And through His Word, He counters Satan’s lies with His truth. What’s more, God seeks to assure us of His love and esteem. Sometimes the invisible God draws near through visible people, and they become the bearers of God’s comforting and strengthening words to troubled souls. In the midst of trouble He draws near to us. One can expect Satan’s persistence until faith is destroyed, but in the midst of depression God is with us. Concerning a friend’s depressive thoughts, Luther wrote, “Know that the devil is tormenting you with them, and that they are not your thoughts but the cursed devil’s, who cannot bear to see us have joyful thoughts.” Luther recognized a spiritual truth about depression. Such thoughts induce melancholy and despair. Satan as the “ accuser of the brethren,” causes Christians to dwell on past sins.
Evidently he did not think it a shameful problem to be hidden. He suffered in this area for much of his life and often revealed these struggles in his works. He described the experience in varied terms: melancholy, heaviness, depression, dejection of spirit downcast, sad, downhearted. Luther himself endured many instances of depression. Conrad Cordatus, a pastor and frequent guest at Luther’s table, exhibited signs of hypochondriasis, a disorder involving preoccupation with fears of having a serious disease.īesides observing mental difficulties in others, Luther had a compelling reason to affirm their reality. Prince Joachim of Anhalt, to whom Luther often wrote, exhibited signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and he believed he had betrayed and crucified Christ. In addition, Luther’s wife, Kate, struggled with pervasive and persistent worry indicative of generalized anxiety disorder. He described her as being “accustomed to rage” and sometimes angrily chasing her neighbor with a spear. For example, in August 1536 he interceded for a woman named Mrs. Luther’s writings reveal his knowledge of various emotional difficulties. In addition, he devoted many letters to counseling troubled folk. His compassion for those souls shines in numerous places, including his sermons, lectures, Bible commentaries and ‘table talks’. Given his pastoral heart, he sought to bring spiritual counsel to struggling souls. It was penned by the great 16th-century reformer Martin Luther, who believed God’s power could help believers overcome great difficulties - even depression. This evidence would support it being written in 1527–1529 since Luther's hymns were printed shortly after they were written.The hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God gloriously celebrates God’s power. Before that, it is supposed to have appeared in the Hans Weiss Wittenberg hymnal of 1528, also lost. The earliest extant hymnal in which it appears is that of Andrew Rauscher (1531), but it is supposed to have been in Joseph Klug's Wittenberg hymnal of 1529, of which no copy exists. Merriman writes that the hymn "began as a martial song to inspire soldiers against the Ottoman forces" during the Ottoman wars in Europe. It has been called the "Battle Hymn of the Reformation" for the effect it had in increasing the support for the Reformers' cause. " A Mighty Fortress" is one of the best-loved hymns of the Lutheran tradition and among Protestants more generally. It has been translated into English at least seventy times and also into many other languages. Luther wrote the words and composed the melody sometime between 15. The Story Behind A Mighty Fortress Is Our God 3 And though this world, with devils filled,
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