Hail Thee, Savior and Atoner!
Though the world Thy name dishonor,
Moved by love my heart proposes
To adorn Thy cross with roses
And to offer praise to Thee.
O what moved Thee so to love us,
When enthroned with God above us,
That for us Thou all wouldst offer
And in deep compassion suffer
Even death that we might live.
Love alone Thy heart was filling
When to suffer Thou wert willing.
Rather givest Thou than takest,
Hence, O Savior, Thou forsakest
All to die in sinner’s place.
Ah, my heart in deep contrition
Now perceives its true condition,
Cold and barren like a mountain,
How could I deserve the fountain
Of Thy love, my Savior dear.
Yet I know that from thy passion
Flows a river of salvation
Which can bid the mountain vanish,
Which can sin and coldness banish,
And restore my heart in Thee.
Lord, with tears I pray Thee ever:
Lead into my heart that river,
Which with grace redeeming cleanses
Heart and soul of all offences,
Blotting out my guilt and shame.
Lord, Thy life for sinners giving,
Let in Thee me find my living
So for Thee my heart is beating,
All my thoughts in Thee are meeting,
Finding there their light and joy.
Though all earthly things I cherish
Like the flowers may fade and perish,
Thou, I know, wilt stand beside me;
And from death and judgment hide me;
Thou hast paid the wage of sin.
Yes, my heart believes the wonder
Of Thy cross, which ages ponder!
Shield me, Lord, when foes assail me,
Be my staff when life shall fail me;
Take me to Thy Paradise.
Source: Hymns and Hymnwriters of Denmark #75
Jens Christian Aaberg (b. Moberg, Denmark, 1877; d. Minneapolis, MN, 1970) immigrated to the United States in 1901. Educated at Grand View College and Seminary in Des Moines, Iowa, he entered the ministry of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and served congregations in Marinette, Wisconsin; Dwight, Illinois; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Aaberg wrote Hymns and Hymnwriters of Denmark (1945), translated at least eighty hymns from Danish into English, and served on four hymnal committees. In 1947 King Frederick of Denmark awarded him the Knight Cross of Denmark.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1987
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Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig was the son of a pastor, and was born at Udby, in Seeland, in 1783. He studied in the University of Copenhagen from 1800-1805; and, like some other eminent men, did not greatly distinguish himself; his mind was too active and his imagination too versatile to bear the restraint of the academic course. After leaving the university he took to teaching; first in Langeland, then (1808) in Copenhagen. Here he devoted his attention to poetry, literature, and Northern antiquities. In 1810 he became assistant to his father in a parish in Jutland. The sermon he preached at his ordination, on the subject "Why has the Lord's word disappeared from His house," attracted much attention, which is rarely the case with "pro… Go to person page >
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