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.
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!❤️