George Christian Knapp, UOJ Inventor, Was Translated into English by an Influential Protestant, L. Woods

Leonard Woods was quite famous as an American Protestant leader.

WOODS, Leonard, clergyman, born in Princeton, Massachusetts, 19 June, 1774; died in Andover, Massachusetts, 24 August, 1854. His father, Samuel, possessed "Puritanic piety," and his habits of serious thought on metaphysical subjects obtained for him the title of "Philosopher Woods." The son was brought up strictly, and while very young was conversant with the works of John Locke and Jonathan Edwards. He was graduated at Harvard in 1796, taught, studied theology at Somers, Connecticut, and in 1798 was ordained pastor at Newbury, Massachusetts When the Andover theological seminary was founded in 1808 he became professor of Christian theology there, holding that chair for thirty-eight years, and becoming professor emeritus in 1846. Dartmouth gave him the degree of D. D. in 1810. Dr. Woods was active in the establishment of the American tract society, the Temperance society, and the board of commissioners of foreign missions, of whose prudential committee he was a member for twenty-five years. He ably defended orthodox Calvinism against Unitarian theology, and while he admitted improvements in theologians and theological science, thought theological truths were fixed and unalterable. His literary reputation dates from his contribution in 1805 of a series of papers in the " Panoplist," a religious periodical, in which he defended Calvinism against Joseph Buckminster, William Channing, and other Unitarian divines. Dr. Henry B. Smith says of him : "He is emphatically the' judicious ' divine of the later New England theology. He educated more than 1,000 preachers, who had neither crotchets nor airy aims." He left in manuscript a "History of Andover Seminary." His publications in-chide " Letters to Unitarians" (Andover, 1820) ; "Lectures on the Inspiration of the Scriptures" (1829); " Memoirs of American Missionaries" (1833); " Examination of the Doctrine of Perfection" (1841); "Lectures on Church Government" (New York, 1843);" Lectures on Swedenborgianism" (1846); and his collected works, containing lectures, essays, sermons, and reviews (5 vols., Andover, 1849-'50).
His son, Leonard, scholar, born in Newbury, Massachusetts, 24 November, 1807; died in Boston, Massachusetts, 24 December, 1878, was graduated at Union college in 1827 and at Andover theological seminary in 1830. In 1831-'3 he was resident graduate scholar at Andover, and in 1833 he was licensed to preach. His private pupil, Richard Henry Dana, says of him: " At the age of twenty-four years he had been the first scholar in the Phillips academy, the first in every branch at Union, had been graduated at the Theological seminary the acknowledged foremost man of his period, and had published a translation of Knapp's 'Christian Theology, ' enriched with a long and fully thought-out preface, with original notes showing profound scholarship. He was assisting Professor Stuart in his commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, ' and aiding Professor Robinson in editing the ' Biblical Repository, ' then the most scholastic periodical in America, and was assistant instructor of Hebrew in the seminary." He edited the " Literary and Theological Review" in New York city in 18"34-'7, and although that periodical was the organ of the Presbyterian and Congregational churches, he directly opposed the opinions of many of its supporters, objecting to the proposals of temperance and anti-slavery societies and popular revivalists, and to the German Reformation, and defending the few and simple conditions of admission into the Anglican communion, as compared with the minute requirements of doctrine in his own church. He was professor of sacred literature in Bangor theological seminary in 1836-'9, and from 1839 till 1866 president of Bowdoin. He never accepted a pastoral charge, but occasionally delivered sermons and addresses. He went abroad in 1833, and contracted friendships with eminent theologians in Rome and in Oxford. His familiarity with the classics caused him to be congratulated by Gregory XVI. for his "excellent Latin and the richness of his discourse," and the Oxford theology having won his approval, he was the theological champion and personal friend of Dr. Edward B. Pusey. "He was even more remarkable, perhaps, for his conversations than for his public addresses," says his biographer, Professor Edwards A. Park. Having resigned the presidency of Bowdoin in 1866 (see the accompanying vignette), he accepted from the legislature of Maine a commission to visit Europe to obtain materials for the early history of the state. "He engaged the assistance of Dr. John G. Kohl in the work, which subsequently assumed shape in his "Discovery of Maine" (Portland, Maine, 1868), and procured the Hakluyt manuscript of the "Westerne Planting." Dr. Woods was preparing this document for the press when his health declined, and the papers were completed and published by Charles Deane, in the "Proceedings of the Maine Historical Society" (Portland, 1877). Dr. Woods furnished other valuable matter, which appeared in the 1st and 2d volumes of the publications of that society, and was engaged in further work when his materials were destroyed by a fire that consumed his entire library. Harvard gave him the degree of D. D. in 1846, and Bowdoin that of LL. D. in 1866. Besides the works already referred to, including his translation of George Christian Knapp's "Christian Theology" (2 vols., New York, 1831-'3), Dr. Woods published an "Address on the Life and Character of Parker Cleveland (Portland, Maine, 1859), and "Address on the Opening of the New Medical Hall of the Medical School of Maine" {1862). See a "Memorial " of him. by Edwards A. Park (Andover, 1880), and an article by Richard H. Dana in the "Century Magazine" for June, 1881.

Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, Copyright © 2001 VirtualologyTM

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Leonard Woods (1807-78) was the fourth president of Bowdoin College.

Life and career

"Born in Newbury, Massachusetts, Woods attended Phillips Andover Academy before graduating from Union College in 1827. After having graduated from Andover Theological Seminary, he made a translation of George Christian Knapp's Christian Theology, which became long used as a textbook in American theological seminaries. "


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From the Net

(7.) George Christian Knapp, Lectures on Christian Theology, trans. Leonard Woods Jr. (Philadelphia: J. W. Moore, 1851). According to Woods's biographer Edwards Amasa Park, the Lectures on Christian Theology was first published at Andover Theological Seminary in 1831. Park, The Life and Character of Leonard Woods (Andover, Mass.: Warren F. Draper, 1880), 8.

(8.) For a discussion of Knapp, see John Ker, Lectures on the History of Preaching (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1888), 224-25; and B. B. Edwards and E. A. Park, Selections from German Literature (Andover, Mass.: Gould, Newman, and Saxton, 1839), 204-5.

(9.) Woods's private papers show that as early as 1832 he was exchanging books in German by both Tholuck and Neander with John Yates, a professor at Union College. John A. Yates to Leonard Woods Jr., Nov. 6, 1832, and Yates to Woods, Dec. 5, 1832. In the first-named letter, Yates asked Woods, "when you visit Germany I wish you would bring back another copy [of Neander's Church History] in manuscript or (it maybe published) in print for which I will pay you the cost." Leonard Woods Papers, Bowdoin College Archives, Brunswick, Me. For the influence of the German mediating theology on American Congregationalism, see Robert T. Hardy, A History of Union Theological Seminary in New York (New York: Columbia University Press, 1987), 2-25.

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Where did Knapp teach? Halle University - the warm womb of Pietism.

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Tholuck taught at Halle. He is far better known today than Knapp. Here is Wikipedia on Tholuck.

Here he made it his aim to combine in a higher unity the learning and to some extent the rationalism of Johann Salomo Semler with the devout and active pietism of A H Francke; and, in spite of the opposition of the theological faculty of the university, he succeeded in changing the character of its theology.

This he achieved partly by his lectures, but above all by his personal influence on the students, and, after 1833, by his preaching. His theological position was orthodox, but laid more stress upon Christian experience than upon rigid dogmatic belief.

Hoenecke was Tholuck's pupil, maybe even his star pupil.
So we have Knapp's book used all over America as a doctrinal book. The advantage it had for the Synodical Conference was its printing both in German and English.
Knapp's book was available in time for the Synodical Conference to form.
So the next question is - what did Knapp teach and did other influential (non-Lutheran) theologians teach the same thing?

SP Schroeder

Comments featured on Issues, Etc.

WELS President: Church Growth Q & A
November 10, 2008 by Rick

This question and answer recently appeared on the WELS Q & A website. Normally the questions are answered anonymously, but this question was answered and signed by WELS President Mark Schroeder:

"Q: I have one grandfather that was an LCMS minister and another was a WELS minister. I understand the history of their division and I accept the need. What I fear there is a trend in WELS to follow the same route as LCMS. In the desire to increase church attendance many WELS congregations are not making a solid doctrinal stand. Law and Gospel are still present but one must look for it. Do these same concerns exist at our seminaries and synod offices?

A: Thank you for your concern about the centrality of Law and Gospel in our preaching and teaching. God has promised that his Church will endure until Jesus returns again, but he has made no promises that individual church bodies or synods will always be blessed with the pure doctrine. That is why the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:2 are such an important reminder for our synod: “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel which I preached to you and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.” In other words, our synod and its congregations will need to be vigilant in holding on to the truth of Scripture and careful to preach solid Law and Gospel boldly and consistently.

I assure you that I share these concerns, and I know that our seminary faculty would say the same. As we face declining numbers in worship and in church membership, we will want to avoid the temptation to resort to methods or “quick fixes” which rely on something other than the means of grace, which alone can bring people to know their Savior and through which the Holy Spirit will work. All efforts to increase church attendance and membership need to be carefully evaluated in the light of God’s Word, not on the basis of “what works.” If we water down the message of Law and Gospel, if we change the message to a generic message that simply tells people what they want to hear (instead of what they need to hear), we will eventually have no gospel message left. We may fill churches, but the danger is that those churches will be filled with people whose true spiritual needs—the call to repentance and the assurance of full forgiveness in Christ—will not be met.

Please keep our synod, its congregations, and its pastors in your prayers as we address these important matters. Thank you for your concern.

In Christ,
Mark Schroeder, WELS president
[e-mail: mark.schroeder[at]sab.wels[dot]net]"

The watering down of Law and Gospel in our preaching and teaching is an extremely serious matter. In these difficult times, please pray also for President Schroeder, all laymen, and the one true Christian Church. We need God’s help.

***

GJ - This was copied from Rick, who copied it from WELS.net. There are some hints that Schroeder got his ideas from the Book of Concord. He sure did not learn this at the last Church and Change conference or at the WELS Airport.

Kelm may copy me on this: Faithfulness to the Word is success. I copied that from the ending of Walther's Law and Gospel, and Walther got it from Luther, so you can borrow it from me and pretend you made it up on your own.

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From Bailing Water:

Anonymous said...
I didn't take it that Ben had already sold out to C&C, just as bored with his traditional service and curious about contemporary. I also took him seriously inquiring as Freddy did, and thought he was approaching it rationally. That is unlike many C&C advocates who I think would find Freddy's argument difficult to refute.It's interesting to me, in viewing a bit about Ed Stetzer, it seems his battle is against the conservatives in the Southern Baptist denomination as well, not unlike what the church growth crowd finds in WELS. That really defines it as a methodology for me.And, as kind of an aside, it is curious to me that WELS (even conservative WELS) would rather read something from outside of Lutheranism than something from someone from Missouri. Just an observation. I read Parton's article about white-wine pietists, written over a decade ago, and things haven't changed much. An interesting short read if you have the time.Rob
November 19, 2008 7:51 PM

rlschultz said...
Rob,Your observation about conservative WELS laity reading outside of Lutheranism is spot on. I have noticed that in my own WELS congregation. Lifelong WELS members quickly jump on the latest evangelical book offering without being faithful Bereans. It is very disheartening. One explanation that I heard is that that there is so much that is wrong in the secular realm, that we should use whatever we can from "Christian" resources. All that glitters is not gold. As a WELS lifer, I can say with a great degree of certainty that we have been taught in a subtle way to hate Missouri. Yes, NPH sells some of the more common books of Walther, etc. Apparently, the synodical conference breakup has created a lot of bad blood. Still, it would be great to see WELS members think outside of the synod box. Unfortunately, my assessment is that there is a great degree of ignorance of the Lutheran Confessions among WELS laity. This may explain why we are in the current mess.
November 20, 2008 7:00 AM

Anonymous said...
"my assessment is that there is a great degree of ignorance of the Lutheran Confessions among WELS laity."Which comes from their pastors which comes from the Seminary. Sad, but true.
November 20, 2008 8:48 AM

Anonymous said...
To be honest, I think you are seeing a subtle shift in some of the younger fresh-out-of-seminary pastors, who seem to be taking a more confessional stance. Maybe it's just me, but that's my take.Also, I would suggest that anyone who has any interest in worship (and it seems like most here do) read "Gathered Guests" by Timothy Maschke. It is wonderful book that I found I couldn't put down. It is a book that the worship mavens in WELS think highly of (the Aaron Christies etc.), and is considered to be one of the top resources on Lutheran liturgical worship.Mr. Humility Police
November 20, 2008 10:19 AM

Enthusiasm-->Pietism-->UOJ-->Church and Change-->Doom

Universal Objective Justification owns the Synodical Conference partners: WELS, LCMS, ELS, even the nano-sects like the CLCs and LCR.

They are all doomed, bankrupt with Schwan's 30 pieces of silver, owned by Fuller, Willow Creek, Leonard Sweet, and Ed Stetzer.

UOJ Study and Commentary

UOJ has Spener for their father.

Bible study, Evergreen Lutheran High School Board of directors, Pastor Nathan Seiltz – 10/26/08

A. Objective justification is universal. Scripture teaches that God has reconciled the world to himself. This includes all people, believers and unbelievers. All, believers and unbelievers, have deserved death and damnation. Jesus came as the substitute for all. He obeyed the law for all. He died in the place of everyone. When Jesus rose, he rose as the substitute for every sinner. By his resurrection God declared sinners, all of them, forgiven. [GJ - Justification does mean the declaration of forgiveness, but where is this declaration of forgiveness for the whole world found in the Scriptures? It is found in the Brief Statement of the LCMS, but there too it is a claim without a foundation. Yet this claim is the basis for all UOJ opinions.] This is the good news Scripture reveals. This is the good news we proclaim to contrite sinners: “God has reconciled you to himself. Your sins are already forgiven. Calvary and the empty tomb are the proof of it.”

B. It is suggested, if not argued, that such an interpretation of Scripture and the teaching of objective justification we defend is something relatively new in Lutheranism. [GJ - Everything in this so-called Biblical study is found in the Pietistic, non-Lutheran lectures of George Christian Knapp, 1866, a very popular dogmatics book in English and German. Date? 1866. UOJ is from the mid-19th century and erupted from Pietism.] It is true that the terms objective and subjective justification are relatively recent. They are not found in the Confessions. It is also true that most of the time when the Scriptures speak of justification they do so in connection with believing. [GJ - The Scriptures and the Book of Concord agree in treating justification the same way - justification by faith.] They speak of subjective justification. Yet the fact remains that terms objective justification and subjective justification do convey thoughts which the Scriptures teach, as all orthodox theologians have confessed. [GJ - This is gourmet baloney. No one taught OJ or UOJ before the 19th century. Robert Preus, who actually read the orthodox theologians, refuted the pastor's claim years ago, in Justification and Rome.]

C. When objective justification is denied, faith becomes a condition of salvation instead of the means through which we receive salvation. When speaking of salvation, we don’t want to turn a person’s attention inward to his faith, but outward to the grace of God. Preaching about faith will not produce faith, but proclaiming God’s love and mercy and forgiveness will produce believing hearts.
[GJ - This is a Straw Man fallacy. UOJ is Enthusiasm and should be denied. Justification by faith is a message about the Gospel. Preaching against faith will exterminate faith, which can be proven in the apostasy of Church and Change, the last belch of the UOJ generation. Emphasizing the efficacy of the Word, which is taught in the Scriptures and the confessions, increases trust in God's Word.]

D. To justify in the Bible always has the meaning “to declare righteous.” Never do the terms denote a qualitative change in man, a physical or medicinal thing. The change which is meant is not a change in one’s person, but a change in one’s status before God. In the matter of salvation it is God’s pronouncing a sinner righteous—an act which takes place apart from man. God declares sinners righteous not because of anything he foresaw in man, but for the sake of Christ, the sinner’s substitute. [GJ - He appears to be arguing against "in view of faith" but that is not the issue. He concedes the meaning of justify, so where are the words of Universal Forgiveness?]

E. A quick look at the terms ought to be sufficient to remind ourselves of the Lutheran doctrine of objective or universal justification–that God at the resurrection of Christ declared sinners justified, universally, excluding none, and objectively, whether they believe it or not.
[GJ - Where exactly is this declaration of universal forgiveness recorded?]

F. Romans 5:18, 19: “Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” [GJ - He has refuted himself. Many are justified. No verse says or implied that everyone is forgiven, without faith, without the Word, without the Means of Grace. To say that people have grace--forgiveness--without the work of the Spirit is pure Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm-->Pietism-->UOJ-->Church and Change. By the way, Enthusiasm is roundly condemned in the Book of Concord.]

Historically, this reference in Romans is ranked as the principal sedes doctrinae for objective justification. Verse 18 informs us that because of Adam’s sin a verdict of condemnation was pronounced on all men; because of the one act of righteousness by Christ a verdict of acquittal was pronounced on all men. There can be no question that verse 18 teaches universal and therefore objective justification.
[GJ - Yes, historically, in the sects of a few Midwest Lutherans, from C. F. W. Walther and his disciples.]

G. 2 Corinthians 5:19: “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”
The passage does not contain the word righteousness, but it ranks as strong support for the doctrine of objective justification because of the manner in which it speaks of the synonymous term reconciliation. In Christ God has reconciled the world to himself. A change has taken place. The change was not in man. Man remained unchanged, by nature sinful, hostile to God.

Orthodox theologians for the most part have spoken of the change as a change in man’s status before God. Previously God viewed the world apart from Christ—and it stood condemned. Now God views the world in the light of Christ’s work of redemption and has declared the world righteous, forgiven.
[GJ - Oh yes, all the people in Hell have been given the status of guilt-free saints. And the Hottentots are justified without faith too. All this can be found in the fanatical UOJ books, 19th century and later. Their favorite UOJ theologian, E. Preuss, turned Roman Catholic.]

H. There are many other passages of Scripture that support the doctrine of objective justification:
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29).

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn 2:2).
[GJ - The Atonement is universal. The message of reconciliation is the Gospel Promise which produces faith. Man's faith receives the Promise, which is forgiveness of sin.]

Any reference that announces that Christ has paid for sin, offered himself as a sacrifice, paid the ransom, shed his blood, finally teaches objective justification. Men’s sins are paid for whether they believe it or not.
[GJ - It is true that Christ has paid for the sins of the world. This payment or redemption is true, but the effect does not take place apart from the Means of Grace.]

I. To illustrate the history of universal and therefore objective justification in Lutheran doctrine we go back to Luther. Anyone who has read Luther’s “Treatise Concerning the Keys” of 1530 can hardly deny that Luther believed in objective justification. The following paragraph sums up Luther’s thoughts quite well:
Even he who does not believe that he is free and his sins forgiven shall also learn, in due time, how assuredly his sins were forgiven, even though he did not believe it. St. Paul says in Ro 3(3): “Their faithlessness nullifies the faithfulness of God.” We are not talking here either about people’s belief or disbelief regarding the efficacy of the keys. We realize that few believe. We are speaking of what the keys accomplish and give. He who does not accept what the keys give receives, of course, nothing. But this is not the keys’ fault. Many do not believe the gospel, but this does not mean that the gospel is not true or effective. A king gives you a castle. If you do not accept it, then it is not the king’s fault, nor is he guilty of a lie. But you have deceived yourself and the fault is yours. The king certainly gave it. LW 40 363-369
[GJ - This shows the Atonement is universal. Luther is very clear about the Means of Grace and his condemnation of Enthusiasm.]

J. The Confessions also speak frequently of universal and therefore objective justification:
1) But the Gospel is properly such a doctrine as teaches what man who has not observed the Law, and therefore is condemned by it, it to believe, namely, that Christ has expiated and made satisfaction for all sins, and has obtained and acquired for him, without any merit of his, forgiveness of sins, righteousness that avails before God, and eternal life. Formula of Concord V, 4; Trig., p 801.
[GJ - This is another attempt to turn the Atonement into universal forgiveness without faith. Sorry. No go.]

2) (God in His purpose and counsel ordained:) That the human race is truly redeemed and reconciled with God through Christ, who, by His faultless obedience, suffering, and death, has merited for us the righteousness which avails before God, and eternal life. Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration XI, 15, Trig., p 1069

K. While the election controversy was in its second stage in the first years of the 20th Century, a somewhat related controversy over objective justification erupted. This development prompted August Pieper to write for the third volume of the Quartalschrift his unforgettable article. The conclusion reads:

One cannot oppose any doctrine of God’s Word with impunity; this increases sin and guilt, damages consciences and blinds the heart. One error begets another, as in the election controversy the insistence on intuitu fidei soon brought with itself the synergistic doctrine of conversion. But whoever molests the doctrine of justification stabs the gospel in the heart and is on the way of losing entirely Christian doctrine and personal faith and of falling into the arms of heathenism, even if he ever so much emphasizes justification by faith.
[GJ - Augie got one thing right - failing seminary, failing college, failing synod: apostasy reigns at The Love Shack. UOJ has almost destroyed the sect, but the Gospel cannot be stabbed in the heart. The Gospel needs no protection from man.]

***

GJ - As I wrote to one WELS District President, "Why is WELS rife with Enthusiasm, Church and Change, Rock-N-Roll?" The answer is - UOJ.

Here is one source of UOJ, from 1866, a famous book printed in English and German, just in time to influence the Synodical Conference:

Leonard Woods (1807-78) was the fourth president of Bowdoin College.

Life and career

Born in Newbury, Massachusetts, Woods attended Phillips Andover Academy before graduating from Union College in 1827. After having graduated from Andover Theological Seminary, he made a translation of George Christian Knapp's Christian Theology, which became long used as a textbook in American theological seminaries.

Knapp is the man who agrees with WELS. Not Luther. Not Calov. Not J. Gerhard. Certainly not the Book of Concord. Not Chemnitz. Not Melanchthon.

Hoenecke came from Halle, the center of German Pietism.

Let's hear from Melanchthon and Luther, quoted in the Book of Concord:

J-528
"Faith is that my whole heart takes to itself this treasure. It is not my doing, not my presenting or giving, not my work or preparation, but that a heart comforts itself, and is perfectly confident with respect to this, namely, that God makes a present and gift to us, and not we to Him, that He sheds upon us every treasure of grace in Christ." Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV. #48. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 135. Heiser, p. 36.

J-545
"These treasures are offered us by the Holy Ghost in the promise of the holy Gospel; and faith alone is the only means by which we lay hold upon, accept, and apply, and appropriate them to ourselves. This faith is a gift of God, by which we truly learn to know Christ, our Redeemer, in the Word of the Gospel, and trust in Him, that for the sake of His obedience alone we have the forgiveness of sins by grace, are regarded as godly and righteous by God the Father, and are eternally saved." Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, III. #10. Of the Righteousness of Faith before God. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 919. Tappert, p. 541. Heiser, p. 250.

The Lutherans Song Link

You must click on this link to get the hilarious Lutheran song.

Big mistake in the video - Garrison Keillor was never a Lutheran. He belonged to the Pietistic sect, the Plymouth Brethren. He feigned being a Lutheran because many in his Minneapolis audience were. Besides, it is difficult to tell a nominal Lutheran from a Pietist.

Luther: A Mighty Fortress, Organ

"A Mighty Fortress is Our God"
by Dr. Martin Luther, 1483-1546
Composite Translation from the Pennsylvania Lutheran CHURCH BOOK of 1868

1. A mighty Fortress is our God,
A trusty Shield and Weapon;
He helps us free from every need
That hath us now o'ertaken.
The old evil Foe
Now means deadly woe;
Deep guile and great might
Are his dread arms in fight;
On Earth is not his equal.

2. With might of ours can naught be done,
Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One,
Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this?
Jesus Christ it is.
Of Sabaoth Lord,
And there's none other God;
He holds the field forever.

3. Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us.
We tremble not, we fear no ill,
They shall not overpower us.
This world's prince may still
Scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none,
He's judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.

4. The Word they still shall let remain
Nor any thanks have for it;
He's by our side upon the plain
With His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life,
Goods, fame, child and wife,
Let these all be gone,
They yet have nothing won;
The Kingdom our remaineth.

Hymn #262
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 46
Author: Martin Luther, 1529
Translated by: composite
Titled: "Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott"
Composer: Martin Luther, 1529
Tune: "Ein' feste Burg"
1st Published in: Klug's Gesangbuch
Town: Wittenberg, 1529

Neander: Praise to the Lord, The Almighty

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
LOBE DEN HERREN BWV 137 (1725)
Thomanerchor Leipzig
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
GÜNTHER RAMIN (1898-1956)
rec. 1953

Lobe den Herren, was in mir ist, lobe den Namen!
Alles, was Odem hat, lobe mit Abrahams Samen!
Er ist dein Licht,
Seele, vergiss es ja nicht;
Lobende, schließe mit Amen!

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"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty"

by Joachim Neander, 1650-1680
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878

1. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is Thy Health and Salvation!
Join the full throng:
Wake, harp and psalter and song;
Sound forth in glad adoration!

2. Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Who, as on wings of an eagle, uplifteth, sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How thy desires all have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

3. Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief
Ever hath failed of relief?--
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

4. Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee,
Who from the heavens the streams of His mercy doth send thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
Who with His love doth befriend thee.

5. Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #39
Text: Neh. 9:6
Author: Joachim Neander, 1679
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: "Lobe den Herren, den maechtigen"
Tune: "Lobe den Herren, den"
1st Published in: _Erneuertes Gesangbuch_
Town: Stralsund, 1665