"Our Father, Thou in Heaven Above" is a Lutheran Christian hymn based on The Lord's Prayer originally written in German in 1539 by Martin Luther and translated in 1863 into English by Catherine Winkworth.[1]
Martin Luther wrote "Vater unser im Himmelreich" based on The Lord's Prayer. Each verse of the hymn is used to elaborate on the requests in the Lord's Prayer to God.[2] It was first published in 1539 in the Geistliche Lieder hymn book by Valentin Schumann and set to the tune of "Vater Unser" by an unknown composer.[1]
In 1863, Luther's hymn was translated by the English Church of England hymn-translator Catherine Winkworth, who gave it the title of "Our Father, Thou in Heaven Above".[3] It was first published in Winkworth's The Chorale Book for England.[4] Her translation used the original textual style of Luther, with a theme of justice at a time when that theme was not as prevalent in hymns.[4]
The scriptural inspiration for "Our Father, Thou in Heaven Above" was Matthew 6:9–12, the source of The Lord's Prayer.[3]