Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" is a hymn whose English translation by Catherine Winkworth is based on the German hymn, Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehre, which was written by Joachim Neander and published in 1680.[1] The melody used by Neander, first published in 1665, exists in many versions and is probably based on a folk tune.[2] The text paraphrases Psalms 103 and 150.[1] It was the favourite hymn of Frederick William III of Prussia.[3]
Text
The first verse of the Winkworth translation is
Praise to 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!
Early history
The common name given to this melody is "Lobe den Herren." Several variants were published with various secular texts between 1665 and 1680, when Joachim Neander published his German hymn Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehre, using its meter.[2]
Johann Sebastian Bach used Neander's hymn, including the melody, as the basis for his cantata Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137.
References
- ^ a b John Braisted Carman (1994), Majesty and meekness, p. 167, ISBN 9780802806932
- ^ a b Glover, Raymond (1990). The Hymnal 1982 Companion, Volume 3. Church Publishing, Inc. pp. 738–740. ISBN 978-0-89869-143-6.
- ^ John Richard Watson, Timothy Dudley-Smith (2003-09-15), An Annotated Anthology of Hymns, p. 79, ISBN 9780199265831