Above:  Christ the Merciful

Image in the Public Domain

Original Danish Words by Hans Adolf Brorson (1694-1764)

English Translation (1898) by Harriet Reynolds Krauth Spaeth (1845-1925)

Hymn Source = Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (1996), Evangelical Lutheran Synod

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1.  Thy little ones, dear Lord, we are,

And come Thy holy bed to see;

Enlighten ev’ry soul and mind

That we the way to Thee may find.

2.  With songs we hasten Thee to greet

And kiss the dust before Thy feet;

O blessed hour, O sweetest night,

That gave Thee birth, our soul’s delight.

3.  Now welcome! From Thy heav’nly home

Thou to our vale of tears art come;

Man hath no off’ring for Thee save

The stable, manger, cross, and grave.

4.  Jesus, alas! how can it be

So few bestow a thought on Thee

Or on the love, so wondrous great,

That drew Thee down to our estate?

5.  O draw us wholly to Thee, Lord,

Do Thou to us Thy grace accord,

True faith and love to us impart,

That we may hold Thee in our heart.

6.  Keep us, howe’er the world may lure,

In our baptismal cov’nant pure;

That ev’ry yearning thought may be

Directed only unto Thee

7.  Until at last we, too, proclaim,

With all Thy saints, Thy glorious name;

In Paradise our songs renew,

And praise Thee as the angels do.

8.  We gather round Thee, Jesus dear,

So happy in Thy presence here;

Grant us, our Savior, ev’ry one,

To stand in heav’n before Thy throne.

Above:  Ghent Altarpiece, by Jan van Eyck

Image in the Public Domain

Original Danish Words by Hans Adolf Brorson (1694-1764)

English Translation by Olav Lee (1859-1943), a Norwegian-American Lutheran minister and professor at Augustana and St. Olaf Colleges

Hymn Source = Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (1996), Evangelical Lutheran Synod

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1.  I see Thee standing, Lamb of God,

Now at Thy Father’s right;

But O how painful was Thy road

That led to Zion’s height!

And what a burden Thou didst bear:

The world’s distress and shame,

That made Thee sink, our woe to share,

To depths that none can name.

2.  O spotless Lamb, it was Thy will

In love thus bound to be

Upon the cross on Calv’ry’s hill

From sin to set us free.

What lion strength Thy nail-pierced hands

Our death the death-blow gave,

And broken were our prison bands

When Thou didst rend Thy grave.

3.  Around Thy throne a throng doth stream

In raiment white as snow,

Their eyes like suns with radiance beam

The Lamb of God to know.

The story, how He chose to be

A Servant for our sake,

The angels will eternally

Their anthems’ burden make.

4.  Twelve times twelve thousand Thee acclaim,

Each with his harp in hand,

Upon their brow Thy Father’s name

Makes known that happy band.

As voice of many waters rise

Their rapt’rous symphony;

To Thee who us Paradise

Eternal praises be.

Above:  Roses, Between 1900 and 1905

Image Publisher = Detroit Publishing Company

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-det-4a20684

Original Danish Words by Hans Adolf Brorson (1694-1764)

English Translation by Jens Christian Aaberg (1877-1970)

Hymn Source = The Concordia Hymnal:  A Hymnal for Church, School and Home (1932), Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church

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1.  Now found is the fairest of roses,

‘Mongst briars it sweetly reposes;

My Jesus is so precious and holy

Abode among sinners so lowly.

2.  Since man his Creator deserted

And wholly His image perverted,

The world like a desert was lying,

And all in transgression were dying.

3.  But God, as His promise had granted,

A Rose in the desert has planted,

Which now is with sweetness endowing

The race that in evil was growing.

4.  All men should with gladness forever

Give praises to God for His favor,

But many have ne’er comprehended

The Rose to the world has descended.

5.  My Jesus, Thou ever remainest

My glory and crown, who sustainest

My heart in the fullness of pleasure;

Thy sweetness alone I will treasure.

6.  The world may of all thins bereave me,

Its thorns may annoy and aggrieve me,

The foe may affliction engender,

My rose I will never surrender.

Above:  Part of the Title Page of the Danish-American Lutheran Hymnal for Church and Home (1938)

Hans Adolph Brorson (1694-1764), a Danish Lutheran pastor and bishop, wrote and translated many hymns.

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Arise, All Things That God Has Made:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2013/09/29/arise-all-things-that-god-has-made/

My Heart Remains In Wonder:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2013/09/29/my-heart-remains-in-wonder/

Now Found is the Fairest of Roses:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/now-found-is-the-fairest-of-roses/

I See Thee Standing, Lamb of God:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/i-see-thee-standing-lamb-of-god/

Thy Little Ones, Dear Lord, Are We:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/thy-little-ones-dear-lord-are-we/

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Above:  All Angels Episcopal Church, Eatonton, Georgia, December 24, 2009

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

(https://plus.google.com/photos/114749828757741527421/albums/5420764542723000881/5420766365059194738?banner=pwa&pid=5420766365059194738&oid=114749828757741527421)

Original Danish Words by Hans Adolph Brorson (1694-1764)

English Translation by Jens Christian Aaberg (1877-1970)

Hymn Source = Hymnal for Church and Home, Third Edition (1938), of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church, denominations with Danish heritage

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/assembled-in-this-thy-house-danish-american-lutherans-1870-1962/

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1.  My heart remains in wonder

Before that lowly bed

Within the stable yonder

Where Christ, my Lord, was laid.

My faith finds there its treasure,

My heart its pure delight,

A joy beyond all measure,

The blessed Christmas night.

2.  But oh, my heart is riven

With grief and sore dismay

To see the Lord of heaven

Repose on straw and hay,

That He, whom angels offer

Their worship and acclaim,

From sinful man must suffer

Such scorn, neglect, and shame.

3.  Why should not castles royal

Before him open stand,

And kings as servants loyal

Obey His least command

Why came He not in splendor,

Arrayed in robes of light,

And called the world to render

Its homage to His might.

4.  The sparrow finds a gable

Where it may build its next,

The oxen know their stable

For shelter, food, and rest,

Must then my Lord and Savior

A homeless stranger go,

Denied the simplest favor

His lowly creatures know?

5.  O come, my Lord, I pray Thee!

And be my honor’d guest,

I will in love array Thee

A home within my breast.

That home can be no stranger

To Thee, who made me free,

Thou shalt find there a manger

Warmed by my love to Thee.

Above:  Part of the Grounds, St. Clare’s Episcopal Church, Blairsville, Georgia, August 4, 2012

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

(https://plus.google.com/photos/114749828757741527421/albums/5773273196337350625/5773281679317365810?banner=pwa&pid=5773281679317365810&oid=114749828757741527421)

Original Danish Words by Hans Adolph Brorson (1694-1764)

English Translation by A. M. Andersen

Hymn Source = Hymnal for Church and Home, Third Edition (1938), of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church, denominations with Danish heritage

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/assembled-in-this-thy-house-danish-american-lutherans-1870-1962/

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1.  Arise, all things that God has made

And praise His might and glory;

Each leaflet and each grassy blade

Does tell a wondrous story.

2.  Tho’ all the kings on earth did show

Their utmost strength and power,

They could not make a leaflet grow,

Nor mend a broken flower.

3.  What shall I say whene’er I walk

Where flowers are abounding

And hear the birds together talk,

As thousand harps were sounding.

4.  What shall I say when I behold

The stars in countless numbers

And see their smiling charm unfold,

While nature deeply slumbers.

5.  What shall I say?  Weak are my words

And humble my opinion.

How great Thy wisdom, Lord of lords,

Thy might and Thy dominion!