Scripture Verse

The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14

Introduction

portrait
Catherine Winkworth
(1827–1878)

Words: Au­gust G. Spang­en­berg (1704–1792) (Die Kirche Chris­ti die Er ge­weiht). Trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Ca­the­rine Wink­worth, Ly­ra Ger­ma­ni­ca, se­cond ser­ies (Lon­don: Long­man, Brown, Green, Long­mans & Ro­berts, 1858), page 58. Winkworth gives a date of 1747 for these lyrics. How­ev­er, the Hym­nal and Li­tur­gies of the Mo­ra­vi­an Church (Beth­le­hem, Penn­sy­lvan­ia: [Mo­ra­vi­an] Pro­vin­cial Sy­nod, 1920) stat­ed they were “Com­posed for a Un­ion Syn­od, at Lan­cas­ter, Pa. [Penn­syl­van­ia], 1745.”

Music: Fidei Uni­tas, from a folk song, cir­ca 1100, sac­red me­lo­dy cir­ca 1250 (Nun bit­ten wir den Heil­ig­en Geist). First print­ed by Jo­hann Wal­ther, 1524; and lat­er by Christ­ian Greg­or’s Chor­al­buch (Leip­zig, Ger­ma­ny: Breit­kopf, 1784, alt.) (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
August Spangenberg (1704–1792)

Lyrics

The Church of Christ that He hath hallowed here
To be His house, is scattered far and near,
In North and South and East and West abroad,
And yet in earth and Heav’n, through Christ her Lord,
The Church is one.

One mem­ber know­eth not ano­ther here,
And yet their fel­lowship is true and near,
One is their Sav­ior, and their Fa­ther one,
One Spir­it rules them, and among them none
Lives to him­self.

They live to Him who bought them with His blood,
Baptized them with His Spir­it pure and good,
And in true faith and ev­er burn­ing love
Their hearts and hope as­cend to seek ab­ove
The eter­nal Good.

O Spir­it of the Lord, all life is Thine,
Now fill Thy Church with life and power di­vine,
That ma­ny children may be born to Thee,
And spread Thy know­ledge like the bound­less sea,
To Christ’s great praise.