Preëminently an experienced person’s meditation on trust in God. The hymn is taken from a poem of 22 stanzas entitled, “The Eternal Goodness,” written apparently without any thought of their being sung. In the first line the editors substituted the initial word “when” for the original “yet.”
For comments on John Greenleaf Whittier see [Hymn 173].
MUSIC. ES IST EIN BORN. For comments on this tune see [Hymn 99].
242. Thy way is in the deep, O Lord
James Martineau, 1805-1900
Based on Psalm 77:19: “Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters.”
James Martineau, English Unitarian, was a man of letters, a philosopher, a theologian, and the most eloquent and distinguished preacher of his church in his time. He served churches in Liverpool and London and was Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy in Manchester New College. He edited Hymns for the Christian Church and Home, 1840, a book widely used among Unitarians in England.
MUSIC. GRÄFENBERG, sung somewhat slowly, is a tune of fine stateliness and dignity. It is from the 5th edition of Crüger’s Praxis Pietatis Melica, Berlin, 1653. It is also known as “Nun Danket All.”
Johann Crüger, 1598-1662, one of the most distinguished musicians of his time, was born near Brandenburg. He received a thorough musical training under Paulus Homberger in Regensburg and in 1622 he was appointed cantor of the St. Nicholas Lutheran Church, in Berlin, and one of the masters of the Greyfriars Gymnasium. He founded the noted choir of St. Nicholas Church. Crüger was a tune-writer of the first rank and composed some of the most famous and favorite chorales. He published various collections of hymns, among them the celebrated Praxis Pietas Melica, 1644, which passed through more than fifty editions. He died in Berlin, February 23, 1662.