Let Children Hear the Mighty Deeds
Let children hear the mighty deeds
The hymn embodies the Lutheran principle of catechesis and the priesthood of all believers, emphasizing parental and communal responsibility for religious education. It reflects the Reformation's prioritization of Scripture knowledge and the transmission of Christian doctrine across generations as essential to faith formation.
History & Background
Watts composed this hymn as part of his Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719), drawing from Psalm 78. The hymn emphasizes the Christian duty to transmit faith and God's mighty works to the next generation, reflecting Reformation and post-Reformation pedagogical concerns.
This versification of Psalm 78:1-8 is a modernized form of Isaac Scripture References Watts’s version, published in his Psalms ofDavid st. 1 = Ps. 78:1-4 Imitated (1719). Psalm 78 is a didactic psalm of history. It teaches st. 2 = Ps. 78:5-7 all of God’s people to remember God’s merciful dealings with them, to refrain from repeating the sins Israel committed in olden days, and to obey the word of the Lord (see PHH 78 for further comments on the psalm). The text emphasizes the joyful covenant responsibility of parents to teach diligently the ways of the Lord to their children. Its theme comes from verses 4-5; there the biblical text combines a stress on God’s savings deeds, which lead to faith, and God’s commandments, which demand obedience. The command to “tell your children” runs throughout the Pentateuch (Ex. 10:2; Deut. 4:9).
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 566
- Lutheran Service Book — 867
- Lutheran Worship — 472
- Psalter Hymnal — 585
- Trinity Hymnal — 761
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 629
Liturgical Use
Baptism; other occasions of worship that stress the covenant responsibility of one generation to teach the next generation not to forget God’s deeds but to keep his commands (see Ps. 78:6-7); family life emphases; beginning of church school season.
Bulletin Note
Isaac Watts, 1715. This hymn embodies the Reformation's insistence that all believers—not clergy alone—bear responsibility for teaching children Scripture and doctrine, grounding Christian faith in every home and congregation.
Preaching Connection
This hymn crystallizes the Law's command to catechize and the Gospel's promise that God's mighty deeds in Christ—preached faithfully through human voices—accomplish what they proclaim in the hearts of the young.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- The Fourth Commandment Small Catechism — Ten Commandments
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law reveals emptiness of worldly gain and pride; Gospel proclaims Christ's sacrificial love as sole worthy object of devotion; believer responds with total surrender of self and possessions
Themes
Catechesis and instruction God's mighty acts Intergenerational faith transmission God's covenant faithfulness Teaching children