O How Shall I Receive Thee?

Representative Text

1 Oh, how shall I receive thee,
how meet thee on thy way,
bless’d hope of ev’ry nation,
my soul’s delight and stay?
O Jesus, Jesus, give me
now by thine own pure light
to know whate’er is pleasing
and welcome in thy sight.

2 Love caused thine incarnation;
Love brought thee here to me.
Thy thirst for my salvation
procured my liberty.
Oh, love beyond all telling,
that led thee to embrace,
in love, all love excelling,
our troubled human race.

3 Thou comest, Christ, with gladness,
in mercy and goodwill,
to bring an end to sadness
and bid our fears be still.
We welcome thee, our Savior;
come gather us to thee,
that in thy light eternal
our joyous home may be.

Source: Voices Together #215

Author: Paul Gerhardt

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 >

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 >

Text Information

First Line: O how shall I receive Thee
Title: O How Shall I Receive Thee?
German Title: Wie soll ich Dich empfangen
Author: Paul Gerhardt
Translator: Arthur T. Russell (1855)
Meter: 7.6.7.6 D
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

ST. THEODULPH (Teschner)

Now often named ST. THEODULPH because of its association with this text, the tune is also known, especially in organ literature, as VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN. It was composed by Melchior Teschner (b. Fraustadt [now Wschowa, Poland], Silesia, 1584; d. Oberpritschen, near Fraustadt, 1635) for "Valet wi…

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ST. ANSELM (Barnby)


HE SHALL FEED HIS FLOCK


Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 5 of 5)

Ambassador Hymnal #3

Great Songs of the Church (Revised) #189

Hymnal #182

Page Scan

The Covenant Hymnal #123

TextPage Scan

Voices Together #215

Include 88 pre-1979 instances
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