Thank God all over the world

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Thank God Through All the World is an Advent song by Heinrich Held (1620–1659), published in 1658.

content

The text offers a fairly free interpretation of the Ambrosian hymn Veni redemptor gentium . Already Martin Luther had in 1524 with Come Well, der Heiden Heiland made a tight-oriented original transmission.

The song begins with thanks for God's promises to be fulfilled in this world and time. The motif of consolation appearing here “ Comfort, comfort my people! speaks your God. “( Isa 40,1  Lut ) also appears in verse 7. With “ advice ” is alluded to ( Isa 9,5  Lut ): “ For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, and the rulership rests on his shoulder; and it is called Miracle Council, God-Hero, Eternal Father, Peace Prince ... ".

Verse 2 sees fulfillment in relation to the expectation of the Old Testament patriarchs, of whom in verse 3 Abraham and Jacob are expressly quoted together with the "Help of Zion". These references are based on three biblical passages: The (lack of) help to Zion is the subject of the prophet Jeremiah: Behold, the daughter of my people cries out from a distant land: “Will the LORD no longer be God in Zion or should it no longer have a king? “[…]“ The harvest has passed, the summer has passed and no help has come to us! ” ( Jer 8 : 19-20  Lut ). In Christ this (only apparently missing) help has finally come. “Abram's reward” is a reference to a promise made by God to Abram: After these stories it came to pass that the word of the Lord came to Abram in a revelation: Do not be afraid, Abram! I am your shield and your very great reward ( Gen 15,1  Lut ). "Jacob's salvation" refers to a prayer that Jacob has handed down to us: "Lord, I wait for your salvation!" ( Gen 49.18  Lut ).

While the Ambrose text richly unfolds the praise of the virgin birth in the first four stanzas, Heinrich Held gives it three syllables with the brief phrase " Jungfrau'n Sohn ". With the heavy construction catchy " two-ancestral hero " he strives for a very literal approach to the Ambrosian phrase "geminae gigans substantiae" ( "Hero of dual nature") to the two natures into account. However, unlike Luther's imprint “ God of nature and man, a hero ”, the attempt does not appear to be very successful. In the Evangelical Reformed Hymnal of Switzerland , this difficult line was replaced by “Wunderbar, Rat, Kraft und Held” (see below). This takes up the messianic prophecy of the prophet Isaiah ( Isa 9,5  Lut ) already quoted above , whereby the reference of the original to the doctrine of two natures was abandoned. A change has also been made at the end of the second line: The “Jungfau'n Son” has been replaced by “David's son” - again in the inclusion of an Isaiah prophecy ( Isa 11,1  Lut ).

Verses 4 and 5 unfold the opening greeting of the Ambrosian template “Veni” (“Come”) “ Be welcome ... Come on” , which refers to the prophetic call recorded in the Gospel: “ A voice calls out: In the desert prepare that Lord the way, make a level path in the steppe for our God! “( Isa 40,3  Lut ), which is understood individually spiritualizing. Verse 6, alluding to Zechariah " See, your king comes to you, meek and riding on a donkey " ( Zech 9,9  Lut ), deals with the motif of meekness .

The Prot Gospel of Prehistory “ And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall crush your head and you will stab him in the heel ”( Gen 3:15  Lut ) is taken up in verse 8.

The song closes in verse 9 with a call to one's own activity: to approach what is to come.

The Evangelical Hymnal (EG 12) contains stanzas 1–4. There are five stanzas in the Evangelical Reformed Hymnal of Switzerland (RG 369). The first four stanzas largely correspond to those in the EG. However, in the RG the fourth stanza ends with a comma, and the original ninth stanza follows as stanza five.

melody

The text is sung to the melody: Now come, the Heiden Heiland , from: " Geistliches Gesangbüchlein ", Wittenberg 1524, or to its own melody: Frankfurt am Main, 1659, Halle, 1704, by Johann Georg Stötzel , 1744.

Plus, he 'll Hark on the tune ! The Herald Angels Sing sung by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy , with two stanzas each grouped together.

text

1. Thanks be to God through all the world, Who
keeps his word constantly
And the sinner has sent consolation and advice
to us.

2. What the host of the ancient fathers was the
highest desire and longing,
and what they prophesied,
Is fulfilled in glory.

3. Help of Zion and Abram's wages,
Jacob's salvation, the virgin son, the
hero of two origins,
Has faithfully set himself.

4. Be welcome, my salvation!
To you Hosanna, my part!
Do you also make a path for
yourself in my heart.

 
5. Zeuch, you King of Honor, one,
It is yours alone;
Do as you like to,
clean of all sin.

6. And just as your arrival was
full of meekness, without danger,
so be
your meekness ready for me at any time .

7. Be comforted, comforting my mind,
because I weak and stupid am
And Satan's clever ruse
yourself missing too high to me.

8. Break the serpent's head in two,
That I, free of all fears, remain devoted to
you in my faith around and in
blessed.

9. That when you, O prince of life,
will come back splendidly,
I may go to
meet you and stand right before God.

Text in the Evangelical Reformed Hymnal of Switzerland

1. Thanks be to God through all the world,
who keeps his word constantly
and the sinner has sent consolation and advice
to us.

2. What the host of the ancient fathers had
highest wishes and longings,
what the seers prophesied,
is fulfilled in glory.

3. Help of Zion and Abram's reward,
Jacob's salvation and David's son,
wonderful, advice, strength and hero
has been faithfully established.

4. Be welcome, my salvation,
Hosanna, you, my part.
You also set up a path for
yourself in my heart,

5. That when you, O prince of life,
will come back splendidly,
I may go to
meet you and stand before you justly.

literature

  • Johannes Kulp (edited by Arno Büchner and Siegfried Fornaçon): The songs of our church. A handout for the Protestant church hymn book ; Handbook for the Evangelical Church Hymnal. Special tape; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1958; P. 34 f.
  • Eberhard Schmidt: 12 - Thank God all over the world . In: Gerhard Hahn , Jürgen Henkys (Hrsg.): Liederkunde zum Evangelisches Gesangbuch . No. 3 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-525-50324-5 , pp. 3–6 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).