Sunday, February 8, 2009

Christ is With Me

St. Paul writes in the sixth chapter of Romans, "Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  We were therefore buried with Him through baptisn into death in order tha, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."   The hymn text below was written by Gerald Patrick Coleman, copyrighted by Concordia Publishing House in 1992.  It is very much a paraphrase of a few pasages in Holy Scripture in a free verse style, in which the lines do not rhyme.  Coleman also wrote the tune for this text, a tune called CHRIST IS WITH ME.  The text and tune appear in the recently published WELS hymnal supplement, Christian Worship Supplement.

1.  We were buried with Him into death,
         That as He was raised by God's glory,
             We might walk in life made new by grace.
                 Having died with Christ, we shall live with Him.
      Refrain:  Christ is with me ev'rywhere I go.
                       Never to leave me, this I know.

2.  I have now been grafted to the Vine,
         Drawing life from roots rich in mercy,
             Bearing fruit as I abide in Him:
                 Fruit forever fresh, glorifying God.   Refrain

3.  I have now been crucifed with Christ.
         I no longer live; Christ lives in me.
             Now I live by faith in God's own Son,
                 One who loved me so--gave Himself for me.   Refrain  

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