Lord Keep Us Keptfast In Thy Word Lutheran Hymn Analysis

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Lutheran Hymns Spreading Propaganda and Hatred. Lutheran hymns were not just songs of worship, but were a method to spread their propaganda and hatred about the Roman Church. The more the people sung these hymns, the more they conformed to the views of the Lutheran Church. These hymns were intended to incite feelings of anger and outrage toward the Roman Church, as well as to compare the Roman Church with Satan. Looking at one of these Hymns called, “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word” by Luther himself, written somewhere in between 1541 and 1542. Here it is written in the very first verse that, “Lord, keep us steadfast in thy Word, and curb the pope’s and Turk’s vile sword, who seek to topple from the throne Jesus Christ, thy only son.” (Discovering, 275). In the first verse of this hymn Luther drops that gauntlet by saying that the Pope must be stopped and Luther then accuses the Roman church as wanting to overthrow God the Son, …show more content…

Moving to another hymn by Luther, he goes so far to call the Roman Church devils and satanic. Luther writes, “The old satanic foe has sworn to work us woe…Though hordes of devils fill the land all threat’ning to devour us, we tremble not, unmoved we stand; they cannot overpow’r us, let this world’s tyrant rage; in battle we’ll engage!” (Discovering, 276). In these two verses Luther accuses the Roman Church as being a satanic power and the members of the Church, especially the hierarchy, are devils that rage and threaten all that oppose the Roman Church. Finally, in looking at a hymn by Paul Speratus in 1524, it is seen that Lutheranism claims that the Roman Church is incorrect in their teaching on salvation. In the hymn “Salvation unto Us Has Come” Paul writes, “Good works cannot avert our doom, they help to save us never. Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone, who did for all the world atone; He is our mediator.” (Discovering, 277). Here Paul Speratus is making a

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