Come, Tune Your Heart

For Christmas

Words: “Auf, schicke dich”

Author: Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715-1769)

Translation by Frances Elizabeth Cox, 1841

Source: Frances Elizabeth Cox, Sacred Hymns from the German (London: William Pickering, 1841), p. 17

God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.
St. John 3:16

1. Come, tune your heart,
To bear its part,
And celebrate Messiah's feast with praises;
Let love inspire
The joyful choir,
While to the God of love glad hymns it raises.

2. Exalt his name!
With joy proclaim,
God loved the world, and through his Son forgave us;
Oh! what are we,
That, Lord we see
Thy wondrous love, in Christ who died to save us!

3. Behold our Friend
His love commend,
In that when foes he died to reconcile us;
Our flesh he took,
His throne forsook,
That from his kingdom God might not exile us.

4. Your refuge place
In his free grace,
Trust in his name, and day by day repent you;
Ye mock God's word,
Who call him Lord,
And follow not the pattern He hath lent you.

5. O Christ, to prove
For Thee my love,
Thee in the poor I'll clothe, and feed, and cherish; ¹
To every heart
Sweet hope impart,
When worn with care, with sorrow nigh to perish.

6. Heaven and earth
Received their birth
From Thee, in whom both strength and wisdom blended;
Both heart and and voice
In thee rejoice,
And every knee in grateful prayer is bended. ²

7. Then praise the Lord! ³
He'll help afford,
And comfort him by whom his name's esteemed;
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
Rejoice in Christ, and praise him ye redeemed!

Notes:

Also occurs in the second, revised edition of this work, Hymns from the German (1864), p. 39 with these changes:

1. In the 1864 edition, this and the next lines are changed to “In brethren Thee my hands shall clothe and cherish; | To each sad heart.” Return

2. Changed to “Be every knee in adoration bended.” Return

3. In the 1864 edition, this verse reads:

Come, praise the Lord!
In heaven are stored
Rich gifts for those who here His Name esteemèd;
Alleluia !
Alleluia !
Rejoice in Christ, and praise Him ye redeemèd ! Return

Also see: Come Tune Your Heart (from Bramley and Stainer, with music)

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