Joachim Neander was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1650. He was the grandson of a musician and the son of a teacher. His family name had been Neumann, but in accord to habits of the day, it was changed by his grandfather (a preacher, after whom he was named) to the foreign equivalent in Greek transliteration.
It is said he had somewhat of a wild student life, but after hearing Pastor T. Under-Eyck at St. Martin’s Church of Breman, in 1670, he was saved and a changed man. Three years later, while in Frankfurt, he met Philipp Jakob Spener, a leader of a movement of Pietism. Philipp taught that Christians needed a deeper and more life affecting understanding of the Scriptures. They needed to take the Priesthood of the Believer seriously and quit wasting time in arguing over minor doctrines. Philip organized devotional circles for prayer and Bible Study groups. This came from a desire to have instilled “heart religion” (Herzensreligion) and to shake off the outward and coldness of the Lutheran Churches.
From this same movement came two other noted hymn writers that are also highly regarded today. These are Paul Gerhardt and Gerhard Tersteegen. These three men have left a wide and long reaching influence on Christianity across the globe, still having an impact today. The beginning Methodist movement translated them into English and used them in their song books. Baptists embraced them as well, welcoming them into their hymn books.
It was at this point that Joachim became a hymn writer, and he did so right up to the year of his death. Most of the hymns were written while he was rector of the Latin School of Dusseldorf. His hymns reflect his deep praise and faith in God as well as a love of the beauty of the Creation.
In writing the hymns he became the first noticed poet of the German Reformed Church. A collection of 60 of his hymns were printed in 1680 and have been translated into English. All of his hymns were triumphant music.
He pastored the Reformed Church in Dusseldorf, Germany, and was noted as a scholar in theology and music.
A sampling of three parts of his other hymns is presented here:
|
Pride of man and earthly glory, But God’s power, All my hope on God is founded; |
While in Dusseldorf, he would wander the Dussel River valley, a deep ravine between rocks and forests. It had caves, grottos and waterfalls. Many of his poems were probably written there, and it was the place where he held gatherings and services.
In the 19th century, a cave there was named in honor of him, and later a cement company quarried limestone there and the ravine became a wide valley. It was then named Neander Valley, or in German, Neanderthal. In the summer of 1856, some fossilized remnants were found there and they were named the famed “Neanderthal Man!” Thus in a round about way, the Evolutionists named their “missing” species after one of the greatest hymn writers of all time.
In his last year he went to be an assistant pastor at St. Martin Church, where he was saved. But he then became very ill and died, probably from the plague. He went to be with the Lord at only 30 years of age on May 31, 1680.
Some of the hymns he wrote were:
|
Sources
Douglas D. Anderson, Hymns and Carols of Christmas http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols /Biographies/catherine_winkworth.htm
F.L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. rev. (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) p. 1142.
Robert Davidson, M.A., Jeremiah and Lamentations: Volume 2, The Daily study Bible series (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001, c1983) p. 79.
George Thomas Kurian, Nelson's New Christian Dictionary: The Authoritative Resource on the Christian World (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Pubs., 2001) “Neander, Joachim” and “Christians of the Century.”
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Courageous Christianity, 1st U.S. ed. (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2001) p. 45.
Aryeh Oron, The Back Cantatas Website (May, 2003) http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Neander.htm
Kenneth W. Osbeck, 101 Hymn Stories (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1982) p. 209.
Kenneth W. Osbeck, Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1990) p. 331.
Mark Water, The Christian Book of Records (Alresford, Hants, UK: John Hunt Pub., 2002) p. 123.
