Christ, the Life of All the Living

"Christ, the Life of All the Living"

by Ernst C. Homburg 1605-1681

Text From:

THE HANDBOOK TO THE LUTHERAN HYMNAL

(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1942), pp. 118-119.

1. Christ, the Life of all the living,

Christ, the Death of death, our foe,

Who, Thyself for me once giving

To the darkest depths of woe,--

Through Thy sufferings, death, and merit

I eternal life inherit:

Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,

Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

2. Thou, ah! Thou, hast taken on Thee

Bonds and stripes, a cruel rod;

Pain and scorn were heaped upon Thee,

O Thou sinless Son of God!

Thus didst Thou my soul deliver

From the bonds of sin forever.

Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,

Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

3. Thou hast borne the smiting only

That my wounds might all be whole;

Thou hast suffered, sad and lonely,

Rest to give my weary soul;

Yea, the curse of God enduring,

Blessing unto me securing.

Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,

Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

4. Heartless scoffers did surround Thee,

Treating Thee with shameful scorn,

And with piercing thorns they crowned Thee.

All disgrace Thou, Lord, hast borne

That as Thine Thou mightest own

And with heavenly glory crown me.

Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,

Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

5. Thou hast suffered men to bruise Thee

That from pain I might be free;

Falsely did Thy foes accuse Thee,--

Thence I gain secruity;

Comfortless Thy soul did languish

Me to comfort in my anguish.

Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,

Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

6. Thou has suffered great affliction

And hast borne it patiently,

Even death by crucifixion,

Fully to atone for me;

Thou didst choose to be tormented

That my doom should be prevented.

Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,

Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

7. That Thou wast so meek and stainless

Doth atone for my proud mood;

And Thy death makes dying painless,

All Thy ills have wrought our good;

Yea, the shame Thou didst endure

Is my honor and my cure.

Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,

Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

8. Then, for all that wrought my pardon,

For Thy sorrows deep and sore,

For Thine anguish in the Garden,

I will thank Thee evermore,

Thank Thee for Thy groaning, sighing,

For Thy bleeding and Thy dying,

Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,

Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

____________________________________________________________

Notes:

Hymn #151 From the Handbook to TLH (stanza 7 omitted in TLH.

Text from Handbk to TLH)

Text: Matt. 26: 64-67

Author: Ernst C. Homburg, 1659 ab.

Titled: Jesu, meines Lebens Leben

Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.

Tune: "Kirchengesangbuch"

Darmstadt, 1687