Now Thank We All Our God (ELW 840)
1 Now thank we all our God
with hearts and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done,
in whom this world rejoices;
who, from our mothers’ arms,
has blest us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.
2 Oh, may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts
and blessed peace to cheer us,
and keep us all in grace,
and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all harm
in this world and the next.
3 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 earth and heav’n adore;
for thus it was, is now,
and shall be evermore.
Devotion
The reasons for wars are complex and complicated. A century after the Reformation began, Lutheran and Roman Catholic forces waged the Thirty Years War, fought mainly on German soil. It became one of history’s most devastating wars. Between four to eight million people died, mostly from disease or starvation. In 1617, a year before the war began, Martin Rinkart was called as Pastor of the state Lutheran church in his native Ellenberg, Germany. Ellenberg was a walled city, and people—especially political and military refugees—fled there for safety, causing Ellenberg to become frightfully overcrowded. Armies overran Ellenberg three times. Rinkert was forced to provide food and shelter, leaving his family little. In 1637, the plague further ravaged Ellenberg, with Rinkart as the sole pastor ministering to the sick and dying and conducting up to fifty funerals a day. Yet, in the midst of all the suffering, firm in faith, Martin Rinkert penned this hymn of thanks and hope.
Prayer
Through all our days, Lord Jesus, you walk with us, love us, and provide for us. By your grace, help us this day, this moment, to give you thanks and praise to you. Amen.