Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word; Curb those who by deceit or sword Would wrest the kingdom from Your Son And bring to naught all He has done. – LSB 655:1
This beloved hymn by Martin Luther was penned in 1541. The Muslims (Turks) were expanding into western Europe through military conquest and were taking over predominantly German lands. Luther and others recognized the danger of Muslim invasion and being ruled by Muslims who opposed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After the predominately German city Buda (now called Budapest) was captured by Muslims, the elector Johann Fiedrich instructed Luther to admonish pastors to pray for protection against the Muslims, and as a result we ended up with this hymn.
This hymn was referred to in the Wittenberg hymnal of 1544 as “a children’s hymn to sing against the two archenemies of Christ and His holy Church: the pope and the Turks.” As such, the original German is very pointed and clear about that. The LCMS, prior to 1941, sang the first stanza as follows: “Lord, keep us in Thy word and work, / Restrain the murd’rous pope and Turk, / Who fain would tear from off Thy throne / Christ Jesus, Thy beloved Son.” A fourth and fifth stanza were also later written in 1544 by a fellow Lutheran reformer, Justus Jonas, in response to the Roman Catholic Council of Trent, and these were also sung in the LCMS up until 1941. “Destroy their counsels, Lord our God, / And smite them with an iron rod, / And let them fall into the snare / Which for Thy Christians they prepare.” “So that at last they may perceive / That, Lord our God, Thou still dost live, / And dost deliver mightily / All those who put their trust in Thee.”
This language is very concrete and direct, which is perhaps not as “politically correct” as we are used to today. However, it remains the case that we Christians do face enemies of various kinds. While the Pope is not currently trying to kill Lutherans as happened in centuries past, the false doctrine of the Papacy is still something we need to guard against. Perhaps today we might include a line against woke cultural Marxism or something of that sort. Nevertheless, the lines against the Muslims do feel remarkably relevant still today given the present conflicts between Islam and the West. 9/11, although a quarter of a century past, is still fresh in our minds. There are about three times as many Muslims in our country today as there were at the time of 9/11.
These things may justifiably cause us some concern. As such, Luther’s hymn is very apropos for us to sing with great fervor in our day! Instead of fear, we ought to respond with faith in the Lord, remembering that He will preserve us from the enemies of the church that surround us. He is the only true Lord of heaven and earth, and He will defend His little church against every threat. He will, in the end, destroy every evil power and principality that rages against the church. And He is comforting us with His peace, sustaining us through this strife, and leading us out of death to life.
In the peace of Christ,
Pastor Koopman
- Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word,
And stay the Pope’s and Turks’ cruel sword,
For Jesus Christ, Thine only Son,
They fain would cast from off His throne. - Lord Jesus Christ, Thy pow’r make known,
For Thou art Lord of lords alone;
Defend Thy Christendom, that we
May evermore sing praise to Thee. - O Comforter of priceless worth,
Send peace and unity on earth.
Support us in our final strife
And lead us out of death to life. - Destroy their counsels, Lord our God,
And smite them with an iron rod,
And let them fall into the snare
Which for Thy Christians they prepare. - So shall they then at last perceive
That, Lord our God, Thou still dost live,
And dost deliver mightily
All those who put their trust in Thee.