532. St. John's Day Hymn

Today is the feast of St. John, also known as the third Day of Christmas, the middle of three consecutive days immediately following Christmas celebrating some of the heroes of our faith. According to the Lutheran Service Book lectionary for feasts and festivals, its readings are Revelation 1:1-6, 1 John 1:1–2:2 and John 21:20-25. So, a triple whammy of John's writings! And here, with my usual "no particular tune in mind," is the next hymn in a series that I've suddenly decided to write on this calendar/lectionary in LSB.

Grace, peace to you from Jesus Christ the Son,
Who is and who was and who is to come,
And from the seven spirits at His throne:
The faithful Witness, Firstborn from the dead,
Of all the kings of earth eternal Head:
Grace, peace to you, His faithful servant said.

For John, his faithful testimony true,
And with Him, Lord, we praise and worship You;
Who, had You willed a thing, it would ensue:
To die or live, his witness all the same
Could fill the world with neither stint nor shame,
All to the glory of Your holy name.

He testified to life made manifest
In You, the Word, Son of the Father blest,
In Whose full fellowship the faithful rest;
Declared Your light, that we may have full joy,
Which neither sin nor darkness can destroy,
Cleansed by Your blood from all corrupt alloy.

And now with John we praise You, First and Last,
Whose offered blood has made salvation fast,
Through which from death to glory we have passed—
From slaves to kings and priests unto the Lord.
Amen! Come soon, with Paradise restored,
By every eye eternally adored!

ART: Eagle representing St. John, from a baptismal font carved by Robert Mawer in 1853, formerly displayed in the Church of St. Mark, Woodhouse, Leeds, West Yorkshire. Licensed via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0.