1 Praise God, this hour of sorrow
Shall bring a brighter morrow:
I go to Paradise.
Dear Christian friends together,
When round my grave you gather,
Lay me to rest with songs of praise.
2 What better can befall me
Than that the Lord doth call me
From hence, where sin holds sway?
Who is on earth a stranger
Must ever be in danger,
Till God hath closed life's fleeting day.
3 God takes His own from anguish
And pain, in which they languish
Within this vale of tears,
And gives them to inherit
The crown that Christ did merit:
The joy of heav'n's eternal years.
4 On earth Christ was my treasure,
And now I know but pleasure
And gone is bitter woe;
Believe, whate'er betideth,
God's love in all abideth,
And soon your tears shall cease to flow.
5 Our days the Lord appointeth,
He woundeth and anointeth,
He knoweth all things well.
No evil He effected,
No good He e'er neglected,
And all His works His glory tell.
6 When ye shall see me nearing
The throne of God, appearing
Adorned and crowned bride,
My palms of vict'ry swinging,
'Midst Alleluias ringing,
I beauteous grace the Lamb beside:
7 Ye then shall rue the sadness
That made you weep, and gladness
E'er in your hearts shall reign.
Who follows where God guideth,
And takes what He provideth
Shall know release from ev'ry pain.
8 Farewell, I now must leave you;
The grief this day doth give you
Soon others, too, shall bear.
Be ye to God commended;
In heav'n all woe is ended,
And we shall meet in glory there.
Source: Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #475
Johann Heermann's (b. Raudten, Silesia, Austria, 1585; d. Lissa, Posen [now Poland], 1647) own suffering and family tragedy led him to meditate on Christ's undeserved suffering. The only surviving child of a poor furrier and his wife, Heermann fulfilled his mother's vow at his birth that, if he lived, he would become a pastor. Initially a teacher, Heermann became a minister in the Lutheran Church in Koben in 1611 but had to stop preaching in 1634 due to a severe throat infection. He retired in 1638. Much of his ministry took place during the Thirty Years' War. At times he had to flee for his life and on several occasions lost all his possessions. Although Heermann wrote many of his hymns and poems during these devastating times, his persona… Go to person page >
(no biographical information available about Hans Adolf Brorson .) Go to person page >
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