Scripture Verse

 Mar­tin Rink­art, cir­ca 1636 (Nun dan­ket al­le Gott). First ap­peared in Prax­is Pi­e­ta­tis Me­li­ca, by Jo­hann Crü­ger (Ber­lin: 1647). Trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Ca­the­rine Wink­worth, Ly­ra Ger­man­i­ca (Lon­don & New York: George Newnes & Charles Scrib­ner’s Sons, 1855), pag­es 318–19.

Rinkart, a Lu­ther­an min­is­ter, was in Eil­en­burg, Sax­o­ny, dur­ing the Thir­ty Years’ War. The walled city of Eil­en­burg saw a stea­dy stream of re­fu­gees pour through its gates. The Swed­ish ar­my sur­round­ed the ci­ty, and fam­ine and plague were ram­pant.

Eight hun­dred homes were de­stroyed, and the peo­ple be­gan to per­ish. There was a tre­me­ndous strain on the pas­tors, who had to con­duct doz­ens of fun­er­als dai­ly. Fin­al­ly, the pas­tors, too, suc­cumbed, and Rink­art was the on­ly one left—do­ing 50 fun­er­als a day.

When the Swedes de­mand­ed a huge ran­som, Rink­art left the safe­ty of the walls to plead for mer­cy. The Swed­ish com­mand­er, im­pressed by his faith and cour­age, low­ered his de­mands.

Soon af­ter, the Thir­ty Years’ War end­ed, and Rink­art wrote this hymn for a grand cel­e­bra­tion ser­vice.

It is a tes­ta­ment to his faith that, af­ter such mis­e­ry, he was able to write a hymn of abid­ing trust and gra­ti­tude tow­ard God.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,

Who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices;

Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way

With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.