German Hymnody
The Battle Hymn of the Reformation
A mighty Fortress is our God,
A trusty Shield and Weapon,
He helps us in our every need
That hath us now o'ertaken.
The old malignant foe
E'er means us deadly woe:
Deep guile and cruel might
Are his dread arms in fight,
On earth is not his equal.
With might of ours can naught be done,
Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One
Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye who this may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He,
As Lord of Hosts adored,
Our only King and Lord,
He holds the field forever.
Though devils all the world should fill,
All watching to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill,
They cannot overpower us.
For this world's prince may still
Scowl fiercely as he will,
We need not be alarmed,
For he is now disarmed;
One little word o'erthrows him.
The Word they still shall let remain,
Nor any thanks have for it;
He's by our side upon the plain,
With His good gifts and Spirit.
Take they, then, what they will,
Life, goods, yea, all; and still,
E'en when their worst is done,
They yet have nothing won,
The kingdom ours remaineth.
Martin Luther, 1527?
MARTIN LUTHER, FATHER OF EVANGELICAL HYMNODY
The father of evangelical hymnody was Martin Luther. It was through the
efforts of the great Reformer that the lost art of congregational singing
was restored and the Christian hymn again was given a place in public
worship.
Luther was an extraordinary man. To defy the most powerful ecclesiastical
hierarchy the world has known, to bring about a cataclysmic upheaval in
the religious and political world, and to set spiritual forces into
motion that have changed the course of human history--this would have
been sufficient to have gained for him undying fame. But those who know
Luther only as a Reformer know very little about the versatile gifts and
remarkable achievements of this great prophet of the Church.
Philip Schaff has characterized Luther as "the Ambrose of German
hymnody," and adds: "To Luther belongs the extraordinary merit of having
given to the German people in their own tongue the Bible, the Catechism,
and the hymn book, so that God might speak _directly_ to them in His
word, and that they might _directly_ answer Him in their songs." He also
refers to him as "the father of the modern High German language and
literature."
Luther was divinely endowed for his great mission. From childhood he was
passionately fond of music. As a student at Magdeburg, and later at
Eisenach, he sang for alms at the windows of wealthy citizens. It was the
sweet voice of the boy that attracted the attention of Ursula Cotta and
moved that benevolent woman to give him a home during his school days.
The flute and lute were his favorite instruments, and he used the latter
always in accompanying his own singing. John Walther, a contemporary
composer who later aided Luther in the writing of church music, has left
us this testimony: "It is to my certain knowledge that that holy man of
God, Luther, prophet and apostle to the German nation, took great delight
in music, both in choral and figural composition. I spent many a
delightful hour with him in singing; and ofttimes I have seen the dear
man wax so happy and merry in heart over the singing that it is well-nigh
impossible to weary or content him therewithal. And his discourse
concerning music was most noble."
In his "Discourse in Praise of Music," Luther gives thanks to God for
having bestowed the power of song on the "nightingale and the many
thousand birds of the air," and again he writes, "I give music the
highest and most honorable place; and every one knows how David and all
the saints put their divine thoughts into verse, rhyme, and song."
Luther had little patience with the iconoclasts of his day. He wrote in
the Preface to Walther's collection of hymns, in 1525: "I am not of the
opinion that all sciences should be beaten down and made to cease by the
Gospel, as some fanatics pretend, but I would fain see all the arts, and
music, in particular, used in the service of Him who hath given and
created them." At another time he was even more emphatic: "If any man
despises music, as all fanatics do, for him I have no liking; for music
is a gift and grace of God, not an invention of men. Thus it drives out
the devil and makes people cheerful. Then one forgets all wrath,
impurity, sycophancy, and other vices."
Luther loved the Latin hymns that glorified Christ. He recognized,
however, that they were so permeated with Mariolatry and other errors of
the Roman Church that a refining process was necessary in order to rid
them of their dross and permit the fine gold to appear. Moreover, the
Latin hymns, even in their most glorious development, had not grown out
of the spiritual life of the congregation. The very genius of the Roman
Church precluded this, for church music and song was regarded as
belonging exclusively to the priestly office. Moreover, since the entire
worship was conducted in Latin, the congregation was inevitably doomed to
passive silence.
Brave efforts by John Huss and his followers to introduce congregational
singing in the Bohemian churches had been sternly opposed by the Roman
hierarchy. The Council of Constance, which in 1415 burned the heroic Huss
at the stake, also sent a solemn warning to Jacob of Misi, his successor
as leader of the Hussites, to cease the practice of singing hymns in the
churches. It decreed: "If laymen are forbidden to preach and interpret
the Scriptures, much more are they forbidden to sing publicly in the
churches."
Luther's ringing declaration that all believers constitute a universal
priesthood necessarily implied that the laity should also participate in
the worship. Congregational singing therefore became inevitable.
Luther also realized that spiritual song could be enlisted as a powerful
ally in spreading the evangelical doctrines. During the birth throes of
the Reformation he often expressed the wish that someone more gifted than
himself might give to the German people in their own language some of the
beautiful pearls of Latin hymnody. He also wanted original hymns in the
vernacular, as well as strong, majestic chorales that would reflect the
heroic spirit of the age.
"We lack German poets and musicians," he complained, "or they are unknown
to us, who are able to make Christian and spiritual songs of such value
that they can be used daily in the house of God."
Then something happened that opened the fountains of song in Luther's own
bosom. The Reformation had spread from Germany into other parts of
Europe, and the Catholic authorities had commenced to adopt stern
measures in an effort to stem the revolt. In the Augustinian cloister at
Antwerp, the prior of the abbey and two youths, Heinrich Voes and
Johannes Esch, had been sentenced to death by the Inquisition for their
refusal to surrender their new-born faith.
The prior was choked to death in his prison cell. The two youths were led
to the stake at Brussels, on July 1, 1523. Before the faggots were
kindled they were told that they might still be freed if they would
recant. They replied that they would rather die and be with Christ.
Before the fire and smoke smothered their voices, they sang the ancient
Latin hymn, "Lord God, we praise thee."
When news of the Brussels tragedy reached Luther the poetic spark in his
soul burst into full flame. Immediately he sat down and wrote a festival
hymn commemorating the death of the first Lutheran martyrs. It had been
reported to Luther that when the fires began to lick the feet of Voes,
witnesses had heard him exclaim, "Behold, blooming roses are strewn
around me." Luther seized upon the words as prophetic and concluded his
hymn with the lines:
"Summer is even at the door,
The winter now hath vanished,
The tender flowerets spring once more,
And He who winter banished
Will send a happy summer."
The opening words of the hymn are also significant, "Ein neues Lied wir
heben an." Although the poem must be regarded as more of a ballad than a
church hymn, Luther's lyre was tuned, the springtime of evangelical
hymnody was indeed come, and before another year had passed a little
hymn-book called "The Achtliederbuch" appeared as the first-fruits.
It was in 1524 that this first Protestant hymnal was published. It
contained only eight hymns, four by Luther, three by Speratus, and one
probably by Justus Jonas. The little hymn-books flew all over Europe, to
the consternation of the Romanists. Luther's enemies lamented that "the
whole people are singing themselves into his doctrines." So great was the
demand for hymns that a second volume known as the "Erfurt Enchiridion"
was published in the same year. This contained twenty-five hymns,
eighteen of which were Luther's. "The nightingale of Wittenberg" had
begun to sing.
This was the beginning of evangelical hymnody, which was to play so large
a part in the spread of Luther's teachings. The number of hymn-books by
other compilers increased rapidly and so many unauthorized changes were
made in his hymns by critical editors that Luther was moved to complain
of their practice. In a preface to a hymn-book printed by Joseph Klug of
Wittenberg, in 1543, Luther writes: "I am fearful that it will fare with
this little book as it has ever fared with good books, namely, that
through tampering by incompetent hands it may get to be so overlaid and
spoiled that the good will be lost out of it, and nothing kept in use but
the worthless." Then he adds, naively: "Every man may make a hymn-book
for himself and let ours alone and not add thereto, as we here beg, wish
and assert. For we desire to keep our own coin up to our own standard,
preventing no one from making better hymns for himself. Now let God's
name alone be praised and our name not sought. Amen."
Of the thirty-six hymns attributed to Luther none has achieved such fame
as "A mighty fortress is our God." It has been translated into
practically every language and is regarded as one of the noblest and most
classical examples of Christian hymnody. Not only did it become the
battle hymn of the Reformation, but it may be regarded as the true
national hymn of Germany. Heine called it "the Marseillaise of the
Reformation." Frederick the Great referred to it as "God Almighty's
grenadier march."
The date of the hymn cannot be fixed with any certainty. Much has been
written on the subject, but none of the arguments appear conclusive.
D'Aubigne's unqualified statement that Luther composed it and sang it to
revive the spirits of his friends at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 can
scarcely be accepted, since it appeared at least a year earlier in a
hymn-book published by Joseph Klug.
The magnificent chorale to which the hymn is sung is also Luther's work.
Never have words and music been combined to make so tremendous an appeal.
Great musical composers have turned to its stirring theme again and again
when they have sought to produce a mighty effect. Mendelssohn has used it
in the last movement of his Reformation symphony; Meyerbeer uses it to
good advantage in his masterpiece, "Les Huguenots"; and Wagner's
"Kaisermarsch," written to celebrate the triumphal return of the German
troops in 1870, reaches a great climax with the whole orchestra
thundering forth the sublime chorale. Bach has woven it into a beautiful
cantata, while Raff and Nicolai make use of it in overtures.
After Luther's death, when Melanchthon and his friends were compelled to
flee from Wittenberg by the approach of the Spanish army, they came to
Weimar. As they were entering the city, they heard a little girl singing
Luther's great hymn. "Sing on, my child," exclaimed Melanchthon, "thou
little knowest how thy song cheers our hearts."
When Gustavus Adolphus, the hero king of Sweden, faced Tilly's hosts at
the battlefield of Leipzig, Sept. 7, 1631, he led his army in singing
"Ein feste Burg." Then shouting, "God is with us," he went into battle.
It was a bloody fray. Tilly fell and his army was beaten. When the battle
was over, Gustavus Adolphus knelt upon the ground among his soldiers and
thanked the Lord of Hosts for victory, saying, "He holds the field
forever."
At another time during the Thirty Years' War a Swedish trumpeter captured
the ensign of the Imperial army. Pursued by the enemy he found himself
trapped with a swollen river before him. He paused for a moment and
prayed, "Help me, O my God," and then thrust spurs into his horse and
plunged into the midst of the current. The Imperialists were afraid to
follow him, whereupon he raised his trumpet to his lips and sounded the
defiant notes: "A mighty fortress is our God!"
George N. Anderson, a missionary in Tanganyika Province, British East
Africa, tells how he once heard an assembly of 2,000 natives sing
Luther's great hymn. "I never heard it sung with more spirit; the effect
was almost overwhelming," he testifies.
A West African missionary, Christaller, relates how he once sang "Ein
feste Burg" to his native interpreter. "That man, Luther," said the
African, "must have been a powerful man, one can feel it in his hymns."
Thomas Carlyle's estimate of "Ein feste Burg" seems to accord with that
of the African native. "It jars upon our ears," he says, "yet there is
something in it like the sound of Alpine avalanches, or the first murmur
of earthquakes, in the very vastness of which dissonance a higher unison
is revealed to us."
Carlyle, who refers to Luther as "perhaps the most inspired of all
teachers since the Apostles," has given us the most rugged of all
translations of the Reformer's great hymn. There are said to be no less
than eighty English translations, but only a few have met with popular
favor. In England the version by Carlyle is in general use, while in
America various composite translations are found in hymn-books. Carlyle's
first stanza reads
A sure stronghold our God is He,
A trusty Shield and Weapon;
Our help He'll be, and set us free
From every ill can happen.
That old malicious foe
Intends us deadly woe;
Armed with might from hell
And deepest craft as well,
On earth is not his fellow.
The greater number of Luther's hymns are not original. Many are
paraphrases of Scripture, particularly the Psalms, and others are based
on Latin, Greek, and German antecedents. In every instance, however, the
great Reformer so imbued them with his own fervent faith and militant
spirit that they seem to shine with a new luster.
The hymns of Luther most frequently found in hymn-books today are "Come,
Thou Saviour of our race," "Good news from heaven the angels bring," "In
death's strong grasp the Saviour lay," "Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord,"
"Come, Holy Spirit, from above," "Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy word,"
"Lord, Jesus Christ, to Thee we pray," "Dear Christians, one and all
rejoice," "Out of the depths I cry to Thee," and "We all believe in one
true God."
A Metrical Gloria in Excelsis
All glory be to Thee, Most High,
To Thee all adoration!
In grace and truth Thou drawest nigh
To offer us salvation.
Thou showest Thy good will toward men,
And peace shall reign on earth again;
We praise Thy Name forever.
We praise, we worship Thee, we trust,
And give Thee thanks forever,
O Father, for Thy rule is just
And wise, and changes never.
Thy hand almighty o'er us reigns,
Thou doest what Thy will ordains;
'Tis well for us Thou rulest.
O Jesus Christ, our God and Lord,
Son of the Heavenly Father,
O Thou, who hast our peace restored,
The straying sheep dost gather,
Thou Lamb of God, to Thee on high
Out of the depths we sinners cry:
Have mercy on us, Jesus!
O Holy Ghost, Thou precious gift,
Thou Comforter, unfailing,
From Satan's snares our souls uplift,
And let Thy power, availing,
Avert our woes and calm our dread;
For us the Saviour's blood was shed,
We trust in Thee to save us!
Nicolaus Decius, 1526, 1539
THE HYMN-WRITERS OF THE REFORMATION
The hymns of the Reformation were like a trumpet call, proclaiming to all
the world that the day of spiritual emancipation had come. What they
lacked in poetic refinement they more than made up by their tremendous
earnestness and spiritual exuberance.
They faithfully reflect the spirit of the age in which they were born, a
period of strife and conflict. The strident note that often appears in
Luther's hymns can easily be understood when it is remembered that the
great Reformer looked upon the pope as Antichrist himself and all others
who opposed the Lutheran teachings as confederates of the devil.
In 1541, when the Turkish invasion from the East threatened to devastate
all Europe, special days of humiliation and prayer were held throughout
Germany. It was for one of these occasions that Luther wrote the hymn,
"Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy word." In its original form, however, it
was quite different from the hymn we now sing. The first stanza ran:
Lord, keep us in Thy word and work,
Restrain the murderous pope and Turk,
Who fain would tear from off Thy throne
Christ Jesus, Thy beloved Son.
When Luther, on the other hand, sang of God's free grace to men in Christ
Jesus, or extolled the merits of the Saviour, or gave thanks for the word
of God restored to men, there was such a marvelous blending of childlike
trust, victorious faith and spontaneous joy that all Germany was thrilled
by the message.
The popularity of the Lutheran hymns was astonishing. Other hymn-writers
sprang up in large numbers, printing presses were kept busy, and before
Luther's death no less than sixty collections of hymns had been
published. Wandering evangelists were often surrounded by excited crowds
in the market places, hymns printed on leaflets were distributed, and the
whole populace would join in singing the songs of the Reformers.
Paul Speratus, Paul Eber, and Justus Jonas were the most gifted
co-laborers of Luther. It was Speratus who contributed three hymns to the
"Achtliederbuch," the first hymn-book published by Luther. His most
famous hymn, "To us salvation now is come," has been called "the poetic
counterpart of Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans." It was the
great confessional hymn of the Reformation. Luther is said to have wept
tears of joy when he heard it sung by a street singer outside his window
in Wittenberg.
Speratus wrote the hymn in a Moravian prison into which he had been cast
because of his bold espousal of the Lutheran teachings. Immediately upon
his release he proceeded to Wittenberg, where he joined himself to the
Reformers. He later became the leader of the Reformation movement in
Prussia and before his death in 1551 was chosen bishop of Pomerania. His
poetic genius may be seen reflected in the beautiful paraphrase of the
Lord's Prayer which forms the concluding two stanzas of his celebrated
hymn:
All blessing, honor, thanks, and praise
To Father, Son, and Spirit,
The God who saved us by His grace,
All glory to His merit:
O Father in the heavens above,
Thy glorious works show forth Thy love,
Thy worthy Name be hallowed.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
In earth, as 'tis in heaven:
Keep us in life, by grace led on,
Forgiving and forgiven;
Save Thou us in temptation's hour,
And from all ills; Thine is the power,
And all the glory, Amen!
Eber was the sweetest singer among the Reformers. As professor of Hebrew
at Wittenberg University and assistant to Melanchthon, he had an active
part in the stirring events of the Reformation. He possessed more of
Melanchthon's gentleness than Luther's ruggedness, and his hymns are
tender and appealing in their childlike simplicity. There is wondrous
consolation in his hymns for the dying, as witness his pious swan-song:
In Thy dear wounds I fall asleep,
O Jesus, cleanse my soul from sin:
Thy bitter death, Thy precious blood
For me eternal glory win.
By Thee redeemed, I have no fear,
When now I leave this mortal clay,
With joy before Thy throne I come;
God's own must die, yet live alway.
Welcome, O death! thou bringest me
To dwell with God eternally;
Through Christ my soul from sin is free,
O take me now, dear Lord, to Thee!
Another hymn for the dying, "Lord Jesus Christ, true man and God,"
breathes the same spirit of hope and trust in Christ. During the years of
persecution and suffering that followed the Reformation, the Protestants
found much comfort in singing Eber's "When in the hour of utmost need."
Justus Jonas, the bosom friend of Luther who spoke the last words of
peace and consolation to the dying Reformer and who also preached his
funeral sermon, has left us the hymn, "If God were not upon our side,"
based on Psalm 124.
From this period we also have the beautiful morning hymn, "My inmost
heart now raises," by Johannes Mathesius, the pupil and biographer of
Luther, and an equally beautiful evening hymn, "Sunk is the sun's last
beam of light," by Nicholas Hermann. Mathesius was pastor of the church
at Joachimsthal, in Bohemia, and Hermann was his organist and
choirmaster. It is said that whenever Mathesius preached a particularly
good sermon, Hermann was forthwith inspired to write a hymn on its theme!
He was a poet and musician of no mean ability, and his tunes are among
the best from the Reformation period.
The example of the Wittenberg hymnists was quickly followed by
evangelicals in other parts of Germany, and hymn-books began to appear
everywhere. As early as 1526 a little volume of hymns was published at
Rostock in the Platt-Deutsch dialect. In this collection we find one of
the most glorious hymns of the Reformation, "All glory be to Thee, Most
High," or, as it has also been rendered, "All glory be to God on high," a
metrical version of the ancient canticle, _Gloria in Excelsis_. Five
years later another edition was published in which appeared a metrical
rendering of _Agnus Dei_:
O Lamb of God, most holy,
On Calvary an offering;
Despised, meek, and, lowly,
Thou in Thy death and suffering
Our sins didst bear, our anguish;
The might of death didst vanquish;
Give us Thy peace, O Jesus!
The author of both of these gems of evangelical hymnody was Nicolaus
Decius, a Catholic monk in the cloister of Steterburg who embraced the
Lutheran teachings. He later became pastor of St. Nicholas church in
Stettin, where he died under suspicious circumstances in 1541. In
addition to being a popular preacher and gifted poet, he also seems to
have been a musician of some note. The two magnificent chorals to which
his hymns are sung are generally credited to him, although there is a
great deal of uncertainty surrounding their composition. Luther prized
both hymns very highly and included them in his German liturgy.
A Beautiful Confirmation Hymn
Let me be Thine forever,
My gracious God and Lord,
May I forsake Thee never,
Nor wander from Thy Word:
Preserve me from the mazes
Of error and distrust,
And I shall sing Thy praises
Forever with the just.
Lord Jesus, bounteous Giver
Of light and life divine,
Thou didst my soul deliver,
To Thee I all resign:
Thou hast in mercy bought me
With blood and bitter pain;
Let me, since Thou hast sought me,
Eternal life obtain.
O Holy Ghost, who pourest
Sweet peace into my heart,
And who my soul restorest,
Let not Thy grace depart.
And while His Name confessing
Whom I by faith have known,
Grant me Thy constant blessing,
Make me for aye Thine own.
Nicolaus Selnecker, 1572, _et al._
HYMNODY OF THE CONTROVERSIAL PERIOD
Many of our great Christian hymns were born in troublous times. This is
true in a very special sense of the hymns written by Nicolaus Selnecker,
German preacher and theologian. The age in which he lived was the period
immediately following the Reformation. It was an age marked by doctrinal
controversy, not only with the Romanists, but among the Protestants
themselves. In these theological struggles, Selnecker will always be
remembered as one of the great champions of pure Lutheran doctrine.
"The Formula of Concord," the last of the Lutheran confessions, was
largely the work of Selnecker. Published in 1577, it did more than any
other single document to clarify the Lutheran position on many disputed
doctrinal points, thus bringing to an end much of the confusion and
controversy that had existed up to that time.
Selnecker early in life revealed an artistic temperament. Born in 1532 at
Hersbruck, Germany, we find him at the age of twelve years organist at
the chapel in the Kaiserburg, at Nuernberg, where he attended school.
Later he entered Wittenberg University to study law. Here he came under
the influence of Philip Melanchthon, and was induced to prepare himself
for the ministry. It is said that Selnecker was Melanchthon's favorite
pupil.
Following his graduation from Wittenberg, he lectured for a while at the
university and then received the appointment as second court preacher at
Dresden and private tutor to Prince Alexander of Saxony. Many of the
Saxon theologians at this time were leaning strongly toward the
Calvinistic teaching regarding the Lord's Supper, and when Selnecker came
out boldly for the Lutheran doctrine he incurred the hostility of those
in authority. Later, when he supported a Lutheran pastor who had dared to
preach against Elector August's passion for hunting, he was compelled to
leave Dresden.
For three years he held the office of professor of theology at the
University of Jena, but in 1568 he again found favor with the Elector
August and was appointed to the chair of theology in the University of
Leipzig. It was here that Selnecker again became involved in bitter
doctrinal disputes regarding the Lord's Supper, and in 1576 and 1577 he
joined a group of theologians, including Jacob Andreae and Martin
Chemnitz, in working out the Formula of Concord.
Upon the death of Elector August the Calvinists again secured
ecclesiastical control, and Selnecker once more was compelled to leave
Leipzig. After many trials and vicissitudes, he finally returned, May 19,
1592, a worn and weary man, only to die in Leipzig five days later.
During the stormy days of his life, Selnecker often sought solace in
musical and poetical pursuits. Many of his hymns reflect his own personal
troubles and conflicts. "Let me be thine forever" is believed to have
been written during one of the more grievous experiences of his life. It
was a prayer of one stanza originally, but two additional stanzas were
added by an unknown author almost a hundred years after Selnecker's
death. In its present form it has become a favorite confirmation hymn in
the Lutheran Church.
Selnecker's zeal for his Church is revealed in many of his hymns, among
them the famous "Abide with us, O Saviour dear." The second stanza of
this hymn clearly reflects the distressing controversies in which he was
engaged at the time:
This is a dark and evil day,
Forsake us not, O Lord, we pray;
And let us in our grief and pain
Thy Word and sacraments retain.
In connection with his work as professor in the University of Leipzig, he
also served as pastor of the famous St. Thomas church in that city. It
was through his efforts that the renowned Motett choir of that church was
built up, a choir that was afterward conducted by John Sebastian Bach.
About 150 hymns in all were written by Selnecker. In addition to these he
also was author of some 175 theological and controversial works.
One of the contemporaries of Selnecker was Bartholomaeus Ringwalt, pastor
of Langfeld, near Sonnenburg, Brandenburg. This man also was a staunch
Lutheran and a poet of considerable ability. His judgment hymn, "The day
is surely drawing near," seems to reflect the feeling held by many in
those distressing times that the Last Day was near at hand. It was used
to a large extent during the Thirty Years' War, and is still found in
many hymn-books.
Another hymnist who lived and wrought during these turbulent times was
Martin Behm, to whom we are indebted for three beautiful lyrics, "O
Jesus, King of glory," "Lord Jesus Christ, my Life, my Light," and "O
holy, blessed Trinity." Behm, who was born in Lauban, Silesia, Sept. 16,
1557, served for thirty-six years as Lutheran pastor in his native city.
He was a noted preacher and a gifted poet. His hymn on the Trinity is one
of the finest ever written on this theme. It concludes with a splendid
paraphrase of the Aaronic benediction. Two of its stanzas are:
O holy, blessed Trinity,
Divine, eternal Unity,
God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
Be Thou this day my guide and host.
Lord, bless and keep Thou me as Thine;
Lord, make Thy face upon me shine;
Lord, lift Thy countenance on me,
And give me peace, sweet peace from Thee.
Valerius Herberger was another heroic representative of this period of
doctrinal strife, war, famine, and pestilence. While pastor of St. Mary's
Lutheran Church at Fraustadt, Posen, he and his flock were expelled from
their church in 1604 by King Sigismund III, of Poland, and the property
turned over to the Roman Catholics. Nothing daunted, however, Herberger
and his people immediately constructed a chapel out of two houses near
the gates of the city. They gave the structure the name of "Kripplein
Christi," since the first service was held in it on Christmas Eve.
During the great pestilence which raged in 1613, the victims in Fraustadt
numbered 2,135. Herberger, however, stuck to his post, comforting the
sick and burying the dead. It was during these days that he wrote his
famous hymn, "Valet will ich dir geben," one of the finest hymns for the
dying in the German language. The hymn was published with the title, "The
farewell (Valet) of Valerius Herberger that he gave to the world in the
autumn of the year 1613, when he every hour saw death before his eyes,
but mercifully and also as wonderfully as the three men in the furnace at
Babylon was nevertheless spared."
The famous chorale tune for the hymn was written in 1613 by Melchior
Teschner, who was Herberger's precentor.
Other Lutheran hymn-writers of this period were Joachim Magdeburg, Martin
Rutilius, Martin Schalling and Philipp Nicolai. The last name in this
group is by far the most important and will be given more extensive
notice in the following chapter. To Magdeburg, a pastor who saw service
in various parts of Germany and Hungary during a stormy career, we owe a
single hymn, "Who trusts in God a strong abode." Rutilius has been
credited with the authorship of the gripping penitential hymn, "Alas, my
God! my sins are great," although the claim is sometimes disputed. He was
a pastor at Weimar, where he died in 1618.
Schalling likewise has bequeathed but a single hymn to the Church, but it
may be regarded as one of the classic hymns of Germany. Its opening line,
"O Lord, devoutly love I Thee," reflects the ardent love of the author
himself for the Saviour. It was entitled, "A prayer to Christ, the
Consolation of the soul in life and death," and surely its message of
confiding trust in God has been a source of comfort and assurance to
thousands of pious souls in the many vicissitudes of life as well as in
the valley of the shadow.
Although Schalling was a warm friend of Selnecker, he hesitated to
subscribe to the Formula of Concord, claiming that it dealt too harshly
with the followers of Melanchthon. For this reason he was deposed as
General Superintendent of Oberpfalz and court preacher at Heidelberg.
Five years later, however, he was appointed pastor of St. Mary's church
in Nuernberg, where he remained until blindness compelled him to retire.
He died in 1608.
A Masterpiece of Hymnody
Wake, awake, for night is flying:
The watchmen on the heights are crying,
Awake, Jerusalem, arise!
Midnight's solemn hour is tolling,
His chariot wheels are nearer rolling,
He comes; prepare, ye virgins wise.
Rise up with willing feet,
Go forth, the Bridegroom meet:
Alleluia!
Bear through the night your well trimmed light,
Speed forth to join the marriage rite.
Zion hears the watchmen singing,
And all her heart with joy is springing,
She wakes, she rises from her gloom;
Forth her Bridegroom comes, all-glorious,
The strong in grace, in truth victorious;
Her Star is risen, her Light is come!
All hail, Thou precious One!
Lord Jesus, God's dear Son!
Alleluia!
The joyful call we answer all,
And follow to the nuptial hall.
Lamb of God, the heavens adore Thee,
And men and angels sing before Thee,
With harp and cymbal's clearest tone.
By the pearly gates in wonder
We stand, and swell the voice of thunder,
That echoes round Thy dazzling throne.
To mortal eyes and ears
What glory now appears!
Alleluia!
We raise the song, we swell the throng,
To praise Thee ages all along.
Philipp Nicolai, 1599.
THE KING AND QUEEN OF CHORALES
At rare intervals in the history of Christian hymnody, we meet with a
genius who not only possesses the gift of writing sublime poetry but also
reveals talent as a composer of music. During the stirring days of the
Reformation such geniuses were revealed in the persons of Martin Luther
and Nicolaus Decius. We now encounter another, Philipp Nicolai, the
writer of the glorious hymn, "Wachet auf."
Nicolai's name would have been gratefully remembered by posterity had he
merely written the words of this hymn; but, when we learn that he also
composed the magnificent chorale to which it is sung, we are led to
marvel. It has been called the "King of Chorales," and well does it
deserve the title.
But Nicolai was also the composer of the "Queen of Chorales." That is the
name often given to the tune of his other famous hymn, "Wie schoen
leuchtet der Morgenstern." Both of Nicolai's great tunes have been
frequently appropriated for other hymns. The "King of Chorales" has lent
inspiration to "Holy Majesty, before Thee," while the "Queen of Chorales"
has helped to glorify such hymns as "All hail to thee, O blessed morn,"
"Now Israel's hope in triumph ends," and "O Holy Spirit, enter in."
Some of the world's greatest composers have recognized the beauty and
majesty of Nicolai's inspiring themes and have seized upon his chorales
to weave them into a number of famous musical masterpieces. The strains
of the seventh and eighth lines of "Wachet auf" may be heard in the
passage, "The kingdoms of this world," of Handel's "Hallelujah chorus."
Mendelssohn introduces the air in his overture to "St. Paul," and the
entire chorale occurs in his "Hymn of Praise." The latter composer has
also made use of the "Wie schoen" theme in the first chorus of his
unpublished oratorio, "Christus."
The circumstances that called forth Nicolai's two great hymns and the
classic chorales to which he wedded them are tragic in nature. A dreadful
pestilence was raging in Westphalia. At Unna, where Nicolai was pastor,
1,300 villagers died of the plague between July, 1597, and January, 1598.
During a single week in the month of August no less than 170 victims were
claimed by the messenger of death.
From the parsonage which overlooked the churchyard, Nicolai was a sad
witness of the burials. On one day thirty graves were dug. In the midst
of these days of distress the gifted Lutheran pastor wrote a series of
meditations to which he gave the title, "Freuden Spiegel," or "Mirror of
Joy." His purpose, as he explains in his preface, dated August 10, 1598,
was "to leave it behind me (if God should call me from this world) as the
token of my peaceful, joyful, Christian departure, or (if God should
spare me in health) to comfort other sufferers whom He should also visit
with the pestilence."
"There seemed to me," he writes in the same preface, "nothing more sweet,
delightful and agreeable, than the contemplation of the noble, sublime
doctrine of Eternal Life obtained through the Blood of Christ. This I
allowed to dwell in my heart day and night, and searched the Scriptures
as to what they revealed on this matter, read also the sweet treatise of
the ancient doctor Saint Augustine ("The City of God") ... Then day by
day I wrote out my meditations, found myself, thank God! wonderfully
well, comforted in heart, joyful in spirit, and truly content."
Both of Nicolai's classic hymns appeared for the first time in his
"Mirror of Joy." As a title to "Wachet auf" Nicolai wrote, "Of the voice
at Midnight, and the Wise Virgins who meet their Heavenly Bridegroom. Mt.
25." The title to "Wie schoen" reads, "A spiritual bridal song of the
believing soul concerning Jesus Christ, her Heavenly Bridegroom, founded
on the 45th Psalm of the prophet David."
It is said that the melody to "Wie schoen" became so popular that numerous
church chimes were set to it.
Nicolai's life was filled with stirring events. He was born at
Mengerinhausen, August 10, 1556. His father was a Lutheran pastor. After
completing studies at the Universities of Erfuert and Wittenberg, he too
was ordained to the ministry in 1583. His first charge was at Herdecke,
but since the town council was composed of Roman Catholic members, he
soon was compelled to leave that place. Later he served at
Niederwildungen and Altwildungen, and in 1596 he became pastor at Unna.
After the dreadful pestilence of 1597 there came an invasion of Spaniards
in 1598, and Nicolai was forced to flee.
In 1601 he was chosen chief pastor of St. Katherine's church in Hamburg.
Here he gained fame as a preacher, being hailed as a "second Chrysostom."
Throughout a long and bitter controversy with the Calvinists regarding
the nature of the Lord's Supper, Nicolai was looked upon as the "pillar"
of the Lutheran Church, and the guardian of its doctrines. He died
October 26, 1608.
A Tribute to the Dying Saviour
Ah, holy Jesus, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hast in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted!
Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone Thee!
'Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied Thee:
I crucified Thee.
Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
For man's atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.
For me, kind Jesus, was Thine incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and Thy life's oblation;
Thy death of anguish and Thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.
Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay Thee,
I do adore Thee, and will ever pray Thee:
Think on Thy pity and Thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.
Johann Heermann, 1630.
HYMNS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR
Times of suffering and affliction have often brought forth great poets.
This was especially true of that troublous period in European history
known as the "Thirty Years' War." Although it was one of the most
distressing eras in the Protestant Church, it gave birth to some of its
grandest hymns.
It was during this dreadful period, when Germany was devastated and
depopulated by all the miseries of a bloody warfare, that Johann Heermann
lived and wrought. He was born at Rauden, Silesia, October 11, 1585, the
son of a poverty-stricken furrier. There were five children in the
family, but four of them were snatched away by death within a short time.
Johann, who was the youngest, was also taken ill, and the despairing
mother was torn by fear and anguish. Turning to God in her hour of need,
she vowed that if He would spare her babe, she would educate him for the
ministry.
She did not forget her promise. The child whose life was spared grew to
manhood, received his training at several institutions, and in 1611
entered the holy ministry as pastor of the Lutheran church at Koeben, not
far from his birthplace.
A few years later the Thirty Years' War broke out, and all of Germany
began to feel its horrors. Four times during the period from 1629 to 1634
the town of Koeben was sacked by the armies of Wallenstein, who had been
sent by the king of Austria to restore the German principalities to the
Catholic faith. Previous to this, in 1616, the city was almost destroyed
by fire. In 1631 it was visited by the dreadful pestilence.
Again and again Heermann was forced to flee from the city, and several
times he lost all his earthly possessions. Once, when he was crossing the
Oder, he was pursued and nearly captured by enemy soldiers, who shot
after him. Twice he was nearly sabred.
It was during this period, in 1630, that his beautiful hymn,
"Herzliebster Jesu," was first published. One of the stanzas which is not
usually given in translations reflects very clearly the unfaltering faith
of the noble pastor during these hard experiences. It reads:
Whate'er of earthly good this life may grant me
I'll risk for Thee; no shame, no cross shall daunt me;
I shall not fear what man can do to harm me,
Nor death alarm me.
The hymn immediately sprang into popularity in Germany, perhaps through
the fact that it reflected the feelings of Protestants everywhere, and
partly because of the gripping tune written for it in 1640 by the great
musician Johann Crueger.
Heermann has been ranked with Luther and Gerhardt as one of the greatest
hymn-writers the Lutheran Church has produced. Because his hymns were
written during such times of distress and suffering, they seemed to grip
the hearts of the German people to an extraordinary degree.
One of his hymns, published in 1630 under the group known as "Songs of
Tears," is entitled "Treuer Waechter Israel." It contains a striking line
imploring God to "build a wall around us." A very interesting story is
told concerning this hymn. On January 5, 1814, the Allied forces were
about to enter Schleswig. A poor widow and her daughter and grandson
lived in a little house near the entrance of the town. The grandson was
reading Heermann's hymns written for times of war, and when he came to
this one, he exclaimed, "It would be a good thing, grandmother, if our
Lord would build a wall around us."
Next day all through the town cries of terror were heard, but not a
soldier molested the widow's home. When on the following morning they
summoned enough courage to open their door, lo, a snowdrift had concealed
them from the view of the enemy! On this incident Clemens Brentano wrote
a beautiful poem, "Draus vor Schleswig."
Another remarkable story is recorded concerning Heermann's great hymn, "O
Jesus, Saviour dear." At Leuthen, in Silesia, December 5, 1757, the
Prussians under Frederick the Great were facing an army of Austrians
three times their number. Just before the battle began some of the
Prussians began to sing the second stanza of the hymn. The regimental
bands took up the music. One of the commanders asked Frederick if it
should be silenced. "No," said the king, "let it be. With such men God
will today certainly give me the victory." When the bloody battle ended
with victory for the Prussians, Frederick exclaimed "My God, what a power
has religion!"
Other famous hymns by Heermann include "O Christ, our true and only
Light," "Lord, Thy death and passion give" and "Faithful God, I lay
before Thee."
Many other noted hymn-writers belong to the period of the Thirty Years'
War, among them Martin Opitz, George Weissel, Heinrich Held, Ernst
Homburg, Johannes Olearius, Josua Stegmann, and Wilhelm II, Duke of
Saxe-Weimar.
Opitz was somewhat of a diplomat and courtier, as well as a poet. He was
a man of vacillating character, and did not hesitate to lend his support
to the Romanists whenever it served his personal interests. However, he
has left to posterity an imperishable hymn in "Light of Light, O Sun of
heaven." He is credited with having reformed the art of verse-writing in
Germany. He died of the pestilence in Danzig in 1639.
Homburg and Held were lawyers. Homburg was born near Eisenach in 1605,
and later we find him practising law in Naumburg, Saxony. He was a man of
great poetic talent, but at first he devoted his gifts to writing love
ballads and drinking songs. During the days of the dread pestilence he
turned to God, and now he began to write hymns. In 1659 he published a
collection of 150 spiritual songs. In a preface he speaks of them as his
"Sunday labor," and he tells how he had been led to write them "by the
anxious and sore domestic afflictions by which God ... has for some time
laid me aside." The Lenten hymn, "Christ, the Life of all the living," is
found in this collection.
Held, who practiced law in his native town of Guhrau, Silesia, also was a
man chastened in the school of sorrow and affliction. He is the author of
two hymns that have found their way into the English language--"Let the
earth now praise the Lord" and "Come, O come, Thou quickening Spirit."
Weissel, a Lutheran pastor at Konigsberg, has given us one of the finest
Advent hymns in the German language, "Lift up your heads, ye mighty
gates."
Olearius, who wrote a commentary on the Bible and compiled one of the
most important hymn-books of the 17th century, has also bequeathed to the
Church a splendid Advent hymn, "Comfort, comfort ye My people."
Stegmann, a theological professor at Rinteln who suffered much
persecution at the hands of Benedictine monks during the Thirty Years'
War, was the author of the beautiful evening hymn, "Abide with us, our
Saviour."
Wilhelm II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who wrote the inspiring hymn, "O Christ,
Thy grace unto us lend," was not only a poet and musician, but also a man
of war. He was twice wounded in battle with the Imperial forces, and was
once left for dead. He was taken prisoner by Tilly, but was released by
the emperor. When Gustavus Adolphus came to Germany to save the
Protestant cause, Wilhelm after some hesitation joined him. However, when
the Duke in 1635 made a separate peace with the emperor, the Swedish army
ravaged his territory.
Johann Meyfart also belongs to this period. He was a theological
professor at the University of Erfuert, and died at that place in 1642.
One of his hymns, "Jerusalem, thou city fair and high," has found its way
into English hymn books.
The beautiful hymn, "O how blest are ye," which was translated into
English by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, comes to us from the pen of Simon
Dach, another Lutheran theologian who lived during these stirring days.
Dach, who was professor of poetry and dean of the philosophical faculty
of the University of Koenigsberg, wrote some 165 hymns. They are marked by
fulness of faith and a quiet confidence in God in the midst of a world of
turmoil and uncertainty. Dach died in 1659 after a lingering illness. The
first stanza of his funeral hymn reads
O how blest are ye, whose toils are ended!
Who through death have unto God ascended!
Ye have arisen
From the cares which keep us still in prison.
Tobias Clausnitzer, who has bequeathed to the Church the hymn, "Blessed
Jesus, at Thy Word," was the chaplain of a Swedish regiment during the
Thirty Years' War. He preached the thanksgiving sermon at the field
service held by command of General Wrangel at Weiden, in the Upper
Palatine, on January 1, 1649, after the conclusion of the Peace of
Westphalia. He afterwards became pastor at Weiden, where he remained
until his death in 1684.
Johann Quirsfeld, archdeacon in Pirna, has given us a very impressive
Good Friday hymn, "Sinful world, behold the anguish." Quirsfeld died in
1686.
Christian Knorr von Rosenroth, a noted Orientalist, scientist and
statesman of the seventeenth century, in addition to duties of state
edited several Rabbinical writings and works on Oriental mysticism. He
also wrote hymns, among them "Dayspring of eternity," which has been
referred to by one writer as "one of the freshest, most original, and
spirited of morning hymns, as if born from the dew of the sunrise." He
died at Sulzbach, Bavaria, May 8, 1689, at the very hour, it is said,
which he himself had predicted.
The extent to which Lutheran laymen of this period devoted themselves to
spiritual exercises is revealed in the life of Johann Franck, a lawyer
who became mayor of his native town of Guben, Brandenburg, in 1661. To
him we are indebted for the finest communion hymn in the German language,
"Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness." He also was the author of such
gems as "Light of the Gentile nations," "Lord, to Thee I make
confession," "Lord God, we worship Thee," "Jesus, priceless Treasure,"
and the glorious song of praise:
Praise the Lord, each tribe and nation,
Praise Him with a joyful heart;
Ye who know His full salvation,
Gather now from every part;
Let your voices glorify
In His temple God on high.
It was Franck who began the long series of so-called "Jesus hymns," which
reached their fullest development in the later Pietistic school of
hymnists. Franck held that poetry should be "the nurse of piety, the
herald of immortality, the promoter of cheerfulness, the conqueror of
sadness, and a foretaste of heavenly glory." His hymns reflect his
beautiful spirit of Christian cheerfulness and hope.
The last name that we would mention is Heinrich Theobald Schenk, a pastor
at Giessen. Not much is known of this man except that he was the writer
of a single hymn, but it is a hymn that has gained for him the thanks of
posterity. There is scarcely a hymn-book of any communion today that does
not contain, "Who are these, like stars appearing?" Schenk died in 1727,
at the age of 71 years.
The Swan-song of Gustavus Adolphus
Be not dismayed, thou little flock,
Although the foe's fierce battle shock
Loud on all sides assail thee.
Though o'er thy fall they laugh secure,
Their triumph cannot long endure,
Let not thy courage fail thee.
Thy cause is God's--go at His call,
And to His hand commit thine all;
Fear thou no ill impending;
His Gideon shall arise for thee,
God's Word and people manfully
In God's own time defending.
Our hope is sure in Jesus' might;
Against themselves the godless fight,
Themselves, not us, distressing;
Shame and contempt their lot shall be;
God is with us, with Him are we;
To us belongs His blessing.
Johann Michael Altenberg, 1631
A Hymn Made Famous on a Battle Field
"Be not dismayed, thou little flock" will always be known as the
"swan-song" of the Swedish hero king, Gustavus Adolphus.
No incident in modern history is more dramatic than the sudden appearance
in Germany of Gustavus Adolphus and his little Swedish army during the
critical days of the Thirty Years' War. It was this victorious crusade
that saved Germany, and probably all of northern Europe, for
Protestantism.
The untimely death of the Swedish monarch on the battlefield of Luetzen,
November 6, 1632, while leading his men against Wallenstein's host, not
only gained immortal fame for Gustavus, but will always cause the world
to remember the hymn that was sung by his army on that historic day.
When Gustavus Adolphus landed in Germany in 1630 with his small but
well-trained army, it seemed that the Protestant cause in Europe was
lost. All the Protestant princes of Germany had been defeated by Tilly
and Wallenstein, leaders of the Imperial armies, and the victors were
preparing to crush every vestige of Lutheranism in Germany.
The Margrave of Brandenburg and the Duke of Saxony, however, furnished a
few troops to Gustavus, and in a swift, meteoric campaign the Swedish
king had routed the army of the Catholic League and had marched all the
way across Germany. In the spring of 1632 Gustavus moved into the heart
of Bavaria and captured Munich.
The Imperial forces who had sneered at the "Snow King," as they called
him, and who had predicted that he would "melt" as he came southward,
were now filled with dismay. The "Snow King" proved to be the "Lion of
the North."
Wallenstein rallied the Catholic forces for a last stand at Luetzen, the
battle that was to prove the decisive conflict.
On the morning of November 6, 1632, the two armies faced each other in
battle array. Dr. Fabricius, chaplain of the Swedish army, had been
commanded by Gustavus to lead his troops in worship. The king himself
raised the strains of "Be not dismayed, thou little flock," and led the
army in singing the stirring hymn. Then he knelt in fervent prayer.
A heavy fog prevented the Protestant forces from moving forward to the
attack, and, while they were waiting for the fog to lift, Gustavus
ordered the musicians to play Luther's hymn, "A mighty Fortress is our
God." The whole army joined with a shout. The king then mounted his
charger, and, drawing his sword, rode back and forth in front of the
lines, speaking words of encouragement to his men.
As the sun began to break through the fog, Gustavus himself offered a
prayer, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, help me today to do battle for the glory of
Thy holy name," and then shouted, "Now forward to the attack in the name
of our God!" The army answered, "God with us!" and rushed forward, the
king galloping in the lead.
When his aid offered him his coat of mail, Gustavus refused to put it on,
declaring, "God is my Protector."
The battle raged fiercely. For a time the outcome seemed ominous for the
Lutherans. At 11 o'clock Gustavus was struck by a bullet and mortally
wounded. As he fell from his horse, the word spread quickly throughout
the Swedish lines, "The king is wounded!"
It proved to be the turning point in the battle. Instead of losing heart
and fleeing, the Swedish troops charged the foe with a fierceness born of
sorrow and despair, and before the day was ended another glorious victory
had been won. The Protestant cause was saved, but the noble Gustavus had
made the supreme sacrifice.
The authorship of his famous "battle-hymn" has been the subject of much
dispute. The German poet and hymnologist, Albert Knapp, has called it "a
little feather from the eagle wing of Gustavus Adolphus." Most Swedish
authorities, too, unite in naming their hero king as the author. However,
the weight of evidence seems to point to Johann Michael Altenberg, a
German pastor of Gross Sommern, Thueringen, as the real writer of the
hymn. It is said that Altenberg was inspired to write it upon hearing of
the great victory gained by Gustavus Adolphus at the battle of Leipzig,
September 7, 1631, about a year before the battle of Luetzen.
In any event, it is a matter of record that the Swedish king adopted it
immediately, and that he sang it as his own "swan-song" just before he
died at Luetzen. Someone has aptly said, "Whether German or Swede may
claim this hymn is a question. They both rightly own it."
Rinkart's Hymn of Praise
Now thank we all our God,
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom His earth rejoices;
Who from our mother's arms
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace,
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills,
In this world and the next.
All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son, and Him who reigns
With them in highest heaven;
The One eternal God,
Whom earth and heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore!
Martin Rinkart (1586-1649).
THE LUTHERAN TE DEUM
The last of the great Lutheran hymn-writers belonging to the period of
the Thirty Years' War was Martin Rinkart. Except for the time of the
Reformation, this period was probably the greatest creative epoch in the
history of Lutheran hymnody. But of all the glorious hymns that were
written during those stirring years, there is none that equals Rinkart's
famous hymn, "Now thank we all our God."
The date of this remarkable hymn is obscure. The claim has been made that
it was written as a hymn of thanksgiving following the Peace of
Westphalia, which in 1648 brought to an end the long and cruel war. This
claim has been based on the fact that the first two stanzas are a
paraphrase of the words of the high priest Simeon, recorded in the
Apocryphal book Ecclesiasticus 50:29-32: "And now let all praise God, who
hath done great things, who hath glorified our days, and dealeth with us
according to His loving-kindness. He giveth us the joy of our hearts,
that we may find peace in Israel as in the days of yore, thus He lets His
loving-kindness remain with us, and He will redeem us in our day."
Inasmuch as this was the Scripture passage on which all regimental
chaplains were ordered to preach in celebration of the conclusion of
peace, it has been inferred that Rinkart was inspired to write his hymn
at that time.
It is probable, however, that these circumstances were merely a
coincidence, and that the hymn was written several years previous to
1648. In Rinkart's own volume, "Jesu Hertz-Buchlein," it appears under
the title "Tisch-Gebetlein," or a short prayer before meals, and many
believe that it was originally written for Rinkart's children. It will be
noticed that, while the first two stanzas are based on the passage from
Ecclesiasticus, the last stanza is the ancient doxology, _Gloria Patri_.
No hymn except Luther's famous "A mighty Fortress is our God" has been
used more generally in the Lutheran Church than Rinkart's glorious paean
of praise. In Germany, where it has become the national _Te Deum_, it is
sung at all impressive occasions. After the battle of Leuthen, the army
of Frederick the Great raised the strains of this noble hymn, and it is
said that even the mortally wounded joined in the singing.
In his history of the Franco-Prussian War, Cassel tells of a stirring
incident that took place on the day following the battle of Sedan, where
the Germans had won a decisive victory over the French. A multitude of
Prussian troops who were marching toward Paris were billeted in the
parish church of Augecourt. They could not sleep because of the extreme
excitement of the day. Suddenly a strain of music came from the organ,
first very softly but gradually swelling in volume until the whole
sanctuary shook. It was the grand old hymn--"Nun danket alle Gott!"
Instantly men and officers were upon their feet, singing the stirring
words. Then followed Luther's "Ein feste Burg," after which the terrible
strain seemed relieved, and they laid themselves down to peaceful
slumber.
It is recorded that the hymn was also sung at the opening of the
magnificent Cathedral of Cologne, August 14, 1880, as well as at the
laying of the cornerstone of the Parliament building in Berlin, June 9,
1884. It has also achieved great popularity in England, where it was sung
as a _Te Deum_ in nearly all churches and chapels at the close of the
Boer War in 1902.
Rinkart's life was a tragic one. The greater part of his public service
was rendered during the horrors of the Thirty Years' War. He was born at
Eilenburg, Saxony, April 23, 1586. After attending a Latin school in his
home town, he became a student at the University of Leipzig.
In 1617, by invitation of the town council of Eilenburg, he became pastor
of the church in the city of his birth. It was at the beginning of the
Thirty Years' War, and, because Eilenburg was a walled city, it became a
refuge for thousands who had lost everything in the conflict. Famine and
pestilence added to the horror of the situation, and the other two
pastors of the city having died, Rinkart was left alone to minister to
the spiritual needs of the populace.
Twice Eilenburg was saved from the Swedish army through the intercession
of Rinkart, first in 1637 and again in 1639. A levy of 30,000 thaler had
been made on the city by the Swedish general to aid the Protestant cause.
Knowing the impoverished condition of his townsmen, Rinkart went out to
the Swedish camp to plead their cause, but to no avail. Turning to those
who were with him, Rinkart exclaimed, "Come, my children, we can find no
mercy with men, let us take refuge with God." He then fell on his knees
and uttered a fervent prayer, after which they sang the hymn of Paul Eber
so much used in those trying days, "When in the hour of utmost need." The
scene made such an impression on the Swedish commander that he relented
and reduced his demand to 2,000 florins or 1,350 thaler.
Rinkart lived only a year after the close of the bloody war. He died, a
worn and broken man, in 1649.
A Joyous Christmas Carol
All my heart this night rejoices,
As I hear,
Far and near,
Sweetest angel voices:
"Christ is born," their choirs are singing,
Till the air
Everywhere
Now with joy is ringing.
Come and banish all your sadness,
One and all,
Great and small,
Come with songs of gladness;
Love Him who with love is yearning;
Hail the star
That from far
Bright with hope is burning.
Hither come, ye heavy-hearted,
Who for sin,
Deep within,
Long and sore have smarted;
For the poisoned wounds you're feeling
Help is near,
One is here
Mighty for their healing.
Faithfully Thee, Lord, I'll cherish,
Live to Thee,
And with Thee
Dying, shall not perish,
But shall dwell with Thee forever,
Far on high,
In the joy
That can alter never.
Paul Gerhardt, 1656.
PAUL GERHARDT, PRINCE OF LUTHERAN HYMNISTS
The greatest Lutheran hymnist of the seventeenth century, and perhaps of
all time, was Paul Gerhardt.
Not even the hymns of Martin Luther are used so generally throughout the
Christian world as those of Gerhardt. More of the beautiful lyrics of
this sweet singer have found their way into the English language than the
hymns of any other German writer, and with the passing of years their
popularity increases rather than diminishes.
In the Lutheran church at Luebden, in Germany, there hangs a life-size
painting of Gerhardt. Beneath it is this inscription: _Theologus in
cribro Satanae versatus_, "A divine sifted in Satan's sieve." That
inscription may be said to epitomize the sad life-story of Germany's
great psalmist.
Gerhardt was born March 12, 1607, in Graefenhaynichen, a village near the
celebrated Wittenberg. His father, who was mayor of the village, died
before Paul reached maturity. When he was twenty-one years of age he
began the study of theology at the University of Wittenberg. The Thirty
Years' War was raging, and all Germany was desolate and suffering.
Because of the difficulty of securing a parish, Gerhardt served for
several years as a tutor in the home of Andreas Barthold, whose daughter
Anna Maria became his bride in 1655.
It was during this period that Gerhardt's poetic gifts began to flourish.
No doubt he was greatly stimulated by contact with the famous musician
Johann Crueger, who was cantor and director of music in the Church of St.
Nicholas in Berlin. In 1648 many of Gerhardt's hymns were published in
Crueger's _Praxis Pietatis Melica_.
Through the recommendation of the Berlin clergy, he was appointed
Lutheran provost at Mittenwalde, and was ordained to this post November
18, 1651. Six years later he accepted the position of third assistant
pastor of the Church of St. Nicholas in Berlin. His hymns continued to
grow in popularity, and his fame as a preacher drew large audiences to
hear him.
The controversy between the Lutherans and Calvinists, which had continued
from the days of the Reformation, flared up again at this time as the
result of efforts on the part of Elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia to
unite the two parties. Friedrich Wilhelm, who was a Calvinist, sought to
compel the clergy to sign a document promising that they would abstain
from any references in their sermons to doctrinal differences. Gerhardt
was sick at the time, and, although he had always been moderate in his
utterances, he felt that to sign such a document would be to compromise
the faith. Summoning the other Lutheran clergymen of Berlin to his
bedside, he urged them to stand firm and to refuse to surrender to the
demands of the Elector.
Soon after this the courageous pastor was deposed from office. He was
also prohibited from holding private services in his own home. Though he
felt the blow very keenly, he met it with true Christian fortitude.
"This," he said, "is only a small Berlin affliction; but I am also
willing and ready to seal with my blood the evangelical truth, and, like
my namesake, St. Paul, to offer my neck to the sword."
To add to his sorrows, Gerhardt's wife and a son died in the midst of
these troubles. Three other children had died previous to this, and now
the sorely tried pastor was left with a single child, a boy of six years.
In May, 1669, he was called to the church at Luebden, where he labored
faithfully and with great success until his death, on June 7, 1676.
The glorious spirit that dwelt in him, and which neither trials nor
persecutions could quench, is reflected in the lines of his famous hymn,
"If God Himself be for me," based on the latter part of the eighth
chapter of Romans:
Though earth be rent asunder,
Thou'rt mine eternally;
Not fire, nor sword, nor thunder,
Shall sever me from Thee;
Not hunger, thirst, nor danger,
Not pain nor poverty,
Nor mighty princes' anger,
Shall ever hinder me.
Catherine Winkworth, who has translated the same hymn in a different
meter under the title, "Since Jesus is my Friend," has probably succeeded
best in giving expression to the triumphant faith and the note of
transcendent hope and joy in the final stanza:
My heart for gladness springs;
It cannot more be sad;
For very joy it smiles and sings--
Sees naught but sunshine glad.
The Sun that lights mine eyes
Is Christ, the Lord I love;
I sing for joy of that which lies
Stored up for me above.
Because of his own warm, confiding, childlike faith in God, Gerhardt's
hymns have become a source of special comfort to sorrowing and
heavy-laden souls. They not only breathe a spirit of tender consolation
but of a "joy unspeakable and full of glory." We have a beautiful example
of this in his Advent hymn, "O how shall I receive Thee":
Rejoice then, ye sad-hearted,
Who sit in deepest gloom,
Who mourn o'er joys departed,
And tremble at your doom;
He who alone can cheer you
Is standing at the door;
He brings His pity near you,
And bids you weep no more.
In Gerhardt's hymns we find a transition to the modern subjective note in
hymnody. Sixteen of his hymns begin with the pronoun, "I." They are not
characterized, however, by the weak sentimentality so often found in the
hymns of our own day, for Gerhardt never lost sight of the greatest
objective truth revealed to men--justification by faith alone.
Nevertheless, because of his constant emphasis on the love of God and
because his hymns are truly "songs of the heart," they possess a degree
of emotional warmth that is lacking in the earlier Lutheran hymns.
His hymns on the glories of nature have never been surpassed. In
contemplating the beauty of created things he is ever praising the
Creator. His famous evening hymn, "Nun ruhen alle Waelder," has been
likened to the beauty and splendor of the evening star. In a marvelous
manner the temporal and the eternal, the terrestrial and the celestial
are contrasted in every stanza. It was a favorite hymn of the great
German poet, Friedrich von Schiller, who first heard it sung by his
mother as a cradle song. Probably no hymn is so generally used by the
children of Germany as an evening prayer as this one. The most familiar
English translation begins with the line, "Now rest beneath night's
shadow." A more recent translation of rare beauty runs:
The restless day now closeth,
Each flower and tree reposeth,
Shade creeps o'er wild and wood:
Let us, as night is falling,
On God our Maker calling,
Give thanks to Him, the Giver good.
The tune to which this hymn is sung is as famous as the hymn itself. It
is ascribed to Heinrich Isaak, one of the first of the great German
church musicians. It is believed to have been composed by him in 1490,
when he was leaving his native town, Innsbruck, to establish himself at
the court of Emperor Maximilian I. It was set to the plaintive words,
"Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen." According to tradition, Isaak first
heard the beautiful melody sung by a wandering minstrel. Bach and Mozart
regarded it as one of the sublimest of all chorales, and each is said to
have declared that he would rather have been the composer of this tune
than any of his great masterpieces.
Gerhardt wrote 123 hymns in all. In addition to the hymns already
mentioned, probably his most famous is "O sacred Head, now wounded,"
based on the Latin hymn of Bernard of Clairvaux. Other hymns in common
use are "Immanuel, we sing Thy praise," "Holy Ghost, dispel our sadness,"
"O enter, Lord, Thy temple," "Shun, my heart, the thought forever,"
"Commit thou all thy griefs," "All my heart this night rejoices," "Beside
Thy manger here I stand," "Awake, my heart, and marvel," "Go forth, my
heart, and seek delight," "O Saviour dear," and "A pilgrim and a
stranger."
Only the briefest mention can be made of other German Lutheran
hymn-writers of this period. One of these, Johan Rist, pastor in Wedel,
was crowned poet laureate of Germany by Emperor Ferdinand III in 1644,
and nine years later was raised to the nobility. Rist wrote some 680
hymns, but all are not of uniform excellence. Among those in common use
to-day are "Arise, the kingdom is at hand," "Help us, O Lord, behold we
enter," "Rise, O Salem, rise and shine," "O Living Bread from heaven," "O
Jesus Christ, Thou Bread of Life," "Father, merciful and holy," which has
also been translated "Soul of mine, to God awaking," "O darkest woe," and
"Arise, arise ye Christians."
Georg Neumark, court poet and secretary of archives under Duke Wilhelm II
of Saxe-Weimar, has left us the hymn of trust in God: "Let, O my soul,
thy God direct thee," which is also known by the English translation, "If
thou but suffer God to guide thee." The hymn was written in 1641, at
Kiel, when, after being robbed of practically all he possessed except his
prayer-book, Neumark succeeded in obtaining employment as tutor in a
wealthy family. He was a destitute student at the time.
Michael Schirmer, an educator and poet who lived in Berlin during the
Thirty Years' War and for two decades after its close, is the author of a
number of beautiful hymns, among them the Pentecost hymn, "O Holy Spirit,
enter in." Because of poverty and afflictions suffered during a period of
war and pestilence, he has been called "the German Job."
Ahasuerus Fritsch, chancellor and president of the Consistory of
Rudolstadt, is credited with the authorship of "Jesus is my Joy, my All,"
a hymn that reflects the spirit of true evangelical piety. He died in
1701.
Caspar Neumann, another of Gerhardt's contemporaries, has bequeathed to
the Church the sublime hymn, "God of Ages, all transcending," the last
stanza of which is unusually striking in language:
Say Amen, O God our Father,
To the praise we offer Thee;
Now, to laud Thy name we gather;
Let this to Thy glory be.
Fill us with Thy love and grace,
Till we see Thee face to face.
Neumann, who was a celebrated preacher and professor of theology at
Breslau from 1678 to 1715, was the author of some thirty hymns, all of
which became very popular in Silesia. He was also author of a famous
devotional book, "Kern aller Gebete."
A Glorious Paean of Praise
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear,
Now to His temple draw near,
Join me in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee!
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee;
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee!
Praise thou the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee,
Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee.
How oft in grief
Hath not He brought thee relief,
Spreading His wings to o'ershade thee!
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
Joachim Neander, 1680.
JOACHIM NEANDER, THE PAUL GERHARDT OF THE CALVINISTS