Somebody help me out. Or, confuse me further to begin with, if that's what it takes to get things sorted in my head. I'm genuinely puzzled and perplexed, and I would really welcome some clarity. I'm trying to understand how so many conservatives — not only political conservatives, but theological conservatives, including some of my kindred spirits — are evidently and unabashedly excited and energized by John McCain's naming of Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate.
I've got nothing against Sarah Palin. She sounds like an amazing woman. I'm glad that she's a wife and a mother of five children. I'm thankful that she did not abort her Down's Syndrome child (though I was shocked to learn that nine out of ten women do, if they know ahead of time). I'm grateful that she is so staunchly pro-life, and that she's evidently been unafraid to take on corruption in her home state of Alaska, where she is governor. These are all wonderful things. I'm not as impressed by what I've read of her religious life and church attendance, but I don't regard those factors as inherently pertinent to her nomination.
Sarah Palin's politics are impressive. I don't question for a moment that her knowledge and expertise in that arena are better than most and light years beyond me. Let no one take my confusion and concern as a doubting of this impressive woman's competence or ability. I am privileged to know many intelligent, capable women, including those who are nearest and dearest to me, who make my life and the world we live in a better place. Kudos to all of them, and to Sarah Palin, too.
But I am having a hard time understanding the appropriateness of nominating a woman for such an office as Vice President of the United States (or governor of a state, for that matter). How does this fit the order of creation? How does it harmonize with the headship of a husband and father for his wife, family and household? I realize that civil government is not the church, and this isn't a matter of the pastoral office, but I haven't bought the recent rhetoric that the roles of men and women are distinguished solely by the prohibition of women's ordination. It's clear that women should not be ordained to the pastoral office, but it doesn't follow that a woman should be free and clear to do anything and everything else that a man might otherwise do.
I'm not commenting here on the broader topic of women in the workplace, nor even the more general topic of women in politics. I'm confused enough as it is trying to sort out this present case at hand. I know that a husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the Head of His Church. I know that a father is the head of his household. And I believe, teach and confess with the Large Catechism that the government is the office of father writ large. Presidents and Kings are the fathers of their countries. Vice President isn't quite President, but it strikes me as not so far removed, in so far as my question is concerned.
I am well aware of some very powerful queens who have reigned in the history of the world, including Christian women who have ruled with competence. I'm not sure what to say about that, either. I'm honestly looking for some explanation and some answers, as to why this should be okay and acceptable. Or, if there is no sound and solid rationale, why are conservatives of various stripes applauding the nomination of a woman for the office of Vice President? Is this really a good thing? I'm having trouble connecting the dots.
The closest thing to an answer that I've heard so far is a comparison to Deborah in the Old Testament, whom God raised up to shame the men for not fulfilling their responsibilities and rising to the call of duty. In particular, Sarah Palin has been an outspoken opponent of abortion, in a way that John McCain and many other men have not been. That's well and good, but are there no men anywhere who will stand up and be counted, who will do their duty in protecting the women and children of this country? Have we really sunk so low? If John McCain wants to champion pro-life politics, he should simply repent of any past poor performance in this area, and do better in his own efforts to safeguard the lives of the unborn. Frankly, any man that would advocate or support the legality and practice of abortion is unfit to serve office. But are there no men anywhere left who have the political acumen and the moral fortitude to oppose abortion?
Part of my concern stems from the fact that abortion, as vile and wicked as it is, belongs to a larger context in which children are viewed as an obstacle to the careers of working women. Okay, so maybe Sarah Palin is one of those oustanding super heroes who supposedly demonstrate that today's woman really can have it all and do it all. She's not only a governor and a wife and mother, but she's still having children. In fact, she had her youngest earlier this year (in April, if I have understood correctly). Yet, she is still a finite creature. Simply being a wife and having children does not necessarily mean that she is devoting all the time and energy she should to those primary vocations. Maybe being the governor of Alaska has afforded her the opportunity to juggle everything, though I have my doubts; I'm skeptical, however, that being the Vice President of the country would allow her to manage the demands of her home and family, especially with an infant and a Down's Syndrome child.
I'm not drawing my own conclusions, yet. I'm trying to think through this, and I'm very open to explanation and clarification of things I either haven't considered or simply do not understand. For the time being, though, I have to confess that the nomination of a woman to the office of Vice President does not thrill me. Not because I have anything against Sarah Palin, far less against women in general, but because I'm wondering where all the men have gone, and what has become of every fatherhood on earth.
31 August 2008
30 August 2008
For Ingrid on Her Baptism Day
It’s not kill or be killed; it’s die or be dead.
The key to life is not that you should find yourself, or be yourself, or make a name for yourself. If you would live, you must die to yourself; but if you live for yourself, you will die.
That is the paradox of Christianity, and that is your dilemma. Any sort of life that is taken, instead of received and given, is no life at all, but sin and death.
Christianity is not simply a lifestyle choice among others. It is the only way of life. But it is life in Christ by the way of the Cross. Everything depends upon the Cross. Your life depends on it.
Christ Jesus, the Crucified One, is not simply a means to some other end. He is your Life, your Light and your Salvation. He and His Word are the only true delight. But the surprising thing about Him is that He must die (and rise again). And if you would live, you must follow Him.
Deny yourself. Take up the Cross. Follow Him.
If you would live, you must be His disciple. You must be a Christian. Not in name only, though that name is most precious and significant. But you must be a Christian in deed and in truth; for the Son of Man is coming in glory to judge and repay everyone according to his deeds. Set your mind, therefore, on God’s interests, not your own. Live as a Christian. Die and rise with Christ.
Holy Baptism makes all the difference; because Baptism, along with catechesis, makes disciples.
It is in Holy Baptism that you have been given the Name of God, the Name and Spirit of Christ Jesus; that you have thus become a Christian.
Ingrid has been named by her father, and someday, God-willing, she’ll be named again by her husband. But here she has been named by her God and Father in heaven, and by her heavenly Bridegroom, with His own name, which is alive and life-giving and stronger than death.
It is in Holy Baptism, also, that both Ingrid and you have been given the Cross of Christ. You are crucified, dead and buried with Him, by His Cross, in order to rise with Him in His Resurrection, unto life. This is first of all how you take up His Cross, and how you are able to do so; so that now you follow Christ Jesus by taking up His Cross each day.
Taking up the Cross does not mean suffering for its own sake. Christians do not go looking for trouble and death; they do not throw themselves to the lions, no more than they throw themselves down from the pinnacle of the Temple.
Take up the Cross, rather, by faith and love. Receive from God what He gives you. Give to your neighbor what you have received. That’s what the Christian life looks like, and that’s where and how you take up the Cross.
Do what you are given to do. Fulfill your vocations faithfully. Within your vocations, serve your neighbor for Christ’s sake, whether you receive thanks or a slap in the face as your payment.
Bear your neighbor’s burdens in love, and bear with your neighbor in forgiveness. If you suffer in doing so, and for doing so, bear that suffering in faith and love. In all that you do and suffer, glorify the Name of Christ that you bear, and glorify your God and Father in heaven.
Trust the Lord, whom you follow, whose disciple you are. If you lose your life for His sake, you’ve lost nothing; you shall yet live with Him forever in His Kingdom.
But if you turn aside from Him and seek to avoid the Cross, in order to save yourself, then you shall be lost. Then you shall die.
Do not guard and protect yourself, but get back in line behind Jesus. Deny yourself, take up the Cross, and follow Him. Repent, and live, that you not be lost and die forever.
Return to your Baptism: to the Cross and to the Name that were given to you there by your Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It’s all right there; your life is there — in the death of Christ, and in His Resurrection — in your Holy Baptism. There’s no need to repeat it, for God’s Word and His gift are perfectly sufficient. Just return to the significance of your one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. It remains sure and certain, as steadfast as the Cross and Resurrection are.
Die to yourself. Die to the world. Die to sin. Die to the devil, all his works and all his ways. Die, not to atone for your sins or redeem yourself, but because Christ, by His death, has atoned for all your sins and redeemed you. Live unto righteousness in Him, not to satisfy the Law, but because He has fulfilled the Law, and He has risen from the dead, and He lives forever for you.
The example that He has left for you to follow in His steps is the way of life, by the way of the Cross; not that you must save yourself by your good deeds or by your suffering, but that He has saved you by His suffering and death. He has taken up the Cross and carried it before you, in order to forgive you and give you life.
He who is coming in glory to be your Judge, has already come into His Kingdom in the glory of His Father, not to condemn you for what you have done or left undone, but by His Cross to reward you according to His own deeds.
He has redeemed you from all your sin and eternal death. He has given His own life in exchange for your body and soul. He has tasted death upon the Cross, that you may not taste death forever, nor at all apart from His Resurrection.
Indeed, His Resurrection on the third day is the guarantee and the first fruits of your own resurrection from the dead.
Take and eat, therefore; not death, but the Body of Him who suffered many things, was crucified, died and was buried, who has risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity. As He lives, so shall you.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The key to life is not that you should find yourself, or be yourself, or make a name for yourself. If you would live, you must die to yourself; but if you live for yourself, you will die.
That is the paradox of Christianity, and that is your dilemma. Any sort of life that is taken, instead of received and given, is no life at all, but sin and death.
Christianity is not simply a lifestyle choice among others. It is the only way of life. But it is life in Christ by the way of the Cross. Everything depends upon the Cross. Your life depends on it.
Christ Jesus, the Crucified One, is not simply a means to some other end. He is your Life, your Light and your Salvation. He and His Word are the only true delight. But the surprising thing about Him is that He must die (and rise again). And if you would live, you must follow Him.
Deny yourself. Take up the Cross. Follow Him.
If you would live, you must be His disciple. You must be a Christian. Not in name only, though that name is most precious and significant. But you must be a Christian in deed and in truth; for the Son of Man is coming in glory to judge and repay everyone according to his deeds. Set your mind, therefore, on God’s interests, not your own. Live as a Christian. Die and rise with Christ.
Holy Baptism makes all the difference; because Baptism, along with catechesis, makes disciples.
It is in Holy Baptism that you have been given the Name of God, the Name and Spirit of Christ Jesus; that you have thus become a Christian.
Ingrid has been named by her father, and someday, God-willing, she’ll be named again by her husband. But here she has been named by her God and Father in heaven, and by her heavenly Bridegroom, with His own name, which is alive and life-giving and stronger than death.
It is in Holy Baptism, also, that both Ingrid and you have been given the Cross of Christ. You are crucified, dead and buried with Him, by His Cross, in order to rise with Him in His Resurrection, unto life. This is first of all how you take up His Cross, and how you are able to do so; so that now you follow Christ Jesus by taking up His Cross each day.
Taking up the Cross does not mean suffering for its own sake. Christians do not go looking for trouble and death; they do not throw themselves to the lions, no more than they throw themselves down from the pinnacle of the Temple.
Take up the Cross, rather, by faith and love. Receive from God what He gives you. Give to your neighbor what you have received. That’s what the Christian life looks like, and that’s where and how you take up the Cross.
Do what you are given to do. Fulfill your vocations faithfully. Within your vocations, serve your neighbor for Christ’s sake, whether you receive thanks or a slap in the face as your payment.
Bear your neighbor’s burdens in love, and bear with your neighbor in forgiveness. If you suffer in doing so, and for doing so, bear that suffering in faith and love. In all that you do and suffer, glorify the Name of Christ that you bear, and glorify your God and Father in heaven.
Trust the Lord, whom you follow, whose disciple you are. If you lose your life for His sake, you’ve lost nothing; you shall yet live with Him forever in His Kingdom.
But if you turn aside from Him and seek to avoid the Cross, in order to save yourself, then you shall be lost. Then you shall die.
Do not guard and protect yourself, but get back in line behind Jesus. Deny yourself, take up the Cross, and follow Him. Repent, and live, that you not be lost and die forever.
Return to your Baptism: to the Cross and to the Name that were given to you there by your Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It’s all right there; your life is there — in the death of Christ, and in His Resurrection — in your Holy Baptism. There’s no need to repeat it, for God’s Word and His gift are perfectly sufficient. Just return to the significance of your one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. It remains sure and certain, as steadfast as the Cross and Resurrection are.
Die to yourself. Die to the world. Die to sin. Die to the devil, all his works and all his ways. Die, not to atone for your sins or redeem yourself, but because Christ, by His death, has atoned for all your sins and redeemed you. Live unto righteousness in Him, not to satisfy the Law, but because He has fulfilled the Law, and He has risen from the dead, and He lives forever for you.
The example that He has left for you to follow in His steps is the way of life, by the way of the Cross; not that you must save yourself by your good deeds or by your suffering, but that He has saved you by His suffering and death. He has taken up the Cross and carried it before you, in order to forgive you and give you life.
He who is coming in glory to be your Judge, has already come into His Kingdom in the glory of His Father, not to condemn you for what you have done or left undone, but by His Cross to reward you according to His own deeds.
He has redeemed you from all your sin and eternal death. He has given His own life in exchange for your body and soul. He has tasted death upon the Cross, that you may not taste death forever, nor at all apart from His Resurrection.
Indeed, His Resurrection on the third day is the guarantee and the first fruits of your own resurrection from the dead.
Take and eat, therefore; not death, but the Body of Him who suffered many things, was crucified, died and was buried, who has risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity. As He lives, so shall you.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
29 August 2008
The Beheading of St. John the Baptist
Herod celebrates his birthday with a grand party, but he’s a dead man: dead in his trespasses and sin.
St. John the Baptist goes from the frying pan into the fire; from the dungeon to the chopping block and martyrdom, but he is raised, and he lives with Christ Jesus.
Those are your options, too. It’s a matter of life or death. You have no true or lasting life except in Christ Jesus. It is only in His Resurrection from the dead that you rise; so it is only by His Cross that you have life. It is by sharing His death and losing your own life that you share His Resurrection and His life.
That is what your Holy Baptism has granted, and that is what your Baptism still means for you each day. You are put to death in order to be raised. Your own head is removed, that Christ may be your Head, your Bridegroom and Lord. Your body is buried with Him through Baptism into His death, in order that you may belong to His Body, the Church.
That’s what discipleship looks like: crucifixion or beheading, but, either way, death and burial. Those who baptize, and those who are baptized, are put to death for the Name of Christ. Those who are sent to Minister in His Name, and those who receive that Ministry, are under the Cross.
It is by that Cross of Christ that you are raised with Him and live with Him forever.
As you suffer that Cross, therefore, do not despair.
As you are shut up in prison, or shut out from the crowd, or otherwise left alone and lonely, lift up your head, your heart and mind to Christ. Hear and heed His Word of the Gospel, and know that He delivers you from death.
As you have your head chopped off, whether metaphorically or bodily, find your rest and peace in Christ Jesus. Though you are despised and rejected by the world, you are righteous and holy by faith in Him.
Live, therefore, in the righteousness and holiness of Christ. Live by faith, by the hearing of His Word.
Do not seek to shut up or shut out the Word of the Lord, nor keep it at arm’s length, as though it were under your control. If you are perplexed by the preaching of repentance, do not harden your heart, but repent; confess your sin, and be forgiven.
Do not continue in your sins, which are a living death. It is neither lawful nor safe to go on sinning. Do not suppose that you shall escape the consequences. They will come back to haunt you.
Do not harbor envy and jealousy, nor bitterness and resentment, in your heart against your neighbor. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, but, for Christ’s sake, be reconciled to your neighbor (by the way of repentance and forgiveness). For whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and the life and love of God are not in him.
Do not entertain the lust of the flesh, whether with your eyes, your imagination, or your body. Whoever looks upon a woman or a man with lust is already an adulterer. Such covetous lust conceives and gives birth to sin, which grows fully into death.
For all such hatred and adultery in your heart and mind, repent.
Turn away from evil, and do what is lawful, what is good and right.
Do not be afraid to do the right thing, as though, if you did not line your own pockets and pad your own treasure chest, the Lord would let you die. You have already died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. But if you live in sin, then only death shall be your lot.
Do what you are given to do with confidence. Be strong and courageous. The Lord is with you like a dread Champion. If you share His death, so shall you share His Resurrection and His life. Whether you live or die, you are the Lord’s.
If you are sorry for what you have done or left undone, do not despair, but repent, and do better. Not as though you will save yourself or set things right by your own righteousness and holiness, but because Christ has died and risen. He has saved you. His righteousness and holiness are yours. He so identifies Himself with you, that He has risen in you and lives in you; He manifests Himself and His life in you.
You need not dance for this true King, nor seduce Him. For He has redeemed you with His own holy, precious blood, by His innocent suffering and death; that you should be an heir with Him of His Kingdom (not half, but the whole thing).
Here, then, is the Supper that He hosts, in proclamation of His death until He comes: not for the high and mighty of the world, but for the weak and lowly and despised.
Recline here at His Table with Him, and receive from His hand His Body given, His Blood poured out, for you, for the forgiveness of all your sins. Where there is such forgiveness, death cannot hurt you.
Rest here under His altar, until all things come to pass and all His promises are fully realized, just as He has spoken. You shall not die, but live; just as He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns eternally.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
St. John the Baptist goes from the frying pan into the fire; from the dungeon to the chopping block and martyrdom, but he is raised, and he lives with Christ Jesus.
Those are your options, too. It’s a matter of life or death. You have no true or lasting life except in Christ Jesus. It is only in His Resurrection from the dead that you rise; so it is only by His Cross that you have life. It is by sharing His death and losing your own life that you share His Resurrection and His life.
That is what your Holy Baptism has granted, and that is what your Baptism still means for you each day. You are put to death in order to be raised. Your own head is removed, that Christ may be your Head, your Bridegroom and Lord. Your body is buried with Him through Baptism into His death, in order that you may belong to His Body, the Church.
That’s what discipleship looks like: crucifixion or beheading, but, either way, death and burial. Those who baptize, and those who are baptized, are put to death for the Name of Christ. Those who are sent to Minister in His Name, and those who receive that Ministry, are under the Cross.
It is by that Cross of Christ that you are raised with Him and live with Him forever.
As you suffer that Cross, therefore, do not despair.
As you are shut up in prison, or shut out from the crowd, or otherwise left alone and lonely, lift up your head, your heart and mind to Christ. Hear and heed His Word of the Gospel, and know that He delivers you from death.
As you have your head chopped off, whether metaphorically or bodily, find your rest and peace in Christ Jesus. Though you are despised and rejected by the world, you are righteous and holy by faith in Him.
Live, therefore, in the righteousness and holiness of Christ. Live by faith, by the hearing of His Word.
Do not seek to shut up or shut out the Word of the Lord, nor keep it at arm’s length, as though it were under your control. If you are perplexed by the preaching of repentance, do not harden your heart, but repent; confess your sin, and be forgiven.
Do not continue in your sins, which are a living death. It is neither lawful nor safe to go on sinning. Do not suppose that you shall escape the consequences. They will come back to haunt you.
Do not harbor envy and jealousy, nor bitterness and resentment, in your heart against your neighbor. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, but, for Christ’s sake, be reconciled to your neighbor (by the way of repentance and forgiveness). For whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and the life and love of God are not in him.
Do not entertain the lust of the flesh, whether with your eyes, your imagination, or your body. Whoever looks upon a woman or a man with lust is already an adulterer. Such covetous lust conceives and gives birth to sin, which grows fully into death.
For all such hatred and adultery in your heart and mind, repent.
Turn away from evil, and do what is lawful, what is good and right.
Do not be afraid to do the right thing, as though, if you did not line your own pockets and pad your own treasure chest, the Lord would let you die. You have already died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. But if you live in sin, then only death shall be your lot.
Do what you are given to do with confidence. Be strong and courageous. The Lord is with you like a dread Champion. If you share His death, so shall you share His Resurrection and His life. Whether you live or die, you are the Lord’s.
If you are sorry for what you have done or left undone, do not despair, but repent, and do better. Not as though you will save yourself or set things right by your own righteousness and holiness, but because Christ has died and risen. He has saved you. His righteousness and holiness are yours. He so identifies Himself with you, that He has risen in you and lives in you; He manifests Himself and His life in you.
You need not dance for this true King, nor seduce Him. For He has redeemed you with His own holy, precious blood, by His innocent suffering and death; that you should be an heir with Him of His Kingdom (not half, but the whole thing).
Here, then, is the Supper that He hosts, in proclamation of His death until He comes: not for the high and mighty of the world, but for the weak and lowly and despised.
Recline here at His Table with Him, and receive from His hand His Body given, His Blood poured out, for you, for the forgiveness of all your sins. Where there is such forgiveness, death cannot hurt you.
Rest here under His altar, until all things come to pass and all His promises are fully realized, just as He has spoken. You shall not die, but live; just as He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns eternally.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
26 August 2008
Worship & Spiritual Care Workshop
A fine annual tradition continues with the 2008 "Worship and Spiritual Care Workshop," sponsored by the Indiana District.
The workshop will take place on Saturday, the 20th of September, from 9:00 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. (Eastern time) at Advent Lutheran Church in Zionsville, Indiana (Northwest corner of Indianapolis, a mile north of I-465 on the west side of Michigan Road / U.S. 421).
This year's plenary presenter will be the Reverend Dr. Arthur Just, speaking on the connection of the Church's liturgical life to her works of mercy in the world.
Sectional speakers will include the Reverend Peter Cage (on daily prayer in the home and family), the Reverend Phil Meyer (on the churchly conduct of Christian funerals and weddings), and yours truly (on liturgical preaching and how to listen to a sermon). Deaconess Rachel Thompson, now serving at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, will speak on the office and vocation of a deaconess.
For church musicians, Amanda Goodspeed of St. James, Lafayette, will be leading a sectional workshop on hand bell choirs, and Mr. Bill Ickstadt of Immanuel, Valparaiso, will provide a sectional on children's choirs.
The workshop will begin with the Order of Matins and conclude with a hymn festival. Registration fee is $25. Lunch provided.
For additional information and registration form, please go to:
http://www.in.lcms.org/district_events/Worship_Workshop/2008brochure_6-25-08.pdf
The workshop will take place on Saturday, the 20th of September, from 9:00 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. (Eastern time) at Advent Lutheran Church in Zionsville, Indiana (Northwest corner of Indianapolis, a mile north of I-465 on the west side of Michigan Road / U.S. 421).
This year's plenary presenter will be the Reverend Dr. Arthur Just, speaking on the connection of the Church's liturgical life to her works of mercy in the world.
Sectional speakers will include the Reverend Peter Cage (on daily prayer in the home and family), the Reverend Phil Meyer (on the churchly conduct of Christian funerals and weddings), and yours truly (on liturgical preaching and how to listen to a sermon). Deaconess Rachel Thompson, now serving at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, will speak on the office and vocation of a deaconess.
For church musicians, Amanda Goodspeed of St. James, Lafayette, will be leading a sectional workshop on hand bell choirs, and Mr. Bill Ickstadt of Immanuel, Valparaiso, will provide a sectional on children's choirs.
The workshop will begin with the Order of Matins and conclude with a hymn festival. Registration fee is $25. Lunch provided.
For additional information and registration form, please go to:
http://www.in.lcms.org/district_events/Worship_Workshop/2008brochure_6-25-08.pdf
24 August 2008
How to Make the Good Book Better
No, not that Good Book, but the excellent Lutheran Service Book could have been even better. The Reverend Dr. Paul Grime, who served as the project director for LSB, has quipped that work on the next new hymnal has already begun; not formally or officially, of course, but in the ongoing use and evaluation of the Lutheran Service Book. In that spirit, I offer a few basic ways in which it could have been a better good book, and maybe someone will take notes for posterity.
One simple thing: The response to the salutation throughout the book should have been, "And with your spirit." Not establishing that consistency was a mistake, which we'll have to live with and regret for the next couple decades now.
There shouldn't be any hymns in the electronic edition that aren't in the pew edition. The few Biblical canticles and the several good hymns (see below) that were relegated to the electronic edition only should be in the book, while the rest of the electronic-only songs should have been lost in some place where they would never be heard from again.
The entire Psalter should have been included in the pew edition. That was actually the first official decision of the Lectionary Committee (but we were men under other authorities).
The Collects for all of the Sundays and Festivals of the Church Year should have been included in the pew edition. My impression is that everyone realized that within months of publication.
In order to make room for the Collects and the missing Psalms, I recommend removing the following 100 hymns and replacing them with forty-eight other hymns that should have been included (below). These 100 hymns are not all bad (some of them are), but in my opinion they weren't necessary and could easily be done without; in some cases, we'd be better off without them. This isn't to say that all the other LSB hymns are excellent and most worthy. There's another few dozen that I'd be glad to let go, but I've tried to acknowledge the inherited piety of the Missouri Synod, as well as the ecumenical significance of certain hymns.
So here are 100 hymns that should have been left out of Lutheran Service Book (and, no, please don't put them in any electronic editions, either):
LSB 343 — Prepare the Royal Highway
LSB 354 — Arise, O Christian People
LSB 369 — Where Shepherds Lately Knelt
LSB 373 — See amid the Winter’s Snow
LSB 374 — Gentle Mary Laid Her Child
LSB 411 — I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
LSB 445 — When You Woke That Thursday Morning
LSB 456 — Were You There
LSB 474 — Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen
LSB 477 — Alleluia, Alleluia! Hearts to Heaven
LSB 479 — Christ Is Risen, Christ Is Living
LSB 484 — Make Songs of Joy
LSB 502 — Holy Spirit, the Dove Sent from Heaven
LSB 506 — Glory Be to God the Father
LSB 535 — How Wide the Love of Christ
LSB 541 — "Away from Us!" the Demon Cried
LSB 542 — When I Behold Jesus Christ
LSB 547 — The Lamb
LSB 550 — Lamb of God
LSB 560 — Drawn to the Cross, Which Thou Hast Blessed
LSB 591 — This Is the Spirit’s Entry Now
LSB 595 — O Blessed Spring
LSB 605 — Father Welcomes
LSB 620 — Jesus Comes Today with Healing
LSB 626 — Come, Let Us Eat
LSB 638 — Eat This Bread
LSB 641 — You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
LSB 653 — In Christ There Is No East or West
LSB 654 — Your Kingdom, O God, Is My Glorious Treasure
LSB 660 — Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
LSB 669 — Come, We That Love the Lord
LSB 678 — We Sing for All the Unsung Saints
LSB 695 — Not for Tongues of Heaven’s Angels
LSB 699 — I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
LSB 705 — The Man Is Ever Blessed
LSB 706 — Love in Christ Is Strong and Living
LSB 712 — Seek Ye First
LSB 721 — Lead Me, Guide Me
LSB 722 — Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me
LSB 723 — The Lord Is My Light
LSB 727 — On Eagles’ Wings
LSB 739 — Precious Lord, Take My Hand
LSB 748 — I’m But a Stranger Here
LSB 749 — There Is a Balm in Gilead
LSB 751 — O God of Love, O King of Peace
LSB 763 — When Peace, like a River
LSB 767 — Jesus, Remember Me
LSB 771 — Be Still, My Soul, before the Lord
LSB 780 — O Lord, Hear My Prayer
LSB 781 — We Give Thee But Thine Own
LSB 786 — Lord of All Good
LSB 787 — The Temple Rang with Golden Coins
LSB 788 — Forgive Us, Lord, for Shallow Thankfulness
LSB 789 — Praise and Thanksgiving
LSB 795 — Voices Raised to You We Offer
LSB 796 — When in Our Music God Is Glorified
LSB 799 — Alabaré - I
LSB 800 — Alabaré - II
LSB 804 — O Worship the King
LSB 806 — Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart
LSB 807 — When Morning Gilds the Skies
LSB 808 — O Sing to the Lord
LSB 814 — O Bless the Lord, My Soul
LSB 817 — Earth and All Stars
LSB 826 — Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying
LSB 827 — Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling
LSB 829 — Christ the Eternal Lord
LSB 831 — "How Shall They Hear," Who Have Not Heard
LSB 833 — Listen, God Is Calling
LSB 835 — On Galilee’s High Mountain
LSB 840 — Christ High-Ascended, Now in Glory Seated
LSB 841 — O Son of God, in Galilee
LSB 844 — Lord of All Nations, Grant Me Grace
LSB 854 — Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go
LSB 866 — Lord Jesus Christ, the Children’s Friend
LSB 867 — Let Children Hear the Mighty Deeds
LSB 871 — Greet the Rising Sun
LSB 873 — Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies
LSB 879 — Stay with Us
LSB 893 — Sing to the Lord of Harvest
LSB 911 — Lord, This Day We’ve Come to Worship
LSB 920 — Forth in the Peace of Christ We Go
LSB 922 — Go, My Children, with My Blessing
LSB 932 — Jesus Sat with His Disciples
LSB 939 — You Are God; We Praise You
LSB 943 — Kyrie-I
LSB 946 — Glory to God, We Give You Thanks and Praise
LSB 949 — Heavenly Hosts in Ceaseless Worship
LSB 951 — Alleluia-I
LSB 952 — Alleluia-II
LSB 955 — Let the Vineyards Be Fruitful
LSB 956 — Create in Me
LSB 958 — Our Father Who Art in Heaven - IIa (English)
LSB 959 — Our Father Who Art in Heaven - IIb (Spanish)
LSB 961 — Sanctus
LSB 962 — Agnus Dei-I
LSB 963 — Agnus Dei-II
LSB 964 — Lift Every Voice and Sing
LSB 965 — God Bless Our Native Land
LSB 966 — Before You, Lord, We Bow
Removing those 100 hymns would make room, not only for the Collects and the entire Psalter, but also for the following forty-eight hymns that should have been included in Lutheran Service Book. Most of these are hymns from TLH and/or LW, since the primary goal of the LSB project was to bring together the best of those two predecessor hymnals. Along with those, however, I've included a number of Paul Gerhardt hymns that have previously been published in other English-language Lutheran hymnals. Instead of letting go of Gerhardt hymns we already had, we should have been gaining ground and recovering more of that heritage.
So here are forty-eight hymns that should have been included in Lutheran Service Book; and then the good book would have been that much better. (I know that Susan has her own list, but this one's mine):
A PILGRIM AND A STRANGER (Gerhardt) (TLH 586)
ALAS, MY GOD, MY SINS ARE GREAT (TLH 317; LW 232)
ALL YE WHO ON THIS EARTH DO DWELL (Gerhardt) (TLH 581)
AND WILT THOU PARDON, LORD (TLH 322)
BEHOLD! BEHOLD! WHAT WONDERS HERE (Gerhardt)
(Ohio Synod's Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal #25)
BLESSED IS THE MAN (Gerhardt)
(Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #457)
CHRISTIANS, SING OUT WITH EXULTATION (TLH 100)
COME, OH COME, O QUICKENING SPIRIT (TLH 226; LW 165)
COME, RISEN LORD (HS 856)
DAY OF WRATH, O DAY OF MOURNING (TLH 607)
FROM CALVARY'S CROSS I HEARD CHRIST SAY (TLH 177; LW 108)
GO FORTH, MY HEART, AND SEEK DELIGHT (Gerhardt)
(American Lutheran Hymnal #645)
HALLELUJAH! JESUS LIVES! (TLH 188)
HARK! THE SOUND OF HOLY VOICES (TLH 471)
I DO NOT COME BECAUSE MY SOUL (TLH 379)
I STAND BESIDE THY MANGER HERE (Gerhardt)
(Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #129)
I WILL SING MY MAKER'S PRAISES (Gerhardt) (TLH 25; LW 439)
[now in the electronic edition only]
IF GOD HAD NOT BEEN ON OUR SIDE (Luther) (TLH 267)
IN ALL OUR GRIEF (HS 847)
IN THEE ALONE, O CHRIST, MY LORD (TLH 319; LW 357)
[now in the electronic edition only]
JESUS CHRIST, MY PRIDE AND GLORY (TLH 408)
LET NOT SUCH A THOUGHT E’ER PAIN THEE (Gerhardt)
(ELHB #506)
LO, JUDAH'S LION WINS THE STRIFE (TLH 211; LW 146)
LORD JESUS CHRIST, MY SAVIOR BLEST (TLH 353)
LORD JESUS, WHO ART COME (TLH 485)
MY SAVIOR SINNERS DOTH RECEIVE (TLH 386)
MY SOUL, AWAKE AND TENDER (Gerhardt)
(American Lutheran Hymnal #635)
NOW LET US COME BEFORE HIM (Gerhardt) (TLH 122; LW 184)
O BLESSED DAY WHEN FIRST WAS POURED (TLH 115)
O CHIEF OF CITIES, BETHLEHEM (LW 76)
O JESUS, KING OF GLORY (TLH 130; LW 79)
O LORD, I SING WITH LIPS AND HEART (Gerhardt) (TLH 569)
(the first half of the hymn, Rejoice, My Heart, Be Glad and Sing, LSB 737)
O LORD, LOOK DOWN FROM HEAVEN, BEHOLD (Luther) (TLH 260)
O THOU SWEETEST SOURCE OF GLADNESS (Gerhardt)
(Australian Lutheran Hymnal #126)
OH, ENTER, LORD, THY TEMPLE (Gerhardt) (TLH 228)
OH JESUS CHRIST! HOW BRIGHT AND FAIR (Gerhardt)
(Ohio Synod's Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal #339)
OH, SING WITH EXULTATION (TLH 217)
SUN OF MY SOUL, THOU SAVIOR DEAR (TLH 551; LW 488)
SWEET FLOWERETS OF THE MARTYR BAND (TLH 273; LW 188)
[now in the electronic edition only]
THAT EASTER DAY WITH JOY WAS BRIGHT (LW 147)
THE MYSTERY HIDDEN FROM THE EYES (Gerhardt)
(Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #405)
TO SHEPHERDS AS THEY WATCHED BY NIGHT (Luther) (TLH 103; LW 52)
WE SING, IMMANUEL, THY PRAISE (Gerhardt) (TLH 108)
WE THANK THEE, JESUS, DEAREST FRIEND (TLH 223)
WELCOME, HAPPY MORNING (TLH 202; LW 135)
WHEN MY LAST HOUR IS CLOSE AT HAND (TLH 594)
WHEN OVER SIN I SORROW (TLH 152; LW 367)
ZION MOURNS IN FEAR AND ANGUISH (Heermann) (TLH 268)
One simple thing: The response to the salutation throughout the book should have been, "And with your spirit." Not establishing that consistency was a mistake, which we'll have to live with and regret for the next couple decades now.
There shouldn't be any hymns in the electronic edition that aren't in the pew edition. The few Biblical canticles and the several good hymns (see below) that were relegated to the electronic edition only should be in the book, while the rest of the electronic-only songs should have been lost in some place where they would never be heard from again.
The entire Psalter should have been included in the pew edition. That was actually the first official decision of the Lectionary Committee (but we were men under other authorities).
The Collects for all of the Sundays and Festivals of the Church Year should have been included in the pew edition. My impression is that everyone realized that within months of publication.
In order to make room for the Collects and the missing Psalms, I recommend removing the following 100 hymns and replacing them with forty-eight other hymns that should have been included (below). These 100 hymns are not all bad (some of them are), but in my opinion they weren't necessary and could easily be done without; in some cases, we'd be better off without them. This isn't to say that all the other LSB hymns are excellent and most worthy. There's another few dozen that I'd be glad to let go, but I've tried to acknowledge the inherited piety of the Missouri Synod, as well as the ecumenical significance of certain hymns.
So here are 100 hymns that should have been left out of Lutheran Service Book (and, no, please don't put them in any electronic editions, either):
LSB 343 — Prepare the Royal Highway
LSB 354 — Arise, O Christian People
LSB 369 — Where Shepherds Lately Knelt
LSB 373 — See amid the Winter’s Snow
LSB 374 — Gentle Mary Laid Her Child
LSB 411 — I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
LSB 445 — When You Woke That Thursday Morning
LSB 456 — Were You There
LSB 474 — Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen
LSB 477 — Alleluia, Alleluia! Hearts to Heaven
LSB 479 — Christ Is Risen, Christ Is Living
LSB 484 — Make Songs of Joy
LSB 502 — Holy Spirit, the Dove Sent from Heaven
LSB 506 — Glory Be to God the Father
LSB 535 — How Wide the Love of Christ
LSB 541 — "Away from Us!" the Demon Cried
LSB 542 — When I Behold Jesus Christ
LSB 547 — The Lamb
LSB 550 — Lamb of God
LSB 560 — Drawn to the Cross, Which Thou Hast Blessed
LSB 591 — This Is the Spirit’s Entry Now
LSB 595 — O Blessed Spring
LSB 605 — Father Welcomes
LSB 620 — Jesus Comes Today with Healing
LSB 626 — Come, Let Us Eat
LSB 638 — Eat This Bread
LSB 641 — You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
LSB 653 — In Christ There Is No East or West
LSB 654 — Your Kingdom, O God, Is My Glorious Treasure
LSB 660 — Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
LSB 669 — Come, We That Love the Lord
LSB 678 — We Sing for All the Unsung Saints
LSB 695 — Not for Tongues of Heaven’s Angels
LSB 699 — I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
LSB 705 — The Man Is Ever Blessed
LSB 706 — Love in Christ Is Strong and Living
LSB 712 — Seek Ye First
LSB 721 — Lead Me, Guide Me
LSB 722 — Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me
LSB 723 — The Lord Is My Light
LSB 727 — On Eagles’ Wings
LSB 739 — Precious Lord, Take My Hand
LSB 748 — I’m But a Stranger Here
LSB 749 — There Is a Balm in Gilead
LSB 751 — O God of Love, O King of Peace
LSB 763 — When Peace, like a River
LSB 767 — Jesus, Remember Me
LSB 771 — Be Still, My Soul, before the Lord
LSB 780 — O Lord, Hear My Prayer
LSB 781 — We Give Thee But Thine Own
LSB 786 — Lord of All Good
LSB 787 — The Temple Rang with Golden Coins
LSB 788 — Forgive Us, Lord, for Shallow Thankfulness
LSB 789 — Praise and Thanksgiving
LSB 795 — Voices Raised to You We Offer
LSB 796 — When in Our Music God Is Glorified
LSB 799 — Alabaré - I
LSB 800 — Alabaré - II
LSB 804 — O Worship the King
LSB 806 — Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart
LSB 807 — When Morning Gilds the Skies
LSB 808 — O Sing to the Lord
LSB 814 — O Bless the Lord, My Soul
LSB 817 — Earth and All Stars
LSB 826 — Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying
LSB 827 — Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling
LSB 829 — Christ the Eternal Lord
LSB 831 — "How Shall They Hear," Who Have Not Heard
LSB 833 — Listen, God Is Calling
LSB 835 — On Galilee’s High Mountain
LSB 840 — Christ High-Ascended, Now in Glory Seated
LSB 841 — O Son of God, in Galilee
LSB 844 — Lord of All Nations, Grant Me Grace
LSB 854 — Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go
LSB 866 — Lord Jesus Christ, the Children’s Friend
LSB 867 — Let Children Hear the Mighty Deeds
LSB 871 — Greet the Rising Sun
LSB 873 — Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies
LSB 879 — Stay with Us
LSB 893 — Sing to the Lord of Harvest
LSB 911 — Lord, This Day We’ve Come to Worship
LSB 920 — Forth in the Peace of Christ We Go
LSB 922 — Go, My Children, with My Blessing
LSB 932 — Jesus Sat with His Disciples
LSB 939 — You Are God; We Praise You
LSB 943 — Kyrie-I
LSB 946 — Glory to God, We Give You Thanks and Praise
LSB 949 — Heavenly Hosts in Ceaseless Worship
LSB 951 — Alleluia-I
LSB 952 — Alleluia-II
LSB 955 — Let the Vineyards Be Fruitful
LSB 956 — Create in Me
LSB 958 — Our Father Who Art in Heaven - IIa (English)
LSB 959 — Our Father Who Art in Heaven - IIb (Spanish)
LSB 961 — Sanctus
LSB 962 — Agnus Dei-I
LSB 963 — Agnus Dei-II
LSB 964 — Lift Every Voice and Sing
LSB 965 — God Bless Our Native Land
LSB 966 — Before You, Lord, We Bow
Removing those 100 hymns would make room, not only for the Collects and the entire Psalter, but also for the following forty-eight hymns that should have been included in Lutheran Service Book. Most of these are hymns from TLH and/or LW, since the primary goal of the LSB project was to bring together the best of those two predecessor hymnals. Along with those, however, I've included a number of Paul Gerhardt hymns that have previously been published in other English-language Lutheran hymnals. Instead of letting go of Gerhardt hymns we already had, we should have been gaining ground and recovering more of that heritage.
So here are forty-eight hymns that should have been included in Lutheran Service Book; and then the good book would have been that much better. (I know that Susan has her own list, but this one's mine):
A PILGRIM AND A STRANGER (Gerhardt) (TLH 586)
ALAS, MY GOD, MY SINS ARE GREAT (TLH 317; LW 232)
ALL YE WHO ON THIS EARTH DO DWELL (Gerhardt) (TLH 581)
AND WILT THOU PARDON, LORD (TLH 322)
BEHOLD! BEHOLD! WHAT WONDERS HERE (Gerhardt)
(Ohio Synod's Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal #25)
BLESSED IS THE MAN (Gerhardt)
(Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #457)
CHRISTIANS, SING OUT WITH EXULTATION (TLH 100)
COME, OH COME, O QUICKENING SPIRIT (TLH 226; LW 165)
COME, RISEN LORD (HS 856)
DAY OF WRATH, O DAY OF MOURNING (TLH 607)
FROM CALVARY'S CROSS I HEARD CHRIST SAY (TLH 177; LW 108)
GO FORTH, MY HEART, AND SEEK DELIGHT (Gerhardt)
(American Lutheran Hymnal #645)
HALLELUJAH! JESUS LIVES! (TLH 188)
HARK! THE SOUND OF HOLY VOICES (TLH 471)
I DO NOT COME BECAUSE MY SOUL (TLH 379)
I STAND BESIDE THY MANGER HERE (Gerhardt)
(Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #129)
I WILL SING MY MAKER'S PRAISES (Gerhardt) (TLH 25; LW 439)
[now in the electronic edition only]
IF GOD HAD NOT BEEN ON OUR SIDE (Luther) (TLH 267)
IN ALL OUR GRIEF (HS 847)
IN THEE ALONE, O CHRIST, MY LORD (TLH 319; LW 357)
[now in the electronic edition only]
JESUS CHRIST, MY PRIDE AND GLORY (TLH 408)
LET NOT SUCH A THOUGHT E’ER PAIN THEE (Gerhardt)
(ELHB #506)
LO, JUDAH'S LION WINS THE STRIFE (TLH 211; LW 146)
LORD JESUS CHRIST, MY SAVIOR BLEST (TLH 353)
LORD JESUS, WHO ART COME (TLH 485)
MY SAVIOR SINNERS DOTH RECEIVE (TLH 386)
MY SOUL, AWAKE AND TENDER (Gerhardt)
(American Lutheran Hymnal #635)
NOW LET US COME BEFORE HIM (Gerhardt) (TLH 122; LW 184)
O BLESSED DAY WHEN FIRST WAS POURED (TLH 115)
O CHIEF OF CITIES, BETHLEHEM (LW 76)
O JESUS, KING OF GLORY (TLH 130; LW 79)
O LORD, I SING WITH LIPS AND HEART (Gerhardt) (TLH 569)
(the first half of the hymn, Rejoice, My Heart, Be Glad and Sing, LSB 737)
O LORD, LOOK DOWN FROM HEAVEN, BEHOLD (Luther) (TLH 260)
O THOU SWEETEST SOURCE OF GLADNESS (Gerhardt)
(Australian Lutheran Hymnal #126)
OH, ENTER, LORD, THY TEMPLE (Gerhardt) (TLH 228)
OH JESUS CHRIST! HOW BRIGHT AND FAIR (Gerhardt)
(Ohio Synod's Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal #339)
OH, SING WITH EXULTATION (TLH 217)
SUN OF MY SOUL, THOU SAVIOR DEAR (TLH 551; LW 488)
SWEET FLOWERETS OF THE MARTYR BAND (TLH 273; LW 188)
[now in the electronic edition only]
THAT EASTER DAY WITH JOY WAS BRIGHT (LW 147)
THE MYSTERY HIDDEN FROM THE EYES (Gerhardt)
(Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #405)
TO SHEPHERDS AS THEY WATCHED BY NIGHT (Luther) (TLH 103; LW 52)
WE SING, IMMANUEL, THY PRAISE (Gerhardt) (TLH 108)
WE THANK THEE, JESUS, DEAREST FRIEND (TLH 223)
WELCOME, HAPPY MORNING (TLH 202; LW 135)
WHEN MY LAST HOUR IS CLOSE AT HAND (TLH 594)
WHEN OVER SIN I SORROW (TLH 152; LW 367)
ZION MOURNS IN FEAR AND ANGUISH (Heermann) (TLH 268)
22 August 2008
Would've, Could've, Should've
One area in which Lutheran Service Book could have been even better is in its collection of Paul Gerhardt hymns. LSB has sixteen of his hymns in the pew edition, plus "I Will My Maker's Praises" in the electronic edition only (for shame). Many others would have been readily available, and should have been included, in my opinion. Between The Lutheran Hymnal and other Lutheran hymnals published in this country, at least a dozen other Gerhardt hymns were at hand to serve the Church in our day. In addition to those, the following twenty Gerhardt hymns are found in Walther's Kirchengesangbuch, and/or Grabau's Gesangbuch, and/or the current SELK Gesangbuch, and have also been translated into English. Although some of those English translations would have required some attention, it would not have been difficult to put them into use. For the sake of comparison, all three of these aforementioned German hymnals include 40+ Gerhardt hymns. Both TLH and the recent Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (of the ELS) include more than twenty. LSB could easily have included four dozen Paul Gerhardt hymns, and that would have been a good thing.
Anyway, here are twenty Gerhardt hymns that were out there, ready and waiting to be discovered and recovered for the use of English-speaking Lutherans in our day. They're still waiting:
ADVENT
"Wherefore Dost Thou Longer Tarry" (C. Winkworth)
Warum willst du draußen stehen (Grabau #17; SELK #404)
NEW YEAR
"Mortals, Who Have God Offended" (Miss Cox)
Warüm machet solche Schmerzen (Walther #56; Grabau #61)
HOLY WEEK
"Thousand Times by Me Be Greeted" (Moravian Hymn Book)
Sei mir tausendmal gegrüßet (Walther #91; Grabau #118; SELK #427)
EASTER
"Be Joyful All, Both Far and Near" (J. Kelly)
Sei fröhlich alles weit und breit (Walther #113)
PENTECOST
"O Father! Send Thy Spirit Down" (J. Kelly)
Gott Vater, sende deinen Geist (Walther #130; Grabau #179)
JUDGMENT
"The Time Is Very Near" (J. Kelly)
Die Zeit ist nunmehr nah (Walther #432; SELK #451)
LORD’S SUPPER
"O Lord, My Love, I Have No Rest" (K. Reinhardt, 2001)
Herr Jesu, meine Liebe (Walther #200)
DEATH & BURIAL
"Be Glad, My Heart! Now Fear No More" (J. Kelly)
Nun sei getrost und unbetrübt (Walther #419)
"Thou Art Mine, Yes, Still Thou Art Mine Own" (C. Winkworth)
Du bist zwar mein und bleibest mein (Death of Child; Walther #401)
CROSS & COMFORT
"Be Thou Content: Be Still Before" (C. Winkworth)
Gib dich zufrieden und sei stille (SELK #295)
"Look Up to Thy God Again" (J. Kelly)
Schwing dich auf zu deinem Gott (Walther #370; SELK #296)
THANKS & PRAISE
"How Can It Be, My Highest Light" (J. Kelly)
Wie ist es möglich, höchstes Licht (Walther #290)
"O God, my Father! Thanks to Thee" (J. Kelly)
Ich danke dir demütiglich (Walther #338)
"Thank God It Hath Resounded" (C. Winkworth)
Gott Lob, nun ist erschollen (SELK #392)
PRAYER
"Twofold, Father, Is My Prayer" (J. Kelly)
Zweierlei bitt ich von dir (Grabau #451)
VOCATION
"I Know, My God, and I Rejoice" (C. Winkworth)
Ich weiß, mein Gott, daß all (Walther #274; Grabau #411; SELK #384)
MORNING
"Our Lord Be Praising, All His Glory Raising" (H. J. Buckoll)
Lobet den Herren, alle die ihn ehren (SELK #347)
EVENING
"The Daylight Disappeareth" (J. Kelly)
Der Tag mit seinem Lichte (SELK #551)
METRICAL PSALM PARAPHRASES
"O Come, My Soul with Singing" (Miss Burlingham)
Du meine Seele, singe! (Psalm 146; SELK #197)
"The Lord, the Earth Who Ruleth" (J. Kelly)
Derr Herr, der aller Enden (Psalm 23; Walther #248)
Anyway, here are twenty Gerhardt hymns that were out there, ready and waiting to be discovered and recovered for the use of English-speaking Lutherans in our day. They're still waiting:
ADVENT
"Wherefore Dost Thou Longer Tarry" (C. Winkworth)
Warum willst du draußen stehen (Grabau #17; SELK #404)
NEW YEAR
"Mortals, Who Have God Offended" (Miss Cox)
Warüm machet solche Schmerzen (Walther #56; Grabau #61)
HOLY WEEK
"Thousand Times by Me Be Greeted" (Moravian Hymn Book)
Sei mir tausendmal gegrüßet (Walther #91; Grabau #118; SELK #427)
EASTER
"Be Joyful All, Both Far and Near" (J. Kelly)
Sei fröhlich alles weit und breit (Walther #113)
PENTECOST
"O Father! Send Thy Spirit Down" (J. Kelly)
Gott Vater, sende deinen Geist (Walther #130; Grabau #179)
JUDGMENT
"The Time Is Very Near" (J. Kelly)
Die Zeit ist nunmehr nah (Walther #432; SELK #451)
LORD’S SUPPER
"O Lord, My Love, I Have No Rest" (K. Reinhardt, 2001)
Herr Jesu, meine Liebe (Walther #200)
DEATH & BURIAL
"Be Glad, My Heart! Now Fear No More" (J. Kelly)
Nun sei getrost und unbetrübt (Walther #419)
"Thou Art Mine, Yes, Still Thou Art Mine Own" (C. Winkworth)
Du bist zwar mein und bleibest mein (Death of Child; Walther #401)
CROSS & COMFORT
"Be Thou Content: Be Still Before" (C. Winkworth)
Gib dich zufrieden und sei stille (SELK #295)
"Look Up to Thy God Again" (J. Kelly)
Schwing dich auf zu deinem Gott (Walther #370; SELK #296)
THANKS & PRAISE
"How Can It Be, My Highest Light" (J. Kelly)
Wie ist es möglich, höchstes Licht (Walther #290)
"O God, my Father! Thanks to Thee" (J. Kelly)
Ich danke dir demütiglich (Walther #338)
"Thank God It Hath Resounded" (C. Winkworth)
Gott Lob, nun ist erschollen (SELK #392)
PRAYER
"Twofold, Father, Is My Prayer" (J. Kelly)
Zweierlei bitt ich von dir (Grabau #451)
VOCATION
"I Know, My God, and I Rejoice" (C. Winkworth)
Ich weiß, mein Gott, daß all (Walther #274; Grabau #411; SELK #384)
MORNING
"Our Lord Be Praising, All His Glory Raising" (H. J. Buckoll)
Lobet den Herren, alle die ihn ehren (SELK #347)
EVENING
"The Daylight Disappeareth" (J. Kelly)
Der Tag mit seinem Lichte (SELK #551)
METRICAL PSALM PARAPHRASES
"O Come, My Soul with Singing" (Miss Burlingham)
Du meine Seele, singe! (Psalm 146; SELK #197)
"The Lord, the Earth Who Ruleth" (J. Kelly)
Derr Herr, der aller Enden (Psalm 23; Walther #248)
20 August 2008
Ninety-Six Reasons
Here are the top Ninety-Six Reasons why a congregation should replace The Lutheran Hymnal with Lutheran Service Book:
LSB 336 — Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending (LW #15; also HS #802)
LSB 337 — The Night Will Soon Be Ending (HS #806)
LSB 351 — Creator of the Stars of Night (LW #17)
LSB 355 — O Savior, Rend the Heavens Wide (LW #32)
LSB 356 — The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (HS #805)
LSB 362 — O Sing of Christ (Stephen Starke)
LSB 376 — Once in Royal David’s City (LW #58)
LSB 377 — On Christmas Night All Christians Sing (LW #65)
LSB 378 — Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light (HS #811)
LSB 401 — From God the Father, Virgin-Born (LW #74)
LSB 402 — The Only Son from Heaven (LW #72)
LSB 403 — O Savior of Our Fallen Race (LW #45)
LSB 404 — Jesus, Once with Sinners Numbered (Stephen Starke)
LSB 406 — To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord (LW #223)
LSB 413 — O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair (LW #87)
LSB 415 — Jesus on the Mountain Peak (HS #818)
LSB 417 — Alleluia, Song of Gladness (HS #819)
LSB 418 — O Lord, throughout These Forty Days (LW #92)
LSB 430 — My Song Is Love Unknown (LW #91)
LSB 446 — Jesus, Greatest at the Table (Stephen Starke)
LSB 454 — Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle (LW #117)
LSB 460 — Christians, to the Paschal Victim (LW #10)
LSB 462 — All the Earth with Joy Is Sounding (HS #829)
LSB 465 — Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds (LW #131)
LSB 476 — Who Are You Who Walk in Sorrow (Herman Stuempfle)
LSB 482 — This Joyful Eastertide (LW #140)
LSB 483 — With High Delight Let Us Unite (LW #134)
LSB 489 — Hail Thee, Festival Day (LW #125, #148, #159)
LSB 491 — Up through Endless Ranks of Angels (LW #152)
LSB 501 — Come Down, O Love Divine (LW #162)
LSB 503 — O Day Full of Grace (LW #163)
LSB 512 — At the Name of Jesus (LW #178)
LSB 517–518 — By All Your Saints in Warfare (LW #193–194)
LSB 521 — Christ, the Lord of Hosts, Unshaken (Peter Prange)
LSB 529 — Since Our Great High Priest, Christ Jesus (Christopher Idle)
LSB 530 — No Temple Now, No Gift of Price (HS #861)
LSB 533 — Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure (LW #78)
LSB 534 — Lord, Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor (LW #281)
LSB 538 — Praise Be to Christ (Timothy Dudley-Smith)
LSB 539 — Christ Is the World’s Redeemer (LW #271)
LSB 540 — Christ, the Word of God Incarnate (Steven Mueller)
LSB 544 — O Love, How Deep (LW #275)
LSB 545 — Word of God, Come Down on Earth (James Quinn)
LSB 546 — O Jesus So Sweet, O Jesus So Mild (HS #858)
LSB 553 — O Christ, Our Hope, Our Hearts’ Desire (LW #151)
LSB 561 — The Tree of Life (HS #873)
LSB 564 — Christ Sits at God’s Right Hand (Stephen Starke)
LSB 572 — In the Shattered Bliss of Eden (Stephen Starke)
LSB 578 — Thy Strong Word (LW #328)
LSB 586 — Preach You the Word (LW #259)
LSB 594 — God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It (HS #844)
LSB 596 — All Christians Who Have Been Baptized (Paul Gerhardt)
LSB 597 — Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying (Stephen Starke)
LSB 599 — O Gracious Lord, with Love Draw Near (Stephen Starke)
LSB 602 — The Gifts Christ Freely Gives (Richard Resch)
LSB 604 — I Bind unto Myself Today (LW #172)
LSB 616 — Baptismal Waters Cover Me (Kurt Reinhardt)
LSB 621 — Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (LW #241)
LSB 624 — The Infant Priest Was Holy Born (HS #853)
LSB 630 — Now, My Tongue, the Mystery Telling (HS #852)
LSB 633 — At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing (LW #126)
LSB 639 — Wide Open Stand the Gates (Wilhelm Löhe)
LSB 640 — Thee We Adore, O Hidden Savior (HS #849)
LSB 650 — Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling (LW #164)
LSB 667 — Saints, See the Cloud of Witnesses (HS #840)
LSB 671 — Sing with All the Saints in Glory (HS #839)
LSB 675 — Oh, What Their Joy (HS #838)
LSB 690 — Hope of the World (LW #377)
LSB 726 — Evening and Morning (LW #419)
LSB 736 — Consider How the Birds Above (Stephen Starke)
LSB 762 — There Is a Time for Everything (Stephen Starke)
LSB 764 — When Aimless Violence Takes Those We Love (HS #890)
LSB 769 — Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ (LW #432)
LSB 773 — Hear Us, Father, When We Pray (Chad Bird)
LSB 777/78 — Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord (LW #219)
LSB 792 — New Songs of Celebration Render (HS #897)
LSB 815 — All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine (HS #862)
LSB 818 — In Thee Is Gladness (LW #442)
LSB 821 — Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (HS #851)
LSB 834 — O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth (LW #319)
LSB 836 — O God of Light (HS #869)
LSB 842 — Son of God, Eternal Savior (LW #394)
LSB 845 — Where Charity and Love Prevail (HS #878)
LSB 849 — Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness (HS #881)
LSB 853 — How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord (HS #879)
LSB 860 — Gracious Savior, Grant Your Blessing (Stephen Starke)
LSB 861 — Christ Be My Leader (LW #365)
LSB 863 — Our Father, by Whose Name (LW #465)
LSB 875 — Father, We Praise Thee (LW #482)
LSB 877 — God, Who Made the Earth and Heaven (LW #492)
LSB 884 — Lord, Support Us All Day Long (Stephen Starke)
LSB 885 — I Lie, O Lord, within Your Care (Jochen Klepper)
LSB 889 — Before the Ending of the Day (LW #489)
LSB 896 — Now Greet the Swiftly Changing Year (LW #183; also HS #837)
LSB 914 — Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten (Stephen Starke)
LSB 916 — Only-Begotten, Word of God Eternal (LW #323)
LSB 336 — Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending (LW #15; also HS #802)
LSB 337 — The Night Will Soon Be Ending (HS #806)
LSB 351 — Creator of the Stars of Night (LW #17)
LSB 355 — O Savior, Rend the Heavens Wide (LW #32)
LSB 356 — The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (HS #805)
LSB 362 — O Sing of Christ (Stephen Starke)
LSB 376 — Once in Royal David’s City (LW #58)
LSB 377 — On Christmas Night All Christians Sing (LW #65)
LSB 378 — Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light (HS #811)
LSB 401 — From God the Father, Virgin-Born (LW #74)
LSB 402 — The Only Son from Heaven (LW #72)
LSB 403 — O Savior of Our Fallen Race (LW #45)
LSB 404 — Jesus, Once with Sinners Numbered (Stephen Starke)
LSB 406 — To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord (LW #223)
LSB 413 — O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair (LW #87)
LSB 415 — Jesus on the Mountain Peak (HS #818)
LSB 417 — Alleluia, Song of Gladness (HS #819)
LSB 418 — O Lord, throughout These Forty Days (LW #92)
LSB 430 — My Song Is Love Unknown (LW #91)
LSB 446 — Jesus, Greatest at the Table (Stephen Starke)
LSB 454 — Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle (LW #117)
LSB 460 — Christians, to the Paschal Victim (LW #10)
LSB 462 — All the Earth with Joy Is Sounding (HS #829)
LSB 465 — Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds (LW #131)
LSB 476 — Who Are You Who Walk in Sorrow (Herman Stuempfle)
LSB 482 — This Joyful Eastertide (LW #140)
LSB 483 — With High Delight Let Us Unite (LW #134)
LSB 489 — Hail Thee, Festival Day (LW #125, #148, #159)
LSB 491 — Up through Endless Ranks of Angels (LW #152)
LSB 501 — Come Down, O Love Divine (LW #162)
LSB 503 — O Day Full of Grace (LW #163)
LSB 512 — At the Name of Jesus (LW #178)
LSB 517–518 — By All Your Saints in Warfare (LW #193–194)
LSB 521 — Christ, the Lord of Hosts, Unshaken (Peter Prange)
LSB 529 — Since Our Great High Priest, Christ Jesus (Christopher Idle)
LSB 530 — No Temple Now, No Gift of Price (HS #861)
LSB 533 — Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure (LW #78)
LSB 534 — Lord, Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor (LW #281)
LSB 538 — Praise Be to Christ (Timothy Dudley-Smith)
LSB 539 — Christ Is the World’s Redeemer (LW #271)
LSB 540 — Christ, the Word of God Incarnate (Steven Mueller)
LSB 544 — O Love, How Deep (LW #275)
LSB 545 — Word of God, Come Down on Earth (James Quinn)
LSB 546 — O Jesus So Sweet, O Jesus So Mild (HS #858)
LSB 553 — O Christ, Our Hope, Our Hearts’ Desire (LW #151)
LSB 561 — The Tree of Life (HS #873)
LSB 564 — Christ Sits at God’s Right Hand (Stephen Starke)
LSB 572 — In the Shattered Bliss of Eden (Stephen Starke)
LSB 578 — Thy Strong Word (LW #328)
LSB 586 — Preach You the Word (LW #259)
LSB 594 — God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It (HS #844)
LSB 596 — All Christians Who Have Been Baptized (Paul Gerhardt)
LSB 597 — Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying (Stephen Starke)
LSB 599 — O Gracious Lord, with Love Draw Near (Stephen Starke)
LSB 602 — The Gifts Christ Freely Gives (Richard Resch)
LSB 604 — I Bind unto Myself Today (LW #172)
LSB 616 — Baptismal Waters Cover Me (Kurt Reinhardt)
LSB 621 — Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (LW #241)
LSB 624 — The Infant Priest Was Holy Born (HS #853)
LSB 630 — Now, My Tongue, the Mystery Telling (HS #852)
LSB 633 — At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing (LW #126)
LSB 639 — Wide Open Stand the Gates (Wilhelm Löhe)
LSB 640 — Thee We Adore, O Hidden Savior (HS #849)
LSB 650 — Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling (LW #164)
LSB 667 — Saints, See the Cloud of Witnesses (HS #840)
LSB 671 — Sing with All the Saints in Glory (HS #839)
LSB 675 — Oh, What Their Joy (HS #838)
LSB 690 — Hope of the World (LW #377)
LSB 726 — Evening and Morning (LW #419)
LSB 736 — Consider How the Birds Above (Stephen Starke)
LSB 762 — There Is a Time for Everything (Stephen Starke)
LSB 764 — When Aimless Violence Takes Those We Love (HS #890)
LSB 769 — Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ (LW #432)
LSB 773 — Hear Us, Father, When We Pray (Chad Bird)
LSB 777/78 — Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord (LW #219)
LSB 792 — New Songs of Celebration Render (HS #897)
LSB 815 — All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine (HS #862)
LSB 818 — In Thee Is Gladness (LW #442)
LSB 821 — Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (HS #851)
LSB 834 — O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth (LW #319)
LSB 836 — O God of Light (HS #869)
LSB 842 — Son of God, Eternal Savior (LW #394)
LSB 845 — Where Charity and Love Prevail (HS #878)
LSB 849 — Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness (HS #881)
LSB 853 — How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord (HS #879)
LSB 860 — Gracious Savior, Grant Your Blessing (Stephen Starke)
LSB 861 — Christ Be My Leader (LW #365)
LSB 863 — Our Father, by Whose Name (LW #465)
LSB 875 — Father, We Praise Thee (LW #482)
LSB 877 — God, Who Made the Earth and Heaven (LW #492)
LSB 884 — Lord, Support Us All Day Long (Stephen Starke)
LSB 885 — I Lie, O Lord, within Your Care (Jochen Klepper)
LSB 889 — Before the Ending of the Day (LW #489)
LSB 896 — Now Greet the Swiftly Changing Year (LW #183; also HS #837)
LSB 914 — Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten (Stephen Starke)
LSB 916 — Only-Begotten, Word of God Eternal (LW #323)
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