LBW #534, "Now Thank We All Our God"
Devotion
The author of this hymn, Martin Rinkhart (1586-1649), lived through one of most difficult of times. The Thirty Year’s War (1618-1648) raged across Germany, attended by famine and pestilence. As a pastor in one of the devastated regions, he preached sermons for as many as 50 burials a day.
Yet he could write these memorable lines, "Now thank we all our God, with hearts and hands and voices, who wondrous thing has done, in whom his world rejoices." The world never runs out of troubles. Tsunami, hurricanes, war and personal tragedies have changed our lives.
Shining through all these dark clouds is the grace of God in Jesus Christ that has kept and blessed us. This year has not left us without hope. The faithfulness of our Lord grants us absolution for our sins and "has blest us on our way, with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today."
Prayer
Lord Jesus, “free us from all harm in this world and the next.” Amen.