birth to some of its
grandest hymns.

It was during this dreadful period, when Germany was devastated and
depopulated by all the miseries of a bloody warfare, that Johann Heermann
lived and wrought. He was born at Rauden, Silesia, October 11, 1585, the
son of a poverty-stricken furrier. There were five children in the
family, but four of them were snatched away by death within a short time.
Johann, who was the youngest, was also taken ill, and the despairing
mother was torn by fear and anguish. Turning to God in her hour of need,
she vowed that if He would spare her babe, she would educate him for the
ministry.

She did not forget her promise. The child whose life was spared grew to
manhood, received his training at several institutions, and in 1611
entered the holy ministry as pastor of the Lutheran church at Koeben, not
far from his birthplace.

A few years later the Thirty Years' War broke out, and all of Germany
began to feel its horrors. Four times during the period from 1629 to 1634
the town of Koeben was sacked by the armies of Wallenstein, who had been
sent by the king of Austria to restore the German principalities to the
Catholic faith. Previous to this, in 1616, the city was almost destroyed
by fire. In 1631 it was visited by the dreadful pestilence.

Again and again Heermann was forced to flee from the city, and several
times he lost all his earthly possessions. Once, when he was crossing the
Oder, he was pursued and nearly captured by enemy soldiers, who shot
after him. Twice he was nearly sabred.

It was during this period, in 1630, that his beautiful hymn,
"Herzliebster Jesu," was first published. One of the stanzas which is not
usually given in translations reflects very clearly the unfaltering faith
of the noble pastor during these hard experiences. It reads:

Whate'er of earthly good this life may grant me
I'll risk for Thee; no shame, no cross shall daunt me;
I shall not fear what man can do to harm me,
Nor death alarm me.

The hymn immediately sprang into popularity in Germany, perhaps through
the fact that it reflected the feelings of Protestants everywhere, and
partly because of the gripping tune written for it in 1640 by the great
musician Johann Crueger.

Heermann has been ranked with Luther and Gerhardt as one of the greatest
hymn-writers the Lutheran Church has produced. Because his hymns were
written during such times of distress and suffering, they seemed to grip