he age of twelve years organist at
the chapel in the Kaiserburg, at Nuernberg, where he attended school.
Later he entered Wittenberg University to study law. Here he came under
the influence of Philip Melanchthon, and was induced to prepare himself
for the ministry. It is said that Selnecker was Melanchthon's favorite
pupil.

Following his graduation from Wittenberg, he lectured for a while at the
university and then received the appointment as second court preacher at
Dresden and private tutor to Prince Alexander of Saxony. Many of the
Saxon theologians at this time were leaning strongly toward the
Calvinistic teaching regarding the Lord's Supper, and when Selnecker came
out boldly for the Lutheran doctrine he incurred the hostility of those
in authority. Later, when he supported a Lutheran pastor who had dared to
preach against Elector August's passion for hunting, he was compelled to
leave Dresden.

For three years he held the office of professor of theology at the
University of Jena, but in 1568 he again found favor with the Elector
August and was appointed to the chair of theology in the University of
Leipzig. It was here that Selnecker again became involved in bitter
doctrinal disputes regarding the Lord's Supper, and in 1576 and 1577 he
joined a group of theologians, including Jacob Andreae and Martin
Chemnitz, in working out the Formula of Concord.

Upon the death of Elector August the Calvinists again secured
ecclesiastical control, and Selnecker once more was compelled to leave
Leipzig. After many trials and vicissitudes, he finally returned, May 19,
1592, a worn and weary man, only to die in Leipzig five days later.

During the stormy days of his life, Selnecker often sought solace in
musical and poetical pursuits. Many of his hymns reflect his own personal
troubles and conflicts. "Let me be thine forever" is believed to have
been written during one of the more grievous experiences of his life. It
was a prayer of one stanza originally, but two additional stanzas were
added by an unknown author almost a hundred years after Selnecker's
death. In its present form it has become a favorite confirmation hymn in
the Lutheran Church.

Selnecker's zeal for his Church is revealed in many of his hymns, among
them the famous "Abide with us, O Saviour dear." The second stanza of
this hymn clearly reflects the distressing controversies in which he was
engaged at the time:

This is a dark and evil day,
Forsa