O Sing to the Lord
The Brazilian praise song, Contad al Sefior, “O Sing to the Lord,” (LSB 808) would have been foreign to the three hymn writers we remember today. However, Philipp Nicolai, 1608; Johann Heermann, 1647; and Paul Gerhardt, 1676 provided rich hymns that we are able to use to sing to the Lord.
All three men worked in Germany during difficult times of war and plague. Philipp Nicolai was a pastor is Westphalia, when the plague killed thirteen hundred of his parishioners. Consider that number in terms of the congregation at which you worship. One hundred and seventy people died in one week. His hymns “Wake awake for night is flying” and “O morning Star, how fair and bright” were included in a series of meditations he wrote to comfort his parishioners.
Johann Heermann’s hymns were not written in the objective style of the Reformation, but expressed the emotions of the faith. Among his hymns is the plaintive Holy Week hymn, “O Holy Jesus” (LSB 439).
Paul Gerhardt lost a preaching position at St. Nicholas Church in Berlin because he refused to sign a document stating he would not make theological arguments in his sermons. Gerhardt is often called the greatest of Lutheran hymn writers.
Adapted from Sundays and Seasons, Augsburg Fortress
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