Now Thank We All Our God
Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices
The great Lutheran doxological hymn of thanksgiving, written in the darkest of circumstances — the Thirty Years War and a devastating plague. The three stanzas give thanks to God for past blessings, ask for continued grace through life, and conclude with a Trinitarian doxology. Bach used the tune in several cantatas.
History & Background
Written by Martin Rinkart (1586-1649), a Lutheran pastor in Eilenburg, Saxony, during the Thirty Years War. Rinkart buried over 4,000 people during a plague in 1637, including his wife. Despite these circumstances he wrote this great thanksgiving hymn Nun danket alle Gott. Translated by Catherine Winkworth in 1858.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 840
- Gather 4th Edition — 690
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 533
- Lutheran Service Book — 895
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 36
Bulletin Note
Now Thank We All Our God — Martin Rinkart, 1636
Preaching Connection
Thanksgiving in all circumstances — Rinkart's story of writing this in the Thirty Years War is itself a sermon.
Themes
Thanksgiving Doxology Trinity Gratitude