
Above: The Fort, Coburg, Thuringia, Germany, 1890
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsca-01086
Caspar Friedrich Nachtenhofer (1621-1685) was a German Lutheran minister and liturgist.
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This Night a Wondrous Revelation:
https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/this-night-a-wondrous-revelation/
Lord Jesus, Thou Art Going Forth:
https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/lord-jesus-thou-art-going-forth/
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Above: One of My Crucifixes, July 2014
Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
Hymn Source = The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America
Stanzas #1-3, 5 (1651) by Caspar Friedrich Nachtenhofer (1621-1685)
Stanza #4 (1699) by Magnus Daniel Omeis (1646-1708)
English Translation (1927, 1940) by William Gustave Polack (1890-1950)
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The Soul:
1. Lord Jesus, Thou art going forth
For me Thy life to offer;
For me, a sinner from my birth,
Who caused all Thou must suffer.
So be it, then,
Thou Hope of men;
Thee I shall follow weeping,
Tears flowing free
Thy pain to see,
Watch o’er Thy sorrows keeping.
Jesus:
2. O Soul, attend thou and behold
The fruit of thy transgression!
My portion is the curse of old
And for man’s sin My Passion.
Now comes the night
Of sin’s dread might,
Man’s guilt I here am bearing.
Oh, weigh it, Soul;
I make thee whole,
No need now of despairing.
The Soul:
3. ‘Tis I, Lord, Jesus, I confess,
Who should have borne sin’s wages
And lost the peace of heavenly bliss
Through everlasting ages.
Instead ’tis Thou
Who goest now
My punishment to carry.
Thy death and blood
Lead me to God;
By grace I there may tarry.
Jesus:
4. O Soul, I take upon Me now
The pain thou shouldst have suffered.
Behold, with grace I thee endow,
Grace freely to thee offered.
The curse I choose
That thou mightst lose
Sin’s curse and guilt forever.
My gift of love
From heaven above
Will give thee blessing ever.
The Soul:
What can I for such love divine
To Thee, Lord Jesus, render?
No merit has this heart of mine;
Yet while I live, I’ll tender
Myself alone,
And all I own,
In love to serve before Thee;
Then when time’s past,
Take me at last
To Thy blest home in glory.

Above: Annunciation to the Shepherds
Image in the Public Domain
Original German Words (1683) by Caspar Friedrich Nachtenhofer (1624-1685)
English Translation (1922) by Anna Bernadine Dorothy Hoppe (1889-1941)
Hymn Source = The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America
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1. This night a wondrous revelation
Makes known to me God’s love and grace;
The Child that merits adoration
Brings light to our benighted race;
And though a thousand suns did shine,
Still brighter were that Light divine.
2. The Sun of Grace for thee is beaming;
Rejoice, my soul, in Jesus’ birth!
The light from yonder manger streaming
Sends forth its rays o’er all the earth.
It drives the night of sin away
And turns our darkness into day.
3. This night, which all thy gloom can banish,
The bliss of heaven glorifies;
When sun and moon and stars shall vanish,
Its rays shall still illume the skies.
This light thro’ all eternity
Thy heav’n and all to thee shall be.
4. O Jesus, precious Sun of gladness,
Fill Thou my soul with light, I pray.
Dispel the gloomy night of sadness
And teach Thou me this Christmas Day
How I a child of light may be,
Aglow with light that comes from Thee.
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