Word of God
The Law Of God Is Good And Wise
- Words:
- Matthias Loy, 1863. Music: 'Erhalt Uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort' from Klug's Geistliche Lieder, 1543.
- Setting:
- "Concordia Kinderchöre", 1908.
- Metre:
- 8 8 8 8
- 1The law of God is good and wise,And sets His will before our eyes,Shows us the way of righteousness,And dooms to death when we transgress.
- 2Its light of holiness impartsThe knowledge of our sinful hearts,That we may see our lost estateAnd seek deliv'rance ere too late.
- 3To those who help in Christ have foundAnd would in works of love aboundIt shows what deeds are His delightAnd should be done as good and right.
- 4When men the offered help disdainAnd willfully in sin remain,Its terror in their ear resoundsAnd keeps their wickedness in bounds.
- 5The law is good, but since the fallIts holiness condemns us all;It dooms us for our sin to dieAnd has no pow'r to justify.
Scripture
Topics
In the hymnals
- Written in 1863, the words are in 21 hymnals indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →
- The tune, Erhalt Uns Herr, is in 237 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.