Philipp Nicolai is a name you likely do not know. I did not know it until I wrote this article. Philipp was a Lutheran Pastor, ordained in Germany in 1583, a few decades after the Reformation. As a Protestant pastor, he often faced great obstacles and hostility from the Catholic church that persisted in Germany at the time.
One of his greatest trials, however, would come from outside the church. In 1596 Nicolai became pastor of St. Catharine’s Church at Unna. In 1597, bubonic plague began ravaging the countryside. Two of Nicolai’s sisters died. Between 1597 and 1598, more than 1,300 inhabitants of Unna were taken by the plague, often as many as 30 in a day.
As Nicolai’s thoughts dwelt on death, which directed him to God in heaven, and then to blessed eternal life, he wrote:
"There seemed to me nothing more sweet, delightful and agreeable, than the contemplation of the noble, sublime doctrine of Eternal Life obtained through the Blood of Christ. This I allowed to dwell in my heart day and night, and searched the Scriptures as to what they revealed on this matter..... Then day by day I wrote out my meditations, found myself …wonderfully well, comforted in heart, joyful in spirit, and truly content; gave to my manuscript the name and title of a Mirror of Joy, and took this so composed [hymn] to leave behind me (if God should call me from this world) as the token of my peaceful, joyful, Christian departure, or (if God should spare me in health) to comfort other sufferers whom He should also visit with the pestilence .... Now has the gracious, holy God most mercifully preserved me amid the dying from the dreadful pestilence, and wonderfully spared me beyond all my thoughts and hopes, so that with the Prophet David I can say to Him "O how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee." Psalm 31:19
The hymn that Nicolai had composed was “O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright”. It begins,
O Morning Star,
how fair and bright!
You shine with God’s own
truth and light,
Aglow with grace and mercy!
The final stanza reflects his joy, comfort and peace at the thought of what God has in store for us in our heavenly home when this vale of tears is past:
What joy to know,
When life is past,
The Lord we love
Is first and last,
The end and the beginning!
He will one day,
Oh, glorious grace,
Transport us to that happy place
Beyond all tears and sinning!
Amen! Amen!
Come, Lord Jesus!
Crown of gladness!
We are yearning
For the day of Your returning!
The first few Sundays of November mark the end of the church year. In these days, as Nicolai’s hymn says, we look toward the end of the age as we yearn for the day of our Lord’s returning. Jesus tells us, in straight speech and in parables, to watch for his return. Be ready, with our lamp flasks filled with the oil of faith (from the parable of the bridegroom), and waiting for the cry from the watchman saying, “He has come!”
During the years of the plague, Nicolai’s parsonage looked out across the church’s graveyard. He dedicated himself to his work, setting about caring for his congregation through prayer and exhortation to faith in God, that they might look beyond their present plight to the eternal life that was theirs in Jesus Christ. One of those who died in the plague was Count Wilhelm Ernst, at 15 years of age. Wilhelm was the son of Countess Margaret of Waldeck. Nicolai had been the boy’s tutor. His untimely death spurred Nicolai to write another of our familiar hymns, “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying”.
"Wake, awake, for night is flying,"
The watchmen on the heights
are crying;
"Awake, Jerusalem, arise!"
Midnight hears the welcome voices
And at the thrilling cry rejoices;
"Oh, where are ye, ye virgins wise?
The Bridegroom comes, awake!
Your lamps with gladness take!
Allelujah!
With bridal care Yourselves prepare
To meet the Bridegroom, who is near."
Both of these hymns point us to God’s promises in Scripture. This life is passing away, but our eternal future is all brightness and joy. As we approach the end of the church year, let us prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus, our bridegroom. Let us repent of our sins and hold fast to the faith, the truth of our salvation in Jesus Christ. And let us join with the heavenly throng to praise God, even in the midst of sufferings and trials, for the mercy and grace that have been shown to each one of us as we await with anticipation our Lord’s return to take us home.
Now let all the heav'ns adore Thee,
Let saints and angels sing before Thee
With harp and cymbals' clearest tone.
Of one pearl each shining portal,
Where, joining with the choir immortal,
We gather round Thy radiant throne.
No eye has seen the light,
No ear has heard the might
Of Thy glory;
Therefore will we Eternally
Sing hymns of praise and joy to Thee!
Wake, Awake, For Night is Flying
LSB #516 vv. 1, 3
God’s peace be yours,
Pastor