The hymn "Nun danket alle Gott" was originally titled "Tisch-Gebetlein," or a "little prayer before the meal." This humble prayer of thanksgiving is laid out simply and beautifully in the first verse, but it's the next two verses that expand the hymn's focus and have given it its lasting appeal. During this time, Rinkart managed to find the time to write 7 dramas and 66 hymns. As if that weren't enough, the city was sacked three times by invaders, one of which imposed a large tribute payment upon the people. In 1637 at the height of their misery, Rinkart was the only clergyman left in the city who could perform the 40 or 50 necessary burial services daily - one of which was for his wife. Since Eilenberg was a walled city it became a place of refuge for fugitives of the war, and also a place of famine and disease due to overcrowding. Martin Rinkart (1586-1649) was the Bishop of Eilenberg, Germany during the Thirty Years' War.
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