1000 Songs/Sing praise to God who reigns above (Johann Jakob Schutz)

Sing praise to God who reigns above (Johann Jakob Schutz)

1000 Songs

Author
The Hymn “Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above” was written by Johann Jakob Schütz, a German attorney who was also known for writing several hymns. He lived from 1640 to 1690.

Translations/Challenges
The text of “Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above” was originally written in Schütz’s vernacular, German. The originally German text was written by Schütz in 1675. Frances E. Cox, from England, is responsible for the English translation, made in 1864. In 1841, it was first published in a collection called, “Sacred Hymns from the German".

Editor's Choice
See full text here.

Tune
The text of “Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above” has been sung to various tunes. Perhaps the most popular tune to accompany the text is the anonymous Mit Freuden Zart tune. The text has also been sung to one of Martin Luther’s tunes, Nun Freut Euch, composed in 1535.

Editor's Choice
Listen to the tune here.

Author biography
Johann Jacob Schütz was the son of a German lawyer which influenced him to want to study law himself. Schütz grew up in a Lutheran congregation, pastored by Philip Spener.

Author's circumstances
Philip Spener became well known for promoting a revival in the Lutheran church as he noticed it begin to lack the piety that it once had. Schütz, being a part of his congregation, was strongly influenced by the ideas of Spener and held close to the ideas of piety and discipleship as a means of spiritual growth. In surveying the text of “Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above”, the pietistic influence is apparent. The text includes a declaration of the unceasing presence and reigning power of God, even during times of trials, persecution, and suffering.

Historical setting
Historically, the text of this hymn was written well after the onset of the protestant reformation. One of the key ideals that arose out of the reformation was the increased use of scripture for spiritual truth. Martin Luther worked hard to make the bible available to the common people of Germany, so that people could read and understand the scripture for themselves, rather than always looking to the Pope for answers. It is common to see hymn texts from this period to be scripturally sound.