Source
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 his 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 is his name,
From age to age the
same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to
undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath 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 for ever.
Source: Michael Praetorius, Musae Sioniae 9: Nr. 153
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. Lyrics
and original melody by Martin Luther, 1527-1529. Performed by Ilse
Brix-Meinert, Ferdinand Conrad, and the Bender Children's Choir. Hamburg
: Deutsche Grammophon-Gesellschaft,
1955.
Digital Collections of the
Hochschule für Musik und Theater
München
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bvb:m29-0000004853