starke Kirchenlieder

My Heart With Joy is Sounding

2012-01-02T22:01:00.003-05:00

This 2008 translation of a text by Wilhelm Loehe is titled "Abendmahlslied" and subtitled Freudenlied der erquickten Seele. The origInal tune, O FREUDE, FREUDE was written in 1890 by Fr. Mener. An alternate tune is WIE SOLL ICH DICH EMPFANGEN.

1. My heart with joy is sounding—

Now God is one with me!

His love my heart surrounding

For all eternity:

So highly He esteemed me,

To come with love divine,

And with His blood redeemed me—

I’m His and He is mine!

2. I come, O Bridegroom holy,

My soul made sick by sin,

Your feast of love can solely

Heal all my ills within.

Your wounded side, O Jesus,

Has pow’r to sanctify;

Your blood sin’s grip releases,

So that I will not die.

3. All sin, Lord, I relinquish

Within this crimson flood,

Hell’s embers to extinguish

Beneath Your precious blood;

Accused by sin no longer,

I grasp Your love anew,

With faith made sure and stronger—

How well I’m fed by You!

4. Lord, what can I surrender,

What debt is owed and due?

All that I am I tender

In love, O Christ, to You!

I’m Yours for Your safe keeping,

For Satan, night and day,

With foul deceit is creeping,

To steal my soul away.

5. The path for my salvation

You walked to Calvary;

Receive my adoration

For all Your gifts to me!

May this be my beginning

To love You more, I pray,

To flee this world of sinning

And live my faith each day.

6. My faith bring to completion,

Lord, by Your flesh and blood,

My naked soul’s depletion

Now cover with Your good.

What mercy I am tasting

In this, Your meal of love,

With yearning I am hasting

To know Your bliss above.

My Heart Would Ever Wander

2011-12-25T00:00:00.002-05:00

(Mitt Hjerte Alltid Vanker)

1. My heart would ever wander

To where my Lord was born,

My thoughts return to ponder

That humble stall forlorn:

My faith there finds its treasure,

Its home of pure delight,

Its peace beyond all measure

This blessèd Christmas night.

2. Palm branches I would scatter

Around the place You lie.

For You alone, Lord, matter;

For You, I live and die.

Come, let my soul be finding

The joy that makes me whole:

Yourself to me, Lord, binding

Here, deep within my soul.

3. Lord, come, each bolt removing;

Unlock my heart and mind.

My longing sighs are proving

The welcome You will find.

Your love my heart obtaining:

You purchased it from sin,

Thus evermore remaining--

Your love, wrapped here within!

Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go

2011-09-25T21:48:00.001-04:00

Our closing hymn today at St. John, Charles Wesley's "Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go," was a great hymn of sending in response to the Matt. 21 vineyard parable of the two sons in the Gospel lesson. The hymn first appeared in 1749 in Charles Wesley's "Hymns and Sacred Poems." The wonderful tune LAKEWOOD by Barry Bobb was composed for this text at the ordination of Ronald Roma in 1980. Wesley's original hymn had six stanzas, however his third stanza was omitted by brother John Wesley in 1780 when John published his "A Collection of Hymns for the use of the People called Methodists." The omitted stanza reads: Preserve me from my calling's snare, And hide my simple heart above, Above the thorns of choking care, The gilded baits of worldly love.

1. Forth in Thy name, O Lord, I go,
My daily labor to pursue,
Thee, only Thee, resolved to know
In all I think or speak or do.

2. The task Thy wisdom has assigned,
O let me cheerfully fulfill;
In all my works Thy presence find,
And prove Thy good and perfect will.

3. Thee may I set at my right hand,
Whose eyes my inmost substance see,
And labor on at Thy command,
And offer all my works to Thee.

4. Give me to bear Thy easy yoke,
And ev'ry moment watch and pray,
And still to things eternal look,
And hasten to Thy glorious day.

5. For Thee delightfully employ
Whate'er Thy bounteous grace has giv'n,
And run my course with even joy,
And closely walk with Thee to heav'n.

Oh, How Good and Truly Pleasant

2011-09-18T00:07:00.000-04:00

Set to the tune BEACH SPRING, the text was written in 2007 for Our Savior Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. God bring His healing to the MNS Distict.

1. Oh, how good and truly pleasant
    When we dwell in unity:
    Gentle sisters, caring brothers
    Loving others selflessly!
    This the oneness God desires
    For the people called His own,
    So that we, by our affection,
    Might His love to all make known.

2. Like the oil of consecration
    Running down from Aaron’s brow,
    On his beard and sacred collar,
    To his priestly role endow,
    So our love, to God devoted,
    Spreads His fragrance everywhere;
    Royal priests by God anointed,
    One in service, faith, and prayer.

3. Were the heavy dew of Hermon
    On Mount Zion to descend,
    There the Lord commands His blessing:
    Life eternal without end;
    So would God, from Calv’ry’s mountain,
    Rain down love on desert lives,
    Causing them to bud and flower
    Till His grace our world revives.

4. Come, O precious Oil of Gladness,
    Help us love and live as one,
    As the Son is in the Father
    And the Father in the Son,
    You, as love from both proceeding,
    Three in One and One in Three—
    One in love at the beginning,
    One in love eternally!

The Call Of God Ordained You

2011-09-13T23:33:00.000-04:00

This text was written for the 25th ordination anniversary and retirement of Pastor Richard A. Bolland. It is set to the tune VON GOTT WILL ICH NICHT LASSEN (LSB 713)

1. The call of God ordained you
     A watchman for the Lord!
     Each day God has sustained you,
     To be His people’s ward,
     His counsel to proclaim:
     The Law—its condemnation;
     The Gospel—its salvation
     For all in Jesus’ name.

2. The Lord does not desire
     That any die in sin;
     Instead He would inspire
     True change of heart within,
     And so He sends His Word—
     That all might be repenting,
     Their judgment thus preventing
     For wickedness incurred.

3. How unforeseen that power
     Christ resurrected showed,
     When in that evening hour
     His Spirit He bestowed:
    “The sins that you forgive,
     They truly are forgiven,
     On earth and high in heaven.”
     Each penitent shall live!

4. “The sins you are retaining
     Before the Father’s face,
     Are debts by those disdaining
     My Father’s heart of grace.”
     Yet these Christ would receive:
    “How often, yes, how often,
     I prayed your heart would soften
     And you your sin would leave.”

5. The watchman’s voice is crying,
    “Turn from your evil way!”
     Still some, his call defying,
     Resist and disobey.
     You died for these, Lord, too!
     Your mercy is most shocking;
      It seeks to save the mocking
     Who know not what they do.

6. The watchman’s sacred duty
     Proclaims good news from God;
     His feet are rare with beauty
     And with the Gospel shod.
     God’s spokesman lifts his voice:
    “Those marred by sin’s defiling,
     God’s grace is reconciling.
     Return! Believe! Rejoice!”

7. You, son of man, unswerving,
     Have spoken for the Lord.
     We, whom you have been serving,
     Thank God with one accord!
     We say so gratefully:
    “Dear watchman, you have led us;
     Dear pastor, you have fed us—
     To God all glory be!”

When God Made Earth

2011-06-23T19:51:00.002-04:00

This hymn was written for my daughter Stephanie and her husband, Justin's wedding on June 18th. It was sung to the tune RATHERVUE by Alfred Fedak.

1. When God made earth, the sun was warming
   A pristine world unmarred by death;
   From dust with care the LORD was forming
   A man, in whom He breathed life's breath:
   Then Adam rose from holy ground,
   But for him no fit help was found.

2. So God caused man to sleep, removing
   A rib from lonely Adam's side;
   And from that bone, His wisdom proving,
   God fashioned Eve as Adam's bride:
   Her flesh, his flesh; her bone, his bone,
   And man no longer was alone.

3. She was the half, his half completing,
   The complement that made him whole;
   She was the heart that set his beating,
   That sounded depths within his soul;
   She was the gift that graced his eyes,
   That perfect one for him to prize.

4. Thus shall a man leave father, mother;
   With tender joy embrace his wife,
   For she alone, she and no other,
   Shall be his help, his love, his life--
   No longer two, but joined as one,
   Their pledge of lifelong love begun.

5. Come now, O Lord, their promise sealing;
   Bind heart and hand with living grace,
   Each day Your love for them revealing,
   The shining brightness of Your face;
   Grant peace and joy in mind and heart,
   That nothing break their bond apart.

God Laid the Earth's Foundation

2011-05-27T00:36:00.002-04:00

This text was written for First Lutheran Church in Boston and will be sung this coming Sunday in their worship service. Set to the strong tune MOVILLE, the text expands upon the thought of the final stanza, "Sing to the LORD a new song..." (Ps. 96:1-3) The response to God's great works throughout Scripture has been a new song, declaring all that our triune God has done. Of course His greatest work accomplished was that which was completed through His only Son, the eternal Word made flesh, who came fulfilling all that was foreshadowed in the Old Testament.

1. God laid the earth's foundation;
   He placed its cornerstone.
   Do you have understanding
   Of such great knowledge shown?
   God set the bounds for water,
   Devised how clouds would hang,
   While morning stars of heaven
   For joy together sang!

2. Proud Pharaoh's raging army
   Lay drowned beneath the sea;
   Great Moses and all Israel
   Praised God triumphantly.
   Then Miriam and the women,
   With tambourines raised high,
   All danced in joyful tribute
   Beneath the desert sky.

3. God sent a greater Moses
   To free our captive race:
   Pure from the womb of Mary,
   Enfleshed as truth and grace.
   "To God on high be glory
   And peace to all the earth!"
   Thus sang the heaven-sent angels
   The night of Jesus' birth.

4. Joshua fought and conquered,
   When he to Canaan came.
   God's Son, incarnate Savior,
   Fought fierce our rest to claim:
   No seven-fold blast of trumpets,
   No shout tore evil down,
   For Jesus chose as weapons
   A cross and thorny crown.

5. Ark of God's holy presence,
   Before whom angels fall--
   How could the Lord of heaven
   Face scorn and spit and gall?
   Yet this High Priest most holy,
   Behind the veil went in;
   His own pure blood there sprinkled
   To cover human sin.

6. Christ cried out, "It is finished!"
   And with His final breath,
   Committed to the Father
   His spirit at His death.
   Dark, rumbled dazed creation:
   "God died? How can this be?"
   While foul, demonic minions
   Squealed loud cacophony.

7. Sealed in the tomb, Christ rested--
   One final Sabbath day!
   Fulfilled the prophet's promise:
   "He shall not see decay."
   Our Lord to hell descended,
   Declaring victory,
   Then rising led hosts vanquished
   In full captivity!

8. For forty days appearing
   To His own chosen band,
   Then Christ to heav'n ascended
   To rule at God's right hand.
   Soon to the ones He promised,
   The Holy Spirit came;
   With tongues they spoke God's wisdom
   'Mid rushing wind and flame.

9. God laid a new foundation
   With Christ as Cornerstone;
   On prophets and apostles
   Through whom the Christ was known:
   One body and one Spirit,
   One Lord--one God of all,
   One faith that rests securely
   On one baptismal call!

10. Sing to the LORD a new song!
   Applaud His selfless fame;
   Declare among the nations
   The glory due His name!
   Now roar, O seas, His power!
   Now wave, O fields, His worth!
   With righteousness and justice,
   He comes to judge the earth!

In My Place

2011-03-25T23:59:00.002-04:00

My ears perk up when I hear a contemporary song that seeks to express more substantive biblical truths like propitiation (Christ's death on the cross which turns away God's wrath over sin) and the vicarious atonement (Christ's sacrifice was substitutionary in nature...He took our place on the cross). This song by Matt Boswell and Michael Bleeker is based on 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 and Romans 5:8-9.

In my place, He stood condemned
He who knew no sin became sin for us
That we might become, His righteousness

Bearing all my sin and shame
The punishment and blame He conquered the grave
That we might become, the heirs of grace

In my place, Jesus died
The spotless Lamb laid down His life
The wrath of God was satisfied
In my place, Jesus died

Nail pierced hands, Bleeding side, His body bruised, My God crucified
A crown of thorns, Dying cries, His flesh was torn, My God crucified

Hallelujah, What a Savior!

Spirit of God, You Know Our Every Need

2011-03-21T11:54:00.000-04:00

This text was recently written for a friend at the passing of his father. It is set to the tune ELLERS. It contains thoughts from Romans 8 and the book of Revelation.

1. Spirit of God, You know our ev'ry need;
   You hear our cries and for us intercede;
   Your sighs and groans, too deep for any word,
   Before the throne of grace are clearly heard.

2. As for God's saints, all things work as they should;
   Both fair and foul are molded for their good:
   Foreknown, predestined, called and justified;
   Washed clean in Christ, in Christ are glorified.

3. What shall we say to all that God has done,
   Who, in His love, conforms us to His Son?
   Shall tribulation, nakedness or sword
   Remove us from the love of Christ our Lord?

4. No! For we conquer in and through His grace;
   Not even death can loosen His embrace!
   He, our Good Shepherd; we without alarm
   Pass through death's valley cradled in His arm.

5. In life and death, God's own are dressed in white;
   Christ's righteous robe clads children of the light
   Through death to life, with those from ev'ry land
   Who sing His praise with vict'ry palm in hand:

6. "Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who once was slain!
   Worthy is Christ, forevermore to reign!
   Blessing and honor, might and glory be--
   Amen!" They sing with joy eternally.

7. They serve the Lamb who sits upon the throne;
   Hunger and thirst by them no more are known;
   Nothing will cause them pain or want or fear,
   As from their eyes God wipes away each tear.

8. Spirit of God, support us now we pray,
   Keep us by grace through faith until that day
   This earthly temple too is put to bed,
   To wait the resurrection of the dead.

Now, Even Now, Declare a Fast

2011-03-09T13:06:00.001-05:00

This Ash Wednesday text was written in 2006 to the glory of God for Henry V. Gerike who had requested a text specifically for Ash Wednesday. It is written to the somber tune LLEF. The text speaks of the ongoing significance of Holy Baptism in the life of the believer who lives in daily contrition and repentance: daily dying to sin and daily rising again to new life in Jesus Christ.

1. Now, even now, declare a fast;
   Tune, humbly turn--renounce your sin;
   Tear not your robe for guilt amassed
   But truly rend your heart within!

2. What shall I bring for daily vice
   Proffered before my Maker's eyes?
   A contrite heart, the sacrifice
   That You, O God, will not despise.

3. Ash, only ash I am, O Lord;
   Dust, and to dust I shall return.
   Death is my end, my just reward,
   Solely the wage for sin I earn.

4. What shall I do? Where ought I go
   To gain the grace I dearly want?
   Only to Christ, who will bestow
   Life from His pure baptismal font.

5. Drown, sinner, drown beneath its wave;
   Rise, saint, arise--in Christ made new:
   Live out the life your Savior gave,
   By words you say and works you do.

Perpetua, the Noble

2011-03-07T20:39:00.001-05:00

On this date in the year 203, two North African women, Perpetua and Felicity, were martyred at Carthage along with three Christian men, Saturninus, Secundulus, and Revocatus. All five were thrown to the beasts in the arena for the sport of the pagan crowd. The three men faced a bear, a leopard and a wild boar; the two women faced a rabid bull. After being mauled by the animals, the five were put to death with the sword by the Roman soldiers. "They were killed with the sword...of whom the world was not worthy." (Heb. 11:37-38)

Perpetua, the noble;
Felicity, her slave:
They would not turn from Jesus
And so their lives they gave!
May we, who trust in Jesus,
By word and deed proclaim
A faith that will not ever
Renounce His saving Name.

God Chose the Foolishness of Christ

2011-01-10T22:40:00.001-05:00

Written to the glory of God for the 50th anniversary of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was sung there for the first time this past Sunday and I had the joy of being present as guest preacher for the occasion. The text is set to the tune IN ARMOUR BRIGHT by Edward Norman Hay (1889-1943). The text is based on 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, which is the appointed epistle lesson for The Baptism of our Lord in the one-year lectionary.

1. God chose the foolishness of Christ,

To shame the worldly wise;

To shame the strong, God chose the weak,

The lowly and despised.

2. God chose the folly of the cross,

That Christ be crucified:

To bear sin's curse, to die man's death,

That all be justified.

3. God chose each one of us in Christ

Before the world began,

Adopting us by lavish grace

According to His plan!

4. God chose that water with the Word

Should cleanse us from our sin:

Baptized into Christ's death and life,

His Spirit lives within.

5. God chose that preaching of the cross--

His wisdom from on high--

Should be the Church's mighty pow'r

To grow and multiply.

6. God chose that simple bread and wine

Christ's Word should thus decree:

"This is My body and My blood,

From sin to set you free."

7. God chose for us in Christ the best

Our world has even known;

For all His good and perfect gifts,

We boast in God alone!

I Lift My Eyes to See

2010-12-07T13:23:00.000-05:00

This text is a versification of one of my favorite psalms, Psalm 121, and is set to the beautifully crafted tune NO CHILD by Amanda Husberg.

1. I lift my eyes to see
   The mountains soar and tower--
   How strong my Maker's power!
   How sure His help for me!

2. God keeps your footsteps true;
   His eye is never sleeping,
   His Israel ever keeping--
   So great His love for you!

3. God guards you by His might;
   The burning sunlight shading
   And when its glow is fading,
   God keeps you safe at night.

4. At times of trial and strife,
   When evil foes assail you,
   God's presence will not fail you--
   The LORD preserves your life!

5. When you walk out the door,
   To where your path may lead you,
   God's blessing will precede you,
   Both now and evermore.

6. All laud and glory be
   To Father, Son, and Spirit,
   Through whom we life inherit--
   O blessed Trinity!

Jerusalem, Awake! The Hour Is Near

2010-11-25T23:35:00.000-05:00

As we enter a new Church Year, the traditional Gospel lesson for the First Sunday of Advent is Christ's entry into Jerusalem. Such a lesson transports us to Holy Week and focuses our hearts upon the real purpose of our Lord's coming: humbling Himself unto death, even death on a cross to secure our salvation. The text was written in 1996 to the tune JESAIA, DEM PROPHETEN; the text is based on Matthew 21:1-9.

Jerusalem, awake! The hour is near;
The day that brings your peace is almost here!
Christ comes to save all people from their sin;
He comes the sinner's heart and soul to win--
Not as a lord to reign in tyranny,
But as the Lord whose love rules inwardly.
This Sov'reign's stead proclaims His humble goal:
The true Messiah's mount, a donkey's foal.
Arise, O Israel! Greet Your coming King;
Let ev'ry heart rejoice and gladly sing:
  "Hosanna, David's Son, hosanna!
   Hosanna, David's Son, hosanna!
   Hosanna, David's Son, hosanna!
   How blest is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"
To death this king rides with determined pace,
As still He weeps and longs for your embrace.

Lord, I Cry in Deep Despair

2010-09-12T20:40:00.000-04:00

This hymn was written in 2008 and was inspired by the tune by Lois Brokering, EVERYTHING IS ONE. Today's wonderful epistle lesson (1 Timothy 1:12-17) was a great reminder that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ alone justifies, purifies, fortifies, satisfies and glorifies all believers.

1. Lord, I cry in deep despair;
   Do you hear my tear-choked prayer?
   Dare I come before Your throne
   With this weight of sin I own?
   Is there One to speak for me
   And declare this captive free?
   You and You alone, Lord Jesus,
   You need justify, justify my soul.

2. All my scarlet sins you know,
   Can You make them white as snow?
   Ev'ry dark and crimson stain,
   Can You make like wool again?
   Will you cast into the sea
   All the sins that trouble me?
   You and You alone, Lord Jesus,
   You need purify, purify my soul.

3. When I hear the tempter's voice,
   Can I make the godly choice?
   When the world would have me stray,
   Will I walk Your holy way?
   Though my nature is corrupt,
   Can its power You disrupt?
   You and You alone, Lord Jesus,
   You need fortify, fortify my soul.

4. What of things that turn to rust--
   Are they worthy of my trust?
   What of things that moths destroy--
   Will they give me lasting joy?
   Can they make me rich indeed
   Or my beggared spirit feed?
   You and You alone, Lord Jesus
   You need satisfy, satisfy my soul.

5. All my times are in Your hand,
   Yours alone, at Your command;
   Will You stay by me to cheer
   When my final hour is near?
   Will You then, Lord, be the Way
   That will lead from night to day?
   You and You alone, Lord Jesus,
   You need glorify, glorify my soul.

How Beautiful the Feet

2010-07-20T23:33:00.002-04:00

This text was written to the glory of God for the recent Michigan District LWML convention (July 9-11) whose theme was "Beautiful Feet" based on Isaiah 52:7. The tune is RHOSYMEDRE by John D. Edwards, 1805-85.

1. How beautiful the feet
   That bring good news from God!
   With eager footsteps fleet
   And with the Gospel shod,
   They run with swift and steady ease;
   Their joyful tidings tell of peace,
   How Christ has gained for us release!

2. How beautiful the feet
   That God the Father prized,
   That walked without deceit
   Yet came to be baptized:
   Christ strode the path from Jordan's stream,
   So our lost world He might redeem,
   Though some His way did not esteem.

3. How beautiful the feet
   That took the servant's place,
   To selfish pride unseat
   By humble, selfless grace:
   Before disciples kneeling low,
   Christ washed their feet so they might know
   How they as servants still must grow.

4. How beautiful the feet
   That climbed the skull-like hill,
   Our sin and death to meet
   And do the Father's will:
   Christ died for all, by all disowned,
   The sky grew dark, creation groaned;
   His "It is finished!" He intoned.

5. How beautiful the feet
   That came at rosy dawn,
   With caring to complete
   But found Christ's body gone:
   The sealing stone they did so dread
   Was rolled away as angels said,
   "The Lord has risen from the dead!"

6. How beautiful the feet
   That brought good news from God!
   Our steps be likewise fleet
   And with the Gospel shod!
   Come, run with swift and steady ease;
   With joyful tidings tell of peace,
   How Christ has gained for all release!

The Eternal Gates Are Lifted Up

2010-06-27T22:52:00.003-04:00

"Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." (Hebrews 7:25-26)

This Ascension text is by Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-95)

1. The eternal gates are lifted up,
   The doors are open wide;
   The King of glory is gone in
   Unto His Father's side.

2. Thou art gone up before us, Lord,
   To make for us a place,
   That we may be where now Thou art,
   And look upon God's face.

3. And ever on our earthly path
   A gleam of glory lies;
   A light still breaks behind the cloud
   That veiled Thee from our eyes.

4. Lift up our hearts, lift up our minds,
   And let Thy grace be given,
   That while we live on earth below,
   Our treasure be in heaven.

5. That where Thou art, at God's right hand,
   Our hope, our love may be.
   Dwell Thou in us, that we may dwell
   Forevermore in Thee.

Whom God Has Summoned By His Word

2010-06-09T00:03:00.003-04:00

Timothy Dudley-Smith wrote this text in August of 2005 at Ford in Great Britain.

   Whom God has summoned by His word
   shall they, like Johah, flee,
   far from the presence of the Lord
   across the waste of sea?

   The waves and billows work His will
   the storms His word obey;
   so God provides a refuge still,
   and spurs the heart to pray.

   When from the depths the people cry
   their pleas are not in vain;
   His grace and mercy make reply
   to grant them life again.

   From grief and loss to joy restored,
   from death to life above!
   How slow to anger is the Lord,
   how strong His steadfast love!

Saints, See the Cloud of Witnesses

2010-06-01T23:45:00.000-04:00

Justin Martyr was an apologist, a defender of the faith, in the early Church. June 1st on the Church calendar commemorates Justin Martyr as we remember his life and witness. When Justin was arrested for his faith in Rome, the prefect asked him to denounce his faith by making a sacrifice to the gods. Justin replied, "No one who is rightly minded turns from true belief to false." He was taken out and beheaded. Since he gave his life for the "true philosophy," Justin has been surnamed Martyr.

"Justin's conversion to Christianity is thought to have happened at the city of Ephesus, around A.D. 130, when our inquisitive young Samaritan was roughly thirty years of age. And though he was undoubtedly given a warm reception into the Christian congregation there in Asia—that venerable church founded by John, written to by Ignatius from the house of Polycarp—Justin, to tell the truth, may have raised a few eyebrows by his conduct as a new believer. For the fact is that he continued to frequent his old haunts. He kept all his old friendships and ran with the same unregenerate crowd he had associated with as a heathen. In short, Justin of Neapolis became known, much like his Lord before him, as "the friend of publicans and sinners"—only in Justin's case, the publicans and sinners were not prostitutes or winebibbers, but mystic Pythagorean mathematicians and long-faced logicians studiously following Xenophon and Parmenides. In other words, Justin became an apologist—a defender of the faith, a philosophical evangelist—and from the day of his redemption he seems to have been possessed by one burning desire: to see his own people, his brother philosophers, come to the knowledge of the truth." Rod Bennett | From "Justin Martyr", in Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words | Ignatius Insight

1. Saints, see the cloud of witnesses surround us;

Their lives of faith encourage and astound us.

Hear how the Master praised their faith so fervent:

“Well done, My servant!”

2. These saints of old received God’s commendation;

They lived as pilgrim-heirs of His salvation.

Through faith they conquered flame and sword and gallows,

God’s name to hallow.

3. They call to us, “Your timid footsteps lengthen;

Throw off sin’s weight, your halting weakness strengthen.

We kept the faith, we shed our blood, were martyred;

Our lives we bartered.”

4. Come, let us fix our sight on Christ who suffered,

He faced the cross, His sinless life He offered;

He scorned the shame, He died, our death enduring,

Our hope securing.

5. Lord, give us faith to walk where You are sending,

On paths unmarked, eyes blind as to their ending;

Not knowing where we go, but that You lead us—

With grace precede us.

6. You, Jesus, You alone deserve all glory!

Our lives unfold, embraced within Your story;

Past, present, future—You, the same forever—

You fail us never!

Almighty and everlasting God, You found Your martyr Justin wandering from teacher to teacher, seeking the true God, and You revealed to him the sublime wisdom of Your eternal Word: Grant that all who seek You, or a deeper knowledge of You, may find and be found by You; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

My Soul Rejoices (Magnificat)

2010-06-01T00:32:00.000-04:00

1. My soul rejoices,

My spirit voices—

Sing the greatness of the Lord!

For God my Savior

Has shown me favor—

Sing the greatness of the Lord!

With praise and blessing,

Join in confessing

God, who is solely

Mighty and holy—

Oh, sing the greatness of God the Lord!

His mercy surely

Shall rest securely

On all who fear Him,

Love and revere Him—

Oh, sing the greatness of God the Lord!

2. His arm now baring,

His strength declaring—

Sing the greatness of the Lord!

The proud He scatters,

Their rule He shatters—

Sing the greatness of the Lord!

Oppression halted;

The meek exalted.

Full are the hungry;

Empty, the wealthy—

Oh, sing the greatness of God the Lord!

Here is the token

All that was spoken

To Abr’am’s offspring

God is fulfilling—

Oh, sing the greatness of God the Lord!

Hail Thee, Festival Day!

2010-05-22T23:24:00.001-04:00

Pentecost refrain:

Hail thee, festival day!

Blest day to be hallowed forever;

Day when the Holy Ghost

Shone in the world with His grace.

Bright and in likeness of fire,

On those who await His appearing,

He whom the Lord had foretold

Suddenly, swiftly descends: Refrain

Daily the loveliness grows,

Adorned with the glory of blossom;

Heaven her gateway unbars,

Flinging her increase of light: Refrain

God the Almighty, the Lord,

The ruler of earth and the heavens,

Guard us from harm without;

Cleanse us from evil within: Refrain

Jesus, the health of the world,

Creator of all and redeemer,

Son of the Father supreme,

Only-begotten of God: Refrain

Spirit of life and of pow’r,

Now flow in us, fount of our being,

Light that enlightens us all,

Life that in all may abide: Refrain

Praise to the giver of good!

O Lover and Author of concord,

Pour out Your balm on our days;

Order our ways in Your peace: Refrain

See, the Lords Ascends in Triumph

2010-05-19T00:03:00.005-04:00

This Ascension text by Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885) highlights many Old Testament saints: Enoch, Aaron, Joshua, and Elijah. All these find their perfect fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the greater Prophet, Priest, and King.

See, the Lord ascends in triumph;

Conqu’ring King in royal state,

Riding on the clouds, His chariot,

To His heav’nly palace gate.

Hark! The choirs of angel voices

Joyful alleluias sing,

And the portals high are lifted

To receive their heav’nly King.

Who is this that comes in glory

With the trump of jubilee?

Lord of battles, God of armies,

He has gained the victory.

He who on the cross did suffer,

He who from the grave arose,

He has vanquished sin and Satan;

He by death has crushed His foes.

While he lifts His hands in blessing,

He is parted from His friends;

While their eager eyes behold Him,

He upon the clouds ascends.

He who walked with God and pleased Him,

Preaching truth and doom to come,

He, our Enoch, is translated

To His everlasting home.

Now our heav'nly Aaron enters

With His blood within the veil;

Joshua now is come to Canaan,

And the kings before Him quail.

Now He plants the tribes of Israel

In their promised resting place;

Now our great Elijah offers

Double portion of His grace.

He has raised our human nature

On the clouds to God’s right hand;

There we sit in heav’nly places,

There with Him in glory stand.

Jesus reigns, adored by angels;

Man with God is on the throne.

By our mighty Lord’s ascension

We by faith behold our own.

The Church's One Foundation

2010-05-05T23:35:00.000-04:00

Frederick the Wise was Luther's political guardian who protected the Reformer, most notably when Frederick had Luther kidnapped and hidden at the Wartburg Castle after the Diet at Worms. God used Frederick in His plan to protect Luther, who helped restore the truth of the Gospel to the Church. The Church Militant is ever in the midst of her toil, tribulation and tumult of constant battle this side of the grave. LSB commemorates Frederick the Wise on May 5th.

The Church’s one foundation

Is Jesus Christ, her Lord;

She is His new creation

By water and the Word.

From heav’n He came and sought her

To be His holy bride;

With his own blood He bought her,

And for her life He died.

Elect from ev’ry nation,

Yet one o’er all the earth;

Her charter of salvation:

One Lord, one faith, one birth.

One holy Name she blesses,

Partakes one holy food,

And to one hope she presses

With ev’ry grace endued.

Though with a scornful wonder

The world sees her oppressed,

By schisms rent asunder,

By heresies distressed,

Yet saints their watch are keeping;

Their cry goes up, “How long?”

And soon the night of weeping

Shall be the morn of song.

Through toil and tribulation

And tumult of her war

She waits the consummation

Of peace forevermore

Till with the vision glorious

Her longing eyes are blest,

And the great Church victorious

Shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth has union

With God, the Three in One,

And mystic sweet communion

With those whose rest is won.

O blessèd heav’nly chorus!

Lord, save us by Your grace

That we, like saints before us,

May see You face to face.

Long Before the World Is Waking

2010-04-20T00:15:00.002-04:00

This hymn by the late Herman Stuempfle narrates last Sunday's Gospel lesson, the third resurrection appearance of our Lord to His disciples.

Long before the world is waking,

Morning mist on Galilee,

From its shore, as dawn is breaking,

Jesus calls across the sea;

Hails the boat of weary men,

Bids them cast their net again.

So they cast, and all their heaving

Cannot haul their catch aboard;

John in wonder turns, perceiving,

Cries aloud, “It is the Lord!”

Peter waits for nothing more,

Plunges in to swim ashore.

Charcoal embers brightly burning,

Bread and fish upon them laid:

Jesus stands at day’s returning

In His risen life arrayed,

As of old His friends to greet,

“Here is breakfast; come and eat.”

Christ is risen! Grief and sighing,

Sins and sorrows, fall behind;

Fear and failure, doubt, denying,

Full and free forgiveness find.

All the soul’s dark night is past;

Morning breaks in joy at last.

Morning breaks, and Jesus meets us,

Feeds and comforts, pardons still;

As His faithful friends He greets us,

Partners of His work and will.

All our days, on ev’ry shore,

Christ is ours forevermore!

All the Earth With Joy Is Sounding

2010-04-04T00:01:00.001-04:00

Written in 1995, the text was inspired by the tune MICHAEL. The hymn explores lesser-used images of the resurrection: Christ as the greater Jonah, the One stronger than the strong man (the devil), Jesus as the author of salvation and the Paschal Lamb slain, raised and reigning. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

All the earth with joy is sounding:

Christ has risen from the dead!

He, the greater Jonah, bounding

From the grave, His three-day bed,

Wins the prize:

Death’s demise—

Songs of triumph fill the skies!

Christ, the devil’s might unwinding,

Leaves behind His borrowed tomb.

Stronger He, the strong man binding,

Takes, disarms his house of doom;

In the rout

Casting out

Pow’rs of darkness, sin, and doubt.

Jesus, author of salvation,

Shared in our humanity;

Crowned with radiant exaltation,

Now He shares His victory!

From His face

Shines the grace

Meant for all our fallen race.

Praise the Lord, His reign commences,

Reign of life and liberty—

Paschal Lamb, for our offenses,

Slain and raised to set us free!

Evermore

Bow before

Christ, the Lord of Life adore!

Darkness Shrouds the Awful Mountain

2010-04-02T23:57:00.002-04:00

Darkness shrouds the awful mountain;

Christ our Lord yields up His final breath:

“Father, now receive my spirit,”

As He bows His head in death.

Silent is the deposition

Of His sacred body from the cross;

Quickly to the tomb they bear Him

Hushed by grief at their great loss.

Be fulfilled, O sign of Jonah—

Bringing life from death on the third day.

God has not His Son abandoned

Nor will Jesus see decay!

What Kind of Love Is This?

2010-04-02T01:13:00.002-04:00

This hymn originated in the early 1960's in Ethiopia, written by a 16-year-old girl, Almaz Belhu, who had submitted it for a hymn competition. The original language was Amharic. The English translation here is by Hartmut Schoenherr, with stanza four by Joe Herl. The tune is also by Almaz Belhu. The refrain asks the haunting question again and again.

When I behold Jesus Christ,

True God who died for me,

I wonder much at His love

As He hung on the tree.

Refrain:

What kind of love is this?

You showed Your love, Jesus,

There to me on Calvary.

What kind of love is this?

You showed Your love, Jesus,

There to me on Calvary.

For me You gave all Your love,

For me You suffered pain;

I find no words, nothing can

Your selflessness explain. Refrain

You had no sin, holy Lord,

But You were tortured, tried;

On Golgotha there for all

My sins You bled and died. Refrain

What love is this? Greater love

No one has ever known.

My life with God— this I owe

To You, and You alone. Refrain

The Death of Jesus Christ Our Lord

2010-04-01T10:57:00.002-04:00

My favorite Maundy Thursday Holy Communion hymn is LSB 634. Text by Haquin Spegel, 1645-1714; stanza 5 by LSB. In LSB it was moved from "Passion Week" section in LW to "The Lord's Supper" section because it can be used whenever we celebrate the Sacrament.

The death of Jesus Christ, our Lord,

We celebrate with one accord;

It is our comfort in distress,

Our heart’s sweet joy and happiness.

He blotted out with His own blood

The judgment that against us stood;

For us He full atonement made,

And all our debt He fully paid.

That this forever true shall be

He gives a solemn guarantee:

In this His holy Supper here

We taste His love so sweet, so near.

His Word proclaims and we believe

That in this Supper we receive

His very body, as He said,

His very blood for sinners shed.

We dare not ask how this can be,

But simply hold the mystery

And trust this word where life begins:

“Given and shed for all your sins.”

They who this word do not believe

This food unworthily receive,

Salvation here will never find—

May we this warning keep in mind!

But blest is each believing guest

Who in these promises finds rest;

For Jesus ever shall remain

With all who here His grace obtain.

Help us sincerely to believe

That we may worthily receive

Your Supper and in You find rest.

Amen! They who believe are blest.

Lamb of God, Pure and Holy

2010-03-29T15:53:00.003-04:00

Isaiah 50:5-10
The Lord GOD has opened my ear,
   and I was not rebellious;
   I turned not backward.
I gave my back to those who strike,
   and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
   from disgrace and spitting.
But the Lord GOD helps me;
   therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
   and I know that I shall not be put to shame.He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
   Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
   Let him come near to me.
Behold, the Lord GOD helps me;
   who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
   the moth will eat them up.
Who among you fears the LORD
   and obeys the voice of his servant?
Let him who walks in darkness
   and has no light
trust in the name of the LORD
   and rely on his God.

Lamb of God, pure and holy,

Who on the cross didst suffer,

Ever patient and lowly,

Thyself to scorn didst offer.

All sins Thou borest for us,

Else had despair reigned o’er us:

Have mercy on us, O Jesus! [O Jesus!]

Lamb of God, pure and holy,

Who on the cross didst suffer,

Ever patient and lowly,

Thyself to scorn didst offer.

All sins Thou borest for us,

Else had despair reigned o’er us:

Have mercy on us, O Jesus! [O Jesus!]

Lamb of God, pure and holy,

Who on the cross didst suffer,

Ever patient and lowly,

Thyself to scorn didst offer.

All sins Thou borest for us,

Else had despair reigned o’er us:

Thy peace be with us, O Jesus! [O Jesus!]

Exult Today, Jerusalem!

2010-03-28T16:24:00.002-04:00

This text was written to the glory of God for the 25th anniversary of Glory of Christ Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Minnesota, celebrating the occasion today, Palm Sunday, 2010. The text is set to ZEHNDER, a new tune by Scott Hyslop.

1. Exult today, Jerusalem!

God comes to set you free!

This royal son of Bethlehem

Fulfills all prophecy.

This greater Jonah of renown

God’s love and pow’r displays;

He comes to tear God’s temple down

And raise it in three days!

2. With joy, the city resonates!

O Zion’s daughter, sing!

Lift up your heads, you mighty gates,

And greet your coming King!

He rides no horse with prancing strides,

As kings before Him came,

But on a donkey humbly rides,

His office to proclaim:

3. The Christ! A Prophet greater than

That giver of the Law;

A Priest, not born from Levi’s clan,

But born without sin’s flaw;

A King, one like that priestly king,

Melchizedek of old,

For Christ, as thorn-crowned King will bring

God’s righteousness foretold.

4. Christ’s glory is not seen by those

Offended by the cross,

For worldly wisdom never knows

How gain could come from loss;

Yet, this the glory of the Christ:

To claim our cross as throne—

His perfect life He sacrificed

That we might be His own!

5. So wave your palms and fill the air

With shouts of joy this day,

The King of glory comes to bear

Your sin and death away!

Hosanna, Lord! Your people save!

O come, Emmanuel,

And by Your cross and shattered grave,

Tear down the gates of hell!

My Savior Has Shown Favor (Magnificat)

2010-03-25T00:01:00.003-04:00

Nine months before Christmas, on March 25th, the Church Year pauses (in what is usually the midst of Lent) to recognize "The Annunciation of our Lord." The angel Gabriel brought to Mary the startling news that she, a virgin, would give birth to the very Son of God! Mary responds to the angel's message with faith: "I am the Lord's servant...may it be to me as you have said." (Luke 1:38) God had given Mary a sign of encouragement: her elderly and previously childless relative, Elizabeth, was in the sixth month of her pregnancy. "For nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:37) When Mary left her home to visit Elizabeth, she discovered the truth of the angel's message. Mary's inspired song of response is known liturgically as "The Magnificat" found in Luke 1:46-55 :
And Mary said:
   "My soul glorifies the Lord
     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
   for he has been mindful
      of the humble state of his servant.
   From now on all generations will call me blessed,
      for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
      holy is his name.
   His mercy extends to those who fear him,
      from generation to generation.
   He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
      he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
   He has brought down rulers from their thrones
      but has lifted up the humble.
   He has filled the hungry with good things
      but has sent the rich away empty.
   He has helped his servant Israel,
      remembering to be merciful
   to Abraham and his descendants forever,
      even as he said to our fathers."

"My Savior Has Shown Favor" was my second attempt (2002) at the Magnificat after "My Soul Rejoices" (LSB 933) which was written in 1991. "My Savior Has Shown Favor" is set to the hymn tune OASIS.

1.  My Savior has shown favor

To me, of little fame;

Now all those living hence shall

My blessedness proclaim:

For God has done great things

And holy is His name—

Refrain: O, magnify

The Lord on high,

O, magnify the Lord!

2. To those who fear His greatness,

His mercy He extends;

Their children and their children

His faithful love befriends;

With deeds of great power

His people He defends—

Refrain

3. He scatters all the prideful

And those who have rebelled;

The rulers are brought down

While the humble are upheld;

He fills all the hungry,

The wealthy are expelled—

Refrain

4. The Lord has helped His servant,

His

Israel

, which He bore,

Remembering His mercy

Which long ago He swore

To Abr’am and to his

Descendants evermore.

Refrain

Spirit, Come With Grace Renew

2010-03-22T23:46:00.001-04:00

This confirmation text was written for my son Peter's confirmation in 2007 and is set to the Carl Schalk tune JESUS' NAME. The tradition here at St. John remains Palm Sunday confirmation and Maundy Thursday first communion.

1. Spirit, come with grace, renew

These our children called by You;

May their souls and bodies be

Kept by You in sanctity.

Refrain: Breathe on them Your living breath;

Keep them faithful unto death.

2. To the font their faith we trace,

Where You touched them with Your grace,

Grafting them by love’s design

As a branch into the Vine. Refrain

3. Help them live, O holy Fire,

By God’s Word, as You desire;

Purge away all worthless dross,

Forge their lives around the cross. Refrain

4. In the Eucharistic meal,

Your forgiveness to them seal

As they feed on Jesus Christ,

For their sins once sacrificed. Refrain

5. May they fruits of faith display,

Firm and steadfast till that day

When all those who Christ confess

Shall be crowned with righteousness. Refrain

God's Glorious Way is Hard to See

2010-03-17T22:30:00.001-04:00

This text by a Lutheran pastor in Canada, Kurt E. Reinhardt, confesses the theology of the cross: that God did His greatest work in the seeming weakness and foolishness of the cross. God still hides the glory of His work in weak and common things--Word with water and Word with bread and wine, the preached Word and the Word of Absolution. He uses common clay people to do His work in our world today. Truly amazing...how humble is God's chosen way!

God's glorious way is hard to see,
He hides it in humility;
The praise of this world leads astray,
For humble is God's chosen way.

A crown of thorns rests on His head,
He's robed in Roman mocking red,
"Hail, Israel's King," with scorn they say;
How humble is God's chosen way.

Then burdened down with heavy beam,
He stumbles through the jeering stream,
While mournful women weep and pray;
How humble is God's chosen way.

True hatred nails Him to the tree,
He hangs in tortured agony,
While for His clothes the soldiers play;
How humble is God's chosen way.

Now simple words proclaimed and read
With water, wine, and earthly bread,
Bring us the gifts He earned that day;
How humble is God's chosen way.

Dear mothers tend their children's needs,
And farmers sow their precious seeds;
The Lord works good through our poor clay;
How humble is God's chosen way.

A poor saint suffers on his bed
He longs to join the faithful dead,
But for some good he still must stay;
How humble is God's chosen way.

The way of life leads through the night,
So faith must lead instead of sight;
The cross seems humble in its day
But truly is God's glorious way.

I Bind Unto Myself Today

2010-03-17T00:00:00.004-04:00

St. Patrick (389-461) brought the Christian faith to Ireland. Born into a Christian family along the western coast of England, at the age of 16 he was kidnapped by coastal raiders and taken to Ireland as a forced worker. After six years he escaped to a ship that was bound for France. There he studied in a French monastery and eventually returned to England. In 432, now a middle-aged man, Patrick returned to the place of his captivity as a Christian missionary, not a safe thing to do in light of the Irish chieftains and Druid priests. Fully away of the dangers, he wrote in his diary, "Daily I expect either a violent death or a return to slavery or some other calamity...I have cast myself into the hands of the Almighty God, for He rules everything." Patrick had a long and productive career as a Christian missionary in Ireland. His famous hymn, "I Bind Unto Myself Today" reminds Christians of the importance of remembering their baptism, that blessed day when they were baptized into the "strong name of the Trinity." Each day we can recall and reclaim the blessings of our baptism.

I bind unto myself today

The strong name of the Trinity

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me forever,

By pow’r of faith, Christ’s incarnation,

His baptism in the Jordan River,

His cross of death for my salvation,

His bursting from the spiced tomb,

His riding up the heav’nly way,

His coming at the day of doom,

I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today

The pow’r of God to hold and lead,

His eye to watch, His might to stay,

His ear to hearken to my need,

The wisdom of my God to teach,

His hand to guide, His shield to ward,

The Word of God to give me speech,

His heav’nly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,

The vice that gives temptation force,

The natural lusts that war within,

The hostile foes that mar my course;

Or few or many, far or nigh,

In ev’ry place and in all hours,

Against their fierce hostility

I bind to me those holy powers.

I bind unto myself the name,

The strong name of the Trinity

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One and One in Three,

Of whom all nature has creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.

Praise to the Lord of my salvation;

Salvation is of Christ the Lord!

Lord, to You I Make Confession

2010-03-15T20:24:00.002-04:00

It has been said that the Law afflicts the comfortable and the Gospel comforts the afflicted. Afflicted by the harsh realities of the Law as they confronted him in the pig pen, the wildly wasteful son finally came to his senses. In the confession that the young son planned to offer his father as he returned to his father's house, he recognized that his sin had a vertical dimension (he had sinned against God) as well as a horizontal dimension (he had sinned against his father): "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you." (Luke 15:21) Yet is was the character of his father that brought that tiny glimmer of hope into the heart of the prodigal son that perhaps his father would take him back, not as a son, but as a servant. The father's lavish love restored his sonship and celebrated the return of his son. So too in our lives, when we approach God in repentance, after the Law has jolted us out of our sin and made us uncomfortable, we find a forgiving Father whose Son has taken our sins to Calvary and paid for our waywardness in full.

This text in Lutheran Service Book is LSB 608 and was written by Johann Franck, 1618-77 and translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1827-78. The tune by Johann Crueger, 1598-1662, is HERR, ICH HABE MISSGEHANDELT.

Lord, to You I make confession:

I have sinned and gone astray,

I have multiplied transgression,

Chosen for myself my way.

Led by You to see my errors,

Lord, I tremble at Your terrors.

Yet, though conscience’ voice appall me,

Father, I will seek Your face;

Though Your child I dare not call me,

Yet receive me in Your grace.

Do not for my sins forsake me;

Let Your wrath not overtake me.

For Your Son has suffered for me,

Giv’n Himself to rescue me,

Died to save me and restore me,

Reconciled and set me free.

Jesus’ cross alone can vanquish

These dark fears and soothe this anguish.

Lord, on You I cast my burden—

Sink it to the depths below.

Let me know Your gracious pardon,

Wash me, make me white as snow.

Let Your Spirit leave me never;

Make me only Yours forever.

As Rebels, Lord, Who Foolishly Have Wandered

2010-03-15T01:18:00.006-04:00

Lectionary Series C had "The Parable of the Prodigal Son" as the Gospel lesson for the Fourth Sunday in Lent. One of my favorite parables, we sang "As Rebels, Lord" as our sermon hymn at St. John-Amelith.

1. As rebels, Lord, who foolishly have wandered
   Far from Your love--unfed, unclean, unclothed---
   Dare we recall Your wealth so rashly squandered,
   Dare hope to glean that bounty which we loathed?

2. Still we return, our contrite words rehearsing,
   Speech, that within Your warm embrace soon dies;
   All of our guilt, our shame, our pain reversing
   As tears of joy and welcome fill Your eyes.

3. A feast of love for us You are preparing;
   We who were lost, You give an honored place!
   "Come eat; come drink, and be no more despairing--
   Here taste again the treasures of My grace."

Rebuke Me Not, O Lord, in Wrath

2010-03-10T20:53:00.001-05:00

This versification of Psalm 6 was written in 1998 to the tune CHRISTIAN LOVE. Another suggested tune is CONSOLATION.

1. Rebuke me not, O Lord, in wrath,

Nor judge me for my sin,

But lead me on Your righteous path

And cleanse my life within.

2. Have pity, hear my weakened sighs

And heal all that is wrong;

With anguished fright my spirit cries:

“How long, O Lord, how long?”

3. Deliver me from sin and shame,

Lord, turn to me and save—

For who in death recalls Your name?

Who thanks You from the grave?

4. My eyes are worn away with grief,

My bed is drenched with tears;

From all my foes, Lord, grant relief

And save me from my fears.

5. You workers of iniquity

Who fill my heart with care:

In God’s strong name depart from me—

The Lord has heard my prayer!

From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee

2010-03-06T20:26:00.002-05:00

Martin Luther's (1483-1546) setting of Psalm 130 in Lutheran Service Book (LSB 607) is a slightly altered version of the translation by Catherine Winkworth (1827-78).

From depths of woe I cry to Thee, Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD;

In trial and tribulation; Lord, hear my voice!

Bend down Thy gracious ear to me, Let Your ears be attentive

Lord, hear my supplication. To the voice of my supplications.

If Thou rememb’rest ev’ry sin, If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,

Who then could heaven ever win O LORD, who could stand?

Or stand before Thy presence?

Thy love and grace alone avail But there is forgiveness with You,

To blot out my transgression; That You may be feared.

The best and holiest deeds must fail

To break sin’s dread oppression.

Before Thee none can boasting stand,

But all must fear Thy strict demand

And live alone by mercy.

Therefore my hope is in the Lord I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

And not in mine own merit; And in His word I do hope.

It rests upon His faithful Word

To them of contrite spirit

That He is merciful and just;

This is my comfort and my trust.

His help I wait with patience.

And though it tarry through the night My soul waits for the LORD

And till the morning waken, More than those who watch for the morning--

My heart shall never doubt His might Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

Nor count itself forsaken.

O Israel, trust in God your Lord. O Israel, hope in the LORD;

Born of the Spirit and the Word,

Now wait for His appearing.

Though great our sins, yet greater still For with the LORD there is mercy,

Is God’s abundant favor; And with Him is abundant redemption.

His hand of mercy never will

Abandon us, nor waver.

Our Shepherd good and true is He,

Who will at last His Israel free And He shall redeem Israel

From all their sin and sorrow. From all his iniquities. (NKJV)

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

2010-02-26T10:16:00.002-05:00

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a tribute far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all!

O Jesus, Good Shepherd

2010-02-16T19:38:00.008-05:00

This text was written in 2004 for the 40th anniversary of Messiah Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan to the tune ANDREW'S SONG by Robert Hobby, an ELCA composer. Our Good Shepherd left heaven to seek and to save the lost; He "redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death," as Luther states in his explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles' Creed. God bless the 40-day Lenten season before us as we meditate on the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep, sheep who love to wander and stray.

O Jesus, Good Shepherd,
You came from the Father
To gather the wandering sheep to Your fold;
O Savior, You gave up
Your life as a ransom,
A price far more precious that silver or gold.

Your life that You laid down
You willingly offered,
With power to give it and take it again.
All others who beckon
With voices seductive
Are thieves and are robbers who steal from Your pen.

O Jesus, Good Shepherd,
True gate of the sheepfold,
All sheep that will enter must enter through You;
The sheep of Your flock hear
Your voice and they follow,
But run from the voice that is strange or untrue.

You give life eternal
So they never perish,
For no one can snatch Your sheep out of Your hand;
They come in and go out,
They find verdant pastures,
And all this is just as the Father had planned.

O Jesus, Good Shepherd,
You came form the Father
To bring life abundant to all who believe;
Still seek out and save all
The lost and the straying,
So they along with us Your life may receive.

Swiftly Pass the Clouds of Glory

2010-02-15T22:15:00.005-05:00

This Transfiguration text by Thomas H. Troeger, b. 1945, is another good addition to Lutheran Service Book (416). It is set to a fine tune, LOVE'S LIGHT, by LCMS composer, Amanda Husberg, b. 1940. If you missed using this one last Sunday, make a mental note to use it for Transfiguration 2011. Troeger's text amplifies the final stanza of the well-known hymn, "'Tis Good, Lord, to Be Here": 'Tis good, Lord, to be here! Yet we may not remain; But since Thou bidst us leave the mount, Come with us to the plain. Troeger's text takes us with Peter, James and John down the mountain to the plain and valley, to Jerusalem and the cross. No disciple is greater that his master; our lives are shaped by the cross as well, as are the lives of all true followers of Jesus. For such living under the cross, we truly need a daily transfiguration of our perceptions and intentions.

Swiftly pass the clouds of glory,

Heaven’s voice, the dazzling light;

Moses and Elijah vanish;

Christ alone commands the height!

Peter, James, and John fall silent,

Turning from the summit’s rise

Downward toward the shadowed valley

Where their Lord has fixed His eyes.

Glimpsed and gone the revelation,

They shall gain and keep its truth,

Not by building on the mountain

Any shrine or sacred booth,

But by following the Savior

Through the valley to the cross

And by testing faith’s resilience

Through betrayal, pain, and loss.

Lord, transfigure our perception

With the purest light that shines,

And recast our life’s intentions

To the shape of Your designs,

Till we seek no other glory

Than what lies past Calv’ry’s hill

And our living and our dying

And our rising by Your will.

Wide Open Stand the Gates

2010-01-28T23:53:00.003-05:00

This translation by Herman Stuempfle of Wilhelm Loehe's communion text is a wonderful addition to Lutheran Service Book!

Wide open stand the gates adorned with pearl,

While round God’s golden throne

The choirs of saints in endless circles curl,

And joyous praise the Son!

They watch Him now descending

To visit waiting earth.

The Lord of Life unending

Brings dying hope new birth!

He speaks the Word the bread and wine to bless:

“This is My flesh and blood!”

He bids us eat and drink with thankfulness

This gift of holy food.

All human thought must falter—

Our God stoops low to heal,

Now present on the altar,

For us both host and meal!

The cherubim, their faces veiled from light,

While saints in wonder kneel,

Sing praise to Him whose face with glory bright

No earthly masks conceal.

This sacrament God gives us

Binds us in unity,

Joins earth with heav’n beyond us,

Time with eternity!

Mark How the Lamb of God's Self-Offering

2010-01-10T20:55:00.007-05:00

This text is by Carl P. Daw, Jr. (b. 1944), former president of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. In the first stanza, Daw points the worshiper to Christ's baptism in the Jordan. In stanza 2, he points to what took place after the Jesus' baptism, when the Spirit led our Lord to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for forty days. Halfway through the second stanza, Daw transitions to application for the life of the Christian and then concludes the hymn with a prayer for the baptismal life of the Christian in the third stanza. This hymn is 600 in Lutheran Service Book.

Mark how the Lamb of God’s self-off’ring

Our human sinfulness takes on

In the birthwaters of the Jordan

As Jesus is baptized by John.

Hear how the voice from heaven thunders,

“Lo, this is My beloved Son.”

See how in dovelike form the Spirit

Descends on God’s Anointed One.

From this assurance of God’s favor

Jesus goes to the wilderness,

There to endure a time of testing

That readied Him to teach and bless.

So we, by water and the Spirit

Baptized into Christ’s ministry,

Are often led to paths of service

Through mazes of adversity.

Grant us, O God, the strength and courage

To live the faith our lips declare;

Bless us in our baptismal calling;

Christ’s royal priesthood help us share.

Turn us from ev’ry false allegiance,

That we may trust in Christ alone:

Raise up in us a chosen people

Transformed by love to be Your own.

We Praise You, Jesus, at Your Birth

2009-12-22T23:14:00.002-05:00

This Christmas hymn from Lutheran Service Book is a translation of Luther's text (st. 2-7) (Stanza 1 is German c. 1380.) Multiple translators worked in this text for Lutheran Service Book (LSB 382) including Gregory Wismar, st. 1, 6; F. Samuel Janzow, st. 2, 4; Lutheran Service Book st, 3, 5, 7. The tune is GELOBET SEIST DU from Eyn Enchiridion oder Handbeuchlein, Erfurt, 1524.

1. We praise You, Jesus, at Your birth;
   Clothed in flesh You came to earth.
   The virgin bears a sinless boy
   And all the angels sing for joy.
   Alleluia!

2. Now in the manger we may see
   God's Son from eternity,
   The gift from God's eternal throne
   Here clothed in our poor flesh and bone.
   Alleluia!

3. The virgin Mary's lullaby
   Calms the infant Lord Most High.
   Upon her lap content is He
   Who keeps the earth and sky and sea.
   Alleluia!

4. The Light Eternal, breaking through,
   Made the world to gleam anew;
   His beams have pierced the core of night,
   He makes us children of the light.
   Alleluia!

5. The very Son of God sublime
   Entered into earthly time
   To lead us from this world of cares
   To heav'ns courts as blessed heirs.
   Alleluia!

6. In poverty He came to earth
   Showing mercy by His birth;
   He makes us rich in heav'nly ways
   As we, like angels, sing His praise.
   Alleluia!

7. All this for us our God has done
   Granting love through His own Son.
   Therefore, all Christendom, rejoice
   And sing His praise with endless voice.
   Alleluia!

The Holly and the Ivy

2009-12-04T20:31:00.007-05:00

This is one of my favorite English traditional Christmas carols. I like how the writer ties in images of the Passion in this text. Thus, the reason for Christ's coming is still in the background at the celebration of His birth...still preaching Christ crucified "to do poor sinners good."

1. The holly and the ivy,
   When they are both full grown,
   Of all the trees that are in the wood,
   The holly bears the crown.
   O, the rising of the sun,
   And the running of the deer,
   The playing of the merry organ,
   Sweet singing in the choir.

2. The holly bears a blossom
   As white as the lily flower;
   And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
   To be our sweet Savior.
   O, the rising of the sun,
   And the running of the deer,
   The playing of the merry organ,
   Sweet singing in the choir.

3. The holly bears a berry
   As red as any blood;
   And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
   To do poor sinners good.
   O, the rising of the sun,
   And the running of the deer,
   The playing of the merry organ,
   Sweet singing in the choir.

4. The holly bears a prickle
   As sharp as any thorn;
   And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
   On Christmas Day in the morn.
   O, the rising of the sun,
   And the running of the deer,
   The playing of the merry organ,
   Sweet singing in the choir.

5. The holly bears a bark
   As bitter as any gall;
   And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
   For to redeem us all.
   O, the rising of the sun,
   And the running of the deer,
   The playing of the merry organ,
   Sweet singing in the choir.

How, Before All Time Began

2009-12-02T23:22:00.000-05:00

This Advent/Christmas/Epiphany text was written in 2005 and inspired by the tune ANGELUS AD VIRGINEM to which it is set.

1. How, before all time began,
   Before the world's creation,
   Could the Lord conceive His plan
   Of mercy and salvation?
   Yet, from that high and timeless place,
   God chose to save our death-bound race:
   Emmanuel--as prophets tell the story
   In Scripture as we know,
   Would veil in flesh His glory
   And dwell with us below!

2. To the darkness of our light
   And to our need descending,
   Came the Word as Light of Light
   Beyond our comprehending--
   Radiant within the virgin's womb;
   Dawning as day upon our gloom.
   Hail, Jacob's Star! For all You are now shining
   Your beam of grace on earth,
   Your royal might confining
   Within such humble birth.

3. As the presence of a king
   Brings honor to a city,
   Bethlehem, be glad and sing
   Your Sov'reign's tender pity;
   Join all the angels who rejoice;
   Let ev'ry creature raise its voice--
   Sing "Glory be to God!" For He is solely
   The God who comes to save
   And to our world unholy,
   The Prince of Peace He gave.

4. Tarshish lords from distant shore,
   Come pay your tribute to Him;
   Kings of Sheba, kneel before
   The One with worship due Him.
   Rise up, O nations! See! Your Lord!
   Long may He live and be adored!
   Oh, may His fame and holy name, transcending
   Each name upon this sphere,
   Be sung with praise unending
   For love so pure and near!

Fight, Work, Pray!

2009-11-17T21:44:00.006-05:00

I completed this text requested by a deaconess at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne for a hymn based on Luther's meditation and writing on the relationship between the Lord's Supper and works of mercy and care for our fellow human beings. ("Fight, Work, Pray!" is a pamphlet published by LCMS World Relief and Human Care with a preface by the Executive Director, Rev. Matthew C. Harrison. The pamphlet reprints from Luther's Works, Vol. 35: "The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods" [1519] ). The hymn text seeks to highlight aspects and benefits of the Sacrament empowering us to serve as Christ to the world today. The meter, 3 4 9 3 4 6, matches the deeply moving tune by Amanda Husberg, CHILDREN OF PEACE.

1. Fight, work, pray!
   Precious indeed
   Are all the masses huddled in need.
   Christ sends us
   Out with His love,
   For the life of the world.

2. "Flesh and blood
   Given and shed
   Once on the cross so you may be fed;
   I in you,
   You now in Me
   For the life of the world."

3. Mystery!
   How can it be?
   Saint bound to saint in true unity!
   One in Christ,
   One as His Church
   For the life of the world.

4. Strengthen us,
   Lord, as we live:
   Pardoning others as You forgive.
   Bless our faith
   Active in love
   For the life of the world.

5. I, Your guest,
   Frail though I be,
   Yet here Your life I taste and I see,
   As You give
   Heavenly gifts
   For the life of the world.

6. All my debt
   You, Lord, have paid
   When on the cross atonement You made.
   Faith receives
   All You have done
   For the life of the world.

7. What can I
   Render to You?
   True thanks and praise in all that I do;
   Fear, love, trust,
   Serve and obey,
   For the life of the world.

8. Mercy known,
   Mercy received,
   Mercy now lived by all who believe.
   We are Christ's
   Body and voice
   For the life of the world!

Thine the Amen

2009-11-12T22:31:00.001-05:00

I had the distinct privilege and honor of meeting Herbert Brokering in the fall of 2008 at Camp Arcadia on Lake Michigan for a worship forum led by Herb and Carl Schalk and Robert Rimbo. Herb was energetic, witty and a true delight. He approached hymn writing in a totally different way than I had ever thought of the craft and we had an opportunity to visit a few times at the forum in that lovely setting at Camp Arcadia. He shared some of the tunes written by his late wife, Lois, one of which in particular, a tune written for Herb's text, EVERYTHING IS ONE, made a deep impression on me. Probably my favorite text by Dr. Brokering is "Thine the Amen." We sang it as our closing hymn this past All Saints' Day. It is a "stream of consciousness" text with little punctuation. Herb now sees his Savior face to face in the "wonder full surprise" of the eternal wedding banquet of the Lamb. Thank you, Lord, for Herb!

Thine the amen

Thine the praise

alleluias

angels raise

Thine the

everlasting head

Thine the breaking

of the bread

Thine the glory

Thine the story

Thine the harvest

then the cup

Thine the vineyard

then the cup is

lifted up

lifted up.

Thine the life

eternally

Thine the promise

let there be

Thine the vision

Thine the tree

all the earth

on bended knee

Gone the nailing

gone the railing

gone the pleading

gone the cry

Gone the sighing

gone the dying

what was loss

lifted high.

Thine the truly

Thine the yes

Thine the table

we the guest

Thine the mercy

all from Thee

Thine the glory

yet to be

Then the ringing

and the singing

then the end

of all the war

Thine the living

Thine the loving

evermore

evermore.

Thine the kingdom

Thine the prize

Thine the wonder

full surprise

Thine the banquet

then the praise

then the justice

of Thy ways

Thine the glory

Thine the story

Then the welcome

to the least

Then the wonder

all increasing

at Thy feast

at Thy feast.

Thine the glory

in the night

no more dying

only light

Thine the river

Thine the tree

Then the Lamb

eternally

Then the holy

holy holy

celebration

jubilee

Thine the splendor

Thine the brightness

only Thee

only Thee.

O God of Light

2009-11-09T22:44:00.008-05:00

This is a great text by Sarah Taylor, (1883-1954). It was first introduced in Hymnal Supplement 98 and has appeared again in Lutheran Service Book. It is set to the tune ATKINSON...a fine and strong tune but a challenging melodic line in the third musical phrase, which covers the whole lower and upper range and gets there by a series of jumps. It keeps things interesting, that's for sure!

O God of light, Your Word, a lamp unfailing,

Shall pierce the darkness of our earthbound way

And show Your grace, Your plan for us unveiling,

And guide our footsteps to the perfect day.

From days of old, through blind and willful ages,

Though we rebelled, You gently sought again

And spoke through saints, apostles, prophets, sages,

Who wrote with eager or reluctant pen.

Undimmed by time, those words are still revealing

To sinful hearts Your justice and Your grace;

And questing spirits, longing for Your healing,

See Your compassion in the Savior’s face.

To all the world Your summons You are sending,

Through all the earth, to ev’ry land and race,

That myriad tongues, in one great anthem blending,

May praise and celebrate Your gift of grace.

Blest Be the Father of Our Lord

2009-10-29T23:32:00.002-04:00

This Sunday, All Saints' Day, our first grandchild is being baptized at St. John-Amelith! (She will be wearing the baptismal gown first made for my brother, which I wore when I was baptized in 1955, which all our children have worn for their baptisms, which my cousins and nieces and nephew have worn, and which now will be worn by our little Alina...the twelfth child to be baptized in this christening gown.) This hymn text is written for this happy occasion to the glory of God at Alina's baptism into Christ Jesus. I chose the wonderful tune KIRKWOOD by Joseph Herl.

1. Blest be the Father of our Lord
   For His intended mercy toward
   Our lost and fallen race:
   In Christ, before the world began,
   He chose us in a wondrous plan
   Of His most glorious grace!

2. Now at this font by faith we see
   Time intersect eternity,
   As here God's will is shown:
   One born without His saving Name
   He comes to cleanse; He comes to claim,
   Adopting as His own.

3. We bring, dear Lord, our infant small;
   She shares the sin of Adam's Fall,
   A stranger to Your love.
   Come with Your life, invigorate;
   Her second birth initiate--
   An heir of bliss above.

4. O Christ, by You our child is prized,
   Our little one by You baptized,
   Redeemed and reconciled;
   A spotless robe You freely give:
   Your precious blood that she might live
   Forever as Your child.

5. Let us no little ones despise;
   In heav'n their angels fix their eyes
   Upon the Father's face.
   Good Shepherd, guard and keep we pray
   This lamb, that she might never stray
   From Your rich fold of grace.

O God the Father, Your True Being

2009-10-22T23:58:00.007-04:00

This text is my English translation of the baptism text written in 1941 by Jochen Klepper, "Gott Vater, du hast deinen Namen" :

Gott Vater, du hast deinen Namen O God the Father, Your true being
in deinem lieben Sohn verklaert You have in Your dear Son declared;
und us, so-oft wir zu dir kamen, We come, with eyes of faith here seeing
die Vatergnade neu gewaehrt. Your tender favor newly shared.

So rufe dieses Kind mit Namen, You give Your Spirit in this water;
das nun nach deinem Sohne heisst. Your Word invites in Jesus' name:
Wir glauben, du Dreiein'ger! Amen! "Beloved son, beloved daughter,
Zum Wasser gabst du Wort und Geist You may as heir My heaven claim!"

Erhalte uns bei deinem Namen! In Your strong Name, Lord, keep us growing
Dein Sohn hat es fur uns erfleht. In all Your Son for us has prayed;
Geist, Wort und Wasser mach zum Samen Come, make this bath the seed bestowing
der Frucht des Heils, die nie vergeht! Salvation's fruit that will not fade.

The Holy Word of God Endures Forever

2009-09-17T01:27:00.008-04:00

This text was commissioned by CPH for the release of The Lutheran Study Bible, a hymn on the Word of God for Reformation, 2009. Stanza 1, the power of God's Word to bring sight for those blind in sin.; stanza 2, the Gospel call goes out to all enemies of God, made such by their sin; stanza 3, the work of the Holy Spirit who makes spiritually dead people alive by the power of God's Word; stanza 4, God's Word as Law and Gospel, to cut (Law) and to heal (Gospel) with the result that our lives become Christ's letter to a fallen world. Jeffrey Blersch wrote a tune for this 11 10 11 10 D text and he named it CONCORDIA CINCINNATI.

1. The holy Word of God endures forever

With living truths the Spirit has revealed.

These are not myths conceived by authors clever;

They never fade like flowers of the field.

No Scripture came by human inspiration;

God breathed His life in each and ev'ry part,

So Christ, the Morning Star of our salvation,

Might dawn with sight for ev'ry blinded heart.

2. Christ Jesus is the content of this writing,

The banner of God's love for all unfurled,

For through the Word the Father is inviting:

"O wayward one, forsake your rebel world;

No greater gift I have than what I gave you--

My only Son for sin--that you might know

The distance that My grace stretched out to save you

And make your scarlet sins as white as snow."

3. O Spirit--calling, gathering, uniting--

Come, breathe Your life in all whose hope is lost

And in such lives with power come, igniting

The flames of faith first lit on Pentecost;

To those long dead, the victims of sin's vi'lence,

To all forgotten casualties of strife,

Now speak to driest bones and break the silence--

Where there is death, now raise enfleshed new life!

4. The holy Word of God endures forever!

It comes to hearts where sin remains concealed,

And like a two-edged sword, to pierce and sever,

It cuts the heart so that it might be healed.

With Gospel salve renew us, faith's Begetter;

Write living words, yet not with ink on stone,

But write upon our hearts, that as Christ's letter

We tell of how God saves by grace alone.

By All Your Saints in Warfare

2009-07-22T22:03:00.007-04:00

This hymn text is by Horatio Bolton Nelson, 1823-1913.

1. By all Your saints in warfare,

For all Your saints at rest,

Your holy name, O Jesus,

Forevermore be blest!

For You have won the battle

That they might wear the crown;

And now they shine in glory

Reflected from Your throne.

St. Mary Magdalene (July 22)

20. All praise for Mary Magdalene,

Whose wholeness was restored

By You, her faithful master,

Her Savior and her Lord.

On Easter morning early

A word from You sufficed;

For she was first to see You,

Her Lord, the risen Christ.

3. Then let us praise the Father

And worship God the Son

And sing to God the Spirit,

Eternal Three in One,

Till all the ransomed number

Fall down before the throne,

Ascribing pow’r and glory

And praise to God alone.

Thanks to Thee, O Christ, Victorious

2009-05-12T22:18:00.006-04:00

Text: Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1634-1703, translated by George A. T. Rygh, 1860-1942. Tune: WERDE MUNTER by Johann Schop, c. 1590-1667.

1. Thanks to Thee, O Christ, victorious!

Thanks to Thee, O Lord of Life!

Death hath now no power o'er us,

Thou has conquered in the strife.

Thanks because Thou didst arise

And hast opened paradise!

None can fully sing the glory

Of the resurrection story.

2. Thou hast died for my transgression,

All my sins on Thee were laid;

Thou hast won for me salvation,

On the cross my debt was paid.

From the grave I shall arise

And shall meet Thee in the skies.

Death itself is transitory;

I shall lift my head in glory.

3. For the joy Thine advent gave me,

For Thy holy, precious Word;

For Thy Baptism, which doth save me,

For Thy blest Communion board;

For Thy death, the bitter scorn,

For Thy resurrection morn,

Lord, I thank Thee and extol Thee,

And in heav'n I shall behold Thee.

All Mankind Fell in Adam's Fall

2009-04-26T14:56:00.003-04:00

Lazarus Spengler originally wrote "Durch Adams Fall ganz verderbt Menschlich Natur und Wesen" as a nine stanza text of eight lines. Matthias Loy freely translated Spengler's text into Long Meter. Spengler's hymn first appeared in Walter's Geystliche gesangk Buchleyn (Wittenberg, 1524), Johann Walter's choir book. This text was held in high regard at the time of the Reformation, but during the eras of Pietism and the Enlightenment, it fell into disuse. Matthias Loy's free translation appeared in The Lutheran Hymnal (1880) of the Ohio Synod and in The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), Lutheran Worship (1982) and now in Lutheran Service Book (2006).

1. All mankind fell in Adam's fall;

One common sin infects us all.

From one to all the curse descends,

And over all God's wrath impends.

2. Through all our pow'rs corruption creeps

And us in dreadful bondage keeps;

In guilt we draw our infant breath

And reap its fruits of woe and death.

3. From hearts depraved, to evil prone,

Flow thoughts and deeds of sin alone;

God's image lost, the darkened soul

Seeks not nor finds its heav'nly goal.

4. But Christ, the second Adam, came

To bear our sin and woe and shame,

To be our life, our light, our way,

Our only hope, our only stay.'

5. As by one man all mankind fell

And, born in sin, was doomed to hell,

So by one Man, who took our place,

We all are justified by grace.

6. We thank You, Christ; new life is ours,

New light, new hope, new strength, new pow'rs.

This grace our ev'ry way attend

Until we reach our journey's end.