Christ the Life of All the Living

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Christ the Life of all the living

Translator: Catherine Winkworth; Author: Ernst C. Homburg (1659)
Tune: [Jesu, meines Lebens Leben] (11756)
Published in 65 hymnals

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	Christ, the Life of All the Living

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	Christ the Life of All the Living

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	At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing - Songs…

Representative Text

1 Christ, the life of all the living,
Christ, the death of death, our foe;
who Thyself for me once giving
to the darkest depths of woe,
patiently didst yield Thy breath
but to save my soul from death;
praise and glory ever be,
blessed Jesus, unto Thee.

2 Thou, O Christ, hast taken on Thee
bitter strokes, a cruel rod;
pain and scorn were heaped upon Thee,
0 Thou sinless Son of God;
only thus for me to win,
rescue from the bonds of sin;
praise and glory ever be,
blessed Jesus, unto Thee.

3 Thou didst bear the smiting only
that it might not fall on me;
stoodest falsely charged and lonely
that I might be safe and free;
comfortless that I might know
comfort from Thy boundless woe;
praise and glory ever be,
blessed Jesus, unto Thee.

4 Then for all that wrought our pardon,
for the sorrows deep and sore,
for the anguish in the garden,
I will thank Thee evermore,
thank Thee with my latest breath
for Thy sad and cruel death,
for that last and bitter cry,
praise Thee evermore on high.

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #278

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Translator: Catherine Winkworth

Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used i… Go to person page >

Author: Ernst C. Homburg

Ernst C. Homburg (b. Mihla, near Eisenach, Germany, 1605; d. Naumberg, Germany, 1681) wrote most of his hymns for his own devotions. He described this eight-stanza text as a "hymn of thanksgiving to his Redeemer and Savior for his bitter sufferings." In early life, Homburg was a writer of love and drinking songs. After a difficult time of family illness he experienced a religious conversion, and his poetry took a more serious turn. A lawyer by profession, he wrote hymns to express and strengthen his own faith rather than for public use. Some 150 of his hymn texts were published in his Geistliche Lieder. Bert Polman… Go to person page >

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Related Texts

All Glory, Laud and Honor

First Line:	Christ the Life of all the living
Title:	Christ the Life of All the Living
German Title:	Jesu, meines Lebens Leben
Author:	Ernst C. Homburg (1659)
Translator:	Catherine Winkworth
Meter:	8.7.8.7.8.8 with refrain
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	Thousand, thousand thanks are due
Copyright:	Public Domain

Year A, Lent, Fifth Sunday
This is recommended for Year A, Lent, Fifth Sunday by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #137.
Year C, Lent, Fifth Sunday
This is recommended for Year C, Lent, Fifth Sunday by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #137.

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Notes

Ernst C. Homburg (b. Mihla, near Eisenach, Germany, 1605; d. Naumberg, Germany, 1681) wrote this German chorale text (“Jesu, meines Lebens Leben”), which was published in Part One of his Geistliche Lieder (1658). Homburg, who wrote most of his hymns for his own devotions, described his eight-stanza text as a "hymn of thanksgiving to his Redeemer and Savior for his bitter sufferings." In early life Homburg was a writer of love and drinking songs. After a difficult time of family illness he experienced a religious conversion, and his poetry took a more serious turn. A lawyer by profession, he wrote hymns to express and strengthen his own faith rather than for public use. Some 150 of his hymn texts were published in his Geistliche Lieder.

The translation of selected stanzas is by Catherine Winkworth (PHH 194), who published them in her Chorale Book for England (1863).

The text is a meditation on the suffering and death of Christ, which brought eternal life to believers (st. 1), provided full atonement for our sin (st. 2), and mortified our "old nature" (st. 3). The tone of unending gratitude to God reflected in the refrain line–"thousand, thousand thanks are due"–runs throughout the entire text.

Liturgical Use:
Lent, especially Holy Week; any worship service with a thanksgiving focus.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

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Tune

[Jesu, meines Lebens Leben] (11756)

The composer of the tune is unknown; it was first published in Das grosse Cantional: oder Kirchen-Gesangbuch (Darmstadt, 1687) to the text "Alle Menschen mussen sterben" by J. G. Albinus; some Baroque organ works are associated with that text. The tune became associated with Homburg's text since the…

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[Jesu, meines Lebens Leben] (Wessnitzer)

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CHRIST, THE LIFE OF ALL THE LIVING (Lift Up Your Hearts 137)

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Psalms and Hymns to the Living God (2023), p.338

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Instances

Instances (1 - 65 of 65)

The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892 #361

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