Oh, may this bounteous God through all our life be near us, with ever joyful hearts and blessèd 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! – LSB 895:2
This hymn was written by pastor Martin Rinckart. Born in 1586 and died in 1649, he ended up spending the majority of his ministry in his hometown of Eilenburg from 1617 until his death in 1649. His ministry there perfectly coincided with the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48). Since Eilenburg was a walled city it was heavily overwhelmed by refugees, which resulted in a devastating plague in 1637. During this plague over 8,000 residents died, including all but three of the city council, all of the other pastors, and Rinckart’s wife, Christine. He presided over over 4,400 funerals in a single year. Following the plague the city faced severe famine, which as a result of all the other pastors and most of the civic leaders dying, Rinckart had to organize the aid. If that wasn’t enough, in 1639 Swedish soldiers threatened the city and demanded payment to keep the city safe. Rinckart led the city in prayer and singing before the soldiers (they sang When In the Hour of Deepest Need LSB 615) which influenced the Swedes to greatly reduce the payment.
You would think that given all of the misery this man faced in his life, he would have been terribly depressed. Yet, in the midst of war, plague, and famine, he wrote the hymn Now Thank We All Our God. The hymn is based on a few verses (50:22-24) from the book of Ecclesiasticus (a book in the Apocrypha): “And now bless the God of all, who in every way does great things; who exalts our days from birth, and deals with us according to his mercy. May he give us gladness of heart, and grant that peace may be in our days in Israel, as in the days of old. May he entrust to us his mercy! And let him deliver us in our days!”
The Lord God almighty is He who has blessed us from our mothers’ arms with countless gifts of love. He is always near to us, even and especially in our time of need. He will always keep us in His grace and free us from all ills. We have nothing to fear nor worry about, for the Lord our God has shown us such mercy and kindness. I deserve nothing that He gives me, yet I have more blessings than I could ever count. So in time of trial and sorrow, in time of abundance and peace, let us learn to give thanks to God and delight in His unending gifts.
Praise the Lord!
Pastor Koopman
1 Now thank we all our God
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done,
In whom His world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms
Has blest us on our way
With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today.
2 Oh, 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!
3 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 heav’n adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.