Jesu! Life! The Life Of Heaven

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Jesu! life! the life of Heaven

Translator: Arthur T. Russell; Author: Ernst C. Homburg (1659)
Tune: [Jesu, meines Lebens Leben] (11756)
Published in 1 hymnal

Printable scores: PDF, Noteworthy Composer
Audio files: MIDI

Piano/Organ
	Christ the Life of All the Living

Representative Text

1 Jesu! life! the life of Heaven,
Thou who death’s destruction art,
Thou whose love for me hath given
To unfathomed woes Thine heart,
So to merit my salvation
From eternal condemnation,
Thousand thousand thanks to Thee,
Gracious Jesu! ever be.

2 Lo! for me, O Lord, Thou bearest
Mockery, spitting, scorn and shame:
Stripes and bands and wounds Thou sharest,
Son of God! most Holy Name!
Thus from Satan to regain,
That no more his chains detaine.
Thousand thousand thanks to Thee,
Gracious Jesu! ever be.

3 Lo! with grief Thy form is wasted,
Suffering patiently for me!
All death’s bitterness is tasted,
From its doom my soul to free:
Willingly Thou all endure;
So redemption Thou procure!
Thousand thousand thanks to Thee,
Gracious Jesu! ever be.

4 Thy humility appeaseth
Wrath the fruit of all my pride:
In Thy death death’s terror ceaseth;
All is well, for Thou hast died.
From Thy deep humiliation
Comes my glorious exaltation!
Thousand thousand thanks to Thee,
Gracious Jesu! ever be.

5 Lord, I bring Thee thanks unfeignèd
For Thy life of grief below,
For the wounds Thy love sustainèd,
For Thy death of wondrous woe!
For Thy soul did terrors shake,
I my tongue to praise will wake.
Thousand thousand thanks to Thee,
Gracious Jesu! ever be.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #9661

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Translator: Arthur T. Russell

Arthur Tozer Russell was born at Northampton, March 20, 1806. He entered S. John's College, Cambridge, in 1824, took the Hulsean Prize in 1825, and was afterwards elected to a scholarship. He was ordained Deacon in 1829, Priest in 1830, and the same year was appointed Vicar of Caxton. In 1852, he was preferred to the vicarage of Whaddon. In 1863, he removed to S. Thomas', Toxteth Park, near Liverpool, and in 1867, to Holy Trinity, Wellington, Salop. He is the editor and author of numerous publications, among them several volumes of hymns. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, 1872.… 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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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Jesu! life! the life of Heaven
Title:	Jesu! Life! The Life Of Heaven
German Title:	Jesu, Meines Lebens Leben
Translator:	Arthur T. Russell
Author:	Ernst C. Homburg (1659)
Meter:	8.7.8.7.7.7.7.7
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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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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