God's Word Is Our Great Heritage

God's Word Is Our Great Heritage, is the title of a popular hymn sung in many churches, especially the Lutheran Church. This hymn was inspired by Psalm 16:6: "...yea, I have a goodly heritage." KJV^[1]

History

God's Word Is Our Great Heritage was written in 1817 by N. F. S. Grundtvig, a Danish Lutheran Pastor. Gruntvig wrote the hymn as the 5th verse to Martin Luther's Ein feste Burg . The hymn was translated into English by Ole Gulbrand Belsheim in 1909. In 1916, Friedrich Otto Reuter, then a professor at Dr. Martin Luther College, put the hymn to a tune of his creation. Many hymnals use this arrangement, including The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Service Book (LCMS) and Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal (WELS), though the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (ELS) has retained the original melody to the hymn. The hymn is also the school hymn of Michigan Lutheran Seminary. Click here to view Michigan Lutheran Seminary's Concert Choir sing this hymn.

Text

Original Danish:

Guds ord det er vort arvegods,
det skal vort afkoms være;
Gud, giv os i vor grav den ros,
vi holdt det højt i ære!
Det er vor hjælp i nød,
vor trøst i liv og død,
o Gud, ihvor det går,
lad dog, mens verden står,
det i vor æt nedarves!

English:

God’s Word is our great heritage
And shall be ours forever;
To spread its light from age to age
Shall be our chief endeavor.
Through life it guides our way,
In death it is our stay.
Lord, grant while worlds endure,
We keep its teachings pure
Throughout all generations.

References

↑ The Holy Bible (King James Version). London: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

External links

Lutheran hymnody

Hymns	List of hymns by Martin Luther "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" "Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein" "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" "Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir" "Christ lag in Todesbanden" "Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam" "Du meine Seele singe" "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her" "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" "Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud" "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" "God's Word Is Our Great Heritage" "Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn" "Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr" "Herzlich tut mich verlangen" "Herzliebster Jesu" "Herr Gott, dich loben wir" "Ich singe dir mit Herz und Mund" "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand" "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns den Gotteszorn wandt" "Jesus Loves Me" "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott" "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin" "Mitten wir im Leben sind" "Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist" "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren" "Now Thank We All Our God" "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" "O Welt, sieh hier dein Leben" Passion Hymns "Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn" "Such, wer da will, ein ander Ziel" "Valet will ich dir geben" "Vater unser im Himmelreich" "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" "Warum sollt ich mich denn grämen" "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält" "Was willst du dich betrüben"

Hymnals	First Lutheran hymnal (1524) Erfurt Enchiridion (1524) Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn (1524) Praxis pietatis melica (1640/47) Evangelisches Gesangbuch Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary Evangelical Lutheran Worship Hymns of Zion Lutheran Book of Worship Lutheran Hymnal Lutheran Hymnal with Supplement Christian Worship Hymnal Lutheran Service Book Lutheran Worship Service Book and Hymnal Lutheran hymnal (Finland)

Topics	Cantata Chorale Chorale cantata (Bach) Chorale prelude Hymn of the day Passion music

People	Johann Sebastian Bach Dieterich Buxtehude Elisabeth Cruciger Johann Crüger Simon Dach Paul Gerhardt Bartholomäus Gesius N. F. S. Grundtvig Claus Harms Johann Heermann Valerius Herberger Nikolaus Herman Sebald Heyden Justus Jonas Balthasar Kindermann Martin Luther Hemminki of Masku Felix Mendelssohn Philipp Nicolai Johann Pachelbel Hallgrímur Pétursson Michael Praetorius Sigfrid Karg-Elert Christian Heinrich Postel Martin Rinkart Johann von Rist Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer Carl Schalk Cyriakus Schneegass Heinrich Schütz Paul Speratus Melchior Teschner N. Samuel of Tranquebar Jaroslav Vajda Johann Walter Michael Weiße Catherine Winkworth Johannes Zahn

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/26/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.