597. Increase Yourself, Lord

I haven't had much time or energy to spare lately for anything but travel (when I was traveling) and work (since I've been back), but somehow this sprouted up. You know how it goes. I go through a hymn-writing dry spell now and then, and at this point I know better than to try to force it when I don't have an idea in my head. But then an idea comes and I have to grab a pencil and start scribbling it down before it gets away. And as usual, hymn-tune fanboy that I am, I don't have any particular tune in mind for this hymn. Art: Matthias Grünewald's Isenheim altarpiece, detail, public domain.

Increase Yourself, Lord Jesus, while I wane:
My pride, my powers, all my will subdue.
Increase Your glory, though it be through pain;
Fill up my iciness, my void with You.

You know the inward death that I conceal,
The fervent vows from which I feebly turn,
The coward conscience I but dully feel,
The secret fire wherein I daily burn.

Yet You Yourself have braved the tempter's trick:
Alone, O second Adam, You withstood.
You bore atonement's immolating prick;
You sprinkled me with purifying blood.

Come now Yourself, Lord Jesus, where I kneel,
Mouth open, living manna to receive.
Come, pour Yourself, like costly wine, yet real,
Real blood, that I through You at last might live.

I wait, Lord Jesus, envying the stones
That caught the drops, the crumbs that from You fell.
Breathe, speak into these dry, unsinewed bones:
Call me—nay, live in me, and all is well.

UPDATE: All right, I picked a tune. Believe it or not, it's ELLERS by E.J. Hopkins, 1867, as in "Savior, again to Thy dear name we raise."

596. Walking on Water Hymn

I heard a sermon on this miracle of Jesus this morning, and a point that the preacher lightly brushed against in one sentence really caught hold and started to form a hymn around itself. I'm inclined to set it to a Welsh tune called Hywel, which I spotted in a Facebook post about how the "M.B.C." meter (6.7.8.7.), common in Welsh-language hymnals, is hardly ever used in English. Huh. Let's see about that.

Who are You, Lord, who walks
On storm-tossed seas, surefooted?
Take pity on my faith, which balks,
Though in Your promise rooted!

Had I dear Peter's sand
To vault the rail unthinking—
Were I indeed on solid land,
How soon I would be sinking!

Behold, O Christ, my doubts,
So swiftly, loudly thronging;
How I pass through sin's daily bouts,
You and my neighbor wronging!

But this, at least, I glean
From Peter's rush and stumble:
Your eye rests not upon the clean,
But on the poor and humble.

And this: 'tis not my faith
Which bears me through this hour—
That broken thing! Nay, but Your grace,
Your trusty word, Your power.

Oh, fix my eyes on You,
My plea for mercy hearing!
Then sure salvation I will view,
Secured through Your appearing.

595. 'Mother-Water' Hymn

It's about baptism, don'tcha know. And its connection to the creation of the world and the conception and birth of Jesus. I took inspiration for this hymn from a sermon I heard quite a while ago; it cooked a long time before it was, um, ready to come out of the oven. Art: Creation of the World (detail) by Michael Willmann, 1668, public domain. Tune: DANKET DEM HERRN by Heinrich Schütz, 1628; I previously used it with this hymn.

Voice from the formless void, You spoke
Word strong as act, both vow and Son.
The uncreated stillness broke:
The cosmos stood, its tale begun.
Your living Breath, as time awoke,
Already soared: God, Three in One.

The chaos of creation's birth
Remained as yet in dreamless sleep,
Until the heavens and the earth
You summoned from her vasty deep,
And sudden light engirt her girth:
Who but her waves were there to leap?

When Adam took the fatal fruit,
And sin infected all our breed,
You pledged a Hero to recruit
From woman's womb, without man's seed—
A cure for sinners, His pursuit,
Through broken water to proceed.

The mother-water breaks anew,
And as from Mary's virgin womb
A newborn saint now passes through
To life from death, to light from gloom:
Bespoke, our Father, unto You,
In Word and Spirit (s)he will bloom.

We praise You, Christ! For in this font,
You give us life; You purge our shame;
You prove that of all things You want
To name us with a holy name.
From stormy void, from tempter's taunt,
Your new creation call and claim!

594. A Paraphrase of Psalm 150

Alleluia! Praise we God:
In His temple let us laud
Him, and in His might on high,
Waft His worship to the sky!

Praise Him for His wondrous deeds,
Him whose greatness all exceeds;
Let the trumpet's blithesome bell
His unmatched perfection swell.

Let the dulcimer and lute
Meld with violin and flute;
Tambor join, with dancing foot,
Rumor of His grace to bruit.

Let the cymbal and the gong
Shed their sheen upon the song;
All that breathes, take up with awe
This our theme: Alleluia!

The Difference Between Birdcalls and Birdsong

Enjoy the goldilocks, just-right warmth of this spring afternoon,
Sun gentle, breeze scented with something grassy and fresh,
And take note of what the birds call among themselves, close by:
"Look out, comrades! Here comes one of those monsters
That stomp about on two legs. Alas for the blood memory
Of an age when they were fewer, smaller, earthier to smell,
And franker in their aim to kill just what they needed!"

But strain your ears a bit to the farther bird songs,
Which say: "Come to me, my pretty, my beloved!
It is I, thy heart's desire."

593. Hymn of Reproach

This hymn has been cooking on my back burner for a good long while. I thought about turning it into a paraphrase of the Reproaches from the Good Friday liturgy, but that didn't really stir my creative juices much, so nothing materialized until I decided to go back to my initial idea, which arose while listening to a Sunday sermon I know not how many weeks ago. The tune I have in mind is NUN LASST UNS DEN LEIB from Georg Rhau’s Geistliche Gesänge, Wittenberg, 1544, best known in connection with the burial hymn "Now lay we calmly in the grave."

Unholy age, hear my reproach:
Beware the Judge's swift approach!
Do now, ere He convenes His court,
Acts that with penitence comport!

Think you the world t'ward Jesus turns,
Grows and progresses, upward yearns?
Lo, hist'ry proves the flat reverse:
Each epoch wickeder and worse!

Think you the faithful will arise
To better all before God's eyes?
Open your own, and take concern:
Can faith endure till He return?

Think you God's Word somehow complies
With reason? Mark how man denies
The very words He pledges plain:
Repent and hear His Word again!

Think you Christ's suffering and blood
Suffice not for all sinners' good?
Spew out faith's bane, uncertainty:
His sov'reign will declares you free.

Think you His Spirit's calling voice
Completes or answers your free choice?
Let grace assure your doubting heart
Which ere all worlds set you apart.

Think you, in floods of peril dark,
Your quav'ring faith will be your ark?
Would that the water Jesus pours
Float it from sin to safer shores!

Think you the bread and cup we share
Are merely signs of mystic fare?
Think but how Jesus would emboss
Upon our flesh His lively cross!

O people, see the ages' wreck!
Away, heart hardened, stiffened neck!
The incense of repentance burn;
Watch, pray for Jesus' swift return!

592. Prayer for Mistreated Ministers

For my friend and brother, Alan Kornacki Jr. Art: Window in the Apse of St. Ignatius Church, Chestnut Hill, Mass., photograph by John P. Workman, Jr., licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Tune: LOB SEI DEM ALLMÄCHTIGEN GOTT by Johann Crüger, †1662, the tune to "Great God, a blessing from your throne" in Lutheran Book of Worship, "Not always on the mount may we" and "O Paschal Feast, what joy is thine" in Service Book and Hymnal. Or whatever.

Remember, God, Your children's need!
Stand watch, we pray, upon Your seed:
Your living and abiding word,
At work where it is preached and heard.

Uphold, dear Christ, the men You call
To speak Your truth to one and all.
Through their reproof our steps correct;
Put what they promise to effect.

Look, Lord! How Satan sows his tares
And sets out stumbling blocks and snares
To hinder, if he can, the feet
That carry news of comfort sweet!

Look how this age's tyrant tries
To curb Your word, preferring lies,
And what devices he has brought
To set Your servants' work at naught!

Look how false brethren daily rise
To do what seems right in their eyes;
How some, who churchly power claim,
Betray those branded with Your name!

Before their strength is fully spent,
Bid every help to them be sent;
Let even us, with spirit bold,
Mistreated ministers uphold.

For if no trusty heralds go,
Lord, how can we Your tidings know?
Inhale the prayers the faithful burn,
The incense of our heart's concern!

591. Psalm of a Restless Night

A loose paraphrase of Psalm 6, titled "To the chief musician, with stringed instruments, on an eight-stringed harp." Not coincidentally, I wrote it around 2 a.m. Art: Child at Prayer by Eastman Johnson, c. 1873, public domain.

My bed dissolves in tears;
With sweat my pillow swims.
All night I groan with restless fears,
With vain designs and whims.
My eyes are sore with weary grief:
Lord, chasten not my unbelief!

Rebuke me not with ire;
Have mercy! I am weak.
Restore the bones Your holy fire
Has well-nigh brought to break!
Restore my soul—O Lord, how long?
Return with Your salvation strong!

For in the grave's dumb sleep
Who, Lord, will sing Your praise?
In death, who will remembrance keep
Of all Your gracious ways?
Depart from me, iniquity!
I cried, and God gave ear to me.

The Lord indeed has heard
My heart's despondent prayer:
He gives His never-failing word
To shoulder all my care.
Let all that troubles me retreat:
Before me stands the Mercy-Seat.

P.S. Here's an original tune to go with this hymn.

Catechesis Warm-Up Songs, Part 6

The sixth and final "chief part" of Luther's Small Catechism addresses the Sacrament of the Altar, a.k.a. the Lord's Supper, a.k.a. the Eucharist, a.k.a. Holy Communion, a.k.a. The Mass. Luther's question-and-answer structure divides nicely into four units, which doesn't necessarily mean it will take that many classroom sessions to cover it, but I'm providing a hymn for each of the four anyway. It's a weighty subject, worthy of considerable meditation. So here are some songs that I hope will help prepare young minds for such a meditation. ART: The Last Supper by Jaume Huguet, 1470, public domain.

587. What Is the Sacrament?
Tune: ARFON, Welsh
(cf. "Chief of sinners though I be" and "What our Father does is well" in Australia's Lutheran Hymnal)

Cup of blessing which we bless,
Bread that harbors righteousness,
Be for me the highest good:
Jesus' body, Jesus' blood
Sacrificed, now seal to me
God's forgiveness, full and free!

Reason finds it grossly strange
That Christ would such meal arrange,
Giving that to eat and drink
From which dainty minds must shrink:
His true body, His true blood,
In and under earthly food!

But His word cannot be torn.
His Passover vow is sworn:
Holy flesh bared to the bone,
Veins laid open to atone.
Would you see your debts erased?
Hear His promise; open, taste!

God spoke on that festal night,
Pledging pardon and delight
In the bread that harbors love,
Vintage drawn from heav'n above:
God's own body, God's own blood,
Served in perfect servanthood.

588. What Does the Sacrament Do?
Tune: HERR JESU CHRIST, MEINS LEBENS LICHT, Leipzig, 1625
(cf. "Lord Jesus Christ, my Life, my Light")

O Flesh that purified the flails
Which tore You, Hands that blessed the nails
Which pierced You through, stretch out to me:
Your healing touch shall set me free.

Probe deep in me, corrupt and sore;
Uncleanness can abide no more.
With blood that seasoned vulgar wood,
Make white my stains, my foulness good.

Come, not to heart and soul alone,
But even to my flesh and bone:
My mouth with Your atonement feed,
That all my members may be freed.

And if I thus am reckoned pure,
I may count my redemption sure:
For where God's peace and pardon dwell,
Life and salvation camp as well.

589. How Does the Sacrament Do This?
Tune: O JESU CHRISTE, WAHRES LICHT, Nürnberg, 1676
(cf. "O Christ, our true and only Light")

Ask you how can it all be true
That our Lord's Supper claims to do?
Only keep Jesus' words in view:
"Given and shed to ransom you."

Strange things God says, let none deny:
Yet not one error, not one lie.
His word turns none and naught to yes
And reckons faith as righteousness.

Knowing that Christ does not deceive,
What He declares therefore believe,
And for His sacrifice's sake
Of His last testament partake.

Partake, believing, and obtain
That which no pow'r of yours can gain:
Forgiveness, drenched in offered blood;
God's very body, giv'n as food.

Then with that bread and in that cup,
A blessed fellowship you sup:
Communion with the saints above,
United in the Savior's love.

590. Who Receives the Sacrament Worthily?
Tune: MERTON by William H. Monk, 1861
(cf. "Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding")

Fasting, outward exercises,
And such discipline are fine:
Yet belief alone comprises
Worthiness with Christ to dine.

Some, who have His pledge forsaken
And His presence here denied,
Still have of this feast partaken
And eternally have died.

Christ is present, irrespective
Of what those who sup believe;
For His promise is effective:
What He pledges, we receive.

But the benefit is given
To the eater who perceives
In this bread the King of heaven,
Hung between two earthy thieves.

Yea, the cup of joy is ladled
From the blood He spilled for all,
When the Bridegroom's head was cradled
In a myrrh-anointed pall.

To His testament's believer
All things broken are made whole,
Faith alone the blest receiver
Of His promised PAID IN FULL.

Let us then with care and pleasure
Eat and drink what Christ declared,
That we may enjoy the treasure
That His kindness has prepared.

Catechesis Warm-Up Songs, Part 5

Part 5 of Luther's Small Catechism, at least the version used in my corner of Lutheranism for instruction in the faith, has to do with the Office of the Keys (the power to forgive and retain sins) and confession and absolution. So, as these two hymns emphasize, Christ at work through means, through men to whom He has delegated such wonderful authority, and sinners finding comfort for their burdened consciences. Basically, the nitty gritty of the gospel as Lutheranism faithfully teaches and confesses it. ART: Christ giving the Keys of Heaven by Peter Paul Rubens (†1640), public domain.

585. The Office of the Keys
Tune: TALLIS' CANON by Thomas Tallis, 1565
(cf. "All praise to Thee, my God, this night")

Christ gave the Office of the Keys
To set tormented souls at ease,
And flouters of the Law to spurn
Till in repentance they return.

We thank You, Lord, for calling men
To loose our sins; for surely when
They pardon us, we may believe
That Your forgiveness we receive.

Just so, we praise Your holy mind
That binds as well the sins they bind:
For he who on his own strength leans
Should fear indeed Your earthly means.

Through such means, Lord, toward us You reach:
Through hands that serve, through mouths that teach;
Therefore Your gifts, our Savior dear,
And You Yourself are always near.

586. Confession and Absolution
Tune: EVAN by William Henry Havergal, 1846
(cf. "Oh, that the Lord would guide my ways")

Cast off, O Lord, my heavy pall,
Sin's agonizing weight!
Oh, come, my Hope, my Life, my All:
Your pardon I await.

Unto Your servant I confess
The sins I know and feel;
Whate'er remains, let grace address,
Though it be dire and real.

And when he speaks the freeing word
My wounded conscience craves,
Help me believe what I have heard:
Your word that heals and saves.

Catechesis Warm-Up Songs, Part 4

The fourth chief part of Luther's Small Catechism, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, is divided into four units. Here's a warm-up song for a class session on each unit. I don't know if this part of the instruction course will necessarily require four sessions, but I'm just going with how Luther structured the material. Use or skip whichever ones you like, if any. ART: 12th century baptismal font in Väte Church, Gotland, Sweden. Photo by Helen Simonsson licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

581. What Is Baptism?
Tune: ALLE JAHRE WIEDER by Johann C.H. Rinck, 1827
(“As each happy Christmas“)

Praise the Lord, who sought me
When I was astray,
And in truth begot me
In a wondrous way!

I was in baptism
Reborn from above.
God has healed the schism
’Twixt me and His love.

Scripture, never lying,
States what here occurred:
His own hand applying
Water and the word.

Water and the Spirit,
Put another way,
Soaks me in Christ’s merit,
Puts my sin away.

Ah! What joy, what pleasure
God’s dear child to be!
Praise Him, who such treasure
Freely gives to me!

582. What Does Baptism Do?
Tune: SAELIR ERU TRÚADIR, Bohemian, 15th cent.
(“And then the Savior turned“)

Christ blessed us as He bled,
With pardon sighing;
He bowed His blameless head,
For sinners dying.

Now is death’s curtain torn,
New life unveiling.
The risen Christ has sworn,
His truth unfailing:

The baptized He will save;
Be then believing,
Despite the yawning grave
This hope receiving!

For what He says is true;
His word has power,
From when He washes you
Till your last hour.

Sin, hell and Satan quail;
Death shrinks before Him.
For Jesus does not fail;
Let all adore Him!

583. How Does Baptism Do This?
Tune: WIR HATTEN GEBAUET, German folksong, 1823
(“When Christmas morn is dawning“)

O Jesus, You submitted
To baptism here on earth,
Who had no sin committed,
No guilty ache to nurse.
Thus baptism You have fitted
With pardon and rebirth.

Bare water is invested
With Your almighty Word;
The Spirit, who once rested
Upon the deep, has stirred
A living faith, attested
By promise poured and heard.

Your washing recreates us,
The old makes fresh and new.
God’s Breath regenerates us;
The Father’s voice speaks true:
As heirs He designates us,
As dear to Him as You.

Your grace thereby is giving
A gift beyond compare:
All we have done forgiving,
New tasks You now prepare.
We shall not die but, living,
The works of God declare.

584. What Does Baptism Signify?
Tune: ST. DENIO, Welsh
(“Immortal, invisible, God only wise“)

How blessèd a rest, shared by all the baptized,
United in death, yea, and buried with Christ!
From sin we are freed, our indictment erased,
At peace with our God, in His bosom embraced.

What life now proceeds, only Jesus has seen:
It will be like His, as our death too has been.
In pleasing perfume and pure garments arrayed,
We walk in His light, on His promises stayed.

And now to the Father, and now to the Son,
And now to the Spirit, from all ages One,
The all-wise, all-powerful Ancient of Days,
Now and to all ages be glory and praise.

Catechesis Warm-Up Songs, Part 3

For Part 3 of this group of youth catechesis ditties, we move on to the third chief part of Luther's Small Catechism: The Lord's Prayer, a.k.a. the Our Father, which Luther analyzes as seven petitions plus an introduction (what it means to pray to God as "our Father") and the meaning of the word "Amen." So, it's a part with nine subparts, and at the risk of having more warm-up songs than actual lessons, here's a song for each of them. Art: The Lord's Prayer by James Tissot, †1902, public domain.

572. Praying to Our Father
Tune: NUN DANKET ALL by Johann Crüger, 1656
(cf. "Come, let us join our cheerful songs," etc.)

Our Father! Oh, how wondrous dear
It is that name to say
And know the Lord is sure to hear,
Since so He bids us pray!

Disciples, see what steadfast love
Our Father to us shows,
That He who dwells in heav'n above
Stoops down to hold us close.

See with what love He holds us now
To be His children dear,
His charge to pray a very vow
Our heart's desire to hear.

Christ is our advocate; indeed,
The Spirit bids us cry
"Our Father! Abba!" in our need:
Who are we to deny?

Our Father! So our prayer shall flow
From faith as fragrant sap.
Oh, grant that when no words we know,
Your love will fill the gap!

573. Hallowing God's Name (1st Petition)
Tune: LOBT DEN HERRN, DIE MORGENSONNE, Halle, 1829
(cf. "Hark! the Church proclaims her honor")

Holy is Your name, dear Father;
Be it likewise in our midst.
Let our hearts and lips no other
Name in creed or prayer enlist.

Yea, with Christ and with the Spirit
We confess You Three in One:
Would we call on You in fear, it
Cannot otherwise be done.

Set aside Your name among us
By the witness we have heard:
For the serpent's tooth had stung us
Ere You sent the living Word.

He it is whose blood and dying,
Yea, whose victory makes clean.
Every other rock denying,
On the name of Christ we lean.

Through the Word Your name possessing,
We find mercy, peace, and light.
Lord, secure to us this blessing:
Keep our doctrine pure and right!

Frustrate them whose faithless teaching
Would Your holy name disgrace!
Seal us with Your truth, till reaching
Paradise, we see Your face.

574. The Kingdom of God (2nd Petition)
Tune: GOTT SEI DANK, Halle, 1704
(cf. "Jesus! Name of wondrous love," etc.)

Lord, Your kingdom surely comes
Everywhere, without delay,
Though our generation plumbs
Depths of wickedness each day.

Bring Your kingdom even now,
Even here by us, we plead:
Reign in bosom, reign in brow,
Reign in word and silent deed!

Build with us as living stones
Such a house as suits Your word;
Quicken our dry, useless bones,
For Your saving purpose spurred.

Move our hands and stir our feet;
Open mouths to testify,
Leading to Your kingly seat
Those who now in bondage lie.

Not in highest heav'n alone,
Far removed from man or beast,
But among us bring Your throne,
Savior of the lost and least!

575. The Will of God (3rd Petition)
Tune: LUTHER SEMINARY by John Dahle, 1911
(cf. "Lord of the everlasting light," etc.)

As in the heavens, so on earth
Be Your will done, O Lord,
Who our salvation brought to birth
And still rich gifts afford!

It lies in You, not us, to judge
What best supplies our need.
While through hard passages we trudge,
Help us good news to heed.

All counsels break that will not let
Your name be glorified,
Your kingdom come—that rather set
What pleases You aside.

But strengthen us against our foes
Within, around, below;
Preserve us through their raging throes
While You Your purpose show.

And when our pilgrimage is past,
The curtain swiftly draw:
Reveal Your mysteries at last
To our devout "Aha!"

576. Daily Bread (4th Petition)
Tune: FESTAL SONG by William Henry Walter, †1893
(cf. "For all your saints, O Lord," etc.)

For daily bread, O God,
Our eyes on You are set.
All needs at home and those abroad
You perfectly have met.

Not only for our food,
Lord, are we in Your debt:
For You supply us every good,
Ne'er slumber, ne'er forget.

We thank You for our toils
That hunger often whet,
And for our labor's honest spoils,
The fruit borne of our sweat.

Yea, all the means You use
To blunt dread famine's threat
We take as gifts and not as dues,
Spurn worry and regret.

And should our prayer, O Lord,
Be answered with "Not yet,"
Fix eye and heart on our reward
Before all ages set.

577. The Forgiveness of Sins (5th Petition)
Tune: LLEF by Griffith Hugh Jones, †1919
(cf. "That day of wrath, that dreadful day")

Father, forgive our daily sins!
We know full well what we have done:
Our prayer, our worship scarce begins
When into vanity we run!

Pardon the injuries we deal
Our neighbor both in word and deed—
Even at heart, wrongs just as real:
Each crooked thought, each unfelt need.

Pardon the virtues we presume
Before Your righteous eyes to flaunt:
The pride itself that merits doom,
The half-obedience we vaunt.

On their account, almighty God,
You rightly could reject our prayer;
Only because of Jesus' blood
We beg and trust You to forbear.

Therefore we pray, for Jesus' sake,
Forgive our faults; erase our debt!
With Your help, we will undertake
Our neighbor's trespass to forget.

578. Delivered from Temptation (6th Petition)
Tune: PICARDY, French, 17th century
(cf. "Let all mortal flesh keep silence")

Lead us not into temptation!
Lord, You know our weakness well,
And from Eden's desolation
Fought right to the gates of hell:
Only You the foe's frustration
Have fulfilled since Adam fell.

Be our strength when Satan's guises
Blur our view of what You will;
When the flesh's lure surprises,
Bent on luxury or thrill;
When the world dins what it prizes
All around us, never still.

Jesus, Adam's greater scion,
Watch with us another day!
Keep from us the roaring lion,
Prowling for unguarded prey,
That we may at last to Zion
Muster safely from the fray.

579. Delivered from Evil (7th Petition)
Tune: WEM IN LEIDENSTAGEN by Friedrich Filitz, 1847
(cf. "Glory be to Jesus")

Jesus, see what evils
Threaten us today!
Errors and upheavals
Press in on our way.

From ills of the body—
Famine, plague, and sword,
Vices gross and gaudy—
Save us, holy Lord!

From ills of the spirit
Likewise be our Guard,
Lest we, drawing near it,
From Your feast be barred.

Yea, we dare implore You,
Guard our goods and fame
Till we stand before You
Safe from earthly shame.

Never, Lord, forsake us
In our woes and fears,
Hastening to take us
From this vale of tears.

580. Saying Amen
Tune: LOBT GOTT, IHR CHRISTEN by Nikolaus Herman, 1554
(cf. "Praise God the Lord, ye sons of men")

Lord, Yours the kingdom, Yours the pow'r
And glory without end
From all eternity, this hour,
And evermore, Amen!
Again we say, Amen!

This word Amen, confessing truth,
Befits believing prayer;
For You have taught us from our youth
To trust Your promise fair
And witness to it bear.

We learned the very words we pray
From You, Immanuel.
With certainty Amen we say,
For no lie can You tell,
Who in our Father dwell.

Catechesis Warm-Up Songs, Part 2

Part 2 of this youth catechesis hymn project coincides with the second chief part of Luther's Small Catechism: the Creed, broken up into three articles. So here's my stab at a warm-up song for each unit in that series of lessons. Art: An illuminated, 14th century Bible manuscript depicting the attibuton of the Apostles' Creed to the Twelve, public domain.

569. The Father and Creation (1st Article)
Tune: ZEUCH MEINEN GEIST, a.k.a. ST. GREGORY, J. B. König’s Choralbuch, 1738
(cf. "O God of Love, O King of Peace" in Common Service Book and Service Book and Hymnal; also "Great God! we sing that mighty Hand" in CSB)

In God the Father I believe:
The God who has created me
And all things, from Whom I receive
All that I need, abundantly.

My soul and body, mind and heart
Are His to give and to preserve;
Rich daily gifts does He impart,
Regardless of what I deserve.

My flesh from danger does He shield,
My soul from evil saves and wards:
All thanks and praise to God I yield
For all His Father-love affords.

570. The Son and Redemption (2nd Article)
Tune: HERRNHUT by Bartholomäus Gesius, †1613
(cf. "Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness" in SBH, Lutheran Hymnary and Ev. Lutheran Hymnary)

I trust in God's eternal Son,
True God, true Man by Mary's womb,
Who on the cross redemption won
And rose victorious from the tomb.

I have been purchased, not with gold
Or silver, but with priceless blood,
When Jesus into death was sold,
My evil covering with good.

So I rejoice to be His own
And offer Him my everything,
Here and before His glorious throne—
My slain and ever living King!

571. The Spirit and the Church (3rd Article)
Tune: RATISBON, Leipzig, 1815
(cf. "Christ, whose glory fills the skies")

Not by reason, nor by will,
Nor by sentimental thrill,
Nor from any power in me
Came the faith that set me free;
But the Holy Spirit's light
Turned my blindness into sight.

You and I, believers all,
Owe it to the Spirit's call,
Gath'ring us around the Word
That plants faith where it is heard,
With baptism and sacrament
Working Jesus' kind intent.

Those now to salvation wise
God the Spirit sanctifies,
Giving everything we lack,
Proofing us from each attack
Of the world, our flesh, our foe,
Till He bids us heav'nward go.

Catechesis Warm-Up Songs, Part 1

I've had a new brainwave for a series of hymns, to set me up for another section of the upcoming book, Profitable Hymns. I'd like to think of them as warm-up songs for a youth catechism class, with each piece designed to be brief, simple, straight-to-the-point and (hopefully) catchy, if I can come up with appropriate tunes to go with them. To start, here are some ditties to open lessons on each of the Ten Commandments (adding them as I write them), as explained in Luther's Small Catechism. Note: If you're going to have a problem with how I number the Ten Commandments, take it up with Martin Luther. A second note: the numbering of the songs is only meant to maintain the continuity of the numbering (from zero) of the original hymns as I've posted them on this blog.

558. No Other God (1st Commandment)
Tune: YOU ONLY by yours truly, just now

You only, God, You only
Are the true and living Lord,
All worthy, yea, all worthy
To be worshiped and adored.

You rightly, God, are jealous
Of the race You raised from dust:
So help us, God, be zealous
In Your fear and love and trust.

559. God's Holy Name (2nd Commandment)
Tune: WALDER by Johann J. Walder, 1788
(cf. "How precious is the Book divine")

We thank You, Lord, for every gift
Pledged in Your holy name.
Help us with fear and love to lift
It up, Your word proclaim.

Hold back the tongue that would profane
Your word with craven lies,
That pries in mystery's domain
And Your plain truth denies.

Hold back the idle tongue, that we
May not call out in vain,
But glorify Your majesty
And all we ask, obtain.

560. The Lord's Day (3rd Commandment)
Tune: POSTDAM by J.S. Bach, †1750
(cf. "'Tis good, Lord, to be here")

Dear God, You chose the hour
To shoulder all our strife:
We hear You speak with saving power
That turns our death to life.

Oh, where is such a word,
For sinners such a rest?
Grant that Your holy day, O Lord,
May unto us be blest!

Help us to count this time
No longer ours but Yours,
Devoted to the grace sublime
That from Christ Jesus pours.

561. Honoring Your Parents (4th Commandment)
Tune: PAA SIT KORS by Hartnack O.K. Zinck, 1801
(cf. "Zion, to thy Savior singing" in the old Lutheran Hymnary)

Father, You have placed above us
Those who care for us and love us:
So grant that we may with joy
Serve them, faithfully subjected,
And when chided or corrected,
Humble deference employ.

As at home, in church and nation,
In our studies and vocation,
May we not provoke their ire.
Help us recognize You working
Through their office, never shirking
From the duty they require.

562. Do Not Murder (5th Commandment)
Tune: FRANCONIA, German, 1720
(cf. "Within the Father's house," etc.)

God, who on Adam's clay
Your lively image stamped,
Protect his offspring, who this day
See death against us camped.

Give us a heart that burns
With love for all his seed,
And that from hate and anger turns
To serve each other's need.

Grant us the will to care
For all with life and breath,
And willingly their burden bear
Till Christ makes spoil of death.

563. Sexual Purity (6th Commandment)
Tune: LIGHT DIVINE, a.k.a. SONG 13 by Orlando Gibbons, †1625
(cf. "Holy Spirit, Light divine")

Dearest Jesus, pure and true,
Form me more and more like You:
By the Holy Spirit's fire
Cleanse me of corrupt desire.

Grant, like Jacob, that I wait
For one choice and cherished mate,
Lest like Esau, my birthright
I'd exchange for brief delight.

Keep my words and dealings chaste;
Shield me from degrading taste,
For I know, dear Lord, to You
Undivided love is due.

564. Do Not Steal (7th Commandment)
Tune: DUNDEE, Scottish Psalter, 1615
(cf. "God moves in a mysterious way," etc.)

Providing God, with more than food
You keep all flesh alive:
Shall I, therefore, of any good
My neighbor now deprive?

No, Lord! But rather would I lift
Their hands to hold secure,
Yea, even multiply Your gift,
Resisting greed's allure.

For every trust is Yours to lend
And Yours to take away,
Till Christ steals in to make an end
Of need in that great day.

565. Testifying Truly (8th Commandment)
Tune: ANGELUS, Heilige Seelenlust, Breslau, 1657
(cf. "At even, ere the sun was set," etc.)

Faithful are You in all You say:
Guard then, O Lord, my fickle tongue,
So sharp to cut, to lead astray,
With words to do my neighbor wrong.

With You, the Word is more than fact:
Eternally begotten Son,
Uniting speech with potent act,
You ever live, with God are One.

I shall then let my yea be yea,
My no be no, my witness true,
And good things of my neighbor say
Before all men, and unto You.

566. Mind Your Desires (9th Commandment)
Tune: KOMM, O KOMM, DU GEIST DES LEBENS, Meiningen, 1693
(cf. "Come, O come, Thou quickening Spirit")

Lord, what wanting, plotting, scheming
Dwells within my selfish heart,
Which by fraud, yet upright seeming,
Seeks to grasp my neighbor's part!
Though the deed I never do,
Such desire is sin to You.

I am guilty, just as surely
As if thought won its effect.
Inwardly, yea, wholly, purely,
Your law bids me be correct.
So betraying You within,
How can I be free from sin?

Jesus, graciously forgiving,
Your desire for me is pure.
Live in me the life I'm living
And be my pollution's cure,
That my neighbor's rightful part
I may cherish in my heart.

567. Mind Your Vocation (10th Commandment)
Tune: CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN by Melchior Vulpius, 1609
(cf. "For me to live is Jesus")

Lord, thank You for my station
At home and everywhere,
For blessing each relation
Entrusted to my care.

Let angel hosts attend me;
Help me to deal aright.
From enviers defend me;
Subdue their guile and spite.

Let none by arts beguiling
Estrange those in my care;
Though menacing or smiling,
An evil thing they dare.

Keep me, as well, from seeking
To take my neighbor's place.
May I, when of him speaking,
His interest embrace.

Wherever I have lusted,
O God, my sin forgive!
For as You have entrusted
To each, so shall he live.

568. Summary of the Commandments (Exodus 20:5-6)
Tune: YOU ONLY (again; cf. 558)

You only, God, are worthy
Of all fear and love and trust,
Both heavenly and earthy,
Even ours, though we are dust.

You threaten to repay them
Who would answer You with hate;
You promise to array them
In Your grace, who on You wait.

Make us such heirs of blessing!
Grant to us a hearing heart,
Into Your kingdom pressing
As Your people, set apart.

ART: The tablets of The Ten Commandments, in a still from the film by that name, public domain.

557. Good Friday Exhortation

O benighted generation,
Groping, stumbling, short of sight,
Raise your heads! For now salvation,
Once for all, is brought to light.
Christ is publicly presented
As the Lamb who bears all sin:
On Him solely oriented,
Eyes of faith shall drink Him in.

All you deaf and hard of hearing,
Stammering or slow of tongue,
Raise your heads! For tidings cheering
Shall henceforth be told and sung.
Hark, your Shepherd's voice is calling
Each by name to rich repast.
Hear Him: spurn the false, enthralling
Babble of the age at last!

Lame and limping pilgrims, straying
From God's hard and narrow way,
Raise your heads! See Christ displaying
Nail-scarred feet, your debt to pay.
Freed from sin, make haste to follow
Him whose tread subdues the sea.
Turn aside from byways hollow;
Let His cross your polestar be.

All you poor, you brokenhearted,
Captives, outcast, and unclean,
Raise your heads! The veil is parted;
Now God's Mercy-Seat is seen.
Pain and woe last but a season;
Death is made a blessed sleep,
And the hope of life our reason
That a prayerful watch we keep.

ART: Andrey Mironov, free to use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

556. Doctors of the Church Hymn

I had been toying with the idea of adding a "Doctors of the Church" hymn to my ongoing hymnal project, based on the commemorations of Dr. Martin Luther (Feb. 18), C.F.W. Walther (May 7) and the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (June 25), which were among the propers in Lutheran Worship (predecessor to Lutheran Service Book) under "Minor Festivals." I didn't get any traction until I spotted the tune SALUS MORTALIUM (Erfurt, 1663) while working on a different project, and it caught my fancy. Here's what it looks like, with the first stanza of the hymn and some performance instructions that speak for themselves, I think:

And here's the full text:

Christ, who the doctors did astound,
In latter days, by grace profound,
You deigned the gospel to propound—
Alleluia!—
Through learned men of spirit sound.

Martin Luther:
2. We praise Your providential hand
For nerving Martin's "Here I stand,"
Whose witness, like a glowing brand—
Alleluia!—
Stirred faith to flame in many a land.

3. Grant in these latter days such nerve
That from Your word will never swerve.
Equip us with men apt to serve;
Alleluia!
Your faithful church through them preserve.

C.F.W. Walther:
2. We thank You for the prudent mind
That You to Ferdinand assigned,
Which Law and Gospel's limits lined—
Alleluia!—
And that with pastor's care entwined!

3. Lord, from Your word's well-ordered stores,
Feed us on these as other shores!
Unclose to us salvation's doors;
Alleluia!
Help us use rightly what is Yours!

Presentation of the Augsburg Confession:
2. We thank You for the noble men,
With Philipp's perspicacious pen,
Who spoke a unified Amen—
Alleluia!—
And trained the church on Christ again.

3. Still by their witness, Savior, bless
The church, that we Your name confess,
Keep what is good, avoid excess—
Alleluia!—
And gain the crown of righteousness!

Concluding stanza:
4. Propitiator for our race,
Bless all who Your appearing trace,
That many may the truth embrace—
Alleluia!—
Your pledge of justifying grace!

555. For a Chastened Church

Christ, who with braided cords
The temple purified,
Purge us as well of seeming lords
That turn our steps aside.

Cleanse all our aims and means
Of what beguiles our eyes;
Dispel the sentiment that leans
On that which in us lies.

Make ours a fellowship
That on Your nurture thrives;
Let no drop slip twixt cup and lip
Which faith and love revives.

If it must be with pain
Your discipline we feel,
Give us provisions that sustain
Our hearts with pious zeal.

On You, O Savior, fix
Our eyes, our doctrine plumb;
Deliver us from Satan's tricks
And strike our grumbling dumb.

For by sure word and sign
You work Your gracious will:
Let us therefore these treasures mine
And spread Your kingdom still.

TUNE: I'm thinking about SWABIA by J.M. Spiess (†1772), which has been variously paired with such hymns as "Forever with the Lord" (Ev. Lutheran Hymnary), "Jesus, my Truth, My Way" (Ev. Lutheran Hymn-Book, The Lutheran Hymnal), "Praise we the Lord this day" (TLH) and "How wide the love of Christ" (Lutheran Service Book). A nice, modest, sturdy tune that hasn't been overexposed, I think. ART: Bernardino Mei (†1676), Christ cleansing the temple, public domain.

554. Exhortation to Parents of the Baptized

Bring your babes to Christ, believers,
Nor withhold them from His face:
For they are the prime receivers
Of His sorely needed grace.

To be saved, dear sisters, brothers,
We must be just such as they:
Helpless, needy, nursed on others
Hour by hour and day by day.

See! Our sin, a death-shroud weaving,
Threads its way back to the womb;
While baptism, to Jesus cleaving,
Plaits new life upon our loom.

In Christ's tomb your child is resting;
Death becomes a holy sleep,
And Christ's Easter life comes, wresting
Them from hell and Satan's keep.

Now you have your dear child given
Unto God, His own to be,
Heir with Christ of earth and heaven,
From sin's sovereignty set free.

You receive them back as stewards,
Henceforth only yours in trust.
Nurse them therefore on His true words
And return a yield robust.

Oh, take care! Be wise and humble,
Guiding them upon their way.
Woe if any make them stumble,
Leading Jesus' lambs astray!

Oh, take care! The way is narrow
Where their steps the Lord would train;
Satan meanwhile nocks his arrow,
Menacing with might and main.

Watch and pray with love unsparing,
Parents of the Lord's baptized,
Every hour and day preparing
To commend them back to Christ:

Arming them from love of sinning,
Nurturing them on His word,
Their baptism but beginning
Life eternal with the Lord.

Tune: FREUEN WIR UNS ALL IN EIN, Michael Weisse, †1534. It was a tune for "Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding" in Lutheran Book of Worship and Lutheran Worship. Art: Baptismal font in the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, Texas, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

553. Hymn for Help in Spiritual Battle

The tune I have in mind for this hymn is OLD 124TH – not the "abbr." version that we Lutherans often pair with the hymn "Draw near and take the body of the Lord," but the original, unexpurgated version with five melodic phrases; see Service Book & Hymnal 348 ("Turn back, O man, forswear thy foolish ways") and 601 ("Praise ye the Lord, ye servants of the Lord") and Lutheran Book of Worship 376 ("Your kingdom come! O Father, hear our prayer").

Send help, O Lord! Lend me Your angel guard!
Dark are the days; the battle presses hard.
See what weak knees, what furrowed brow and pale
I bring to bear; what lies in me must fail,
My camp encircled and my forces frail.

Guard, Lord, my mind, so often led astray
With thoughts that reason's harlotry betray!
For what seems right unto my mortal eye
So often Your clear precept would deny—
Yet Your word lives, gives life, and cannot lie.

Guard, Lord, my heart, that with the world conspires
To see me seared by vain and rash desires!
Lest in this life and after I should burn,
Take out this cold, dead stone, that in return,
For that which pleases You I warmly yearn.

Guard, Lord, my feet that feel Your way's sharp stones;
My hands, against which earth its thistle hones;
My eyes, grown weak from watching in this night;
My ears from voices rather loud than right;
My tongue from telling tales against Your light.

Send holy angels, Lord, to guard with speed
From unseen foes more numerous indeed,
More deadly than my mind and sense perceive!
Oh, help my unbelief! Let me believe
That of Your strength, O Christ, I may receive!

552. SS. Simon & Jude

The feast of Saints Simon and Jude is Oct. 28, with readings from Jeremiah 26:1-16, 1 Peter 1:3-9 and John 15:12-21 (verses 12-16 optional). As characters in the Bible, they're good candidates for being relegated to half a saint's day each. Scipture doesn't say much about them.

Luke twice calls Simon Zēlōtēs or "the zealot" (Luke 6 and Acts 1). Matthew 10 and Mark 3 instead use the term Kananitēs, which the King James Bible mistranslates as "Canaanite" (which is a completely unrelated word, Hananaios, in Greek). The New King James Version corrects this to Cananite (with one less a), meaning he's from the town of Cana in Galilee. Other translations vary between Canaanite, Canaanean and "the zealot." However, Liddell & Scott say Kananitēs is the Syriac equivalent of the Greek Zēlōtēs (there's a related Hebrew word), so apparently "zealot" is correct. As for Zēlōtēs, they give "a rival, zealous imitator" as the first definition, and "a zealot" as the second. So either he's a famously zealous disciple of Christ, or a member of a certain political party known as the Zealots (possibly an anachronism), or just a local guy and that's what Scripture remembers about him. Scholarly opinions vary. Also, some say he may have been Simon the brother of Jesus (it would be odd if the gospels never mentioned this), or perhaps Simon of Jerusalem, the bishop who succeeded James. The only Simons he obviously isn't are Simon Peter, Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7) and Simon the sorcerer (Acts 9).

Then there's the matter of Jude, which is even more confusing. The apostle celebrated here is clearly not Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus and suicided. He is probably the "Judas, not Iscariot," mentioned as one of the 12 during Jesus' valedictory sermon in John 14, who actually gets a line: "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" (Jesus' answer: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.") Also, Luke (in Luke 6 and Acts 1) enumerates a "Judas the son of James," in addition to Judas Iscariot (the son of Simon), in his lists of the apostles. Instead of Jude or Judas, the apostolic list in Mark 3 mentions a Thaddaeus, and Matthew 10 inserts a Lebbaeus whose surname is Thaddaeus (shortened to just Thaddaeus in the Alexandrian textual tradition), so an obvious hypothesis is that the Jude celebrated in this feast is also known as (Lebbaeus) Thaddeus. Also, he could be the Judas, or Jude, listed as one of Jesus' brothers along with James, Joses and Simon in Matthew 13 and Mark 6, and the author of the epistle of Jude who styles himself the brother (not son) of James.

There are various traditions about what these apostles did after the Pentecost of Acts 2 and how, where and when they were martyred, but let's stay out of the weeds and get right to the hymn – the last in this planned series of "Heroes of the Faith" hymns. I do have a tune in mind this time: the Swedish melody GAA NU HEN OG GRAV MIN GRAV. ART: SS. Simon and Jude, detail from the 14th-century Santa Croce altarpiece by Ugolino di Nerio, public domain.

Blest are they whom men revile;
So the world despised their Master.
Lord, Your church, this little while,
Pines for a prophetic pastor
Who, in season wet or dry,
Pours Your counsel from on high.

Send, Lord, send them to reprove
When on error's road we stumble,
Rising early, lest You move
All our vanities to humble!
May we hear their voice! For why
Shall we curse Your name and die?

Having warned, let them convey
Your abundant, free forgiveness!
Bend our stiff necks to obey,
Lord, their cross-imprinted witness!
Let their zeal on us impress
Your desire to heal and bless!

Send a Simon or a Jude,
Though we might prefer a Peter
As our fleshly aims intrude
And o'er pride's abyss we teeter.
An imperishable prize
Set before our fickle eyes!

Send to us, and through us call,
Men to lead Your dearly boughten
To the joy reserved for all
Whom You have again begotten
Since You raised up Christ, our Head,
As the Firstborn from the dead.