a mighty fortress is our god

lyrics	comments
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:	right out of the box: "our god" gives sense of community, fellowship and common purpose
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.	not only do "we" share a god, we also share a common foe, with a hatred unequaled in our experience
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.	oddly, we toss the whole defeat of our common enemy to jesus. where did our sense of community and purpose go? humans: weak and powerless
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him. That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth: Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.	truth will prevail. though i grew up in a church that sang different lyrics to this, the meaning was the same. also, as a kid i loved the stop-animated show, david and goliath, which used this hymn's melody as its theme.

as an adult, i find this hymn popping up in my head with unexplained prompting...it's a sentimental favorite with fond associations.