Mighty Fortress

It’s hard to pick a favourite song from a new album packed with favourites. Songs often speak into our lives at different times. Sometimes we need upbeat rhythms and bouncy melodies; at others, we need slower rhythms and gentle melodies. Sometimes we need lyrics that are anthemic and declarative; at others, we need lyrics that soothe our wounds and heal our hurts. Some songs are instant hits with us; we recognise their power and impact the first time we hear them. Other songs ‘grow on us’, finding their way into our hearts gradually as we listen repeatedly.

Aaron Shust’s new album ‘Morning Rises’ has all of the above. But I was encouraged to hear him talk about the song ‘Mighty Fortress’ and how he came to write it, because that was a song which, the first time I heard it, spoke deeply into my heart and my situation, correcting wrong thinking, silencing doubts and reaffirming God’s character.

Aaron began writing ‘Mighty Fortress’ two days before his youngest son was born. He had read through the verses that talk about fixing our eyes on Jesus and our hearts and minds on things above. As he read, he thought he wanted to write a song inspired by these verses but wanted to put a bit of a twist on them. He wanted to write about the things that God will not do. Two days after beginning ‘Mighty Fortress’, his son was born with Down Syndrome, a major heart defect, and profoundly deaf in one ear and severely deaf in the other. It was a devastating day for his family. Their world had been rocked and they needed the truths of this song to hold them up.

It was precisely the emphasis on what God will not do which I needed to hear. Sometimes, it’s easy to focus on who God is and what He is like, but we use the same words over and over again until we rob them of their meaning (in our eyes, at least.) Looking at something from a different angle enables us to see truth in a different light. These powerful verbs – abandon, deceive, desert, leave, forsake, running away, rejecting – can seem all too real to us when we are confused, hurt or bewildered. Reminding us of the things God will never do – because they are totally alien to His nature and character – is as powerful as reminding us of all the things He is like (which the chorus obviously does.)

The other thing I liked about the song was how we started in the 3rd person (‘he won’t abandon’ etc.), declaring truth, but moved to the 2nd person (‘you won’t abandon’ etc.) We start by learning objective truths about God, but those truths have to become personal to us if they are to move from our heads to our hearts.

The chorus echoes Luther’s hymn of the opening line, much loved by me in the original German (‘ein feste Burg ist unser Gott’). Any work which alludes to another opens up additional paths to explore; that always goes down well with me! Lyrics that also echo Scripture are, of course, solid truth on which to stand. Again, I liked the way the chorus (written by Paul Baloche) combines both 3rd and 2nd person truth. And finally, as I listened to the bridge, I found a lyric which brought home the truths of Romans 8:38-39 TNIV in a new way, all because instead of talking about nothing separating us from God’s love, they chose to use the phrase ‘nothing has the power to sever Your love.’ Sever. A verb meaning ‘to divide by cutting or slicing, especially suddenly and forcibly’ or ‘to put an end to (a connection or relationship); break off: “he severed his relations with Lawrence”.’

No wonder I like the song!

“He won’t abandon.
He won’t deceive.
He won’t desert us.
He won’t ever leave.
He’ll never forsake us.
He won’t ever run.
He’ll never reject us,
The Faithful One.

Yesterday and today and forever
Your love will remain
Nothing has the power to sever Your love
You are good, You are good
And Your mercy endures.
You are good.” (‘Mighty Fortress’, Aaron Shust & Paul Baloche)
Aaron Shust teaches the song