The Word of God, our heritage

Representative Text

1 The word of God, our heritage,
Our children shall inherit;
May we throughout life's pilgrimage
Obey it and revere it!
'Tis light upon our way,
In death as life our stay;
O God, from age to age,
Preserve our heritage
Throughout all generations.

Source: Concordia: a collection of hymns and spiritual songs #96

Translator: C. Doving

Born: March 21, 1867, Nord­dal­en, Nor­way. Died: Oc­to­ber 2, 1937, Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois. Buried: De­cor­ah, Io­wa.  Go to person page >

Author: Nikolai F. S. Grundtvig

Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig was the son of a pastor, and was born at Udby, in Seeland, in 1783. He studied in the University of Copenhagen from 1800-1805; and, like some other eminent men, did not greatly distinguish himself; his mind was too active and his imagination too versatile to bear the restraint of the academic course. After leaving the university he took to teaching; first in Langeland, then (1808) in Copenhagen. Here he devoted his attention to poetry, literature, and Northern antiquities. In 1810 he became assistant to his father in a parish in Jutland. The sermon he preached at his ordination, on the subject "Why has the Lord's word disappeared from His house," attracted much attention, which is rarely the case with "pro… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: The Word of God, our heritage
Author: Nikolai F. S. Grundtvig
Translator: C. Doving
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

EIN FESTE BURG

The original rhythms of EIN FESTE BURG (see 469) had already reached their familiar isorhythmic (all equal rhythms) shape by the time of Johann S. Bach (PHH 7) in the eighteenth century. The harmonization is taken from his Cantata 80. Many organ and choral works are based on this chorale, including…

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Concordia #96

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