Wilhelm Erasmus Arends was born on February 5, 1677, at Langenstein, near Halberstadt, where his father served as pastor. Arends entered the Lutheran ministry, becoming pastor at Crottorf in 1707 and later assuming the pastorate of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Halberstadt in 1718. He served faithfully in Halberstadt until his death on May 16, 1721.
Arends contributed spiritual songs to the second part of Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen's Geistreiches Gesangbuch in 1714. Among his best known compositions is "Rüstet euch, ihr Christenleute," a call to spiritual warfare in four stanzas. Count Christian Ernst of Wernigerode identified Arends as the author in annotated hymnals. The hymn was translated into English by J. M. Sloan as "Christians, prayer may well employ you" for Wilson's Service of Praise in 1865.
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