Dear Christian People, All Rejoice (Charles)

Dear Christ­ian peo­ple

all re­joice

Each soul with joy up­spring­ing;

Pour forth one song with heart and voice

With love and glad­ness sing­ing.

Give thanks to God

our Lord ab­ove—

Thanks for His mi­ra­cle of love;

Dearly He hath re­deemed us!

The de­vil’s cap­tive bound I lay

Lay in death’s chains for­lorn;

My sins dis­tressed me night and day—

The sin with­in me born;

I could not do the thing I would

In all my life was no­thing good

Sin had pos­sessed me whol­ly.

My good works could no com­fort shed

Worthless must they be rat­ed;

My free will to all good was dead

And God’s just judg­ments hat­ed.

Me of all hope my sins be­reft:

Nothing but death to me was left

And death was hell’s dark por­tal.

Then God saw with deep pi­ty moved

My grief that knew no mea­sure;

Pitying He saw

and free­ly loved—

To save me was His plea­sure.

The Fa­ther’s heart to me was stirred.

He saved me with no sov­er­eign word

His ve­ry best it cost Him.

He spoke to His be­lov­èd Son

With in­fi­nite com­pas­sion

Go hence

My heart’s most pre­cious crown

Be to the lost sal­va­tion;

Death

his re­lent­less ty­rant

slay

And bear him from his sins away

With Thee to live for ev­er.

Willing the Son took that be­hest

Born of a maid­en mo­ther

To His own earth He came a guest

And made Him­self my bro­ther.

All se­cret­ly He went His way

Veiled in my mor­tal flesh He lay

And thus the foe He van­quished.

He said to me

“Cling close to Me

Thy sor­rows now are end­ing;

Freely I gave My­self for thee

Thy life with Mine de­fend­ing;

For I am thine

and thou art Mine

And where I am there thou shalt shine

The foe shall nev­er reach us.

“True

He will shed My heart’s life blood

And tor­ture Me to death;

All this I suf­fer for thy good

This hold with ear­nest faith.

Death di­eth through My life di­vine;

I sin­less bear those sins of thine

And so shalt thou be res­cued.

“I rise again to Heav’n from hence

High to My Fa­ther soar­ing

Thy Mas­ter there to be

and thence

My Spir­it on thee pour­ing;

In ev­ery grief to com­fort thee

And teach thee more and more of Me

Into all truth still guid­ing.

What I have done and taught on earth

Do thou

and teach

none dread­ing;

That so God’s king­dom may go forth

And His high praise be spread­ing;

And guard thee from the words of men

Lest the great joy be lost again;

Thus my last charge I leave thee.