Tanganyika Province, British East
Africa, tells how he once heard an assembly of 2,000 natives sing
Luther's great hymn. "I never heard it sung with more spirit; the effect
was almost overwhelming," he testifies.

A West African missionary, Christaller, relates how he once sang "Ein
feste Burg" to his native interpreter. "That man, Luther," said the
African, "must have been a powerful man, one can feel it in his hymns."

Thomas Carlyle's estimate of "Ein feste Burg" seems to accord with that
of the African native. "It jars upon our ears," he says, "yet there is
something in it like the sound of Alpine avalanches, or the first murmur
of earthquakes, in the very vastness of which dissonance a higher unison
is revealed to us."

Carlyle, who refers to Luther as "perhaps the most inspired of all
teachers since the Apostles," has given us the most rugged of all
translations of the Reformer's great hymn. There are said to be no less
than eighty English translations, but only a few have met with popular
favor. In England the version by Carlyle is in general use, while in
America various composite translations are found in hymn-books. Carlyle's
first stanza reads

A sure stronghold our God is He,
A trusty Shield and Weapon;
Our help He'll be, and set us free
From every ill can happen.
That old malicious foe
Intends us deadly woe;
Armed with might from hell
And deepest craft as well,
On earth is not his fellow.

The greater number of Luther's hymns are not original. Many are
paraphrases of Scripture, particularly the Psalms, and others are based
on Latin, Greek, and German antecedents. In every instance, however, the
great Reformer so imbued them with his own fervent faith and militant
spirit that they seem to shine with a new luster.

The hymns of Luther most frequently found in hymn-books today are "Come,
Thou Saviour of our race," "Good news from heaven the angels bring," "In
death's strong grasp the Saviour lay," "Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord,"
"Come, Holy Spirit, from above," "Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy word,"
"Lord, Jesus Christ, to Thee we pray," "Dear Christians, one and all
rejoice," "Out of the depths I cry to Thee," and "We all believe in one
true God."

A Metrical Gloria in Excelsis

All glory be to Thee, Most High,
To Thee all adoration!
In grace and truth Thou drawest nigh
To offer us salv