Scripture Verse

If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Matthew 16:24

Introduction

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Johann H. Schein (1586–1630)

Words: Jo­hann Scheff­ler, 1668, cen­to (Mir nach, spricht Chris­tus, un­ser Held). Trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Charles W. Schaeff­er, 1896, alt.

Music: Mach’s Mit Mir, Gott Jo­hann H. Schein, 1628 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Lyrics

Come, follow Me, the Sav­ior spake,
All in My way abid­ing;
Deny your­selves, the world for­sake,
Obey My call and guid­ing.
Oh, bear the cross, whate’er be­tide,
Take My ex­am­ple for your guide.

I am the Light, I light the way,
A god­ly life dis­play­ing;
I bid you walk as in the day,
I keep your feet from stray­ing.
I am the Way, and well I show
How you must sojourn here be­low.

My heart abounds in low­li­ness,
My soul with love is glow­ing,
And gra­cious words My lips ex­press,
With meek­ness ov­er­flow­ing.
My heart, My mind, My strength, My all,
To God I yield, on Him I call.

I teach you how to shun and flee
What harms your soul’s sal­va­tion,
Your heart from ev­ery guile to free,
From sin and its temp­ta­tion.
I am the re­fuge of your soul
And lead you to your hea­ven­ly goal.

Then let us fol­low Christ, our Lord,
And take the cross ap­point­ed
And, firm­ly cling­ing to His Word,
In suf­fer­ing be un­daunt­ed.
For who bears not the bat­tle’s strain
The crown of life shall not ob­tain.