Nicolaus Selnecker
1532–1592 · Germany · Reformation
Lutheran theologian, organist and pastor of St. Thomas, Leipzig, one of the principal authors of the Formula of Concord, and author of the evening hymn 'Let Me Be Thine Forever' and 'Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide'.
Life
Nikolaus Selnecker was born in 1530 at Hersbruck near Nuremberg and grew up in Nuremberg, where as a boy he played the organ in the castle chapel. He studied under Melanchthon at Wittenberg (M.A. 1554), then served as court preacher and tutor in Dresden under Elector August of Saxony. He became professor of theology at Leipzig and pastor of St. Thomas's Church, and with Jakob Andreae and Martin Chemnitz was one of the principal authors of the Formula of Concord (1577). His career was interrupted by the changing theological policies of the Saxon court; he died in 1592.
As a Hymn Writer
Selnecker wrote and edited many hymns, collected in his Christliche Psalmen, Lieder und Kirchengesänge (1587). His hymns pray for the preservation of the Word and the Church in an age of controversy ('Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide', 'Ach bleib bei uns'), and for faithfulness to the end ('Let Me Be Thine Forever'). They are confessional and pastoral, the songs of a theologian who knew how fragile the Church's peace could be.
In The Lutheran Hymnal and Lutheran Service Book (3)
- Lord Jesus Christ, With Us Abide
- O Faithful God, Thanks Be To Thee
- O Lord, My God, I Cry to Thee
Sources: Wikipedia, 'Nikolaus Selnecker'.