And let Thy power, availing,
Avert our woes and calm our dread;
For us the Saviour’s blood was shed,
We trust in Thee to save us!
Nicolaus Decius, 1526, 1539
THE HYMN-WRITERS OF THE REFORMATION
The hymns of the Reformation were like a trumpet call, proclaiming to all the world that the day of spiritual emancipation had come. What they lacked in poetic refinement they more than made up by their tremendous earnestness and spiritual exuberance.
They faithfully reflect the spirit of the age in which they were born, a period of strife and conflict. The strident note that often appears in Luther’s hymns can easily be understood when it is remembered that the great Reformer looked upon the pope as Antichrist himself and all others who opposed the Lutheran teachings as confederates of the devil.
In 1541, when the Turkish invasion from the East threatened to devastate all Europe, special days of humiliation and prayer were held throughout Germany. It was for one of these occasions that Luther wrote the hymn, “Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy word.” In its original form, however, it was quite different from the hymn we now sing. The first stanza ran:
Lord, keep us in Thy word and work,