Tags

, , , , , ,

“We Gather Together”

“We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known.

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;

So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender will be.

Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;

Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!”
(Theodore Baker translation, 1894)


“We Gather Together” https://youtu.be/NcH_bvZULmY

US Constitution of the United States
First Amendment
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/

“We Gather Together” is a Christian hymn of Dutch origin written in 1597 by Adrianus Valerius as “Wilt heden nu treden” to celebrate the Dutch victory over Spanish forces in the Battle of Turnhout.

At the time the hymn was written, the Dutch were engaged in a war of national liberation against the Catholic King Philip II of Spain. “Wilt heden nu treden,” “We gather together” resonated because under the Spanish King, Dutch Protestants were forbidden to gather for worship. The hymn first appeared in print in a 1626 collection of Dutch folk and patriotic songs, Nederlandtsche Gedenck-Clanck by Adriaen Valerius.

The popularity of the hymn increased during World War II, when “the wicked oppressing” were understood to include Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy.

It was originally set to a Dutch folk tune. In the United States, it is popularly associated with Thanksgiving Day and is often sung at family meals and at religious services on that day.”

Excerpts-reorganized with small changes from (CC-BY) the original here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Gather_Together
Much of the Wikipedia article appears to have been based this source, though it’s not credited and the author is only partially credited: “History of Hymns: “We Gather Together””, byy Dr. C. Michael Hawn, who “is distinguished professor of church music at Perkins School of Theology”, and “director of the seminary’s sacred music program” https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-we-gather-together1 The Wikipedia article appears to be based on a WSJ article, which we are unable to access, but which appears to have used the article by Dr. Hawn. He seems to have forgotten Fascist Italy, so we added it. Italy became fascist under Mussolini long before Germany became fascist under Hitler. Mussolini inspired Hitler. Mussolini marched on Rome (Oct. 1922) prior to Hitler’s attempted beer hall putsch (Nov 1923) in Munich’s Hofbrauhaus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States