Monday, July 8, 2013

Hymn Stories: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Tim Challies has a great series of posts on hymn stories, and the most recent one is on Luther's A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.  
It was … the Marseillaise of the Reformation. It was sung at Augsburg during the Diet, and in all the churches of Saxony, often against the protest of the priest. It was sung in the streets; and, so heard, comforted the hearts of Melanchthon, Jonas, and Cruciger, as they entered Weimar, when banished from Wittenberg in 1547. It was sung by poor Protestant emigrants on their way into exile, and by martyrs at their death. It is woven into the web of the history of Reformation times, and it became the true national hymn of Protestant Germany. (Louis Benson)
If you scroll down to the bottom of Challie's post, you will see links to the other hymn stories he has provided as well.