Praise to the Lord, the Almighty: Joachim Neander’s hymn and the valley that took his name

The young teacher liked to walk in a valley near Düsseldorf, where he wrote hymns among the rocks and streams. Joachim Neander died in 1680, aged just thirty, but the valley later took his name: the Neandertal. When workers found ancient bones there in the nineteenth century, the world came to know “Neanderthal man”. Fewer people know that the valley’s namesake also wrote one of the most joyful hymns in the Christian church.

Joachim Neander and Düsseldorf

Neander was born in Bremen in 1650. As a student, he lived a careless life until a sermon by the preacher Theodor Undereyck changed him. He became a committed believer and a teacher. He became head of a Reformed Latin school in Düsseldorf. His enthusiasm for prayer meetings and his independent spirit led to conflict with church authorities, and he was suspended for a time.

The valley and Lobe den Herren

During these years, he often walked in the nearby Düssel valley, where he held gatherings and wrote hymns. Later, the valley came to be called the Neandertal in his honour.

He returned to Bremen as an assistant preacher at St Martin’s Church. Not long afterwards, he fell ill, probably with tuberculosis, and died in 1680. The hymn was published in German in the year of his death as “Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren”. It drew on Psalms 103 and 150.

Winkworth's words and the tune

In 1863, the English translator Catherine Winkworth produced the English version, beginning “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation”. Her translations brought many German hymns into English worship. The hymn calls on the soul to praise God, “for He is thy health and salvation”, and invites everyone to “join me in glad adoration”. Its verses speak of God’s care and protection.

The tune, known as Lobe den Herren, has a strong, festive rhythm that suits large congregations and organs.

Bach, today and a short life

Johann Sebastian Bach used the melody in his cantatas, and it has appeared in many arrangements since. The hymn is sung at weddings, festivals and thanksgiving services across denominations. Mission churches in West Africa, including those founded by German missionaries, brought the hymn to congregations in Ghana and elsewhere. Neander wrote around sixty hymns before his early death.

Neander lived only thirty years, and a valley near Düsseldorf carries his name. His hymn travelled far further than the bones found there, and congregations on every continent still sing it.