"" ("Keep us, Lord, faithful to your word" or "Lord, keep us in Thy Word and Work") is a

Lutheran hymn Martin Luther was a great enthusiast for music, and this is why it forms a large part of Lutheranism, Lutheran services; in particular, Luther admired the composers Josquin des Prez and Ludwig Senfl and wanted singing in the church to move away ...

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

with additional stanzas by

Justus Jonas Justus Jonas, the Elder (5 June 1493 – 9 October 1555), or simply Justus Jonas, was a German Lutheran theologian and reformer. He was a Jurist, Professor and Hymn writer. He is best known for his translations of the writings of Martin Luther ...

, first published in 1542. It was used in several musical settings, including the

chorale cantata A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the Germany, German Baroque music, Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chor ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

, ''Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort'', BWV 126.

History

Luther wrote the hymn probably in 1541 when a prayer service was held in

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

against the perceived danger of the Turks when Ferdinand of Austria lost most of Hungary to the Ottoman Empire at Siege of Buda. The second line of the first verse reads "und steur' des Papsts und Türken Mord" (And control the murder by the Pope and Turks). Luther may have contributed the hymn for a boys' choir. It was published as a

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

in 1542. In Klug's hymnal ''Geistliche Lieder'' it was titled a "A hymn for the children to sing against the two arch-enemies of Christ, and His Holy Church, the Pope and the Turks" ("Ein Kinderlied, zu singen wider die zween Ertzfeinde Christi und seiner heiligen Kirchen, den Bapst und Türcken"). Luther wrote three stanzas, each one related to a person of the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

: "Erhalt uns, Herr", "Beweis dein Macht, Herr Jesu Christ", and "Gott, Heilger Geist". More stanzas were added in later editions, most prominently by

, who wrote probably in 1545, referring to the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

, two more stanzas, "Ihr Anschläg, Herr, zu nichte mach" and "So werden wir erkennen doch". These five stanzas appeared in Breslau in 1546 as No. 723 in Burg's hymnal. In hymnals at the time of

, "" this combination of five stanzas was often continued by Luther's German version of (Give peace, Lord, 1531), and a second stanza to it, as follows: # # # # # # # The sixth stanza is a prayer for peace, beginning "Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich, Herr Gott, zu unsern Zeiten" (Grant us peace graciously, Lord God, in our time). The seventh stanza paraphrases , beginning "Gib unsern Fürsten und all'r Obrigkeit Fried und gut Regiment" (Give our rulers and all lawgivers peace and good government). In modern editions of "", the line against the Pope and the Turks was replaced by a more neutral wording against God's enemies in general. In the current Protestant hymnal ''

Evangelisches Gesangbuch ''Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (''EG''; , "Protestantism, Protestant song book") is the current hymnal of German-language congregations in Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, Austria, and Luxembourg, which was introduced from 1993 and 1996, succeeding ...

'' it is EG 193.

Melody and musical settings

Johann Walter adapted the melody, Zahn No. 350, from Da pacem Domine. It appeared first in Klug's hymnal in 1543 and resembles that of "Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich", derived from the same source. Balthasar Resinarius wrote two choral settings in 1544.

Dieterich Buxtehude Dieterich Buxtehude (; born Diderich Hansen Buxtehude, ; – 9 May 1707) was a Danish composer and organist of the Baroque music, Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal ...

composed a cantata, BuxWV 27, on Luther's five stanzas. Bach based in 1725 his

''Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort'', BWV 126, on the seven combined stanzas, retaining the text of stanzas 1, 3, 6 and 7 unchanged. Ernst Pepping composed a

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

for men's chorus

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

in 1957. Chorale preludes were written by

Johann Pachelbel Johann Pachelbel (also Bachelbel; baptised – buried 9 March 1706) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secularity, secular music, and ...

Georg Böhm Georg Böhm (2 September 1661 – 18 May 1733) was a German Baroque organist and composer. He is notable for his development of the chorale partita and for his influence on the young J. S. Bach. Life Böhm was born in 1661 in Hohenkirchen. ...

, and Hugo Distler, among others.

Mauricio Kagel Mauricio Raúl Kagel (; 24 December 1931 – 18 September 2008) was an Argentine-German composer and academic teacher. Life and career Early life and education Mauricio Raúl Kagel was born on 24 December 1931 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, into an ...

quoted the hymn in his oratorio '' Sankt-Bach-Passion'' telling Bach's life, composed for the tricentenary of Bach's birth in 1985.

Literature

* Martin Luther, Vom Kriege wider die Türken, WA, 30 II, pp 107–143 * Albert Friedrich Wilhelm Fischer: Kirchenlieder-Lexicon. Gotha 1878 * Johannes Kulp (ed. Arno Büchner and Siegfried Fornaçon): Die Lieder unserer Kirche. Eine Handreichung zum Evangelischen Kirchengesangbuch; Handbuch zum Evangelischen Kirchengesangbuch. Sonderband; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprechjt 1958; p. 230–233 * Otto Schlißke, Handbuch der Lutherlieder. Göttingen 1948, p. 124-137

References

External links

*
Hanns Leiner: Die Zuchtrute Gottes. Luthers Theologie – Teil 27: Luther und die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Islam, Sonntagsblatt 2008

bach-chorales.com {{Hymn tunes by Zahn number 16th-century hymns in German Hymn tunes Hymns by Martin Luther 1541 works

History

Melody and musical settings

See also

Literature

References

External links