1 Awake, my heart, and marvel
At nature's beauty fair;
The woodlands and the meadows
Are clad with blossoms rare;
The earth is wrapt in sunlight,
The birds with voices clear
Extol their Maker's glory
And fill the world with cheer.
2 Like waters undulating
Our fields of grain are seen,
And zephyrs bear sweet odors
Like breaths from forests green.
We hear the brances whisper
Up in the linden tree,
And now the woodbine arbor
Love's home alone can be.
3 The early summer roses
In rapture we behold,
And ev'ry morn new flowers
Their fragrant buds unfold.
From heaven far above us
Shines down the deepest blue,
And from the earth below us
Spring plants of verdant hue.
4 O heart of mine, throw open
Thy windows wide and far,
Lest from its deep recesses
God's sun of love thou bar.
He who suspends the rainbow
Across the clouded sky
Still with His hands sustains thee
When storms are rising high.
Source: American Lutheran Hymnal #635
Paul Gerhardt (b. Gräfenheinichen, Saxony, Germany, 1607; d. Lubben, Germany, 1676), famous author of Lutheran evangelical hymns, studied theology and hymnody at the University of Wittenberg and then was a tutor in Berlin, where he became friends with Johann Crüger. He served the Lutheran parish of Mittenwalde near Berlin (1651-1657) and the great St. Nicholas' Church in Berlin (1657-1666). Friederich William, the Calvinist elector, had issued an edict that forbade the various Protestant groups to fight each other. Although Gerhardt did not want strife between the churches, he refused to comply with the edict because he thought it opposed the Lutheran "Formula of Concord," which condemned some Calvinist doctrines. Consequently, he was r… Go to person page >
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