Epiphany
To Jordan Came Our Lord, The Christ
- Words:
- Martin Luther, 1541. Translated by Richard Massie, 1854.
- Music:
- 'Christ, Unser Herr' Johann Walter, 1524.
- Setting:
- composite from "Kern des Deutschen Kirchengesangs", 1855 and "Mehrstimmiges ChoralBuch", 1906.
- Metre:
- 8 7 8 7 8 7 8 7 7
- 1To Jordan came our Lord the Christ,To do God's pleasure willing,And there was by Saint John baptized,All righteousness fulfilling;There did He consecrate a bathTo wash away transgression,And quench the bitterness of deathBy His own blood and passion;He would a new life give us.
- 2So hear ye all, and well perceiveWhat God doth call baptism,And what a Christian should believeWho error shuns and schism:That we should water use, the LordDeclareth it His pleasure;Not simple water, but the WordAnd Spirit without measure;He is the true Baptizer.
- 3To show us this, He hath His WordWith signs and symbols given;On Jordan's banks was plainly heardThe Father's voice from Heaven:"This is My well‐ beloved Son,In whom My soul delighteth;Hear Him." Yea, hear Him every oneWhom He Himself inviteth,Hear and obey His teaching.
- 4In tender manhood Jesus straightTo holy Jordan wendeth;The Holy Ghost from Heaven's gateIn dovelike shape descendeth;That thus the truth be not denied,Nor should our faith e'er waver,That the Three Persons all preside,At baptism's holy laver,And dwell with the believer.
- 5Thus Jesus His disciples sent:Go teach ye every nation,That lost in sin they must repent;And flee from condemnation:He that believes and is baptized,Obtains a mighty blessing;A newborn man, no more he dies,Eternal life possessing,A joyful heir of Heaven.
- 6Who in this mercy hath not faith, Nor aught therein discerneth,Is yet in sin, condemned to death, And fire that ever burneth;His holiness avails him not, Nor aught which he is doing;His inborn sin brings all to naught, And maketh sure his ruin;Himself he cannot succor.
- 7The eye of sense alone is dim, And nothing sees but water;Faith sees Christ Jesus, and in Him The Lamb ordained for slaughter;She sees the cleansing fountain red With the dear blood of Jesus,Which from the sins inherited From fallen Adam frees us,And from our own misdoings.
Scripture
Topics
In the hymnals
- The words are in 8 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.