"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" is a hymn based on Joachim Neander's German hymn "Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren", published in 1680. John Julian, a hymnologist, referred to the German original as "a magnificent hymn of praise to God, perhaps the finest creation of its author." Catherine Winkworth published her English translation of Neander's hymn in 1863. Find the lyrics and story, plus video of this wonderful hymn below!
1 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!
Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near,
join me in glad adoration.
2 Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning;
sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining!
Have you not seen all that is needful has been
sent by his gracious ordaining?
3 Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;
surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
if with his love he befriends you.
4 Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again;
gladly forever adore him.
The Story Behind Praise to the Lord the Almighty
The author of the original German hymn is Joachim Neander (1650-1680), who studied theology in Bremen. Neander was a Calvinist educator who was influenced by the theologians Philipp Spener and Johann Jakob Schütz. Johann was also a hymn-writer. In 1674, Neander became the clergyman of the Latin School at Düsseldorf, a Calvinist German Reformed institution.
Catherine Winkworth introduced this hymn to the English-speaking world nearly three centuries later. Winkworth, the daughter of Henry Winkworth, was born in London in 1827, and died close to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1878. She was one of the most prominent 19th-century translators of German hymns. Most hymnals will include at least five or six of her translations.
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