Martin Luther

There He Stood

By S.E. McGhie
(I wrote it when I was single)


Low notes of wicked sharpness filled
each corner of the emperor's hall.
Satan's power manifested itself as
furry in their eyes to the one they beheld.
Their enactment of supremacy could easily
fill this lowly monk's heart with fear.

But there he stood. The target of untamed lies,
With a small voice that could shatter
the thin facade of deity. Oh how strong a wall
of offense did the enemy appear to uphold;
With the allies of persecution and conformity
Who bowed to the executioner's call.

Thoughts of his Savior must have appeared,
as he faced the future within close reach;
With ninety-five evidences of guilt
to proclaim his conspiracy to reform,
And not a wave of white to signal a hint of defeat.

The battle of validity must have raged in his mind.
His soul clinging to the rock so newly discovered,
All while his flesh crept closer to the edge of denial,
But his heart held to the promise of God's Word.

The Lord who pulls the martyr to the other side,
Also guided the steps of Luther that day,
For just beyond the walls of adversity,
Is the everlasting home of victory.