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All rights reserveed. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form without

permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied

in critical articals or reviews.

© 2017 The Master’s Seminary Press

Contributors:

Nathan Busenitz

Kaspars Ozolins

Yorke Hinds

Reagan Rose

Cover Design & Typeset: Tara Hubbard

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 Post tenebras lux

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction

THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL

Chapter 1

JOHN HUSS

Chapter 2

MARTIN LUTHER

Chapter 3

WILLIAM TYNDALE

Chapter 4

JOHN CALVIN

Chapter 5

WILLIAM FAREL

Chapter 6

JOHN KNOX

Chapter 7

THOMAS CRANMER

Conclusion
A MIGHTY FORTRESS

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 Introduction

THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL

T his month we commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protes-

tant Reformation, a movement born out of the conviction that Jesus
Christ alone, and not the pope, is the Head of the church. A century
earlier, John Huss was burned at the stake for making that very asser-
tion. Protestant leaders like Martin Luther followed in Huss’s footsteps,
seeking to exalt the lordship of Christ over every area of life and doc-
trine.
The Reformers contended that, because Christ is the Head of the
church, His Word is the final authority for the church. Papal decrees and
church traditions must be subjected to the authority of Scripture alone
(sola Scriptura), not the other way around. This commitment to biblical
authority led the Reformers to boldly denounce the works-based sacra-
mental system of medieval Catholicism, recognizing that the true gospel
ran contrary to the so-called gospel of the Roman church.
Fueled by their study of the Bible, the Reformers proclaimed the
truth that salvation is not based on good works. Rather, it is the free gift
of God, given to undeserving sinners by grace alone (sola gratia) through
faith alone (sola fide), on the basis of the finished work of Christ alone
(solus Christus). Recognizing that believers can take no credit for their
salvation, the Reformers responded to the wonder of redemption by giv-
ing God all of the glory. Soli Deo gloria summarizes the triumphant cry
of sinners who recognize they are saved solely by grace.
The following chapters provide an introduction to the men that
God used as instuments to proclaim these truths.

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 Chapter 1

JOHN HUSS

O n July 6, 1415, one of the foremost preachers in church history was

burned at the stake. After months of wrongful imprisonment, hav-
ing been incarcerated in appalling conditions, he was forced to endure a
mock trial before being denounced as a heretic and sentenced to death.
He was led from the cathedral where he had been condemned to a
place ovvf execution outside the city. Kindling was piled at his feet and a
chain secured around his neck, as a crowd gathered to watch him die. To
their surprise, when the fire was lit, the cries of this faithful martyr were
expressed not in words of anguish or pain, but in song—“Christ, Son of
the living God, have mercy upon us. Christ, Son of the living God, have
mercy upon me.” Soon the flames engulfed his body, and his soul depart-
ed to be with his Savior.
If the fire lit that day in 1415 was intended to silence the preaching
of John Huss, it utterly failed. His message of reform had already taken
root in Prague and throughout Bohemia. A century later, it would make
a profound impact on the thinking of a young German monk named
Martin Luther. In fact, Luther’s views were so similar to those of Huss
that he earned himself the nickname, “The Saxon Huss.”
But all of this raises some important questions. Why did Catholic
authorities at the Council of Constance condemn John Huss as a heretic?
Why did they deem him worthy of death? The answer to those questions
revolves around the issue of authority. Based on his study of Scripture,
Huss boldly proclaimed that Christ alone is the head of the church, not
the pope. Though Huss also decried other aspects of Catholic corruption,
like the sale of indulgences, his primary criticism took aim at the popular

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 medieval notion of papal supremacy. Huss did not hesitate to declare the
exclusivity of Christ’s lordship. Consequently, for a pope to claim to be
the head of the church was to usurp the rightful position and authority
that belongs only to the Lord Jesus.
The Reformers who came after Huss built on that doctrinal foun-
dation. They understood that if Christ alone is the head of the church,
then His Word alone is the supreme authority for the church. And if His
Word is absolutely authoritative, then the gospel depicted in Scripture is
the true gospel. Armed with a commitment to Christ’s headship, the Re-
formers unwaveringly defended the primacy of Scripture (sola Scriptura)
and the purity of the gospel (sola gratia and sola fide). In this way, the
conviction that Christ alone is the head of the church stands at the head
of the Reformation.
The religious establishment of the fifteenth century executed Huss
because he took a bold and biblical stand against the corrupt authority of
the popes and the Catholic system. He did so because he was convinced,
from the pages of Scripture, that the true head of the church is Christ
alone.
Believers today find themselves in a very different context than the
one Huss faced. Yet the issue for which he died remains critically im-
portant. The lordship of Christ as the head of His church is still under
attack in many circles, from those who would deny the authority, iner-
rancy, and sufficiency of His Word. Rather than being faithful to preach
the Word of Christ, they exchange a biblical approach to ministry for
man-centered gimmicks and popular fads. In response, the church to-
day needs pastors and leaders like John Huss who will courageously de-
clare—both with their lips and their lives—that Christ alone is the head
of the church.

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 Chapter 2

MARTIN LUTHER

I n answer to the question, “What caused the Reformation?” many peo-

ple might point to Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. But if you were
to ask Luther himself, he would refuse to take any credit. Instead, he
would put the focus entirely on God and His Word.
Near the end of his life, Luther declared, “All I have done is put
forth, preach, and write the Word of God, and apart from this I have
done nothing.…It is the Word that has done great things.…I have done
nothing; the Word has done and achieved everything.” Elsewhere, he
proclaimed, “By the Word the earth has been subdued; by the Word the
Church has been saved; and by the Word also it shall be reestablished.”
Noting Scripture’s foundational place in his own heart, Luther wrote,
“No matter what happens, you should say: There is God’s Word. This is
my rock and anchor. On it I rely, and it remains. Where it remains, I,
too, remain; where it goes, I, too, go.”
Luther rightly understood what caused the Reformation. He rec-
ognized that it was the Word of God empowered by the Spirit of God
preached by men of God in a language that the common people of Eu-
rope could understand. When the people’s ears were exposed to the truth
of God’s Word it pierced their hearts and they were radically changed,
by God’s grace and for His glory.
It was that very power that transformed Luther’s own heart, a
power summarized in the familiar words of Hebrews 4:12, “The Word
of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.” The
rhetorical question of Jeremiah 23:29 makes this same point—“‘Is not
My word like fire?’ declares the LORD, ‘and like a hammer which shat-
ters a rock?’”

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 During the late middle ages, the medieval Catholic Church had
imprisoned God’s Word in the Latin language, a language the common
people of Europe did not speak. The Reformers unlocked the Scriptures
by translating them and boldly proclaiming their truth. Once people had
access to the Word of God, the Reformation became inevitable.
The common thread, from Reformer to Reformer, was an undying
commitment to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, such that they
were willing to sacrifice everything, including their own lives, to get the
Word of God into the hands of the people. They did this because they
understood that the power for spiritual reformation and revival was not
in them, but in the gospel (cf. Romans 1:16–17). And they used the Lat-
in phrase sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”) to emphasize the truth that
God’s Word was the true power and ultimate authority behind all they
said and did.
It was ignorance of Scripture that made the Reformation necessary.
It was the recovery of Scripture that made the Reformation possible.
And it was the power of the Scripture that gave the Reformation its en-
during impact, as the Holy Spirit brought the truth of His Word to bear
on the hearts and minds of individual sinners, transforming them, regen-
erating them, and giving them eternal life.
As we look back on the Reformation today, we do well to remem-
ber that the catalyst behind any lasting revival is not human ingenuity or
cleverness. Rather, it is the faithful preaching and teaching of the Spir-
it-empowered Word of God.

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 Chapter 3

WILLIAM TYNDALE

T he dramatic climax of William Tyndale’s life occurred along a nar-

row alleyway leading to the home of Thomas Poyntz, the English-
man who had been his good patron. It was there, in Antwerp, that Tyn-
dale’s traitor, Henry Philips, had befriended him—in a city friendly both
to English merchants and to Protestants.
Now, with Tyndale’s benefactor away on business for a month, and
Philips being invited for dinner, the stage was set for the treacherous
young man to capture the English Reformer so hated by Rome.
The alleyway that led to Poyntz’s home (and Tyndale’s lodgings)
was too narrow for both men to enter at once, so Tyndale entered first,
unaware of the two guards hidden on either side of the entrance to the
house. The taller Philips followed behind him and, as recounted by John
Foxe, “pointed with his finger over Master Tyndale’s head down to him,
that the officers who sat at the door might see that it was he whom they
should take.” The translator had thus been betrayed in a manner un-
cannily similar to that of his Savior. Philips handed Tyndale over to the
authorities, who seized his manuscripts and promptly imprisoned him at
the well-fortified castle of Vilvoorde, just outside Brussels.
Having fled from England a decade earlier, Tyndale had anticipat-
ed the possibility of his arrest and execution. Earlier, he had written…
If they shall burn me, they shall do none other thing than I looked for.
There is none other way into the kingdom of life than through persecu-
tion and suffering of pain, and of very death after the example of Christ.
Tyndale lived at a time when those who dared to translate the
Word of God, and thereby unchain it from its Latin coffin, faced the
possibility of being burned alive. But the seeds of Protestantism, im-

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 planted in English soil a century-and-a-half earlier by John Wycliffe,
had come to sprout green shoots that gave fruit in the form of Tyndale’s
Bible. For his efforts, the gifted linguist would suffer greatly for the sake
of Christ, being thrown into a dungeon and put on trial for his life.
But the desperate conditions in which Tyndale found himself after
his arrest did not temper the desire of his heart—to finish the task God
had given him of translating the Bible into the language of the common
English folk. Having completed, and revised, his New Testament, Tyn-
dale subsequently taught himself Hebrew and proceeded to translate the
Pentateuch before his work was suddenly and violently halted.
In examining the life of this faithful Bible translator, we see the
heart of a pastor greatly concerned for the salvation of all of England.
Tyndale’s recognition that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
Word of Christ (Romans 10:17) meant only one thing for his home-
land—it was absolutely imperative that they have the Scriptures in their
language.
Ultimately it was this imperative that drove him first to flee his
country. It was this understanding that led him to work tirelessly for ten
years in constant danger for his life. And it was for this reason that he
was made a prisoner, and ultimately a martyr, for the sake of Christ.
No more fitting closing words may be addressed to us than those
of Tyndale himself, taken from a letter written to his beloved friend John
Frith, who was likewise martyred for his faith.
For Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we
should follow His steps, who did no sin. Hereby have we perceived love
that He laid down His life for us: therefore, we ought to be able to lay
down our lives for the brethren.

Adapted from an article written by Master’s Seminary student Kaspars Ozolins.

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 Chapter 4

JOHN CALVIN

“ There is no part of our life, and no action so minute, that it ought not
to be directed to the glory of God.” Those words, penned by John Cal-
vin in his commentary on 1 Corinthians, aptly summarize the life and
ministry of this notable Reformer. For Calvin, soli Deo gloria was more
than a slogan. It was the primary goal of his life.
In the early 1530s, Calvin was studying to become a lawyer when
God graciously revealed the truth of the gospel to him. A short time lat-
er, in response to persecution against French Protestants, Calvin penned
the first edition of his Institutes of the Christian Religion. It was pub-
lished in 1536, the same year he began his ministry in the city of Gene-
va.
Over the course of his tenure in Geneva, Calvin would deliver
more than two thousand sermons—often preaching multiple times each
week in addition to lecturing and writing. His goal was to expound the
simple meaning of the text with clarity and conviction. In his preaching,
the spotlight was always placed on the substance and profundity of the
message, never on the style or personality of the messenger. Even in his
writings, Calvin hardly ever shared details about himself. Instead, he
fully devoted his energies to explaining the Scriptures.
Calvin’s commitment to expounding the text, without exalting
himself, is vividly illustrated by his return to Geneva in 1541. Several
years earlier, in 1538, he had been kicked out of his church by the Gene-
va City Council. He had subsequently gone to Strasbourg where he en-
joyed a fruitful ministry under the oversight of another Reformer named
Martin Bucer.
But after three years, the members of the Geneva City Council

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 realized they had made a mistake. So they invited Calvin to come back.
As he entered the pulpit on his first Sunday back in Geneva, many
wondered what he would say about how he had been wronged by the
City Council. Instead, Calvin simply opened his Bible to the place where
he left off three years earlier. Without making a fuss, he began to exposit
the next passage of Scripture. He understood that it was not about him
or the way he had been treated. It was about explaining the Word of
Christ in order to exalt the Christ of the Word.
That same principle held true at the end of his life. In 1564, as he
anticipated his home going to heaven, Calvin left strict instructions to be
buried in an unmarked grave. His reason for this was clear. He did not
want to be the center of attention, even in death. Rather, he wanted the
focus to remain fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Calvin rightly wanted all
of the glory to be given to His Savior.
The heroes of church history provide believers today with powerful
lessons about courage and commitment to Christ. In that sense, they are
similar to the heroes of the faith delineated in Hebrews 11. Yet, as the
author of Hebrews goes on to explain in chapter 12, the reader’s focus
should not stop with those Old Testament saints. Rather, as believers run
the race with endurance, they are to look past the heroes of chapter 11
and fix their eyes on Christ, the author and perfecter of the faith.
Similarly, the heroes of church history are most honored not when
we seek to exalt them, but when we look beyond them to the One to
whom they also looked and sought to glorify—namely, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Calvin’s example provides a powerful reminder of that truth.
As he himself would say it, the Christian’s ultimate goal is to live so
that “whatever we say or do may be wholly governed by the authority of
Christ and have an eye to His glory as the mark.”

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 Chapter 5

WILLIAM FAREL

O n May 2, 1564, John Calvin, on the brink of death, wrote his last
letter. It began, “Farewell, my best and most worthy brother. Since
God has determined that you should survive me in this world, live mind-
ful of our union, which has been so useful to the Church of God, and
the fruits of which await us in heaven.”
Little did Calvin know that on receiving the letter, his friend, Wil-
liam Farel, now seventy-five years old, would walk seventy-three miles
from Neuchâtel to Geneva to visit Calvin for the last time. A few days
after Farel’s visit, John Calvin left this world and entered into the pres-
ence of the Lord.
Farel and Calvin met twenty-eight years earlier in Geneva under
the providential hand of God. In July, 1536, Calvin was forced to spend
a night in Geneva while on his way to Strasbourg. Farel, knowing about
Calvin through the popularity of The Institutes of the Christian Reli-
gion, heard of the Reformer’s presence and promptly made his way to
where Calvin was staying.
Farel arrived at the inn and found Calvin, then only twenty-seven
years old, did not appear to be in good health. After confirming Calvin’s
desire to leave in the morning for Strasbourg, Farel begged him to stay in
Geneva and help him with his work in reforming the city.
Calvin refused—“I cannot stay. I need quiet. I must study where
I am not disturbed.” Farel fixed his eyes on the young man, placed his
hand on his head and spoke with a voice of thunder “May God curse you
and your studies if you do not join me here in the work He has called
you to!” Calvin, visibly shaken, sat speechless until finally answering, “I
will remain in Geneva, I give myself up to the Lord’s good pleasure.”

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 From this dramatic introduction came the lifelong friendship of William
Farel and John Calvin and their reforming work in Geneva.
Farel first came to Geneva in 1532 with his mind set on winning
the city for Christ. When he rode his horse into Geneva he did so with
great caution as the city was under the rule of the Duke of Savoy and the
tyrannical Prince Bishop. The people longed for political liberty but they
had no love for the gospel that would truly set them free.
In his first sermon in Geneva, Farel preached on the Holy Scrip-
tures as the only source of divine knowledge and the only authority on
earth to which the conscience of man was subject. The people welcomed
the hearing of the true Word and left that night reasoning, “We have
only the Lord Jesus Christ for our master and no other.” Farel preached
a second sermon on the same day exalting the one and only Savior who
provides full forgiveness through faith alone. And so a small light was lit
in the city of Geneva. Once the magistrates of the city heard about Farel
preaching, they summoned him to the town hall where he was accused
of mischief and stirring up a rebellion. After hearing Farel’s defense, that
he only preached the truth of God’s Word, they requested he leave the
city peacefully.
Later Farel was summoned to appear before the episcopal tribu-
nal to answer charges against him. As he arrived at the tribunal he was
confronted by members of the clergy who had hidden firearms under
their sacerdotal robes. One of the servants of the vicar drew his weapon,
fixed it on Farel, and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire, prompting
Farel to respond, “I am not to be shaken by a pop gun.” Such examples
illustrate Farel’s unwavering boldness. And God would use the courage
of this “Elijah of the Alps” to win the city of Geneva to the Protestant
faith.
Many years later, on the September 13, 1565, William Farel
breathed his last. The bold Reformer finished his race well and was un-
doubtedly received by the Lord with the words, “Well done, good and
faithful servant.”
A statue of William Farel, outside the church in Neuchâtel, ap-
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 propriately depicts him with his Bible held high above his head. Under
his feet lay the broken pieces of idols and relics that God, through the
preaching of His servant, brought to ruin.

Adapted from an article written by Master’s Seminary student Yorke Hinds

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 Chapter 6

JOHN KNOX

T he life of John Knox is a whirlwind of conflict and adventure

spanning sixteenth-century Europe. From his service as a broad-
sword-wielding bodyguard to Protestant preacher George Wishart, to
his protracted incarceration aboard a French galley ship, to sparring with
English and Scottish monarchs, Knox’s exploits are the stuff of which
legends are made. But what stands out most about this bold Scotsman
and faithful gospel preacher was the passionate drive that enabled him
to endure all manner of opposition and persecution; even from the very
people he was trying to serve.
The secret to Knox’s steadfast endurance in the face of great op-
position was his dependent reliance on the Word of God and the power
of His Spirit. Consequently, Knox was a man on his knees. In a sermon
on prayer, Charles Spurgeon recounts the night where Knox voiced the
phrase for which he is best known. Spurgeon writes…

During the troubled times of Scotland, when the Popish court and ar-
istocracy were arming themselves to suppress the Reformation in that
land, and the cause of Protestant Christianity was in imminent peril,
late on a certain night John Knox was seen to leave his study, and to pass
from the house down into an enclosure to the rear of it.
He was followed by a friend, when, after a few moments of silence, his
voice was heard as if in prayer. In another moment the accents deepened
into intelligible words, and the earnest petition went up from his strug-
gling soul to heaven, “O Lord, give me Scotland, or I die!” Then a pause

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 of hushed stillness, when again the petition broke forth, “O Lord, give
me Scotland, or I die!”
Once more all was voiceless and noiseless, when, with a yet intenser
pathos the thrice-repeated intercession struggled forth, “O Lord, give
me Scotland, or I die!” And God gave him Scotland in spite of [Catholic
Queen] Mary and her Cardinal Beatoun; a land and a church of noble
loyalty to Christ and His crown (Spurgeon’s Sermon Notes, 132–133).

“Give me Scotland, or I die!” This was no selfish demand, but a des-

perate plea. Knox’s singular ambition was that Christ would be honored
throughout his homeland, as the gospel of grace was proclaimed and
sinners were saved to the glory of God. The Scottish Reformer rightly
understood that there was no greater privilege than to preach the good
news of salvation so that the Lord Jesus might be exalted. As Knox
would recount at the end of his life, “I sought neither pre-eminence, glo-
ry, nor riches; my honor was that Jesus Christ should reign.” May that be
our heart’s cry as well.

Adapted from an article written by Master’s Seminary student Reagan Rose

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 Chapter 7

THOMAS CRANMER

O n March 21, 1556, a crowd of curious spectators packed University

Church in Oxford, England. They were there to witness the public
recantation of one of the most well-known English Reformers, a man
named Thomas Cranmer.
Cranmer had been arrested by Roman Catholic authorities nearly
three years earlier. At first, his resolve was strong. But after many months
in prison, under daily pressure from his captors and the imminent threat
of being burned at the stake, the Reformer’s faith faltered. His enemies
eventually coerced him to sign several documents renouncing his Prot-
estant faith. In a moment of weakness, in order to prolong his life, Cran-
mer denied the truths he had defended throughout his ministry, the very
principles upon which the Reformation itself was based.
Roman Catholic Queen Mary I, known to church history as
“Bloody Mary,” viewed Cranmer’s retractions as a mighty trophy in her
violent campaign against the Protestant cause. But Cranmer’s enemies
wanted more than just a written recantation. They wanted him to declare
it publicly. And so, on March 21, 1556, Thomas Cranmer was taken from
prison and brought to University Church. Dressed in tattered clothing,
the weary, broken, and degraded Reformer took his place at the pulpit. A
script of his public recantation had already been approved; and his ene-
mies sat expectantly in the audience, eager to hear his clear denunciation
of the evangelical faith.
But then the unexpected happened. In the middle of his speech,
Thomas Cranmer deviated from his script. To the shock and dismay
of his enemies, he refused to recant the true gospel. Instead, he bravely
recanted his earlier recantations. Finding the courage he had lacked over

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 those previous months, the emboldened Reformer announced to the
crowd of shocked onlookers…
I come to the great thing that troubles my conscience more than
any other thing that I ever said or did in my life: and that is, the setting
abroad of writings contrary to the truth, which here now I renounce
and refuse, as things written with my hand [which were] contrary to the
truth which I thought in my heart, [being] written for fear of death, and
to save my life.
Cranmer went on to say that if he should be burned at the stake,
his right hand would be the first to be destroyed, since it had signed
those recantations. And then, just to make sure no one misunderstood
him, Cranmer added this, “And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ’s
enemy and antichrist, with all his false doctrine.”
Chaos ensued, and moments later, Cranmer was seized, marched
outside, and burned at the stake. True to his word, he thrust his right
hand into the flames so that it might be destroyed first. As the flames
encircled his body, Cranmer died with the words of Stephen on his lips,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. I see the heavens open and Jesus standing
at the right hand of God.”

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 Conclusion

A MIGHTY FORTRESS

I n June 1520, several years after posting his 95 Theses, Martin Luther
was issued a bull of excommunication by Pope Leo X. The German
Reformer was given sixty days to recant. Instead, he took a copy of the
papal decree out into the center of Wittenberg and burned it as a public
demonstration of his resolve.
When news reached Rome that he was unwilling to change his
views, Luther was officially denounced by the Catholic Church. Shortly
thereafter, he was summoned to defend his views before the Holy Ro-
man Emperor, Charles V, who at that time was the most powerful ruler
in Europe. Luther knew that if he was convicted of heresy, he would
likely be sentenced to death just as John Huss had been a century earlier.
The imperial council, known as a Diet, met in the city of Worms.
Luther arrived on April 16, 1521, and appeared before the assembly the
following day at 4:00 in the afternoon. A stack of his books was pre-
sented, and he was asked if he would recant the alleged heresies they
contained. Knowing what was at stake and wanting to make sure he
answered in a way that was both accurate and precise, Luther asked for
more time. He was given twenty-four hours.
The following day, on April 18, 1521, Luther boldly declared before
the council that he would not recant his views. Famously, he said,

Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept

the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each
other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will
not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.

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 God help me. Amen.

As those words indicate, Luther was willing to take a bold stand,

putting his life on the line for what he knew to be true, and doing so in
the presence of the most powerful ruler in Europe and in the face of a
corrupt religious system that often responded to its detractors by burning
them at the stake.
What gave Luther that kind of boldness? We find the answer in
the words of a prayer that Luther prayed on the morning before the trial
began.

Stand by me, O true eternal God. In no man do I trust. Stand by me,

O God. In the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, who shall be my
defense and shelter, yes, my mighty fortress, through the might and
strength of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

As those words indicate, Martin Luther could stand before a human

tribunal because it was God who stood by Him. He was strong in the
might and strength of the Holy Spirit. His fearlessness came from the
fact that Jesus Christ was his defense, his shelter, and his mighty fortress.
It would be several years later, probably in the fall of 1527, that
Luther penned his most famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,”
which, of course, emphasizes those same truths.
That particular year, Luther became very sick. A short time later,
the plague came to Wittenberg, causing many of his friends and even his
son to become very ill. Luther found himself in a time of deep discour-
agement that bordered on despair.
Yet, as he emerged from that time of severe personal adversity, Lu-
ther recognized that God had not abandoned him. And thus, as he re-
flected on the words of Psalm 46, he could declare, “A mighty Fortress is

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 our God, A Bulwark never failing.”
Whether hardship came in the form of political pressure (from
religious authorities that sought to kill him) or from personal trials (like
enduring severe illness), Luther found comfort and courage by looking to
God as his refuge and tower of strength.
The same perspective ought to be true for us, as we remember that
God is on His throne. He is our mighty fortress, and we can find refuge
in Him.

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 A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

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 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.

That Word above all earthly powers,

No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still:
His kingdom is forever.

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