'날 구원하신 주 감사' 송 스토리 Thanks to God for My Redeemer

출처: https://hymnstudiesblog.wordpress.com/2020/08/12/784198/

Thanks to God for My Redeemer

 

(picture of August Storm)

“THANKS TO GOD FOR MY REDEEMER”

“In every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess. 5:18).

INTRO.:  A hymn which exhorts us to give thanks in everything is “Thanks to God for My Redeemer.”  The text was written in Swedish by August Ludvig Storm, who was born on Oct. 23, 1862, in Motala, Sweden.   Spending most of his life in Stockholm, Sweden, where he attended elementary, trade, and agricultural schools and worked as an office clerk, he was converted under the ministry of the Salvation Army, and in 1880 joined the Corps.  This song was first published in an 1891 issue of the Swedish Salvation Army paper Strids-Ropet (“The War Cry“), and later in the Swedish Salvation Army hymnbook.  Beginning in 1892, Storm served as the finance secretary at the Swedish Army headquarters, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel and becoming known as both a powerful preacher and a gifted hymn writer.  Disabled in 1899 as a result of a crippling back disorder, he continued to carry out his duties until his death at Stockholm on July 1, 1914.  The tune (Tak O Gud) was composed by Johannes Alfred Hultman (1861-1942).  Born at Arnanas in Jonkoing, Sweden, he emigrated with his family to the United States in 1869, settling on a farm at Essex, IA.

Becoming a preacher, Hultman moved to Fridhem, NE, where he taught school and worked with a church from 1879 to 1881. After that, he studied at the Chicago Atheneum and served as music director of the Douglas Park Covenant Church in Chicago, IL.  From 1896 to 1897 he was on the music staff at North Park College, also in Chicago, then moved to Worcester, MA, where he was minister with the Salem Square Church and founded Hultman Conservatory of Music.  In 1909 he returned to Sweden, working as a religious singer in both Sweden and America.  His works include the American hymnbook Cymbalen in 1885, the Swedish hymnbooks Jubelklangen in 1895 and Solskenssanger in 1910, the latter of which included this melody, Nya Solskensstralar in 1927, and Sions Basun, the first official hymnbook of the Evangelical Mission Covenant Church.  In all, he provided tunes for some 500 hymns before his death in Los Angeles, CA.  The English translation of “Thanks to God” was made by Carl Ernest Backstrom (1901-1984).  Born in Stockholm, Sweden, he also emigrated with his family to America in 1907.  A member of the Swedish Pilgrim Covenant Church in Brooklyn, NY, he worked at the Chase National Bank for four years after high school, then studied at the University of Pennsylvania, and finally graduated from the North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL, in 1926.

After doing graduate work at the University of Chicago, Backstrom became a minister in 1928, and served Mission Covenant congregations in Lincoln, NE; Lanyon, IA; and Youngstown, OH.  The translation was published in The Covenant Hymnal of 1931.  Backstrom later transferred to the Presbyterian Church.  Eventually, he retired in Chautauqua, NY, and died in Sebring, FL.  Among hymnbooks published by members of the Lord’s church during the twentieth century for use in churches of Christ, the song may be found in the 1994 Songs of Faith and Praise edited by Alton H. Howard.  Among other hymnbooks in my collection, I have seen it in the 1951 Inspiring Hymns, the 1968 Great Hymns of the Faith, the 1974 Living Praise Hymnal, and the 1979 Praise: Our Songs and Hymns, all published by Singspiration Music Inc. (the last three having a free translation and tune arrangement by Norman Johnson); the 1972 Living Hymns published by Encore Publications Inc.; the 1972 Soul Stirring Songs and Hymns published by Sword of the Lord Publishers; the 1974 Hymns of the Living Church published by Hope Publishing Company; and the 1976 New Church Hymnal published by Lexicon Music Inc.

The song expresses thanksgiving to God for just about everything imaginable.

 

I. Stanza 1 gives thanks for our Redeemer and His blessings

“Thanks to God for my Redeemer, Thanks for all Thou dost provide!

Thanks for times now but a memory, Thanks for Jesus by my side!

Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime, Thanks for dark and dreary fall!

Thanks for tears by now forgotten, Thanks for peace within my soul!”

1. We can be thankful that as disciples of Christ, our Lord has promised to be by our side: Matt. 28:20
2. We can be thankful that He provides for our physical needs with the changes of the seasons: Gen. 8:22
3. But we can be most thankful that He offers peace within our souls: Phil. 4:6-7

II. Stanza 2 gives thanks for prayers answered which provide comfort and grace

“Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered, Thanks for what Thou dost deny!

Thanks for storms that I have weathered, Thanks for all Thou dost supply!

Thanks for pain and thanks for pleasure, Thanks for comfort in despair!

Thanks for grace that none can measure, Thanks for love beyond compare!”

1. We can be thankful that God answers prayers, even when it is to deny something that we might ask: 2 Cor. 12:7-10
2. We can be thankful that prayer is one of the ways that God offers comfort and consolation through the times of storm, pain, and despair in life: 2 Cor. 1:3-7
3. And we can be thankful for the grace that He offers to help us in time of need: Heb. 4:14-16

 

III. Stanza 3 gives thanks for both the good and the bad that affect life here and in eternity

“Thanks for roses by the wayside, Thanks for thorns their stems contain!

Thanks for homes and thanks for fireside, Thanks for hope, that sweet refrain!

Thanks for joy and thanks for sorrow, Thanks for heavenly peace with Thee!

Thanks for hope in the tomorrow, Thanks through all eternity!”

We can be thankful for the home and fireside that are the result of our family relationships: Gen. 2:24
We can be thankful for the roses and other things that bring joy to our lives: Phil. 4:4
But we can be thankful above all for the hope of tomorrow that will last through all eternity: 1 Pet. 1:3-5
CONCL.:  In Sing with Understanding, James P. Davies notes that Storm gave thanks for many of the negative aspects of life–tears, storms, and pain–and that the author had himself experienced a partial paralysis from the age of 37.  Our hymnbooks have contained very few songs that are primarily given over to thanksgiving, so I can remember when I saw this hymn for the first time and how impressed I was with its spirit of gratitude.  I also recall the first time, when as a young, single preacher, I was far enough away from my family that I could not be with them on Thanksgiving, and I thought very much about this hymn to remind me that in spite of my loneliness on that occasion I still had many things for which I could be thankful.  God has blessed us with so many wonderful gifts in this life, but it is interesting that the very first thought of the song is to remind me to give “Thanks to God for My Redeemer.”