Search Fore Hymn

Dear Christians, one and all rejoice

Dear Christians, one and all rejoice,
With exultation springing,
And with united heart and voice
And holy rapture singing,
Proclaim the wonders God hath done,
How his right arm the victory won;
Right dearly it hath cost him.
.
Fast bound in Satan’s chains I lay,
Death brooded darkly o’er me;
Sin was my torment night and day,
Therein my mother bore me.
Deeper and deeper still I fell,
Life was become a living hell,
So firmly sin possessed me.
.
My good works could avail me naught,
For they with sin were stainéd;
Free-will against God’s judgment fought,
And dead to good remainéd.
Grief drove me to despair, and I
Had nothing left me but to die,
To hell I fast was sinking.
.
God saw, in his eternal grace,
My sorrow out of measure;
He thought upon his tenderness—
To save was his good pleasure.
He turn’d to me a Father’s heart-
Not small the cost—to heal my smart
He gave his best and dearest.
.
He spake to his beloved Son:
’Tis time to take compassion;
Then go, bright jewel of my crown,
And bring to man salvation;
From sin and sorrow set him free,
Slay bitter death for him, that he
May live with thee forever.
.
The Son delighted to obey,
And born of Virgin mother,
Awhile on this low earth did stay
That he might be my brother.
His mighty power he hidden bore,
A servant’s form like mine he wore,
To bind the devil captive.
.
To me he spake: cling fast to me,
Thou’lt win a triumph worthy;
I wholly give myself for thee,
I strive and wrestle for thee;
For I am thine, thou mine also;
And where I am thou art. The foe
Shall never more divide us.
.
For he shall shed my precious blood,
Me of my life bereaving;
All this I suffer for thy good;
Be steadfast and believing.
My life from death the day shall win,
My righteousness shall bear thy sin,
So art thou blest forever.
.
Now to my Father I depart,
From earth to heaven ascending;
Thence heavenly wisdom to impart,
The Holy Spirit sending.
He shall in trouble comfort thee,
Teach thee to know and follow me,
And to the truth conduct thee.
.
What I have done and taught, do thou
To do and teach endeavor;
So shall my kingdom flourish now,
And God be praised forever.
Take heed lest men with base alloy
The heavenly treasure should destroy.
This counsel I bequeath thee.
Martin Luther 1524

Martin Luther wrote at length of the freedoms Christ has won for those who place their hope and life in Him.  He faced a corrupt political situation so wrapped up in the clothing of the church of his day (and vice versa) that his call to reform that which was corrupted lead to THE Reformation - not a remodelling of what was, but a church shaped anew by what had been forgotten, laid aside or rejected of Scripture's high call to God's people.

German, as a language, is not given to brevity but it is great in precision. This hymn , one of Luther's many, focuses on the work of Jesus and is far better in the German than the English: not that I'm offering to translate it afresh!  The hymns and songs of the day were used to teach and exhort the men and women in the newly forming churches of the reformation.  This explains a didactic tone which would not sit too well in our church gatherings today.

But I think WE* are poorer for not singing some of the great hymns of the past to one another - songs which exhort us to look to Jesus, correct our self centredness, rebuke our sinfulness and remind us of the great and finished work of Salvation done for us and in us through faith in Jesus, the Son of God, through the power of His Holy Spirit!  Four hundred years down the line and we are too forgetful, too easily distracted, too dispassionate and too self-obsessed to learn the lessons which Luther learned, which Jesus entrusted to all who would follow Him 2000 years ago: 


"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
Col 3:16

*If at this point you think 'but we do in my church' 1.be thankful and sing those hymns with gusto! 2.don't be smug and pray! :o)

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