Hymn Story: Christ the Life of All the Living

Christ the Life of all the Living was written by Ernst C. Homburg.

Homburg was born in 1605 in Germany. He often wrote love and drinking songs before a family illness led to his conversion to Christianity. His poetry then turned more serious and he wrote hymns which expressed his faith and helped to strengthen his own walk with the Lord.

He described this text as a “hymn of thanksgiving to his Redeemer and Savior for his bitter sufferings.”

He was a lawyer by trade. He wrote over 150 hymn texts, many of which were published in his Geistliche Lieder. He died in Naumberg, Germany in 1681.

Catherine Winkworth translated the hymn into English.

The tune is known as JESU, MEINES LEBENS LEBEN  and the composer is unknown. It was first published in 1687 and first published with Homburg’s work in the 1776 Anhang, An das Gothaische Cantional.