An author, lyricist, hymn writer, peace activist, and Lutheran pastor, Dr. Herbert Brokering enjoyed a long and extremely fruitful career.  His 30+ books and thousands of poems and hymns continue to be relished around the world.  Collaborations with dozens of composers included Dave Brubeck, with whom he wrote Beloved Son, a jazz cantata.  Thine the amen, Thine the praise is one of Brokering's best-loved hymn texts, and reveals some his distinctive approach to hymn writing: stream-of-consciousness thoughts, virtually void of punctuation, in non-traditional metre.  (We are perhaps more familiar with his text Earth and all stars, #412 in The Hymnal 1982.)  Carl Schalk's hymn tune, aptly named Thine (developed in today's choral anthem), was composed specifically for Brokering's Thine the amen, and attempts to capture the restless (nearly-breathless) spirit of the words.      -hh