How blessed, from the bonds of sin

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How blessed, from the bonds of sin

Author: Karl Johann Philipp Spitta (1833); Translator: Jane L. Borthwick (1854)
Published in 37 hymnals

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Representative Text

1 How blessed from the bonds of sin
And earthly fetters free,
In singleness of heart and aim
Thy servant, Lord, to be!
The hardest toil to undertake
With joy at thy command,
The meanest office to receive
With meekness at thy hand!

2 With willing heart and longing eyes
To watch before thy gate,
Ready to run the weary race,
To bear the heavy weight;
No voice of thunder to expect,
But follow, calm and still,
For love can easily divine
The One Beloved’s will.

3 Thus may we serve thee, gracious Lord!
Thus ever thine alone,
Our souls and bodies given to thee,
The purchase thou hast won;
Through evil or through good report
Still keeping by thy side.
By life or death, in this poor flesh
Let Christ be magnified!

4 How happily the working days
In this dear service fly!
How rapidly the closing hour,
The time of rest, draws nigh!
When all the faithful gather home,
A joyful company,
And ever where the Master is,
Shall his blest servants be.

Source: Service Book and Hymnal of the Lutheran Church in America #60

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Author: Karl Johann Philipp Spitta

Spitta, Carl Johann Philipp, D.D., was born Aug. 1, 1801, at Hannover, where his father, Lebrecht Wilhelm Gottfried Spitta, was then living, as bookkeeper and teacher of the French language. In his eleventh year Spitta fell into a severe illness, which lasted for four years, and so threw him back that his mother (the father died in 1805) abandoned the idea of a professional career, and apprenticed him to a watchmaker. This occupation did not prove at all congenial to him, but he would not confess his dislike, and his family were ignorant of it till an old friend, who was trying to comfort him after the death of a younger brother, discovered his true feelings. The younger brother had been preparing for ordination, and so Carl was now invited… Go to person page >

Translator: Jane L. Borthwick

Miss Jane Borthwick, the translator of this hymn and many others, is of Scottish family. Her sister (Mrs. Eric Findlater) and herself edited "Hymns from the Land of Luther" (1854). She also wrote "Thoughts for Thoughtful Hours (1859), and has contributed numerous poetical pieces to the "Family Treasury," under the signature "H.L.L." --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.… Go to person page >

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First Line:	How blessed, from the bonds of sin
Author:	Karl Johann Philipp Spitta (1833)
Translator:	Jane L. Borthwick (1854)
Meter:	8.6.8.6 D
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain