Text: Psalm 27:4-6, Psalm 45:1-17, Isaiah 33:17
As sweet as a lullaby, “Fairest Lord Jesus” seems like a delicate hymn for rosy-cheeked children. But it has a surprising and legendary German history, originally sung as a far rougher, more warlike battle hymn.
Legend has it that the hymn originated in the 12th century as a Teutonic Knights’ anthem sung in Prussia under the Holy Roman Empire, or as an 18th century tune from the Germanic region of Silesia. Either way, the current tune carries the rousing moniker of “Crusader’s Hymn” (Brink 62).
This is due in part to Franz Liszt, prodigy pianist and world-renowned composer. He used this tune in his 1862 oratorio, “The Legend of St. Elizabeth,” as the battle march for his costumed crusaders. Suddenly, this quiet, lullaby of a song appeared in an entirely new light, all dressed up and armed for war.
With a closer look, we see this is true for many hymns and truths of the gospel as well. They can be sung gently and reassuringly, for we are God’s children, and we desperately need the comfort and beauty of this promise: “to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4).
But the gospel is also a clarion call to the safety of our Lord in battle: “For He will conceal me in His shelter in the day of adversity; He will hide me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high on a rock” (Psalm 27:5-6). Thanks be to God, who preserves us and fights for us. And thanks be to Jesus, our Savior, the ruler of all nature.
Fairest Lord Jesus
By Joseph A. Siess
Fairest Lord Jesus,
ruler of all nature,
O thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honor,
thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.
Fair are the meadows,
fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer
who makes the woeful heart to sing.
Fair is the sunshine,
fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.
Beautiful Savior!
Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine.
Brink, Emily R. Psalter Hymnal Handbook. Edited by Bert Polman. Grand Rapids, MI: Faith Alive Christian Resources, 1998.
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45 thoughts on "Fairest Lord Jesus"
So grateful to all who searched deeper into commentary to explain Psalm 45. It certainly made my understanding richer. After reading all the comments a piece of song I had sung in High School popped into my head. The song was based on “Leaves of Grass” a poem penned by Walt Whitman. The song declares the appearance of a “Love so Deep” and culminates in a joyous “Endless Wedding Morn”. A beautiful, complicated piece of music sung by a handpicked group of highschool students from all over the state of Washingtion. The hair on the back of my neck raised when we finally performed this amazing piece of music in public. The “Love so Deep” was of course the love of Jesus and the joyous “Endless Wedding Morn(ing)” was the homecoming of the Church. Amen Rebecca.
Fairest Lord Jesus!
Beautiful Savior!
Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine.
Have a wonderful, grace filled weekend SHE’s!
Good morning all, Sharon Jersey Girl, I also went to the Enduring Word for greater understanding of the Psalm and I’m glad I did. Well I can say, I knew all 10 hymns/songs. It was nice to hear them online sung by different people or a church choir. Looking forward to Beatitudes again. Sending prayer filled hugs.
Meant to put a paragraph space between time!* And my next thought lol.
@Laura- I am AMENing @CeeGee’s words to you. Enjoy your weekend to the fullest and “see” you soon! <3
@Rhonda J <3
@Sharon, Jersey Girl- enjoy the wedding despite the hobbling, lol. I pray it is an enjoyable time!
I don't think I've ever studied Psalm 45 like this- learned a bit today.
Happy Friday, Shes! May God bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace! :)
SHARON, JERSRY GIRL – Thanks for sharing what you learned at Enduring Word!
LAURA – We will miss you you, but pray along with you that revisiting that study will re-awaken something in your spirit that will be helpful during this difficult family struggle. You will be in my prayers until we ‘meet’ again Keep playing thosevhymns, too! ❤
SEARCHING – ❤
From Matthew Henry (Psalm 45):
But I take it to be purely and only meant of Jesus Christ; of him speaks the prophet this, of him and of no other man; and to him ( ver 6, 7) it is applied in the New Testament (Heb 1 8), nor can it be understood of any other. The preface speaks the excellency of the song, ver 1. The psalm speaks, I. Of the royal bridegroom, who is Christ. 1. The transcendent excellency of his person, ver 2. 2. The glory of his victories, ver 3-5. 3. The righteousness of his government, ver 6, 7. 4. The splendour of his court, ver 8, 9. II. Of the royal bride, which is the church. 1. Her consent gained, ver 10, 11. 2. The nuptials solemnized, ver 12-15. 3. The issue of this marriage, ver 16, 17. In singing this psalm our hearts must be filled with high thoughts of Christ, with an entire submission to and satisfaction in his government, and with an earnest desire of the enlarging and perpetuating of his church in the world.
ALL SHES – I have been so blessed through this study with all of you!!! I can now say that the only hymn here that I was totally unfamiliar with going into this study is O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go, but it is the one that stays stuck in my head – Pam’s piano version, that is! Love, hugs, and prayers and hope to see most of you next week in Beatitudes! ❤
I’m thankful that our Savior is gentle but also a warrior for us. It reminds me of the love of a parent. Loving to their children but don’t try to harm my babies.
Love being here with you all. Praising the Lord and hope everyone has a wonderful day!
Happy Friday sweet She’s!! My favorite day of the week! But y’all know that. I looked up this hymn and listened to Amy grants version of it. After listening to it, I knew I knew it but it just sounded different. I’ve enjoyed this time with all of you. Praying that you are all off to a great weekend.
At first glance at Psalm 45 I saw in the heading that it is a wedding song. As I began to read the chapter I wondered why is that when it’s talking about a king, battles and palaces? So I did a little further digging to discover what a beautiful passage this is concerning the King (Jesus) and the royal Queen (the Church) and our future wedding. The King is enthralled by our beauty – which can only be seen through the precious blood of Christ. We will be presented to Jesus – our bridegroom as spotless!(2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:27) …the writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 45:6-7 (Hebrews 1:8-9) I love how the whole word of God testifies of itself throughout the Old and New Testaments. It is so well explained in this commentary if you’d like to read it for yourselves: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-45/.
A blessed Friday to you all! I am slowly recovering from the knee surgery I had on Monday – we have a wedding rehearsal tonight and a wedding tomorrow – I will be hobbling along for both!
@all my SRT sisters – continuing to lift up your requests in prayer!
I knew this hymn, but in my hymnal, it is called “Beautiful Savior”, and some of the wording is a bit different. It was a favorite of a congregation member, and we thought it to the Sunday School kids. Our Savior is, indeed, beautiful.
Enjoy His beauty and the beauty of His creation today, sweet sisters.
This hymn is very familiar to me. I am sure I sang it often as a child. I never thought of it as a battle cry, but from now on I will, for sure! It has felt like my husband and I are in a battle this week (and if I’m honest, for almost a year). It is exhausting but these hymns have helped me to keep my focus on the God who wins over evil and prevails with His will, His story and His timing. May I continue to remember that truth!
I am heading to the beach this long weekend with some dear girlfriends, all followers of Jesus. I am looking forward to the break from reality, so to speak, and for the refreshment that girl-time, beach time and change of scenery brings. I feel bad leaving my hubby right now as he is struggling through this most recent family battle that we are going through, but I pray that it will be a quiet time of reflection and clarity for him. I plan to do the Mourning and Dancing study next. It was one of the first studies that I did with SRT and I need to go back to that deep valley season and remember all that the Lord has done since then. Right now it is hard to remember since things seem to be going backward, but I know that God works in mysterious ways and so I wait…
Have a wonderful weekend dear shes and I will see you all again in a few weeks!
There is so much imagery of Christ and His Church in Psalm 45, much of it beyond my grasp although commentaries did shed some light – such as Hebrews 1:8-9 quoting Ps 45:6-7. Beautiful hymn!
ALEIDA – praying for a smooth closing today, and Thank you, KELLY (NEO) for the reminder ❤️
Such good comments and sharing yesterday and throughout this study (which ends Sunday). Hoping to see y’all in The Beatitudes on Monday, and if not, looking forward to the next time our studies coincide. Love you sisters!❤️
O, so want this to be my daily declaration:
“Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honor,
thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.”
A WALTON – if you are with us in this study, any updates on the house purchase?
ALEIDA – praying all goes well with the closing paperwork today
The lyrics of this hymn were written so beautifully! Delicate in nature— they paint a gentle, fair image of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. “Thanks be to God, who preserves us and fights for us. And thanks be to Jesus, our Savior, the ruler of all nature.” Lord, surround us with Your ever-present love. Fill our home with a peace that transcends understanding. May we be kind to one another. Lifting each other up. Forgiving one another. May we emulate Your patience, Your forgiveness, Your love. Thanks be to God!
I love how this was a fight song!
“Who makes the woeful heart to sing”
Thanks be to God who preserves us and fights for us!
“You set me on a Rock, called me by Your name and my heart whole again!” -Whole Heart by Hillsong United
Thankful.
Have a beautiful day ladies. Let God’s light shine through you.
Jesus is light, brighter than the sun and moon. He is the one who brings light to our lives, the light of hope of eternal life, because of His sacrifice.
Amen! Jesus our King is fairer than and sweeter and mightier than anything else
There is none more beautiful than You.
Great scriptures I truly thank God for peace and joy in my heart and for a right mind he is awesome praise God.
Amen!!! Loving this study!!
I need some prayers please ladies. There have been a lot of big changes in my life recently and I’ve noticed I’ve slowly but surely turned my back on God. The sad part is I find myself not caring that much. Please pray that I learn to love my Savior again, and to realize He hasn’t gone anywhere. Thanks.
Praying for you. I have gone through the same time in the valley where I felt the way you do. Sometimes life’s circumstances can be overwhelming and crowd our minds causing us to forget that God is there to help and sustain us. It can also numb us as a protection against hurt. God is pursuing you and calling you to return and give your problems to Him. His yoke is light – the worlds yoke is overwhelmingly heavy. Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you and so do I.
Praying for you!
Praying for you Gigi! I know this is 4 months ago but how are you doing now?
Praying for you even 5 months later. I hope you’ve been encouraged by His word. The book of Hosea played a key role in redirecting my attention back to Christ after I wandered. I recommend studying it no matter where you are in your walk with God.
Praying for you!
Dearest Sister in Christ, YOU ARE LOVED!! Even in your doubt, Jesus is still pursuing you, calling you back to his flock. You are so precious to him. I know from experience that sometimes you can’t feel him or hear him. But continue to cry out to him. Ask him where he is and why you feel the way you do. And then stop and listen for his whisper. It will come and eventually it will be more than a whisper. Praying for you Gigi.
I sometimes feel like the praise part of my time with God is lacking. I love this study because it has helped me with that.
Good hymn. Never sang it in my church before. Will look it up in the hymn book in church this Sunday.
http://graceandloveintertwined.blogspot.com/2016/10/gospel-wednesday-mark-chapter-15.html?m=1
Beautiful song! These devotions are definitely helping me cope with the anxiety that has been bothering me for months.
Wow, interesting ! Beautiful song.
Such a cool history of this song!! I love the history and legends of hymns and chants. It’s so cool to think about the people who wrote the words we still sing today!! It certainly makes me wonder what people will remember and still sing/recite from our generation and culture.
http://www.littlelightonahill.com
“Thee I will cherish, thee I will honor.” What powerful words! I love Jesus, my Savior, but these words inspire me. I am no where near where I want to be in my relationship with Him, but that doesn’t mean these words are for another time. Today, may I cherish him more, may I honor him fully. Tomorrow, and in the days to come, may I grow in honoring & cherishing his name.
Amen, praying a similar prayer in my own life!
“Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations.” Oh yes! Lest anyone think too much of themselves . One day, every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. “Son of God and Son of Man! Glory and honor, praise, adoration, now and forevermore be Thine.”
Amen!!
This is probably my most favorite promise of God’s Word!! Thank you Father for Your promise in its entirety, but especially for lifting my head on high in this season of my life!!! Amen
I love this promise from the Lord and I claim it for myself, my loved ones, and my church. This hymn is so beautiful!
Amen!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hBv_kV8wl_A
Wonderful rendition Hillary. Bless you for sharing. I also listened to renditions by Maranantha Celtic and Amy Grant. Isn’t it amazing how many versions can be found?
https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/175
http://s3.amazonaws.com/ruf-hymnbook-prod/hymns/445/original/fairest-lord-jesus.mp3?1355798962