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A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD

In intense turmoil, Luther wrote his greatest hymn. It was the worst of times -1527-one of the most trying years of Luther’s life.

On April 22, a dizzy spell forced Luther to stop preaching in the middle of his sermon. For ten years, since publishing his 95 Theses against the abuse of indulgences, Luther had been buffeted by political and theological storms; at times his life had been in danger. He was suffering severe depression.

Sometime that year, Luther wrote the hymn he is most famous for: "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." This verse, translated by Frederick Hedge in 1853:

And though this world with devils filled

should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God has willed

his truth to triumph through us.

The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him.

His rage we can endure, for lo His doom is sure.

One little Word shall fell him.

…"Martin Luther--The Later Years and Legacy," Christian History, Issue 39.

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