Justification
Dear Christians, One and All Rejoice
- Words:
- Martin Luther, 1523. Translated by Richard Massie, 1854, alt.
- Music:
- 'Nun Freut Euch' attr. Martin Luther from Etlich Christlich Lider, Wittenberg, 1524.
- Setting:
- Johann Hermann Schein, 1627.
- Metre:
- 8 7 8 7 8 8 7
- 1Dear Christians, one and all rejoice,With exultation springing,And with united heart and voiceAnd holy rapture singing,Proclaim the wonders God hath done,How his right arm the vict'ry won;Right dearly it hath cost him.
- 2Fast bound in Satan's chains I lay.Death brooded darkly o'er me;Sin was my torment night and day,Therein my mother bore me.Deeper and deeper still I fell,Life was become a living hell,So firmly sin possessed me.
- 3My good works could avail me naught,For they with sin were stainéd;Freewill against God's judgment fought,And dead to good remainéd.Grief drove me to despair, and IHad nothing left me but to die,To hell I fast was sinking.
- 4God saw, in his eternal grace,My sorrow out of measure;He thought upon his tendernessTo save was his good pleasure.He turn'd to me a Father's heart‐Not small the cost to heal my smartHe gave his best and dearest.
- 5He spake to his beloved Son:'Tis time to take compassion;Then go, bright jewel of my crown,And bring to man salvation;From sin and sorrow set him free,Slay bitter death for him, that heMay live with thee forever.
- 6The Son delighted to obey, And born of Virgin mother,Awhile on this low earth did stay That he might be my brother.His mighty power he hidden bore,A servant's form like mine he wore, To bind the devil captive.
- 7To me he spake : cling fast to me, Thou'lt win a triumph worthy:I wholly give myself for thee, I strive and wrestle for thee;For I am thine, thou mine also;And where I am thou art. The foe Shall never more divide us.
- 8For he shall shed my precious blood, Me of my life bereaving;All this I suffer for thy good; Be steadfast and believing.My life from death the day shall win,My righteousness shall bear thy sin, So art thou blest forever.
- 9Now to my Father I depart, From earth to heaven ascending;Thence heavenly wisdom to impart, The Holy Spirit sending.He shall in trouble comfort thee,Teach thee to know and follow me, And to the truth conduct thee.
- 10What I have done and taught, do thou To do and teach endeavor;So shall my kingdom flourish now, And God be praised forever.Take heed lest men with base alloyThe heavenly treasure should destroy. This counsel I bequeath thee.
Scripture
Topics
In the hymnals
- Written in 1523, the words are in 37 hymnals indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →
- The tune, Nun Freut Euch, is in 83 hymnals. The tune →
Words, music and setting are in the public domain. The score is from the Open Hymnal Project (Brian J. Dumont), which places its own work in the public domain. The piano is the FluidR3 General MIDI sound font (MIT licence). How many hymnals print a hymn, and when it was written, is from Hymnary.org.