Samuel Rodigast, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Jena, and later rector of the Greyfriars Gymnasium in Berlin, wrote this hymn for his friend Severus Gastorius, precentor of the church at Jena, when Gastorius was ill. Gastorius in turn composed the tune on his sick bed, requesting that the hymn be sung at his funeral. The condition of his health turned for the better whereupon Gastorius ordered his choir to sing the hymn at the door of his house once each week during the period of his convalescence. The music and words became widely known and are used throughout the whole of German Protestantism. The hymn appeared first in Hannoversches Gesangbuch, 1676. The melody appeared in the Auserlesenes Weimarisches Gesangbuch, 1681.
The translation, stanzas 1, 2, and 6 of the original, is Miss Winkworth’s in her Chorale Book for England, 1863.
For comments on Catherine Winkworth see [Hymn 236].
568. Lord, Thou hast been Thy people’s rest
James Montgomery, 1771-1854
A metrical version of the 90th Psalm.
For comments on James Montgomery see [Hymn 62].
MUSIC. ALLEIN GOTT IN DER HÖH’ SEI EHR’ appeared in Geistliche Lieder, Leipzig, 1539, where it is set to the hymn, “Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr,” by Nikolaus Decius. The tune is of pre-Reformation origin. It is an adaptation from an Easter Gloria of anonymous composition, and appears with variants in different collections. Many settings of the tune have been made by Bach and other great composers, the one here being by Mendelssohn, used in his oratorio, St. Paul.
569. Jehovah, let me now adore Thee
Bartholomäus Crasselius, 1667-1724