Holy God, We Praise Thy Name

"Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" (original German: "Großer Gott, wir loben dich") is a Christian hymn.

Protestant hymnal, 1901

The German Catholic priest Ignaz Franz wrote the original German lyrics in 1771 as a paraphrase of the Te Deum, a Christian hymn in Latin from the 4th century. It became an inherent part of major Christian ceremonial occasions, mainly as a conclusion song. Due to its memorable melody and theme it is one of the most popular hymns and prevalent in German-speaking communities.

As a result of the German emigration in the 19th century, the song became known in the United States and was translated to English by Clarence A. Walworth in 1858, except verse 7 (translated by Hugh T. Henry), which accounted for its wide spreading around the country.

History of the hymn

The first printing of the hymn was made in Vienna 1776, where it became part of the Catholic hymnal (Katholisches Gesangsbuch) upon the order of Her Apostolic Majesty Maria Theresia.[1] Since then, different varieties in the German lyrics were developed, of which two are still in use: Johann Gottfried Schicht's Allgemeines Choralbuch (1819) and Heinrich Bone's Cantate (Mainz 1852)

The lyrics paraphrase the Latin Te Deum. Its original version of 1771, which was later amended by Ignaz Franz, consisted of 12 verses; however, the amendment never gained acceptance and so the first version (altered by consolidating the 5th and 6th verse) persisted. The melody first appears in the Allgemeines Katholisches Gesangbuch (Vienna, c. 1774).[2] A typical setting of the hymn goes as follows:[3]

On the initiative of Johann Gottfried Schicht, the hymn also became part of Protestant hymnals, but was widely neglected for a long time due to its perceived status as a "spiritual folksong" in the Age of Enlightenment. Only in the 20th century was it fully accepted by Protestants, though shorter and altered versions are often sung (occasionally two verses were completely replaced by the New Apostolic Church).[4]

The hymn became also part of military hymnbooks where it was considered as a song of thanksgiving. The military hymnal of the Evangelical Church of 1939 added a conclusion verse which praised the Führer Adolf Hitler. The hymnal of the so-called "German Christians" (1941) was named after the song and contained a version which was "purified of Jewish elements" and adjusted to the Nazi ideology.[5]

The content of the song can be divided into three parts: a hymnic part about God the Father (verses 1-4 in the English version, 1-5 in the German), a similar one about God the Son (verses 5-7 in English, 6-8 in German), and a series of petitions (verse 8 in English, 9-11 in German).

In the region of Upper Silesia in Poland, this hymn is performed in loose Polish translation ("Ciebie, Boże wielbimy"), replacing "Ciebie Boga wysławiamy" by Franciszek Wesołowski which is officially sanctioned as a Polish version of Te Deum (so called "Millenial Te Deum") by Polish Episcopal Conference, and widespread in other regions of the country. It is usually performed in 4/4 metre instead of traditional 3/4 tempus perfectum.

Text
Original German text[6]English translation

1. Großer Gott, wir loben dich,
Herr, wir preisen deine Stärke.
Vor dir neigt die Erde sich
und bewundert deine Werke.
Wie du warst vor aller Zeit,
so bleibst du in Ewigkeit.

2. Alles, was dich preisen kann,
Cherubim und Seraphinen
stimmen dir ein Loblied an,
alle Engel, die dir dienen,
rufen dir stets ohne Ruh’:
Heilig, heilig, heilig! zu.

4. Der Apostel heil'ger Chor,
der Propheten hehre Menge,
schickt zu deinem Thron empor
neue Lob- und Dankgesänge;
der Blutzeugen lichte Schar
lobt und preist dich immerdar.

5. Dich Gott Vater auf dem Thron,
loben Große, loben Kleine.
Deinem eingeborenen Sohn
singt die heilige Gemeinde,
und sie ehrt den Heil'gen Geist,
der uns seinen Trost erweist.

6. Du, des Vaters ew'ger Sohn,
hast die Menschheit angenommen,
bist vom hohen Himmelsthron
zu uns auf die Welt gekommen,
hast uns Gottes Gnad' gebracht,
von der Sünd’ uns frei gemacht.

7. Durch dich steht das Himmelstor
allen, welche glauben offen.
Du stellst uns dem Vater vor,
wenn wir kindlich auf dich hoffen;
du wirst kommen zum Gericht,
wenn der letzte Tag anbricht.

8. Herr steh’ deinen Dienern bei,
welche dich in Demut bitten.
Kauftest durch dein Blut uns frei,
hast den Tod für uns gelitten;
nimm uns nach vollbrachtem Lauf
zu dir in den Himmel auf.

11. Herr, erbarm, erbarme dich.
Lass uns deine Güte schauen;
deine Treue zeige sich,
wie wir fest auf dich vertrauen.
Auf dich hoffen wir allein;
lass uns nicht verloren sein.[7]

1. Holy God, we praise Thy Name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee!
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in Heaven above adore Thee;
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.

2. Hark! the loud celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising,
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising;
Fill the heavens with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord.

3. Lo! the apostolic train
Join the sacred Name to hallow;
Prophets swell the loud refrain,
And the white robed martyrs follow;
And from morn to set of sun,
Through the Church the song goes on.

4. Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit, Three we name Thee;
While in essence only One,
Undivided God we claim Thee;
And adoring bend the knee,
While we own the mystery.

5. Thou art King of glory, Christ:
Son of God, yet born of Mary;
For us sinners sacrificed,
And to death a tributary:
First to break the bars of death,
Thou hast opened Heaven to faith.

6. From Thy high celestial home,
Judge of all, again returning,
We believe that Thou shalt come
In the dreaded doomsday morning;
When Thy voice shall shake the earth,
And the startled dead come forth.

7. Therefore do we pray Thee, Lord:
Help Thy servants whom, redeeming
By Thy precious blood out-poured,
Thou hast saved from Satan’s scheming.
Give to them eternal rest
In the glory of the blest.

8. Spare Thy people, Lord, we pray,
By a thousand snares surrounded:
Keep us without sin today,
Never let us be confounded.
Lo, I put my trust in Thee;
Never, Lord, abandon me.

In Switzerland there also exists a pacifistic version which was composed after World War I by Karl von Greyerz and is destined for the Swiss Day of Repentance and Prayer, an interdenominational church holiday in Switzerland.

References
  1. (German) Katholisches Gesangbuch, auf allerhöchsten Befehl Ihrer k. k. apostolischen Majestät Marien Theresiens zum Druck befördert (Verlag der Katechetischen Bibliothek, Wien 1776)
  2. "Tune: GROSSER GOTT (11171)". Hymnary.org.
  3. The Worshipbook: Services and Hymns. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1972. p. 420.
  4. apwiki.de – Großer Gott, wir loben dich (German) lyrics version of the New Apostolic Church
  5. Vgl. Michael Fischer, Großer Gott wir loben dich. (PDF; 2,5 MB) (German) detailed comments about the history of the hymn (February 2006 / July 2007), page 13-17: Te deum and its German version under Nazi and militaristic influence
  6. Only the stanzas corresponding to the English translation are shown. The original has, as indicated, 11 stanzas.
  7. There exist several variants for the last stanza.
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