This hymn of Thanksgiving came out of the horrors of the Thirty Years War. It was written by Pastor Martin Rickart in the town of Eilenburg, circa 1637. In that year the plague struck Eilenburg and the pastor had to conduct 4,000 funerals, including his wife’s.
And yet he found it in his soul to write a hymn thanking God for His many blessings.
This is mighty faith indeed.