Mentzer, who has given us the beautiful hymn, "O would, my God, that I could praise Thee," was born at Jahmen, Silesia, in 1658. For thirty-eight years he was pastor at Kemnitz, Saxony, at which place he wrote his hymns, about thirty in number. There is an exalted strain in his hymns of praise: O all ye powers that He implanted, Arise, keep silence thus no more, Put forth the strength that He hath granted, Your noblest work is to adore; O soul and body, be ye meet With heartfelt praise your Lord to greet. This hymn sometimes begins with the line, "O that I had a thousand voices." A Noble Hymn of Worship Light of light, enlighten me, Now anew the day is dawning; Sun of grace, the shadows flee, Brighten Thou my Sabbath morning. With Thy joyous sunshine blest, Happy is my day of rest! Fount of all our joy and peace, To Thy living waters lead me; Thou from earth my soul release, And with grace and mercy feed me. Bless Thy Word, that it may prove Rich in fruits that Thou dost love. Kindle Thou the sacrifice That upon my lips is lying; Clear the shadows from mine eyes, That, from every error flying, No strange fire may in me glow That Thine altar doth not know. Let me with my heart today, Holy, holy, holy, singing, Rapt awhile from earth away, All my soul to Thee upspringing, Have a foretaste inly given, How they worship Thee in heaven. Benjamin Schmolck, 1715. HOW A GREAT ORGANIST INSPIRED TWO HYMNISTS While all the hymn-writers of Germany in the early part of the eighteenth century were more or less influenced by the Pietistic movement, there were some who nevertheless refused to be carried away by the emotional extravagances of which some of the Halle song-writers were often guilty. In the hymns of these more conservative psalmists we find a happy blending of objective teaching and a warm, personal faith that reminds us of the earlier hymns of Gerhardt. The chief representatives of this more typical Lutheran school were Benjamin Schmolck, a beloved pastor and a poet of rare ability, and Erdmann Neumeister, creator of the Church Cantata. It was the age in which John Sebastian Bach lived and wrought, and this prince of Lutheran organists, whose title of "high priest of church music" has never been disputed, gave of his musical genius to help make the hymns of Schmolck and Neumeister immortal.