We Gather Together
Encyclopedia
"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
. 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.
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 patriotic songs, "Nederlandtsch Gedencklanck."
The hymn is customarily performed to a tune known as "Kremser", from Eduard Kremser's 1877 score arrangement and lyric translation of Wilt Heden Nu Treden into Latin and German. The modern English text was written by Theodore Baker
in 1894.
According to the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada
, "We Gather Together's" first appearance in an American hymnal was in 1903. It had retained popularity among the Dutch, and when the Dutch Reformed Church in North America decided in 1937 to abandon the policy that they had brought with them to the New World in the 17th century of singing only psalms and add hymns to the church service, "We Gather Together" was chosen as the first hymn in the first hymnal.
The hymn steadily gained popularity, especially in services of Thanksgiving on such occasions as town and college centennial celebrations. According to Carl Daw
, executive director of the Hymn Society, the "big break" came in 1935 when it was included in the national hymnal of the Methodist-Episcopal Church.
According to Michael Hawn, professor of sacred music at Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology, "by World War I, we started to see ourselves in this hymn," and the popularity increased during World War II, when "the wicked oppressing" were understood to include Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
This hymn is often sung at American churches the day before Thanksgiving.
This hymn was sung at the Opening of the Funeral Mass for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
.
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Valerius, 1626
Dutch original
Wilt heden nu treden voor God den Heere,
Hem boven al loven van herten seer,
End' maken groot zijns lieven namens eere,
Die daar nu onsen vijan slaat terneer.
Ter eeren ons Heeren wilt al u dagen
Dit wonder bijzonder gedencken toch;
Maekt u, o mensch, voor God steets wel te dragen,
Doet ieder recht en wacht u voor bedrog.
D'arglosen, den boosen om yet te vinden,
Loopt driesschen, en briesschen gelyck een leeu,
Soeckende wie hy wreedelyck verslinden,
Of geven mocht een doodelycke preeu.
Bidt, waket end' maket dat g'in bekoring,
End' 't quade met schade toch niet en valt.
U vroomheyt brengt den vijant tot verstoring,
Al waer sijn rijck nog eens so sterck bewalt.
Theodore Baker, 1894
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!
Julia Bulkley Cady (1882-1963), 1902
We praise thee, O God, our Redeemer, Creator,
In grateful devotion out tribute we bring.
We lay it before the, we kneel and adore thee,
We bless thy holy name, glad praises we sing.
We worship thee, God of our fathers, we bless thee;
[... complete 3 stanza]
Herman Brueckner (1866-1942), 1918?
Translation of Joseph Weyl, 1877
We gather to worship Jehovah, the righteous,
Who verily sitteth in Jugdment servere;
The good by the evil shall not overpowered,
The Lord will prevent it, our prayer He will hear.
Amid the great conflict He ever stood by us,
[... comlete 3 stanza] (There are also mixed versions with Baker)
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
of Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
origin written in 1597 by Adrianus Valerius
Adrianus Valerius
Adrianus Valerius, also known as Adriaen Valerius, was a Dutch poet and composer, known mostly for his poems dealing with peasant and burgher life and those dealing with the Dutch War of Independence, assembled in his great work Nederlandtsche gedenck-clanck.-Life:Valerius was born about 1575 in...
as "Wilt Heden Nu Treden" to celebrate the Dutch victory over Spanish forces in the Battle of Turnhout
Battle of Turnhout (1597)
The Battle of Turnhout, 1597 occurred during the Eighty Years' War where Turnhout was in the border area between the Northern and Southern Netherlands. Though the town had not been walled, Turnhout was an important strategic town...
. It was originally set to a Dutch folk tune. In the United States, it is popularly associated with Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
and is often sung at family meals and at religious services on that day.
- We gather together to ask our Lord's blessing...
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 patriotic songs, "Nederlandtsch Gedencklanck."
The hymn is customarily performed to a tune known as "Kremser", from Eduard Kremser's 1877 score arrangement and lyric translation of Wilt Heden Nu Treden into Latin and German. The modern English text was written by Theodore Baker
Theodore Baker
Theodore Baker was an American musicologist.Born in New York, Baker studied business but turned to music as a career, becoming an organist in Concord, Massachusetts. In 1874 he moved to Germany and obtained his doctorate at Leipzig in 1882...
in 1894.
According to the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada
Hymn Society in the United States and Canada
The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, founded in 1922 as The Hymn Society of America and renamed in 1991, is a not-for-profit organization for those people who:* believe that congregational song is an integral component of worship...
, "We Gather Together's" first appearance in an American hymnal was in 1903. It had retained popularity among the Dutch, and when the Dutch Reformed Church in North America decided in 1937 to abandon the policy that they had brought with them to the New World in the 17th century of singing only psalms and add hymns to the church service, "We Gather Together" was chosen as the first hymn in the first hymnal.
The hymn steadily gained popularity, especially in services of Thanksgiving on such occasions as town and college centennial celebrations. According to Carl Daw
Carl P. Daw Jr.
The Reverend Carl P. Daw, Jr. M.A., M.Div., Ph.D. is an American Episcopal priest. Now Curator of Hymnological Collections and Adjunct Professor of Hymnology at Boston University School of Theology, he previously was Executive Director of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada from...
, executive director of the Hymn Society, the "big break" came in 1935 when it was included in the national hymnal of the Methodist-Episcopal Church.
According to Michael Hawn, professor of sacred music at Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology, "by World War I, we started to see ourselves in this hymn," and the popularity increased during World War II, when "the wicked oppressing" were understood to include Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
This hymn is often sung at American churches the day before Thanksgiving.
This hymn was sung at the Opening of the Funeral Mass for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
.
Lyrics
Note that the English lyrics do not translate the Dutch. The Dutch third stanza is in the republishing 1871 only in the footnote on page 41, not in the sheet, because it was not good enough. Therefore it is not in all lyrics.1
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3
4
Valerius, 1626
Dutch original
Wilt heden nu treden voor God den Heere,
Hem boven al loven van herten seer,
End' maken groot zijns lieven namens eere,
Die daar nu onsen vijan slaat terneer.
Ter eeren ons Heeren wilt al u dagen
Dit wonder bijzonder gedencken toch;
Maekt u, o mensch, voor God steets wel te dragen,
Doet ieder recht en wacht u voor bedrog.
D'arglosen, den boosen om yet te vinden,
Loopt driesschen, en briesschen gelyck een leeu,
Soeckende wie hy wreedelyck verslinden,
Of geven mocht een doodelycke preeu.
Bidt, waket end' maket dat g'in bekoring,
End' 't quade met schade toch niet en valt.
U vroomheyt brengt den vijant tot verstoring,
Al waer sijn rijck nog eens so sterck bewalt.
Theodore Baker, 1894
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!
Julia Bulkley Cady (1882-1963), 1902
We praise thee, O God, our Redeemer, Creator,
In grateful devotion out tribute we bring.
We lay it before the, we kneel and adore thee,
We bless thy holy name, glad praises we sing.
We worship thee, God of our fathers, we bless thee;
[... complete 3 stanza]
Herman Brueckner (1866-1942), 1918?
Translation of Joseph Weyl, 1877
We gather to worship Jehovah, the righteous,
Who verily sitteth in Jugdment servere;
The good by the evil shall not overpowered,
The Lord will prevent it, our prayer He will hear.
Amid the great conflict He ever stood by us,
[... comlete 3 stanza] (There are also mixed versions with Baker)