I discovered this week’s hymn only shortly before leaving home at the age of eighteen. I was as yet unsaved, but a lover of music. When I asked why this beautiful hymn, right near the front of our own hymnal, had never been sung in our church, I was told it was too “ponderous.” I disagreed then, and disagree now. To this day, I have never sung it in a worship service. I have, however, sung it many times to myself.
The tune, Princess Eugenie, is a Norwegian folk tune, and as beautiful a melody as one could want. It is one of those tunes that, alone, sans lyrics, can bring tears to my eyes. Join that to a poetic triumph that expresses both the heavy sorrow and immense joy of the gospel, and you have a treasure that the church neglects to its own loss.
This is a poem written by Princess Eugenie of Sweden and Norway (1830–1889). According to Wikipedia, she “was interested in spiritual things, but she was not a confessor of any religious belief in particular.” Apparently this hymn doesn’t count as a confession of particular religious belief. I leave it to you to judge.
26 My Heart is Longing to Praise My Savior
My heart is longing to praise my Savior,
And glorify His name in song and pray’r;
For He has shown me His wondrous favor
And offered me all heav’n with him to share.
I walked in blindness, my soul was dying;
The prince of darkness held me in his pow’r.
In pain I turned, to my Father crying;
He broke my chains and saved me in that hour.
O blessed Jesus, what Thou hast given,
Through dying on the cross in bitter pain,
Has filled my heart with the peace of heaven;
My winter’s gone and spring is mine again.
O Christian friends, let your song ascending,
Give honor, praise to him who set us free!
Our tribulations may seem unending;
But soon with Him we shall forever be.
Soon we are home and shall stand before him;
What matter then tho’ we have suffered here.
Then He shall crown us, while we adorn Him;
So death and all our pains will disappear.
To Thee, O Savior, our adoration
Shall rise forever for Thy precious blood
Which blotted out all the accusation
Of sin and guilt which once against us stood.
What blessed joy overflows my spirit,
Because Thy wondrous grace was granted me.
Thy work complete, that I may inherit
At last eternal life in heaven with Thee!
—The Concordia Hymnal (Augsburg Publishing House), 1960.
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2 Comments:
#1 || 10·09·19··06:59 || Victoria
That was wonderful. I had not heard it before. The woman who wrote this packed it with orthodox theology -Christian to the core. I would think only a believer could have that depth of understanding and thankfulness for what Christ has done.
#2 || 10·09·24··13:13 || William Lee
I just got through reading this hymn and I can't understand how this could not be understood as a "confession" of true Biblical faith. To put it bluntly, the person at "Wikipedia" didn't know what they were talking about. Bill
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