The hymn of the day, O Bride of Christ, Rejoice (LSB 335), expresses the joy that Christ’s Church has as she waits in expectation of His coming, not only into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, but especially at the day of glory foretold in ancient story, the Last Day, when He comes to judge the world and take all believers to eternity in heaven.
“O Bride of Christ, Rejoice.” was part of The Lutheran Hymnal of 1941.
The text has Danish roots from around 1600. The author is unknown, but it
was translated into English by Victor O. Petersen (1864–1929) in 1899. Petersen
was born in Sweden and came to America in 1867. Though he worked as a chemistry
professor, he was a lover of hymns. He translated a number of them from the
Swedish Psalm-book, including this one for The Lutheran Hymnal.
The tune “Wo soll ich fliehen hin” translates as “where shall I flee
out.” It is from Kaspar Stieler’s Der Bussfertige Sünder oder Geistliches
Handbüchlein (The Repentant Sinner or Spiritual Songbook), published in
Nurnberg in 1679. It is unknown if Stieler composed the tune or not. Whoever
wrote it, the tune was originally a setting of the repentance hymn “The Repentant
Sinner,” by Johann Heermann.
This lovely hymn is based on two scripture passages. The first is Matthew 21:1–16. This is the Palm Sunday passage where Jesus rides into Jerusalem and the crowds shout “Hosanna to the Son of David.” The second is Zechariah 9:9. In this prophecy, Zechariah writes, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”[2]
A prayer before confession and absolution: Almighty, everlasting God, for our many sins we
justly deserve eternal condemnation. In Your mercy You sent Your dear Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ, who won for us forgiveness of sins and everlasting
salvation. Grant us a true confession that, dead to sin, we may be raised up by
Your life-giving absolution. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may be ever
watchful and live true and godly lives in Your service; through Jesus Christ,
our Lord. Amen.[3] -04 December 2021
[1] Advent, copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[3] Collect prior to confession and absolution, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
No comments:
Post a Comment