A Tower of Strength Our God Is Still

Representative Text

1 A tow'r of strength our God is still!
A mighty shield and weapon;
He is our help from all the ill
That hath us now o'ertaken.
The old bitter foe
Now means deadly woe:
Deep guile and great might
Are his dread arms in fight,
On earth is not his equal.

2 With might of ours here naught is done,
Our loss were soon effected:
But for us fights the Valiant One,
Who God Himself elected.
Ask you: "Who is He?"
Christ Jesus: here see
Great Sabaoth's Lord!
There is no other God:
His is the field forever.

3 Though devils all the world should fill,
All watching to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill,
They cannot overpower us.
This world's prince may still
Scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none,
For he is judged—undone;
One little Word o'erthrows him.

4 The Word of God they shall let stand
And not a thank have for it,
Here Christ Himself leads the command
With His great gifts and Spirit;
And take they our life,
Goods, fame, child and wife,
When their worst is done,
They yet have nothing won;
The kingdom ours remaineth.

Source: Evangelical Lutheran hymnal: with music #144

Author: Martin Luther

Luther, Martin, born at Eisleben, Nov. 10, 1483; entered the University of Erfurt, 1501 (B.A. 1502, M.A.. 1503); became an Augustinian monk, 1505; ordained priest, 1507; appointed Professor at the University of Wittenberg, 1508, and in 1512 D.D.; published his 95 Theses, 1517; and burnt the Papal Bull which had condemned them, 1520; attended the Diet of Worms, 1521; translated the Bible into German, 1521-34; and died at Eisleben, Feb. 18, 1546. The details of his life and of his work as a reformer are accessible to English readers in a great variety of forms. Luther had a huge influence on German hymnody. i. Hymn Books. 1. Ellich cristlich lider Lobgesang un Psalm. Wittenberg, 1524. [Hamburg Library.] This contains 8 German h… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: A tower of strength our God is still
Title: A Tower of Strength Our God Is Still
German Title: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott
Author: Martin Luther
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

EIN FESTE BURG

The original rhythms of EIN FESTE BURG (see 469) had already reached their familiar isorhythmic (all equal rhythms) shape by the time of Johann S. Bach (PHH 7) in the eighteenth century. The harmonization is taken from his Cantata 80. Many organ and choral works are based on this chorale, including…

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Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 9 of 9)
TextPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal #144

The Sunday School Hymnal #d7

Psalterlust fuer die Christliche Jugend. Rev. #d1

TextPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal. 9th ed. #a144

TextPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran hymnal #144

Page Scan

Sacred Songs #40

School Carols #d4

The Chautauqua Hymnal, a Collection of Hymns for Gatherings ... and Young Peoples Organizations #d1

The Chautauqua Hymnal, a Collection of Hymns for Gatherings ... and Young Peoples Organizations #ad1

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