Scripture Verse

Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. John 12:24

Introduction

Words: Cas­par F. Nach­ten­hö­fer, 1651 (So gehst du dann, mein Jesu, hin). Trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Ar­thur T. Rus­sell, Psalms and Hymns (Cam­bridge, Eng­land: John Deigh­ton, 1851), num­ber 92.

Music: So gehst Kornelius H. Dretzel, 1731 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Nachtenhöfer or Russell (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

So, Lord, Thou go­est forth to die,
For me the cross en­dur­ing;
For me a sin­ner will­ing­ly
A blest re­lease pro­cur­ing.
Go forth, my Lord—all praise be Thine;
Thee may I fol­low weep­ing:
Now floods of grief, my Lord, be mine,
Watch o’er Thy sorr­ows keep­ing.

What for this won­drous love can I
Prepare for an obla­tion?
My all with­in is po­ver­ty
And deep hu­mi­lia­tion.
May I through all my mor­tal day,
To Thee due trib­ute rais­ing,
Serve on­ly Thee—in end­less day
Still serv­ing Thee and prais­ing.