THE FAMILY ALTAR

August 1.

"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He

shall bring it to pass." Ps. 37::5.

Our Reformed Church bears the proud distinction of being

known as the "Singing Church of Christ." No other church has

produced such a long train of sweet singers glorifying the Lord

and His saving grace as has our Church. Luther opened

the melodious train with his immortal doctrinal hymns. But the

unrivaled singer of hymns of comfort in affliction, of "songs in

the night," is Paul Gerhardt, born near Wittenberg, in 1607, and

died at Luebben, in 1676. On account of his staunch defense

of God's Word and Luther's doctrine pure he was deposed from

his pastorate in Berlin by the Elector of Brandenburg and driven

into want and exile. It was then he composed his deathless song

on the above passage of the 37th Psalm, which is known and loved

by millions of Christ's suffering saints under the title Commit

whatever grieves thee. The original German contains 12 stanzas,

but we can read only a few of them here.