinn, Das Reich muss uns doch bleiben. |