To Thee, O Lord, will I sing praises

Representative Text

1 To Thee, O Lord, will I sing praises,
For where is found a glorious God like Thee?
To Thee my heart its anthem raises,
O give Thy quick'ning Spirit's aid to me,
That I may sing in Jesus' name alone,
In strains which find acceptance at Thy throne.

2 O Father, draw me to the Savior,
That He in turn may draw me unto Thee;
Thy Spirit make my heart His dwelling
And deign within my rule and guide to be,
That I Thy wondrous peace may taste and feel
As from my heart to Thee glad anthems peal.

3 Grant me, O Lord, this priceless treasure,
Then shall my humble worship grateful be;
Then beautiful will be the measure
With which in heart and truth I worship Thee;
Then near to Thee Thy Spirit shall me bring,
And I a worthy psalm of praise shall sing.

4 For He can plead my cause with sighings
That far surpass all pow'r of speech to tell;
He teaches me to pray with fervor
And witness bears that I beyond shall dwell,
Thy child and heir with Christ, thro' whom I say:
O Abba, Father, hear me when I pray.

5 What Thy good Spirit bids me utter
Is truly with Thy will in sweet accord;
Thou nevermore wilt fail to grant me
What I request of Thee through Christ my Lord:
In His dear name I come before Thy face
And take from Thee, O Father, grace for grace.

6 I pray, then, in the name of Jesus,
Who ever pleads for me at Thy right hand;
Thus my petitions all are granted,
For Thou wilt nevermore His pleas withstand.
What joy and bliss beyond compare is mine!
For this, O Lord, be all the glory Thine!

Source: American Lutheran Hymnal #587

Author: Bartholomäus Crasselius

Crasselius, Bartholomäus, son of Johannes Crasselt, sheepmaster at Wemsdorf near Glauchau, Saxony; was born at Wernsdorf, Feb. 21, 1667. After studying at Halle, under A. H. Francke, he became, in 1701, pastor at Nidda, in Wetteravia, Hesse. In 1708 he was appointed Lutheran pastor at Düsseldorf, where he died Nov. 30, 1724, after a somewhat troubled pastorate, during which he felt called upon to testify strongly and somewhat bitterly against the shortcomings of the place and of the times (Koch, iv. 418-421; Allg. Deutsche Biographie, iv. 566-67; Bode, p. 55; manuscript from Pastor Baltzer, Wernsdorf; the second dating his call to Dusseldorf 1706). Of the 9 hymns by him which Freylinghausen included in his Geistreiches Gesang-Buch, 1704,… Go to person page >

Translator: Catherine Winkworth

Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used i… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: To Thee, O Lord, will I sing praises
German Title: Dir, dir, Jehovah, will ich singen
Author: Bartholomäus Crasselius
Translator: Catherine Winkworth
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

DIR DIR JEHOVAH

DIR, DIR, JEHOVA was published anonymously in Georg Wittwe's Musikalisches Handbuch der Geistlichen Melodien (1690). The bar form (AAB) melody was expanded in Johann A. Freylinghausen's Geistreiches Gesangbuch (1704), where it was set to a hymn by Bärtholomaus Crasselius, "Dir, dir, Jehovah, vill i…

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Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 7 of 7)
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Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal #216

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Evangelical Lutheran hymnal #216

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Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal. 9th ed. #a216

Hymnal for Church, School and Home #d156

The Oxford American Hymnal for Schools and Colleges #d359

The Sunday School Hymnal #d206

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American Lutheran Hymnal #587

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