Five hundred years ago, the great reformer, Martin Luther, penned the words to our beloved hymn:
A Mighty Fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He amid the flood, of mortal ills prevailing.
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.
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 will win the battle!
Lord Saboath?
The Hebrew “Jehovah Sabaoth” can be found over two-hundred forty times in the Old Testament, but never until First Samuel (1:3) where the Christian Standard Bible translates it as “Lord of Armies.” The King James, New King James, New American Standard, and English Standard Bibles translate the name “Lord of hosts” while the New International Version translates it “Lord Almighty.”
Jehovah Sabaoth can be found eighty-eight times in the book of Jeremiah. Early in his ministry Jeremiah warned Judah to live holy lives. “This is what (Jehovah Sabaoth), the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your actions, and I will allow you to live in this place” (Jeremiah 7:3). They didn’t, but years later, after Jerusalem had been destroyed and the rebellious people were living as slaves in Babylon, Jehovah Sabaoth graciously ratified the New Covenant. Jeremiah declared, “Look, the days are coming … when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah… I will be their God, and they will be my people… For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin. This is what the Lord says … (Jehovah Sabaoth) is his name” (Jeremiah 31:31–35). He demands holiness, and still, He dispenses great grace.
At the Valley of Elah, David shouted at Goliath: “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of (Jehovah Sabaoth) the God of the ranks of Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45). There’s power in the Name!
“In the year that King Uzziah died, (Isaiah) saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple.” Then Isaiah, the prophet, heard an angelic being call out, “ ‘Holy, holy, holy is (Jehovah Sabaoth); his glory fills the whole earth’ … Then (Isaiah) said: ‘Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, (Jehovah Sabaoth)’ ” (Isaiah 6:1-5).
Jehovah Sabaoth is the glorious God who rightly receives the worship of Heaven’s hosts. Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Sabaoth! And our God, Jehovah Sabaoth, is the Always-Victorious-One who musters heaven’s armies. Martin Luther was right! He will win the battle!
