Published in 1680, “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” is a magnificent hymn of praise to God based on Joachim Neander’s German hymn “Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren.”
Neander was a German preacher and one of the finest hymn writers in the German speaking church since the Reformation. In his early years, he lived lust-filled life, as a man apart from God. Then he and a group of friends decided to attend a service conducted by Pastor Under-Eyke with the full intention of mocking both him and the congregation. That night to his surprise, Neander left a changed soul.
In his lifetime Neander wrote 60 hymns, and of this particular hymn he penned at age 30 while dying from tuberculosis. His lyrics show how small we are in this universe and just how big God is, was and will always be. Neander believed that in all situations, whether good or bad, God could always be praised.
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Sources: Faithlife + Kaushik Panchal