The Lord Hath Helped Me Hitherto

Representative Text

1 The Lord hath helped me hitherto,
His goodness thus revealing.
His mercies ev'ry morn were new
With gifts of grace and healing.
He led me gently on my way,
And I could say each closing day:
The faithful Lord hath helped me.

2 The voice of thanks I gladly raise
In psalms devoutly chanted
And sing the Lord's immortal praise
For all the blessings granted.
Great things the Lord hath done for me,
And so my song shall ever be:
The Lord my God doth help me.

3 Be Thou my Helper evermore,
My Refuge, my High Tower;
Uphold me as in days of yore
And let me feel Thy power.
Preserve to me in ev'ry place
Thy Word, Thy Sacrament and grace;
Be ever near to help me.

Author: Ludämiliä Elisabeth Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Ludämilia Elisabeth, second daughter of Count Ludwig Gunther I. of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, was born April 7, 1640, at the castle of Heidecksburg, near Rudolstadt, and was educated there along with her cousin Emilie Juliane (q.v.). In 1665 she went with her mother to the dowager castle of Friedensburg near Leutenberg; but after her mother's death, in 1670, she returned to Rudolstadt, where, on Dec. 20, 1671, she was formally betrothed to Count Christian Wilhelm of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. At this time measles was raging in the district, and her eldest sister, Sophie Juliane, was seized, and died Feb. 14, 1672. By attending on her, Ludämilia and the youngest sister, Christiane Magdalene, caught the infection, and both died at Rudolstadt o… Go to person page >

Translator: Herman H. Brueckner

Born: March 11, 1866, Grundy County, Iowa (birth name: Herman Heinrich Moritz Brueckner). Died: January 25, 1942, Hebron, Nebraska (funeral held in Beatrice, Nebraska). Buried: St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery, Waverly, Iowa. After ordination in 1888, Brueckner pastored in Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. He later moved to Iowa City, Iowa, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Iowa State University in 1917. In 1926, he joined the faculty of Hebron College in Nebraska. In 1938, Wartburg Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, conferred an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree on him. He retired as professor emeritus from Hebron College in 1941. Sources: Erickson, p. 254 Findagrave, accessed 14 Nov 2016 Hustad, p. 213 Stulken, p.… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: The Lord hath helped me hitherto, His goodness thus revealing
Title: The Lord Hath Helped Me Hitherto
German Title: Bis hieher hat mich Gott gebracht
Translator: Herman H. Brueckner (1925)
Author: Ludämiliä Elisabeth Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1700)
Meter: 8.7.8.7.8.8.7
Language: English
Publication Date: 1930
Copyright: This text may still be under copyright because it was published in 1930.

Tune

ALLEIN GOTT IN DER HÖH

The tune name ALLEIN GOTT derives from the opening words of Decius's rhymed text in High German. The tune was first published in Schumann's Geistliche Lieder. Decius adapted the tune from a tenth-century Easter chant for the Gloria text, beginning at the part accompanying the words "et in terra pax.…

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American Lutheran Hymnal #529

Hymnal for Church, School and Home #d150

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