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 Buskerud county, 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 ...

, but he first started attending school in

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

. He received his theology degree (''

cand.theol. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

'') in 1868 and started teaching in

Skoger Skoger is a village in Drammen Municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The village is located just north of the Vestfold county border, about south of the centre of the town of Drammen. The villages of Klever and Eikeberg are located about ...

. In 1874 he was appointed a curate at

Old Aker Church Old Aker Church () 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 three-naved Romane ...

. One year later he was engaged as a head instructor at the Practical Theological Seminary, 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 ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

(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'' 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 and ''O, bli hos meg'' (

Abide with Me "Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847). 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 m ...

), ''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 t ...

), 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