Lord Sabaoth His Name

For many Christians, a favourite hymn is the one penned by Martin Luther, “A Mighty Fortress.” On Reformation Day—and throughout the year—the church sings this hymn with great passion. After a sermon celebrating the power and faithfulness of God our Savior, the organist pulls out a few extra stops as we lift up this cherished song. 

Lord of the Sabbath?

As tends to happen with other tried and true songs, “A Mighty Fortress” contains some old expressions whose meanings are obscure. And while we love to sing familiar lyrics, it’s right that we know the meaning of what we are singing. Our hearts as well as our minds should be fully involved in the worship of God.

In “A Mighty Fortress,” in its second verse, we find a misunderstood phrase. Speaking of “the right Man on our side/ The Man of God’s own choosing,” Luther asks and answers a rhetorical question about our Saviour: “Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He.” To further identify him, his title is given: “Lord Sabaoth his Name.”

            What is this title, “Lord Sabaoth?” Someone suggests that it’s linked to Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 12:1-8. There Jesus is disputing with the Pharisees about what is lawful on the Sabbath, and he ends his words with this definitive statement, “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (v. 8). So we might conclude that in the second verse of “A Mighty Fortress,” we celebrate Jesus as the one with authority over the Lord’s day.

Lord of Hosts

            But it’s not Jesus’s Sabbath lordship being celebrated in this line of the hymn. The confusion arises because the word “Sabaoth”—not Sabbath—is an English transliteration of a Hebrew word, sebaoth. Of course, Luther didn’t write his hymn (Ein Feste Burg) in Hebrew but in German. Yet in his original composition, he simply gave the German representation of the Hebrew word sebaoth. So from Hebrew to German to English, “Sabaoth” has found its way into this favourite song.  

For what the word “Sabaoth” means, we turn to the Hebrew Old Testament. There we regularly find this title for God: “Yahweh Sebaoth.” This title is often translated in English Bibles as “the LORD of hosts.”

Over what kind of hosts is the LORD? This is debated. Some passages depict God as the head of human armies. For example, in 1 Samuel 17:45 David confronts Goliath with these words: “I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” Other texts show God commanding the celestial bodies, like the sun, the moon and the stars: “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name” (Isa 40:26). Still others say that the LORD’s hosts are heavenly creatures, such as the angels. The prophet Michaiah once described this war-room scene in heaven: “I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven around him” (1 Kgs 22:19).

Looking at these three options, it may not be necessary to choose one at the expense of the others. The general idea is that God is sovereign over all the powers in the universe, both visible and invisible, human and non-human. This is the reason that the NIV usually translates the Hebrew “Yahweh Sebaoth” as “LORD Almighty.” He is the God of great strength and all ability. Still, we should notice that the title certainly associates God with battle and warfare. He is the Lord of human soldiers, celestial troops, and heavenly fighters.

Psalm 46        

Luther tells of how Psalm 46 was the inspiration for “A Mighty Fortress.” This Psalm too, portrays our God in battle against his enemies. The setting of Psalm 46 is one of unrest, as all creation is unsettled: “the earth gives way, the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” (v. 2), the peoples are roiling, “nations are in uproar” (v. 6). Yet the Psalmist’s confession is sure: “God is our refuge and strength” (v. 1). He expresses again this great confidence: “The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (v. 7). He is a mighty fortress: like the strongest citadel or castle, God is a refuge for his people against their foes. The Psalmist goes on to sing of the LORD battling his enemy: “He breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire” (v. 9). The LORD of hosts is a mighty warrior, a general who is not afraid to fight at the front lines for the preservation of his people.

This Psalm was dear to Luther’s heart. During times when the Reformation movement seemed near collapse, Luther would say to his friend and fellow reformer Philip Melanchthon, “Let’s sing the Forty-sixth Psalm.” This Psalm all about God’s great power over his enemies encouraged Luther and others with the truth that God was on their side and would preserve them. It’s even Jesus Christ himself who is fighting for his people: “Christ Jesus it is He/ Lord Saboath His Name.” He who commands the mighty armies of God is the Lamb who once was slain. Christ will always fight for the church whom He bought with his blood! Luther sang to this triumphant King with steady confidence, even in the darkest hours of the Reformation.

Luther and Music

As a sidebar to this study of his hymn, we note how music had been part of Luther’s life from an early age. He was involved in choirs, he studied music theory, learned the flute and lute, and worked on various compositions. Luther highly esteemed music as a gift of God. He once declared: “Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise.” He emphasized the importance of music in bringing glory to God and held that music can be used with great effectiveness to echo the truth of the gospel.

            With such a high regard for music, and possessing some musical ability himself, it’s not surprising that Luther composed many hymns and songs. He wrote at least thirty-five hymns, though none so well known as “A Mighty Fortress.”

A Mighty Fortress 

The hymn expresses so well the faith of Luther and the Protestant church. They looked to God Almighty as the one who would win their battles against the violence and darkness of false religion. For that reason, Ein Feste Burg has been called the “Battle Hymn of the Reformation.” It captured the spirit of the Reformation so aptly that when Protestant martyrs were walking to their death at the scaffold or stake, they often chose to sing “A Mighty Fortress.”

Its popularity in Protestant churches has hardly waned. “A Mighty Fortress” has been translated into hundreds of languages, and there are at least eighty different English versions. It’s curious to see that some English versions have changed “Lord Sabaoth” into “Lord of hosts,” but many more have preserved the remnants of that rich Hebrew title for God our Saviour. The title is a beautiful link from the Old Testament people of God to his New Testament people today. Our God is unchanging in his power and zeal for the people redeemed in Christ’s blood.

Renewed Enthusiasm

As we commemorate Reformation Day and celebrate God’s power and faithfulness towards his people, we may sing “A Mighty Fortress” with renewed enthusiasm. We may sing with a sure trust in our God of the awesome armies, with a great confidence in our Saviour who even now is enthroned in heaven.

For Christ’s church today, the times can seem dark and troubled. Seeing many abandon God’s truth, witnessing the inexorable rise of hostility and wickedness, we may not feel as confident as the Psalmist in Psalm 46 or as triumphant as Luther in his hymn. But while you and I are just weak foot soldiers facing a formidable foe, we’re sure that our mighty Lord will fight for his people until the very end. This remains our hymn for war: “Lord Sabaoth his Name/ From age to age the same/ And He must win the battle.”