Luther's Hymn from the Ruins

In 1527, plague swept through Wittenberg. Martin Luther refused to flee. Friends died. His infant son fell gravely ill. His own body burned with fever and despair so crushing he later described it as spiritual assault — the feeling that God Himself had turned away. The earth, it seemed, was giving way beneath his feet. Yet somewhere in that crucible, Luther opened his Psalter to Psalm 46 and began to write.…