Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.  Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.  Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.  Isaiah 12:4-6

With the exception of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” this is the most widely sung hymn in Germany.  Like so many other great hymns, it was forged in the crucible of the Thirty Years’ War.  Martin Rinkart was the only pastor in the walled city of Eilenberg.  Many refugees fled there, hoping the walls would protect them, only to see the city overrun by Swedes, Austrians, and Swedes again.  In the crowded conditions, hunger and plague were chronic problems.  In 1637, Rinkart conducted funerals for five thousand residents - including his wife.  So when he prays, “Guide us when perplexed,” he is not talking about minor inconveniences.

Yet thanksgiving erupts from this stately song.  The tune, by Johann Cruger, was introduced with the text in 1644, while the war still raged.  It has a majesty and a resolve that few other works can match.  We can thank God even during the most trying of times.  We can know God is with us “in this world and the next.”

Rinkart wrote the first two stanzas of this hymn as a table grace for his family during the trying times of the Thirty Years’ War in 17th century Germany.  The hymn was first published in Rinkart’s Jesu Hertz-Buchlein (Heart of Jesus booklet), Leipzig, 1636, and was sung at the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia, that ended the devastating war.  The translation by Catherine Winkworth appeared in her Lyra Germanica, 1858.  As recently as the latter part of the 19th century, one of Rinkart’s descendants owned the now-lost original manuscript of the hymn, which bore an annotation that it was written on June 24, 1630, for his children to sing.

The tune, Nun danket alle Gott, comes from the German text that has been associated with this hymn since they appeared together in Johann Cruger’s Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1647.  While it bore no credits, it is believed that Cruger himself wrote the music.

Blessings,

Dale