All Praise to God Who Reigns Above
All praise to God who reigns above
All Praise to God Who Reigns Above is a hymn text by Joachim Neander (1674) in 8.7.8.7.8.8.7 meter. Translated by Catherine Winkworth. Found in CW21 603, CW93 236, ELH 435, elw 816. Sung to LOBE DEN HERREN.
This hymn exemplifies Lutheran confidence in God's providential care and the believer's call to responsive worship, grounding praise in both creation and redemption. The text reflects the Reformation emphasis on congregational song as a vehicle for theological education and spiritual devotion.
History & Background
Joachim Neander composed this German hymn 'Lobe den Herren' in 1674 as part of his legacy of devotional hymns emphasizing personal faith and divine praise. Catherine Winkworth's English translation appeared in her 1863 collection and became the standard version in Lutheran hymnody.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship: Hymnal — 603
- Christian Worship — 236
- Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary — 435
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 816
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 542
- Lutheran Service Book — 819
- Lutheran Worship — 452
- Trinity Hymnal — 4
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 19
Translation
Bulletin Note
Written by Joachim Neander in 1674, this German Reformation hymn exemplifies the Lutheran conviction that congregational song is both theology and prayer, teaching the faith while drawing the soul toward grateful adoration of God's merciful reign.
Preaching Connection
This hymn transforms the hearer's recognition of God's absolute sovereignty (Law) into an exuberant proclamation of His tender, providential mercy (Gospel), making it a perfect vehicle for sermons on divine providence, gratitude, or the Reformation's recovery of congregational praise.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- The Fourth Petition Small Catechism — The Lord's Prayer
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law (divine majesty and power) → Gospel (providence, mercy, sustenance) → Gospel (daily goodness) → Gospel (communal adoration and response)
Background Research
'Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut' by Johann Jakob Schütz (1640-1690), a Frankfurt lawyer and friend of Philipp Jakob Spener: it was Schütz who suggested that Spener start the Collegia Pietatis, the small devotional meetings that launched Pietism. Published 1675, the year of Spener's Pia Desideria. English by Frances E. Cox for Lyra Eucharistica (1864). Source: UMC Discipleship 'History of Hymns'.
In the Church Year
Suggested in the one-year series
- Trinity 7 (6×)
- Trinity 5 (3×)
- Easter 5 (2×)
- Thanksgiving (1×)
Suggested in the three-year series
- Proper 7 (3×)
- Proper 8 (3×)
- Proper 19 (2×)
- Easter 5 (1×)
- Epiphany 4 (1×)
- Proper 10 (1×)
From LCMS Worship's published hymn suggestions, 2014–2026. The count is how many of those yearly lists suggested this hymn for that day.
Overview
A Pietist-era hymn of praise built on Deut 32:3 ('Ascribe greatness to our God'). Each stanza ends with the refrain 'To God all praise and glory!' It praises God as Creator and Savior (1), Preserver (2), Deliverer in personal need (3), Shepherd of his people (4), the only God (5), and ends with an invitation to worship and a testimony that God did all things well (6).
Central theme: Praise to God for creation, preservation, deliverance, and faithfulness to his people
Structure
Six stanzas, each one aspect of God's goodness, each closed by the same refrain.
Law & Gospel Shape
Gospel and praise; 'idols under foot' (st. 5) is a brief note of judgment.
Confessional Connections
First and Second Articles; Christ's name confessed (st. 5).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Thanksgiving; opening hymn; Trinity season; anniversaries.
Historical Notes
Schütz (1640-1690) was a Frankfurt lawyer and associate of Philipp Jakob Spener, founder of Pietism.
About the Tune
LOBT GOTT DEN HERREN, IHR (Melchior Vulpius, 1609).
Scripture References
Deut 32:3-4 Ps 121:3-4 Ps 116:1-8 Isa 66:13 Isa 40:11 1 Kings 18:39 Mark 7:37
Stanza by Stanza
Praise to God who reigns, the God of creation, wonders, power, love, and salvation, who fills the soul with healing and stills every sorrow.
The first stanza gathers God's titles: Creator, wonder-worker, God of power and love, God of salvation (Ps 68:19-20). 'Healing balm' (Jer 8:22) and 'every sorrow stills' (Rev 21:4) show that praise grows from personal experience of God's comfort. The refrain makes praise the hymn's constant goal.
- Scripture
- Deut 32:3, Ps 68:19-20, Ps 147:3, Ps 72:18
- Imagery & language
- Healing balm; stilling sorrow.
- Law / Gospel
- Doxology/Gospel.
- Connection to previous
- Opening ascription.
What God made, he keeps in mercy; his watchful eye never sleeps; in his kingdom all is just and right.
The movement from creation to preservation (Luther: God 'still preserves' me). 'His watchful eye ne'er sleepeth' is Ps 121:3-4. 'All is just and all is right' affirms God's righteous rule, even when it is hidden from us (Deut 32:4, 'all his ways are justice').
- Scripture
- Ps 121:3-4, Deut 32:4, Neh 9:6, Col 1:17
- Imagery & language
- Watchful eye; morning and evening.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — preservation.
- Connection to previous
- From creation to preservation.
The singer testifies: I cried to God in need, he heard, gave me life for death, and kept me from falling; I will thank him forever and invite you to thank him with me.
A personal testimony modeled on Ps 116:1-8 ('I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice… you have delivered my soul from death… my feet from stumbling'). 'For death He gave me life indeed' can be read on the level of physical rescue and of salvation. The invitation 'thank… with me' turns private gratitude into corporate praise (Ps 34:3).
- Scripture
- Ps 116:1-8, Ps 34:3-6, Ps 50:15, Jude 24
- Imagery & language
- Crying out; falling feet.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — deliverance.
- Connection to previous
- Moves from general to personal.
The Lord never abandons his flock and chosen people; he is their refuge, rock, peace, and salvation, and leads them with a mother's tender hand.
Shepherd and election language (Isa 40:11; 1 Pet 2:9). The striking image is maternal: 'As with a mother's tender hand' (Isa 66:13, 'As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you'; Isa 49:15). Scripture uses maternal images for God's care, and this stanza brings them into Lutheran hymnody.
- Scripture
- Isa 40:11, Isa 66:13, Isa 49:15, 1 Pet 2:9, Heb 13:5, Ps 18:2
- Imagery & language
- Flock; rock; mother's hand.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — God's faithfulness to his people.
- Connection to previous
- From individual (st. 3) to the community.
All who confess Christ and the Father are called to give God glory; idols are trampled; the Lord is God.
The only explicit Christological line in TLH's version: confessing 'Christ's holy name' (Phil 2:11). 'The Lord is God! The Lord is God!' is Israel's cry on Mount Carmel after Elijah's contest with Baal (1 Kings 18:39). Trampling idols reflects the First Commandment. Praise is also confession: to praise the true God is to reject false gods.
- Scripture
- Phil 2:11, 1 Kings 18:39, Ex 20:3, 1 Cor 8:4-6
- Imagery & language
- Idols trampled; acclamation.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel confession; First Commandment.
- Connection to previous
- Calls the confessing church to praise.
Come into God's presence, leave fear and sorrow, keep your vows to the Redeemer, and sing: though I suffered greatly, the Lord did all things well.
'Come before His presence' (Ps 100:2). 'Pay your vow' (Ps 116:14) — the vow of thanksgiving. The final testimony, 'The Lord, my God, did all things well,' echoes Mark 7:37 ('He has done all things well'). It is spoken in retrospect after distress, which gives it weight: faith confesses God's goodness through suffering, not only after comfortable days.
- Scripture
- Ps 100:2, Ps 116:14, 17-18, Mark 7:37, Gen 50:20, Rom 8:28
- Imagery & language
- Coming before; paying vows.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — testimony of God's faithfulness.
- Connection to previous
- Concludes with invitation and testimony.
Themes
God's sovereignty and majesty Praise and adoration Divine care and providence Response to God's works