“Now thank we all our God, with hearts and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices” (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, 840).
What a beautiful hymn of thanksgiving for God’s blessings! Have you ever wondered where it came from and what inspired the hymn writer?
In 1617, a young clergyman named Martin Rinkart came back to his hometown in the German state of Saxony, newly appointed to serve the church. The next year, war broke out – the war later named the Thirty Years’ War. Wave after wave of hungry refugees crowded into the city as armies devastated the countryside over and over again.
Martin and the three other pastors in town worked day and night to serve their suffering people – and then, two decades into the war, plague broke out in the starving city. During that horrible time, Martin was able to write this beautiful hymn.
Pastor Martin was able to see blessings and give thanks to God even during the darkest times of his family’s life and his community’s life. What blessings do we see today? How shall we give thanks?
This message is excerpted from “Now thank we all our God” by Audrey Novak Riley from the September 20, 3021, blog of the Women of the ELCA. Today is Veterans Day.
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