"Thy Strong Word did Cleave the Darkness" is a Lutheran hymn written by Martin H. Franzmann and set to the tune of Ebenezer by Thomas John Williams.
[4] Franzmann was inspired to write "Thy Strong Word" after a colleague at the seminary stumbled upon the traditional hymn tune of Ebenezer by Welsh songwriter Thomas John Williams.
[2][4] "Thy Strong Word" was first sung in a chapel service at Concordia Seminary in October 1954.
[4] In other Lutheran churches, the hymn is frequently used during Reformation Day services,[2] and it is also often sung during the season of Epiphany.
It replaced the contentious hymn "Once to Every Man and Nation", also set to Ebenezer, which had been written in opposition to the Mexican-American War and was no longer considered theologically correct.