Since Thanksgiving is around the corner, I would like to share with you a beautiful hymn that my family and I recently sang. I think the words are just perfect for giving thanks. Let the youtube video play while you read the hymn and absorb the richness of its meaning. Then I’ll tell you a little history of the author behind the hymn….
Praise ye 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 ye the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise ye 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 bought thee relief,
Spreading His wings for to shade thee!
Praise ye 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.
Now let me tell you the story of the man who wrote the hymn. A long time ago in Germany in 1650 a man was born. His name was Joachim Neander. He would become a great composer and hymn writer. During his life Joachim wrote around 60 hymns! Among them was this beautiful praise hymn “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation”. Not only was he a musician, Joachim was a Reformed Church teacher and theologian.
It’s no small wonder that Joachim was so good in music, because his grandfather was a musician. Joachim would get inspiration for his songs from God’s nature, so he would go and sit in the valley near the Dussel river.
Sadly, this hymnwriter died at the young age of 30 years because of tuberculosis, a sickness that was quite common during that time. His hymn “Praise to the Lord” was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth during the 19th century.
Joachim Neander
Love discovering history and the real people behind the hymns that we sing and love. thanks!
Hi Karen!
Yes I do too! I’m glad you found this post interesting, and thank you for stopping by and for the feedback! It’s always lovely when I can connect to readers on something we both like. Like you said, discovering people behind the hymns is fascinating- for me it makes the hymn even more meaningful to know why the person composed it, how they came up with the idea, or how their life was like during that time! From what I gather you’re a history buff is that so? 🙂 I love reading historical biographies as well!
Have a lovely day!
Rebekah
I homeschool my kids (2 graduates and 2 high schoolers) and have discovered that I love history so much more now than I ever did. We just finished a unit on the Civil War capped with a trip to Ft Sumter and I loved it and have such a great appreciation of the devastating nature of those years so much more than I ever did. I often tell my kids “if you don’t know where you came from you it’s harder to know where you are going.” Thats true personally, nationally, internationally and even spiritually. I did a year of ancient history with my older kids a few years ago and now my dream vacation is a trip to see Rome. who knows… maybe one day!! Thanks for your post and keep up the writing!!
Hi Karen!
I totally agree with the statement that if you don’t know history, you will not know how to discern how to live today, and it applies to discerning spiritually yes! If we are diligent to learn the Scriptures and learn Biblical history it will be easier for us to discern the times we are living in.
I too enjoy visiting historical places and it’s a dream of mine to visit at least Colonial Williamsburg and Mt. Vernon here in the U.S. 🙂 Rome sounds like a great place to visit, and now I have a whole list of historical places in Europe I want to visit after reading historical biographies! 😀
I agree that homeschooling helps to spur on the love of history. Now, as a homeschool graduate, I enjoy researching good historical books for my siblings to enjoy 🙂
Have a lovely day and looking forward to hearing from you again!
Rebekah