David Denicke (30 January 1603 – 1 April 1680) was a German jurist and

hymn writer A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

. Born in

Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, :de:Oberlausitzer Mundart, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic languages, Slavic "''rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto' ...

, he studied law and philosophy and became a lecturer in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

. He traveled from 1625 to 1628 to Holland, England and France. In 1629, he became tutor to the sons of

George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (17 February 1582, in Celle – 12 April 1641, in Hildesheim), ruled as Prince of Calenberg from 1635. George was the sixth son of William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1535–1592) and Dorothea of Denmark ( ...

in Herzberg. In 1647 he published a hymn book ''New Ordentlich Gesang-Buch. Sampt Einer nothwendigen Vorrede u. Erinnerung Von dessen nützlichem Gebrauch'' (New regulated hymnal. With a necessary preface and reminder of its helpful use), and in 1659 the '' Hannoversches Gesangbuch'' (Hanoverian Hymnal).Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: DENICKE, David. In:

Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon The ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (''BBKL'') is a German biographical encyclopedia covering persons related to the history of the church, philosophy and literature, founded 1975 by Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz Friedrich Wilhelm B ...

(BBKL). Vol 1. Bautz, Hamm 1975, ps. 1257–1258. He died in

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

J. S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

used some of his chorale texts in his

cantatas A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of t ...

, a stanza from "Kommt, laßt euch den Herren lehren" in ''Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot'', BWV 39, a stanza from "O Gottes Sohn, Herr Jesu Christ" and one from "Wenn einer alle Ding verstünd" in ''Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben'', BWV 77. He began his cantata ''Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind'', BWV 153, with the first stanza from Denicke's hymn. Some of Denicke's hymns such as "Herr, für dein Wort sei hoch gepreist", "Wir Menschen sind zu dem, was geistlich ist, untüchtig" and "O Vater der Barmherzigkeit" are still sung in Hanoverian churches today. His hymn 1646 " Nun jauchzt dem Herren, alle Welt", a paraphrase of Psalm 100 and a rewording of an earlier work by

Cornelius Becker Cornelius Becker (1561–1604) was an Orthodox Lutheran pastor in Leipzig. He prepared the Becker Psalter, some of which Heinrich Schütz set to music.Jane Stuart Smith & Betty Carlson (1995), ''The Gift of Music: Great Composers and Their Influenc ...

, is part of the Protestant hymnal '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' and the Catholic hymnal ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speaki ...

''.

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* German Protestant hymnwriters Jurists from Saxony 1603 births 1680 deaths People from Zittau 17th-century hymnwriters {{Germany-reli-bio-stub