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Now Thank We All Our God

Martin Rinkart 1636 Tune: Nun Danket (6.7.6.7.6.6.6.6)

A pastor's thanksgiving table grace written in the midst of the Thirty Years' War.

Quick Answer

A pastor's thanksgiving table grace written in the midst of the Thirty Years' War. Written by Martin Rinkart (1636), set to the tune "Nun Danket" by Johann Crüger.

Suggested pairing scripture

Ecclesiasticus 50:22-24

"(Source text from the Apocrypha; the hymn echoes Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 — 'to enjoy the good of all his labour... it is the gift of God.')"

Read Ecclesiasticus 50:22-24 (KJV) aloud as a call to worship before the congregation sings "Now Thank We All Our God." It anchors the hymn in the Word from which it flows.

Read in context

When to sing this

Sing at Thanksgiving, year-end services, and anniversaries that recall God's faithful care.

Lyrics

Stanza 1

Now thank we all our God With heart and hands and voices, Who wondrous things hath done, In whom His world rejoices; Who from our mother's arms Hath blessed us on our way With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today.

Stanza 2

O may this bounteous God Through all our life be near us, With ever joyful hearts And blessed peace to cheer us; And keep us in His grace, And guide us when perplexed, And free us from all ills In this world and the next.

Stanza 3

All praise and thanks to God The Father now be given, The Son, and Him who reigns With them in highest heaven, The one eternal God, Whom earth and heaven adore; For thus it was, is now, And shall be evermore.

History & Background

Lutheran pastor Martin Rinkart wrote the verses around 1636 in Eilenburg, Saxony as a table grace for his children, in the middle of the Thirty Years' War and a deadly plague during which he conducted up to 50 funerals a day. Catherine Winkworth's English translation appeared in 1858. The tune 'Nun danket' by Johann Crüger (1647) is one of the most beloved chorales in the German tradition.

Scripture Behind the Hymn

Ecclesiasticus 50:22-24

"(Source text from the Apocrypha; the hymn echoes Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 — 'to enjoy the good of all his labour... it is the gift of God.')"

Read in context

1 Thessalonians 5:18

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Read in context

Frequently Asked Questions

How could Rinkart write a thanksgiving hymn during war and plague?

He wrote it as a children's table grace at the height of the Thirty Years' War and the 1637 plague, in which he buried thousands — including his own wife. His thanksgiving was an act of defiant faith, not denial of suffering.

Related Hymns

Other hymns that share themes or scripture with Now Thank We All Our God.

We Gather Together

Adrianus Valerius · 1597

For the Beauty of the Earth

Folliott S. Pierpoint · 1864

Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven

Henry Francis Lyte · 1834

Related Reading

Continue your study with related content from across our library:

Now Thank We All Our God

Martin Rinkart • 1636

We Gather Together

Adrianus Valerius • 1597

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Thanksgiving Bible Verses & Gratitude Devotional

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Where to go next

Enjoyed "Now Thank We All Our God"? These pages pair well with it for worship planning.

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