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Jesu, meines Glaubens Zier is a German Lutheran hymn by Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer, first published in 1661. Its hymn tune, Zahn No. 6453, was first published in 1714, in Freylinghausen's hymnal. In 1736 the hymn was adopted in Schemellis Gesangbuch, with a figured bass accompaniment which may have been contributed by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 472).

The tune is also known in English due to its presence in the 1906 English Hymnal and its 1986 successor, where it appears to "It is finished! Christ hath known", a Passion text by Gabriel Gillett written for the 1906 publication and based on Jesus' dying words, per the Gospel of John, "tetelestai" ("It is finished!"), which have inspired many other hymns.

Text

The original German text is a Passion hymn in five stanzas of eight lines each. An English-language version of the hymn, not a translation of the original but sharing its rhyme scheme and Passion theme, has three stanzas. The author of that version, who exemplifies the conservative tradition of the beginning of the 20th-century, pleads, in a "very sensitive and beautiful text", for Christ, as maker of human joys and sorrows, to lead his flock upon the same path of self-sacrifice. The poet's tone and theology are medieval in nature, the text as a whole expanding on medieval analogies between Nature and Christian mythology.

German original

1. Jesu, meines Glaubens Zier,
Wenn ich traure, meine Wonne,
Wenn es Nacht ist, meine Sonne,
Mein Verlangen für und für-
Du alleine tilgst die Sünden,
Du alleine machst mich rein,
Du alleine bist zu finden,
Wenn ich sonsten ganz allein.

2. Jesu, deine Todesnot,
Lässt mein Leben ewig leben;
Was dein Blut mir hat gegeben,
Tilgt im Tode selbst den Tod,
Wäschet meine Missetaten,
Machet Unschuld aus der Schuld,
Gibet Rat, wo nicht zu raten,
Schenkt mir Gottes Gnad und Huld.

3. Jesu, meine Zuversicht,
Jesu, o du mein Erretter,
Jesu, Mittler und Vertreter,
Meiner Seelen schönstes Licht;
Jesu, meines Glaubens Mehrer,
Meines Herzens Eigentum,
Jesu, Jesu, mein Erhörer
Und mein einzger Preis und Ruhm.

4. Dein Blut soll der Balsam sein,
Der für meine Sünde dienet,
Du hast mich mit Gott versühnet
Und machst mich wie Schnee so rein,
Dass kein Sündenfleck mir schade,
Jesu, meiner Unschuld Pracht,
Dank sei dir für deine Gnade,
Die mich hat so reich gemacht.

5. Lass mich nicht durch Sündenschuld
Deine Liebe, Herr, verscherzen,
Hilf, dass ich mit reinem Herzen
Suche deine Gnad und Huld.
Gib, dass ich mög alles meiden,
Was mit Sünde mich befleckt.
Lass mich durch dein blutig Leiden,
Sein gereinigt und bedeckt.

— Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer

English version

1. It is finished! Christ hath known
All the life of men wayfaring,
Human joys and sorrows sharing,
Making human needs his own.
Lord, in us thy life renewing,
Lead us where thy feet have trod,
Till, the way of truth pursuing,
Human souls find rest in God.

2. It is finished! Christ is slain,
On the altar of creation,
Offering for a world’s salvation
Sacrifice of love and pain.
Lord, thy love through pain revealing,
Purge our passions, scourge our vice,
Till, upon the tree of healing,
Self is slain in sacrifice.

3. It is finished! Christ our King
Wins the victor’s crown of glory;
Sun and stars recite his story,
Floods and fields his triumph sing.
Lord, whose praise the world is telling,
Lord, to whom all power is given,
By thy death, hell’s armies quelling,
Bring thy saints to reign in heaven.

— Gabriel Gillett

Tune

The hymn tune of "Jesu, meines Glaubens Zier" was first published in Freylinghausen's hymnal in 1714. The setting which appears in Schemellis Gesangbuch only consists of a vocal line (melody) and a figured bass. A realisation of this was published in the English Hymnal, and this setting is transcribed below.

References

1. ^ Lyon 2005, pp. 145–146.
2. ^ Zahn 1891, p. 73.
3. ^ Jesu, meines Glaubens Zier (sacred song) BWV 472 at Bach Digital.
4. "It Is Finished!". Hymnary.org. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
5. See John 19:30.
6. "It is finished! Christ hath known". The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press.
7. ^ The New English Hymnal. Norwich: Canterbury Press. 1986. pp. 817–818.
8. Routley 1979, no. 342B.
9. Adey 1986, pp. 177–178.

Sources

• "Jesu, meines Glaubens Zier (sacred song) BWV 472". Bach Digital. Leipzig: Bach Archive; et al. 2019-03-11.
• Adey, Lionel (1986). Hymns and the Christian Myth (digital ed.). UBC Press (published 1 November 2011). ISBN 9780774844901.
• Lyon, James (2005). Johann Sebastian Bach: Chorals. Guides musicologiques (in French). Vol. 6. Beauchesne. ISBN 270101493X. ISSN 0246-3865.
• Routley, Erik (1979). An English-Speaking Hymnal Guide. Liturgical Press. ISBN 978-0-8146-1015-2.
• Zahn, Johannes (1891). Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder (in German). Vol. IV. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann. {{cite book}}: External link in |volume= (help)

External links

• Jesu, meines Glaubens Zier, BWV 472: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• BWV 472: Jesu, meines Glaubens Zier at djtascha.de
• It is finished! Christ hath known, (Jesu Meines Glaubens Zier) in various print and audio formats at www.smallchurchmusic.com
• Jesu, meines Glaubens Zier BWV.472 at Muziekweb website (recordings)
• "Chorale Melody: Jesu, meines Glaubens Zier". www.bach-cantatas.com.

• Lutheran hymns
• 17th-century hymns in German
• Passion hymns