Fairest Lord Jesus

"Fairest Lord Jesus", also known as "Beautiful Savior", is a Christian hymn.

History

According to some accounts, it was called "Crusader's Hymn" because it was sung by German Crusaders as they made their way to the Holy Land. But William Jensen Reynolds dismisses as "completely erroneous" any association of this hymn with the Crusades. The words may have originated in the Jesuit Order, which came into being after the Crusades. The tune emerges in Franz Liszt's oratorio Legend of Saint Elizabeth—wherein the tune forms part of the "Crusader's March"—but no evidence of the tune exists prior to 1842, when the hymn appeared in Schlesische Volkslieder.[1]

Melody

The tune, originally a Silesian folk song, and the German text were printed for the first time in 1842 by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben and Ernst Richter under the name Schönster Herr Jesu (Most beautiful Lord Jesus).[2]

In 1850 the Danish hymnwriter B. S. Ingemann wrote Dejlig Er Jorden, which he set to the same melody.[3] An English translation by Jens C. Aaberg was published as Fair Is Creation. [4] Apart from their musical setting, the Danish and German lyrics are unrelated.

Lyrics

1873 translation by Joseph A. Seiss [5] [6]


Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heaven can boast.

All fairest beauty, heavenly and earthly,
Wondrously, Jesus, is found in Thee;
None can be nearer, fairer or dearer,
Than Thou, my Savior, art to me.

Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and forever more be Thine.

References

  1. ↑ Reynolds, William Jensen (1976). Companion to BAPTIST HYMNAL. Nashville: Broadman Press. p. 64. ISBN 0-8054-6808-0.
  2. ↑ Schönster Herr Jesu lyrik-und-lied.de. Retrieved: January 8, 2014.
  3. ↑ Dejlig Er Jorden da.wikisource.org. Retrieved: January 8, 2014.
  4. ↑ Fair Is Creation www.hymnary.org. Retrieved: January 8, 2014.
  5. ↑ Fairest Lord Jesus hymntime.com. Retrieved: January 8, 2014.
  6. ↑ Fairest Lord Jesus hymnary.org. Retrieved: February 10, 2015.

External links

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