Repent, the Reign of Heaven Nears

What: This Advent hymn brings to modern ears the message of John the Baptist: repent. It might be interesting to compare this Lutheran take with Charles Coffin's more familiar "On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry."

Who: This is an original by Anna Hoppe. She was a WELS hymnwriter from the early 20th Century. It is a shame that only one of her hymns is found in LSB (841).

Changes: I've updated the text a little, and tried to smoothen it out.

Note: A 'behest' is an "authoritative request;" it can also mean 'promise.'

Tune: The meter is LM, and Anna Hoppe recommends HERR JESU CHRIST, MEINS LEBENS LICHT LSB 704, but ERHALT UNS HERR, LSB 908.

"Repent, the Reign of heaven nears!"

Proclaims God's prophet to our ears.

O sinners lost by Adam's fall,

Will you not listen to the call?

Repent, believe the gracious call;
Receive the pardon He gives all.

The Prince of Life, the Word-Made-Flesh

Can give you life and holiness.

Divine Redeemer, wondrous King,

Repentant hearts to You we bring.

Your holy blood was shed for us;

Create again in us clean hearts.

Drawn by Your Spirit, thru Your Word,

Your invitation we have heard.

In answer to Your sweet behest

We come to You, dear Christ, for rest.

Your pardon- full, complete, and free-
Removes sins's deadly penalty.
Humanity is now restored;
You have redeemed us, dearest Lord!

Let us forever bless Your Name,
On earth to all confess the same,
Till by Your grace, thru faith in You
The gates of paradise we view.

Anna Hoppe, alt.

A Christmas Agnus Dei

What: For special services, such as Christmas, many congregations enjoy singing the words of the liturgy to familiar tunes associated with the particular holiday. This year, I made one up myself, for the Agnus Dei. I based the text on a translation of the German Agnus Dei hymn found in the ELHal of 1880, which reads "Lamb of God, most holy...," altho the words could just have easily followed the Jacobi translation, reading "Lamb of God, our Savior...." While the final line has odd accents if sung to the Praetorius setting, it is taken from the refrain for "A Great and Mighty Wonder," LSB 383.

Who: me? Couldn't be. Then who?

Tune: The tune is "Lo, How a Rose," LSB 359. It's three repetitions (well, two plus the first) wed perfectly with the three-fold address, "Lamb of God." And the left hand in Praetorius' setting paints an appropriate picture for "away."

O Lamb of God most holy,

Have mercy upon us!

O Lamb of God most holy,

Have mercy upon us

And take our sin away!

O Lamb of God most holy,

Grant peace to all the earth!

Traditional, adapt. MDS

Be Blithe, All Christian Men, and Sing

What: Luther said that he had tried again and again, but could not write good treatise on justification. And then it came to him: what better way to express the peace and joy of being declared right with God (Romans 5) than to sing? The more well-known translation is by Richard Massie, "Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice," LSB 556.

Who: This is another translation by the Reformation era Scotsmen, the Wedderburns.

Changes: I have heavily edited this translation.

Note: "Esay" is the old English version of Isaiah (much like Jeremy is from Jeremiah). Also, the meter is slightly different, so you have to put a syllable for every note of the tune (you'll see what I mean, don't worry).

Tune: The meter is technically 88 88 888, but it can still be sung to NUN FREUT EUCH, LSB 556.

Be blithe, all Christian men, and sing;

Dance and make mirth with all your might.

Christ has brought us great comforting;

Wherefore we may rejoice of right.

A work to wonder what is wrought:

Christ with His blood has us dear bought

And for our sake was made to die.

For with the Fiend and doleful death,

With hell and sin I was forlorn,

The son of ire_ at God's feet;

Conceived, I was, in sin, and born;

I grew up more and more therein

And daily added sin to sin,

Despair was e'er before me.

Where I could not the Law fulfill,

My doings made me no supply;

So blind and weak was my "free" will,

That it did hate all verity.

My conscience cast me into care,

The devil drove me to despair,

And hell was e'er before my eye.

God had great pity on my woe,

Above all measure showed me grace,

When I was yet His cruel foe,

Yet He would cure my careful case;

His love to me He did convert,

From the most deepest of His heart,

Which cost Him dear, to make my peace.

To His beloved Son He said,

"The time of mercy now draws near,

To save man and the fiend invade.

Therefore My heart's own Son so dear:

Go fetch them from the devil's feed,

Tho man o'erthrow sin, hell, and death,

And man restore to health and fear."

The Son His Father did obey,

And came down to the earth to me;

Born of a maid, as writes Esay,

My kind, sweet brother for to be.

He took on Him my nature vile,

And did His might for to exile,

Satan and all his subtlety.

He said, "Thou shalt have victory,

If thou alone on Me depend.

For I will give Myself for thee,

Thy careful quarrel to defend.

For I am thine and Mine thou art,

And of my fame thou shalt have part,

And reign with Me without end.

"Though man shed out My blessed blood,

And also reave My life from Me,

I bear this only for thy good:

Believe that firm and steadfastly.

For my death shall thy death devour,

That sin shall thee condemn no more:

This way, man, shalt thou savéd be.

Thus from this present life I fare,

To My Father celestial,

Thy Mediator to be there,

And send thee My Spirit I shall,

To give thee great consolation,

For all thy sore tribulation,

The truth He shall teach to you all.

My doing, teaching, more and less,

That teach and do unfeignédly,

For this doth God's dear church increase,

And His great name doth magnify.

Beware of men and their command,

Which Me and My Word do gainstand,

My testament I leave to thee.

Nun freut euch, Christen

Martin Luther

Tr. Wedderburn, ed. MDS

All People Who, Thru Jesus' Blood

What: This hymn simply answers the question, "What does 'the righteous/just shall live by faith' mean?" It is found in A Hymn and Prayer-Book of 1795.

Who: This hymn is anonymous, but was likely written by John. C. Kunze.

Changes: I made this hymn inclusive of all people by standard 21st century English usage.

Tune: The meter is LM, and AHPB suggests NACH DIR, O HERR, VERLANGET MICH, but TALLIS CANON would work fine.

All people who, thru Jesus' blood,

Are justified before their God

From condemnation are set free,

Enjoy the Gospel liberty.

By faith they live and walk and move,

By faith they serve and humbly love

Their God, and still with fervent mind

By faith they serve all humankind.

This happy state they cannot claim

From nature, nor in their own name;

The Law doth not this bliss impart,

But Christ conveys it to their hearts.

The justified in peace shall live

When all their heart to God they give;

Their fellowship is now begun

Both with the Father and the Son.

But soon the angel's trump will sound;

The justified with glory crowned

Shall from their dusty graves arise

And life eternal realize.

John C. Kunze?, alt.

O Jesus Christ, True Light of God

What: This hymn is, I think, an translation by a Reverend John C. Kunze and is found in the very first English Lutheran hymnal, published in 1795 in New York. The full title of the book is "A Hymn and Prayer-Book for the Use of Such Lutheran Churches as Use the English Language." The book is quite a gem for a few reasons, including this hymn.
The translation in common use today is O Christ, Our True and Only Light.
Who: Johann Heermann was a great Lutheran hymnwriter in the 1600's. His best-known hymn is "Ah, Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken?"
Changes: I only changed "dumb" to "mute."
Tune: the proper tune is O JESU CHRISTE, WAHRES LICHT, LSB 839.

O Jesus Christ, true light of God,

Enlighten such as know Thee not

And bring them unto Thy sheepfold,

Thereby to save their precious soul.

Replenish with Thy ray of grace

The wandering erroneous race

And such who're tempted secretly

To b'lieve that which is treachery.

And what else has eloped from Thee,

That seek with grace and constancy.

All wounded consciences so heal

That they show but for heav'n their zeal.

To all deaf grant an open ear;

The mute an utt'rance without fear;

Freedom to such who would confess

Their faith concerning righteousness.

Beguiléd souls do undeceive;

Bring all back who mean Thee to leave;

Them who are scattered congregate;

Convince those in a doubtful state.

Then, Lord, due praises shall be giv'n,

On earth below, above in heav'n,

By all of Thy redeeméd race,

To Thee for all Thy love and grace.

O Jesu Christe, wahres Licht
Johann Heermann
Tr. John C. Kunze, alt.

To Your Temple, Lord, Draw Near

What: This hymn, redone by yours truly, is based on the events of the Divine Service, from the entrance, to the invocation, to the Scripture readings, to the sermon, to the Creed, to the prayers, to the Lord's Supper, to the exit.
Who: The original was written by the Moravian hymnwriter, James Montgomery.
Changes: Many hymnals have worked to make the original, "To Thy Temple I Repair," sound more natural and have sounder theology. The version here is a compilation of those changes, with a few tweaks of my own. The seventh stanza is mine.
Note: I did not know what to do about the fourth line of stanza one. I wanted to say "Here we receive our Savior's grace," but couldn't fit it in. 'Get,' 'take,' and 'here we hear' did not seem appropriate.
Tune: The meter is 77 77 and the traditional tune is GOTT SEI DANK, LSB 830.

To Your temple, Lord, draw near;

We have come to meet You here.

This earth has no better place:

Here we taste our Savior's grace.

We through Him are reconciled,

We through Him became Your child.

Abba, Father, grant us grace

In Your courts to seek Your face.

While we hearken to Your Law,

Fill our souls with humble awe

Till Your Gospel brings to us

Life and light and lordliness.

While Your prophet here proclaims

Peace and pardon in Your Name,

Thru his voice, by faith may we

Hear You speaking lovingly.

While Your glorious praise is sung,

Touch our lips, unloose our tung

So our gladsome souls may bless

Christ the Lord, our Righteousness.

While the prayers of saints ascend,

God of love, to them attend.

Hear us, for Your Spirit pleads;

Hear, for Jesus intercedes.

Jesus, Human yet Divine,

Here You come in bread and wine,

In this blessed Sacrament

We in peace and joy are sent.

From Your house when we return,

May our hearts within us burn,

And at ev'ning let us say,

"We have walked with God today."

St. 1-6,8 James Montgomery, ed MDS
St. 7 MDS

The Facebook Hymn

What: I am going to quote another translation of this hymn in my sermon this Sunday, and I thought I might post this paraphrase of it.
Who: Thomas Hansen King is like the Scandinavian Isaac Watts, in that he wrote many, many hymns.
Changes: This is my up-to-date edition of the hymn. I am quite confident that it is this version that will be found in all Lutheran hymnals to come. :)
Tune: The meter is 87 87 77 88, and LSB 422 sets another translation of this hymn to DER AM KREUZ.

Post Your picture, pure and holy,

On my facebook, Savior great;

So that nothing, high or lowly,

Your blest image can delete.

Make the name below it be:

Jesus, crucified for me,

Is my life, my hope's foundation,

And my brightness and salvation!

Skriv dig, Jesu, paa mit Hjerte
Thomas Hansen Kingo
Tr. Jens Christian Aaberg, alt. MDS