Gustav Margerth Jensen (July 13, 1845 – November 2, 1922) was a Norwegian priest, hymnologist, hymnwriter, seminary instructor, and liturgist. He is best known for his liturgy revision and hymnal publication. Gustav Jensen was born in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konner ...

, but he first started attending school in

Arendal Arendal () is a municipality in Agder county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Arendal (which is also the seat of Agder county). Some of the not ...

. He received his theology degree (''

cand.theol. Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has r ...

'') in 1868 and started teaching in

Skoger Skoger is a village located on the border between Buskerud and Vestfold counties, Norway. Of its population of 1,082 as of 2005, 654 were registered as residents of Drammen whereas 428 live in Sande in Vestfold county, Norway. History H ...

. In 1874 he was appointed a curate at

Old Aker Church Old Aker Church ( no, Gamle Aker kirke) is a medieval era church located in Oslo, Norway. An active parish, the church is the oldest existing building in Oslo. The church is surrounded by Old Aker Cemetery. History Old Aker Church was built as a ...

. One year later he was engaged as a head instructor at the

Practical Theological Seminary Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action (philosophy), action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, ...

, where he taught liturgical studies, sermon instruction, and pastoral theology. In 1889 he became the priest at Trinity Church in Oslo, and then in 1895 he returned to his position as head instructor at the Practical Theological Seminary. In 1902 he was appointed diocesan provost at Our Savior's Church in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

(currently the Oslo Cathedral).''Norsk biografisk leksikon'': Gustav Jensen.
/ref>''Store Norske Leksikon'': Gustav Jensen.
Jensen stopped serving as diocesan provost in 1911 in order to use all of his time to work on revising '' Landstads kirkesalmebog'' (Landstad's Church Hymnal), for which he had been commissioned by a royal resolution in 1908. In 1915 he delivered his ''Forslag til en revideret Salmebok for den norske kirke'' (Proposals for a Revised Hymnal for the Church of Norway), a draft version that generated much controversy. Jensen died in 1922, before the hymnal was approved and issued. The hymnal was finally approved in 1924 Sudmann, Arnulv. 1948. ''Norsk allkunnebok'', vol. 6. Oslo: Fonna forlag, s.v. Jensen. and was known as '' Landstads reviderte salmebok'' (Landstad's Revised Hymnal).

Hymns

Eight of the hymns in ''

Norsk Salmebok Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

'' were written by Gustav Jensen. Many of these take their themes from Biblical texts. * 20: ''Konge er du visst'' (Thou Art Certainly a King; John 18:33–37) * 21: ''Herre, du Herre, skal vokse'' (Lord, Thou Lord, Shalt Increase; John 3:30) * 66: ''Gud sin egen Sønn oss gav'' (God Gave Us His Only Son) * 205: ''Herre, jeg ser på bergets topp'' (Lord, I See the Mountaintop; Luke 24:50–53) * 227: ''Det skal ei skje ved kraft og makt'' (It Shall Never Happen by Might and Power; Zechariah 4:6) * 450: ''Be for oss, o Krist'' (Pray for Us, O Christ; John 17:9–17) * 681: ''Ei for å tjenes Herren kom'' (The Lord Came Not to Be Served) * 704: ''Løst fra gamle trelldoms bånd'' (Freed from the Old Bonds of Captivity) He also reworked or translated twelve hymns, including '' Herre Gud, ditt dyre navn og ære'' (Good Lord, Thy Precious Name and Glory) by

Petter Dass Petter Pettersen Dass (c. 1647 – 17 August 1707) was a Lutheran priest and the foremost Norwegian poet of his generation, writing both baroque hymns and topographical poetry. Biography He was born at Northern Herøy ( Dønna), Nordlan ...

and ''O, bli hos meg'' (

Abide with Me "Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte. A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is most often sun ...

), ''Nærmere deg min Gud'' (

Nearer, My God, to Thee "Nearer, My God, to Thee" is a 19th-century Christian hymn by Sarah Flower Adams, which retells the story of Jacob's dream. Genesis 28:11–12 can be translated as follows: "So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because ...

), and ''Hellig, hellig, hellig'' ( Holy, Holy, Holy) from English. One of Jensen's hymns also appears in the Catholic hymnal '' Lov Herren'' (Praise the Lord), as well as six of his translations. The hymnal '' Norsk salmebok 2013'' contains four of his compositions and eight of his translations.

Hymns

References

Further reading