Greet Now the Swiftly Changing Year

Greet now the swiftly changing year

Translator: Jaroslav J. Vajda (1968)
Tune: SIXTH NIGHT
Published in 19 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI, Recording

Representative Text

1 Greet now the swiftly changing year
With joy and penitence sincere.
Rejoice, rejoice, with thanks embrace
Another year of grace.

2 When Jesus came to wage sin's war,
The Name of names for us he bore.
Rejoice, rejoice, with thanks embrace
Another year of grace.

3 His love abundant far exceeds
The volume of a whole year's needs.
Rejoice, rejoice, with thanks embrace
Another year of grace.

4 With such a Lord to lead our way
In hazard or prosperity,
What need we fear in earth or space
In this new year of grace?

5 "All glory be to God on high,
And peace on earth!" the angels cry.
Rejoice, rejoice, with thanks embrace
Another year of grace.

6 God, Father, Son, and Spirit, hear:
To all our pleas incline your ear;
Upon our lives rich blessing trace
In this new year of grace.

Source: Worship (4th ed.) #999

Translator: Jaroslav J. Vajda

Jaroslav J. Vajda (b. Lorain, Ohio, 1919; d. 2008) Born of Czechoslovakian parents, Vajda was educated at Concordia College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1944, he served congregations in Pennsylvania and Indiana until 1963. He was editor of the periodicals The Lutheran Beacon (1959-1963) and This Day (1963-1971) and book editor and developer for Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis from 1971 until his retirement in 1986. Working mainly with hymn texts, Vajda served on several Lutheran commissions of worship. A writer of original poetry since his teens, he was the author of They Followed the King (1965) and Follow the King (1977). His translations from S… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Greet now the swiftly changing year
Title: Greet Now the Swiftly Changing Year
Translator: Jaroslav J. Vajda (1968)
Meter: 8.8.8.6
Source: Slovak, 17th cent.; Cithara Sanctorum, Levoca, 1636
Language: English
Copyright: © 1969 Concordia Publishing House

Notes

Scripture References:
all st. = Ps. 90
st. 6 = Luke 2:14

The original text of this anonymous Slovak hymn ("Rok novy zase k nam prisel") was found in Tobias Zavorka's Czech hymnal Kancional (1602). A revision of that text was published in 1636 in Juraj Tranovsky's Pisne Duchovni Stare I Move, a Slovak Lutheran hymnal usually known as the Cithara Sanctorum. Jaroslav J. Vajda (b. Lorain, OH, 1919) prepared the English translation in 1968 for the Worship Supplement to The Lutheran Hymnal. This hymn remains very popular for New Year's Day celebrations in every Slovak home and church.

Stanza 1 immediately alerts us that this is a hymn for New Year's Day as we “Rejoice!” and "with thanks embrace another year of grace." Stanzas 2-5 remind us of our blessing in Christ. In stanza 6 we join once more with the Christmas angels in their chorus of glory and peace. Stanza 7 is a prayer for continued blessings in “this new year of grace.”

Born of Czechoslovakian parents, Vajda was educated at Concordia College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Ordain as a Lutheran pastor in 1944, he served congregations in Pennsylvania and Indiana until 1963. He was editor of the periodicals The Lutheran Beacon (1959-1963) and This Day (1963-1971) and book editor and developer for Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis from 1971 until his retirement in 1986. Working mainly with hymn texts, Vajda served on several Lutheran commissions of worship. A writer of original poetry since his teens, he is the author of They Followed the King (1965) and Follow the King (1977). His translations from Slovak include Bloody Sonnets (1950), Slovak Christmas (1960), An Anthology of Slovak Literature (1977), and contributions to the Lutheran Worship Supplement (1969) and the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978). A collection of his hymn texts, carols, and hymn translations was issued as Now the Joyful Celebration (1987); its sequel is So Much to Sing About (1991). Vajda's hymns are included in many modern hymnals, and he was honored as a Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada in 1988.

Liturgical Use:
New Year's Day; New Year's Eve watch-night service.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune

SIXTH NIGHT


ROK NOVY

ROK NOVY is an anonymous Slovak tune that was first published in Tobias Zavorka's Kancional of 1602, though it may date back into the fifteenth century. The tune title means "new year" and is the incipit of the Slovak Old/New Year text "Rok novy zase k nam prisel," traditionally associated with this…

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CHILDHOOD (Student's Hymnal, Wales)


Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 17 of 17)

Moravian Book of Worship #308

The Worshiping Church #372

Audio

Lutheran Worship #183

Text InfoTune InfoScoreAudio

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #444

Christian Worship (2008) #708

Christian Worship #368

Common Praise (1998) #264

Gather Comprehensive #895

Hymnal Supplement 98 #837

Audio

Lift Up Your Hearts #400

Lutheran Service Book #896

RitualSong #968

The Book of Praise #810

The Hymnal 1982 #250

The New Century Hymnal #431

Text

Worship (4th ed.) #999

Worship Supplement 2000 #716

Include 2 pre-1979 instances
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