Holy God, We Praise Thy Name

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

The hymn in a 1901 Protestant hymnal

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. It is used as the concluding hymn during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Catholic Church following the singing of the Tantum Ergo and the recitation of the Laudes Divinae.

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

History

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

Its original version from 1771, which was later amended by Ignaz Franz, consisted of 12 verses; however, the edit proved unpopular and the first version persisted, albeit with verses 5 and 6 combined. The melody first appeared in the Allgemeines Katholisches Gesangbuch (Vienna, c. 1774).[2] A typical setting of the hymn is as follows:[3]

<< << \new Staff { \clef treble \time 3/4 \key f \major \set Staff.midiInstrument = "church organ" \tempo 4 = 100 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \override Score.BarNumber #'transparent = ##t \relative c' \repeat unfold 2 { << { f2 f4 | f( e) f | g( a) g | f2. | a2 a4 | a( g) a | c( bes) a | a g r \bar"||" \break } \\ { c,2 c4 | c2 c4 | d( c) c | a2. | f'2 f4 | f( e) f | g2 f4 | f e r } >> } \relative c'' << { g2 a4 | bes( a) g | a2 bes4 | c2. | d2 d4 | c( bes) a | bes( a) g | f2. \bar"|." } \\ { e2 f4 | d2 e4 | f2 f4 | e2. | f2 f4 | e2 f4 | f2 e4 | f2. } >> } \new Lyrics \lyricmode { \set stanza = #"1. " Gro2 -- ßer4 Gott,2 wir4 lo2 -- ben4 dich;2. Herr,2 wir4 prei2 -- sen4 dei2 -- ne4 Stär -- ke. "" Vor2 dir4 neigt2 die4 Er2 -- de4 sich2. und2 be4 -- wun2 -- dert4 dei2 -- ne4 Wer -- ke. "" Wie2 du4 warst2 vor4 al2 -- ler4 Zeit,2. so2 bleibst4 du2 in4 E2 -- wig4 -- keit.2 } \new Staff { \clef bass \key f \major \set Staff.midiInstrument = "church organ" \relative c' \repeat unfold 2 { << { a2 a4 | a( g) f | f2 e4 | f2. | c'2 c4 | c2 c4 | c2 c4 | c c r } \\ { f,2 f4 | f( c) a | bes( c) c | f,2. | f'2 f4 | f( c) f | e2 f4 | c' c, r } >> } \relative c' << { c2 c4 | bes2 c4 | c2 bes4 | c2. | bes2 bes4 | g2 f4 | d'( c) c | a2. } \\ { c,2 a4 | g2 c4 | f4( e) d | c2. | bes2 bes4 | c2 d4 | bes( c) c | f2. } >> } >> >> \layout { indent = #0 } \midi { \tempo 2. = 40 }

On the initiative of Johann Gottfried Schicht, the hymn also entered 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 final 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 altered to fit Nazi ideology.[5]

The content of the song can be divided into three parts: a hymnic part praising 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 loosely translated as "Ciebie, Boże wielbimy", replacing "Ciebie Boga wysławiamy" by Franciszek Wesołowski, which is the officially sanctioned Polish version of the Te Deum (also called the "Millenial Te Deum") by the Polish Episcopal Conference, and widespread in other regions of the country. It is usually performed in 4/4 metre instead of the 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 sceptre 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: Goßer 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. Michael Fischer, Großer Gott wir loben dich. (PDF; 2,5 MB) (German) detailed comments about the history of the hymn (February 2006 / July 2007), pp. 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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