Under Attack 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.
- Martin Luther, Hymn: A Mighty Fortress is Our God Martin Luther’s most famous hymn is surely “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” It is probably one of the most famous and most widely sung hymns of all time. But its message of serious conflict with hostile spiritual powers is often neglected.
It seems that in our time you hear more about Satan in independent churches than in most “mainline” churches. But the truth is that Satan is not a new invention, or even a new discovery. It is not only the radio and TV preachers of our time who have realized that we are in spiritual warfare, with a powerful enemy. C. S. Lewis first gained fame as a man with a message for the twentieth century when in 1948 he wrote a book about the many subtle ways in which Satan and his servants try to tempt human beings. But the revival of awareness concerning our powerful and crafty enemy seems to have been temporary.
By the time the late ‘70s rolled around, a highly gifted gospel singer by the name of Keith Green struck a nerve with a song in which Satan speaks, saying that his job is getting easier all the time because people don’t believe in him any more. Keith Green liked Lewis and Tolkien, and he may have read the observation by Tolkien that it does not do to neglect a dragon if one lives in your neighborhood.
The Bible has a lot to say about Satan. It warns us not to be ignorant of his devices. We are warned that he “goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” We know that he has “wiles” and “fiery darts” with which he will attack anyone who leaves him an opening. A part of the armor we are told to wear at all times is the “shield of faith,” with which we are to quench all his fiery darts. If we let down our guard, he will surely attack in force. What can we do against such an Enemy? “His craft and power are great,” as Luther says; how can we stand against him? The second verse of “A Mighty Fortress” addresses that: “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.” The dragon lives in your neighborhood, and you are limited. But God is not. In an ultimate sense that means you are not either. We are given “the armor of God” and told to stand in his strength, not in our own. We have the shield of faith for defense, and for offense the sword of the Spirit - the word of God. When Satan talks to you, talk back! “I know you are the prince of this world, but Lord Sabaoth means “commander of the armies of Heaven. The balance of forces is against you, and if you do not leave I will keep using the sword of the Spirit on you.” God gives us assurances when we are under attack: “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world,” and “resist him and he will flee from you.” As Luther said: “his doom is sure.” Meditate: 1 Peter 5:8,9; James 4:7,8
Donald Grey Barnhouse, Jr. circa 2015
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