Phillip Friedrich Hiller
1699-1769
Hiller was born in Muhlhausen, Germany, on January 6, 1699. Following his father's occupation, he was educated at the clergy training school and pastored several congregations. He also served as a private tutor at Nurnberg. It was during this time he began reading a volume of prayers and pondering the idea of turning the prayers into hymns. Using his hymns, Hiller compiled a series of devotional books each having 366 short hymns, one for each day of the year. His books were endeared by the colonists in southern Germany, specifically Wurttemberg. It is recorded that when a German colony was attacked by a hostile tribe, parents ripped out the pages of Hiller's books and gave them to their children as they were being torn from them and taken into slavery. Hiller is the most productive and important of the early hymn-writers of Wurttemberg. His Liederkastlein (hymn book) contains hymns from his mature years and reveals a depth of spiritual wisdom.
Hiller was born in Muhlhausen, Germany, on January 6, 1699. Following his father's occupation, he was educated at the clergy training school and pastored several congregations. He also served as a private tutor at Nurnberg. It was during this time he began reading a volume of prayers and pondering the idea of turning the prayers into hymns. Using his hymns, Hiller compiled a series of devotional books each having 366 short hymns, one for each day of the year. His books were endeared by the colonists in southern Germany, specifically Wurttemberg. It is recorded that when a German colony was attacked by a hostile tribe, parents ripped out the pages of Hiller's books and gave them to their children as they were being torn from them and taken into slavery. Hiller is the most productive and important of the early hymn-writers of Wurttemberg. His Liederkastlein (hymn book) contains hymns from his mature years and reveals a depth of spiritual wisdom.