Hymns of Gratitude: Their Stories and Their Messages

By John Zehring

“Hymns of Gratitude” reveals the background story of how hymns of gratitude to God came to us and adds insightful reflections on their meaning and inspiration for 21st Christians today. While many of these might be considered hymns for the Thanksgiving season, the intent is to lift up and tell about hymns which say thank-you to God. “Hymns of Gratitude” was inspired by a quote from Medieval German philosopher and theologian Meister Eckhart, who said “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” May these hymns and their messages encourage us to express our gratitude to God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Zehring
• Release date: Feb 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005518974

John Zehring

John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta) and as an Interim Pastor in Massachusetts (Arlington, Harvard). Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education, primarily in development and institutional advancement. He worked as a dean of students, director of career planning and placement, adjunct professor of public speaking and as a vice president at a seminary and at a college. He is the author of more than sixty books and is a regular writer for The Christian Citizen, an American Baptist social justice publication. He has taught Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Educational Psychology and Church Administration. John was the founding editor of the publication Seminary Development News, a publication for seminary presidents, vice presidents and trustees (published by the Association of Theological Schools, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment). He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. He is listed in Marquis' WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA and is a recipient of their Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. John and his wife Donna live in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.

Book preview

Hymns of Gratitude

Their Stories and Their Messages

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life

is thank you,

it will be enough."

Meister Eckhart

(Medieval German philosopher and theologian)

John Zehring

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Copyright 2021 John Zehring

COVER: Grace, Painted by Rhoda Nyberg, this famous portrait is from a photograph taken in 1918 by Mrs. Nyberg’s father, Eric Enstrom, a photographer from Bovey, Minnesota.

Contents

Introduction

Hymns of Gratitude

About the Author

Introduction

I am inspired by the quote from Medieval German philosopher and theologian Meister Eckhart, who said If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. That’s one of those truisms which, even though it sounds simple at first glance, we get the picture. Few prayers are as sufficient as to say thank you to God. Eckhart’s quote reminds of another seemingly simplistic quote from the Dali Lama, who said Kindness is my religion. We suspect that there is far more to the Dali Lama’s religion than one word, but again we grasp what he is saying: If a person is not kind, who cares what is his or her religion. But if a person is kind, we can see God’s inner light radiating outwards from that person. Likewise, there is so much more to prayer than saying thank you, but if gratitude to God is absent, what does the rest matter? And so, in the case of this book, the theme is to delve into the hymns and their stories and messages which say thank you to God.

There are basically four parts to prayer: Praise, thanksgiving, confession, and petition. We are well-served to begin our prayers praising God, as Jesus did when he gave the world his model prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Start with praise. Thanksgiving is to recognize from whom our blessings flow and to say thank you to the Provider. Confession precedes forgiveness. Before we can ask God to forgive us, we must recognize our need for it and then ask for it. Petition comes naturally. It seems like we are always asking God for something. Consider what percentage of your prayers are petition and what percentage are praise, thanksgiving, and confession. Do they seem in balance?

I enjoy researching the stories and backgrounds of hymns and crafting them into meditations, adding reflections about the words. I’ve written hymn story books about hymns which tell about God’s soothing comfort, about peace, about loving and tending the earth, about Christian commitment, and about Christmas. When I set out to write about hymns of gratitude, I was surprised at how few there are. There are, of course, the classic Thanksgiving holiday hymns. Do we restrict thanking God to that one day? Many of the hymns of gratitude range from ancient to old. There are a few newer gospel songs, but they are not in the public domain so I basically must exclude them here. By comparison, there is an abundance of hymns about praise, so that is good, but it is not the same thing. There are not so many hymns about confession. Hymns of petition, asking God for something, are ample. And so, we shall delve into the hymns of gratitude and be grateful for them, as we are thankful to God. And should we find that there may not be enough hymns which say thank you to meet our need, it reminds us check our ingratitude and always to say thank you to God, from whom all our blessings flow.

Notes about this book

Scriptures used in this work come from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.

I have attempted to use inclusive language wherever possible in the words I have written, although I have not altered the author’s reference to God as he. I recognize that the Divine has no gender and for many it may be just as appropriate and accurate to acknowledge God as Mother or Father. Whichever pronoun is used, consider God as a loving parent.

Hymns and their lyrics in this book come from the public domain. Hymns which are not in the public domain will be referenced only in passing to recognize them or to use a title or a few lines as a basis for a meditation.

Some of this work is adapted from other books I have written, which can be found at major book retailers.

As I worked on each hymn’s background, I found the hymn invading my subconscious, causing me to hum or sing it to myself all day long. Some of the hymn’s verses found their way into my prayers and I discovered that a prayer life is enriched by starting with words that lift prayer out of one’s own interests and needs to a higher level of praise, love, confession, or thanksgiving in words crafted by the hymn writers. And so, may this work inform you, undergird your devotion to God, provide you with some musical avenues to your personal prayers, and bring joyful music more deeply into your soul.

John Zehring

Hymns of Gratitude

Now Thank We All Our God

Now thank we all our God

with heart and hands and voices,

who wondrous things has done,

in whom his world rejoices;

who from our mothers' arms

has blessed us on our way

with countless gifts of love,

and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God

through all our life be near us,

with ever joyful hearts

and blessed peace to cheer us,

to keep us in his grace,

and guide us when perplexed,

and free us from all ills

of this world in the next.

All praise and thanks to God

the Father now be given,

the Son and Spirit blest,

who reign in highest heaven

the one eternal God,

whom heaven and earth adore;

for thus it was, is now,

and shall be evermore.

It may feel to modern worshipers that the Thanksgiving hymn Now Thank We All Our God is as old as the hills, for it is as old or older as when the Pilgrims were huddled around the fires in their tiny huts in Plymouth, Massachusetts. And yet, it is as contemporary as tomorrow’s internet news, for it speaks to our present pandemic experience and models an attitude of thanksgiving rising out of hardship.

The hymn was authored by Martin Rinkart, who lived from 1586 to 1649. The son of a poor coppersmith, Rinkart was in Eilenberg, Saxony, Germany. As a child he was a member of the choir in the famous St. Thomas Church of Leipzig, Germany, where J.S. Bach later served as musical director.

Martin’s achievement at the St. Thomas School led him to proceed to the University of Leipzig, initially as a theology student. He made his way through the university by hard work and by the blessing of his musical gifts. Upon graduation, he became the director of choral services at a church in Eiselben.

If you think church politics and pettiness is a recent phenomenon, think again. Rinkart wanted to be ordained to become a pastor, but the superintendent had some issues with him and blocked his way forward. And so, Martin took up a position at a school while also serving as a cantor at a neighboring church. A few months later, he became deacon of St. Ann’s Church in Neustadt of Eisleben, and in 1613 became pastor at Erdeborn and Lütjendorf, near Eisleben. In 1617, at the age of 31, Rinkart became Archdeacon in his hometown of Eilenburg, just as the Thirty Years’ War broke out. This was a devastating war, one that not only lasted for three decades but that claimed more than eight million casualties, or some 20 percent of the German population at the time. It must have felt like our devastating Coronovirus pandemic has felt recently, claiming so many hundreds of thousands of lives. And then, from bad to worse, the plague that followed in 1637 spread throughout the town, claiming in that town more than eight thousand persons in a single year.

To make matters worse, the church superintendent who turned Martin down to become a pastor went away for a time of rest and never came back. Of the remaining five clergy in town, four died from the plague, leaving only the young Martin to carry on. He often conducted the funeral service to some forty to fifty persons a day. In all, Martin buried some 4,480 individuals, including his wife. His was a challenging life of blockades – setbacks to his dream to become a pastor, a devastating war, and then the plague. Martin towered above all hardship to author his hymn: Nun Danket Alle Gott, or, Now Thank We All Our God. The next time congregations gather safely for in-person worship, when and if our current plague becomes under control, we shall sing this hymn with renewed understanding and energy. The hymn rose out of times not so different from our own.

Nun Danket Alle Gott was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878). Catherine Winkworth is known for her English translations of German hymns. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester, England, until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women.

Surprisingly, this is one of the few hymns that actually says thank you to God. There are many that praise God or hallow God’s name, but this one is a thank you song. It reminds of the beloved Psalm 100: "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord