Hymn of Gratitude

Through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise. —Hebrews 13:15

Martin Rinkart was a seventeenth-century pastor, serving in Eilenberg, Germany, during the height of the Thirty Years’ War. As the city was overrun with refugees and injured troops, the Rinkart home became a haven for many. When other pastors fled for safety, Martin stayed, eventually conducting more than 4,500 funeral services that year—including one for his wife.

Yet at some point amid such disheartening circumstances, Martin composed this joy filled refrain, forged in pain and suffering and grief and death. It was a sacrifice of thanksgiving—a hymn still sung today:

Now thank we all our God,
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done, In whom his world rejoices;
Who from our mother’s arms
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today. ²

² Martin Rinkart, “Now Thank We All Our God,” ca. 1636.