Come, and Christ the Lord be praising,
Heart and mind to Him be raising,
Celebrate His love amazing,
Worthy folk of Christendom!
Sin, death, hell, may all be grieving,
Satan shame feel to him cleaving,
We salvation free receiving,
Cast our every care away.
See what God for us provideth,
Life that in His Son abideth,
And our weary steps He guideth
From earth’s woe to heav’nly joy.
His soul deeply for us feeleth,
He His love to us revealeth,
He who in the heavens dwelleth
Came to save us from our foe.
Jacob’s star His advent maketh,
Soothes the longing heart that acheth,
And the serpent’s head He breaketh,
Scattering the pow’r of hell.
Op’d hath He and freedom gain’d us
From the prison that contain’d us,
Where much grief and sorrow pain’d us,
And our hearts were bow’d with woe.
O bless’d hour when we receivèd
From the foe who us deceivèd
Liberty, when we believèd,
And Thee, gracious Savior, prais’d.
Beauteous Infant in the manger,
O befriend us! beyond danger
Bring us where is turn’d God’s anger,
Where with angel hosts we’ll praise!
Paul Gerhardt's Spiritual Songs, 1867
Paul Gerhardt (b. Gräfenheinichen, Saxony, Germany, 1607; d. Lubben, Germany, 1676), famous author of Lutheran evangelical hymns, studied theology and hymnody at the University of Wittenberg and then was a tutor in Berlin, where he became friends with Johann Crüger. He served the Lutheran parish of Mittenwalde near Berlin (1651-1657) and the great St. Nicholas' Church in Berlin (1657-1666). Friederich William, the Calvinist elector, had issued an edict that forbade the various Protestant groups to fight each other. Although Gerhardt did not want strife between the churches, he refused to comply with the edict because he thought it opposed the Lutheran "Formula of Concord," which condemned some Calvinist doctrines. Consequently, he was r… Go to person page >
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