This beloved hymn was written by Sigismund von Birken(1626-1681), who was born eight years into The Thirty Year’s War. It encourages us to live daily as baptized children of God by following Jesus and resisting the temptations of this world. The first English translation we have came from John Adam Rimbach (1871-1941), a Lutheran pastor who heard it in German at a district convention in 1900 and wanted to teach it in English to his congregation.
For more hymns and hymn stories see these posts:
We sang this hymn in church Sunday, and I was reminded of how much I love it! The simple, childlike melody and words touched me and I decided to look up its history. It was written by Caroline (Lina) W. Sandell Berry (1832-1903), the daughter of a Lutheran pastor. She wrote over 650 hymns during her lifetime and became known as “the Fanny Crosby of Sweden.” Lina’s life was filled with tragedy. By the age of 28 she had lost her sister to tuberculosis, her father to drowning, and her mother to a long illness. Her only child was stillborn. In spite of all this, she was able to be comforted by the image of God as a loving father. Listen and enjoy!
For more favorite hymns see these posts:
This post is for my husband, it is one of his favorite hymns.
It was written by Martin Franzmann while he was chairman of the department of exegetical theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Franzmann was a respected scholar, teacher, and theologian, and his gifts shine in this hymn. The text is based on the motto of the seminary, “Anothen to Phos”, which means “light from above”. The hymn takes the idea of light, beginning with creation, and takes it all the way to its fulfillment as we worship the Triune God with all the company of heaven in the splendor of God’s glory.
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Thy strong word did cleave the darkness; at thy speaking it was done; for created light we thank thee, while thine ordered seasons run: Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end! Lo, on those who dwelt Thy strong word God the Father, Light-Creator,
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