Ascension

Lo, God To Heav'n Ascendeth

Words:
Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer, 1661. verses 1-5,7 Translated by Frances Elizabeth Cox, 1841.
Setting:
"Kern des Deutschen Kirchengesangs Zum Gebrauch" Fridrich Layriz, 1854.
Metre:
7 6 7 6 6 7 7 6
  1. 1Lo, God to Heav'n ascendeth!Throughout its regions vastWith shouts triumphant blendeththe trumpet's thrilling blast:Sing praise to Christ the Lord;sing praise with exultation,King of each heathen nation,the God of Hosts adored!
  2. 2With joy is Heav'n resoundingChrist's glad return to see;Behold the saints surroundingthe Lord who set them free.Bright myriads, thronging, come;the cherub band rejoices,And loud seraphic voicesWelcome Messiah home.
  3. 3No more the way is hidden,Since Christ our Head arose:No more to man forbiddenThe road to Heav'n that goes.Our Lord is gone before;yet here He will not leave us,And soon in Heav'n receive usand open wide the door.
  4. 4Christ is our place preparing;to Heav'n we, too, shall rise,And, joys angelic sharing,Be where our treasure lies:There may each heart be found!Where Jesus Christ has entered,There let our Hope be centered;Our course still heav'nward bound.
  5. 5May we, His servants, thitherIn heart and mind ascend,And let us sing together:"We seek Thee, Christ, our friend,Thee, God's exalted Son,our Life, and Way to Heaven,To whom all pow'r is given,our Joy and Hope and Crown."
  6. 6Farewell with all thy treasures, O world, to falsehood giv'n!Thy dross gives no true pleasures; We seek the joys of Heav'n:The Savior is our Prize; He comforts us in sadness,And fills our hearts with gladness; to Him we lift our eyes.
  7. 7When, on our vision dawning, Will break the wished-for hourOf that all glorious morning, When Christ shall come with power?O come, thou welcome day! When we, our Savior meeting,His second advent greeting, Shall hail the heav'n-sent ray.

Scripture

Topics

In the hymnals

  • Written in 1661, the words are in 19 hymnals indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →

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.

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