Lutheran Worship ‎#268

268. Oh, How Blest Are You

1 Oh, how blest are you whose toils are ended,
Who through death have to our God ascended!
You have arisen
From the cares which keep us still in prison.

2 We are still as in a dungeon living,
Still oppressed with sorrow and misgiving;
Our undertakings
Are but toils and troubles and heartbreakings.

3 You meanwhile are in their chambers sleeping,
Quiet and set free from all our weeping;
No cross or sadness
There can hinder your untroubled gladness.

4 Christ has wiped away your tears forever;
You have that for which we still endeavor;
To you are chanted
Songs that to no mortal ear were granted.

5 Ah, who would, then, not depart with gladness
To inherit heav'n for earthly sadness?
Who here would languish
Longer in bewailing and in anguish?

6 Come, 0 Christ, and loose the chains that bind us;
Lead us forth and cast this world behind us.
With you, th'Anointed,
Finds the soul its joy and rest appointed.

Text Information

• First Line: Oh, how blest are you whose toils are ended
• Title: Oh, How Blest Are You
• Author: Simon Dach, 1605-59
• Translator: Henry W. Longfellow, 1807-92 (alt.)
• Meter: 10 10 5 10
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1982
• Topic: Death and Burial

Tune Information

• Name: O WIE SELIG
• Meter: 10 10 5 10
• Key: E♭ Major
• Source: J. Georg Stoezel's Choral-Buch, Stuttgart, 1744