Faith Practice, the Exercise

Stop and Think About a Hymn

Beautiful SaviorOpen Hymnal 

Beautiful Savior, King of creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I’d love Thee, truly I’d serve thee,
Light of my soul, my Joy, my Crown.

Fair are the meadows, Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in flow’rs of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer;
He makes our sorr’wing spirit sing.

Fair is the sunshine, Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels in the sky.

Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations,
Son God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, Praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine!

 

Author unknown
Text in the public domain
Originally written in German, translated by Joseph Augustus Seiss
Source: http://www.hymnary.org/text/beautiful_savior_king_of_creation

 

  • No historical evidence exists to link this hymn to the Crusades, although in many sources it is identified as “The Crusaders’ Hymn.” Why is it important to anyone today whether this song was sung by knights during the Crusades? If they did sing this song, how is that a problem for Christians today?
  • What is the purpose of this song?
  • What is the political agenda of this song? What is the military agenda of this song? What is the spiritual meaning of this song?
  • Did the author of this text advocate violence as a means of evangelism? Does this text suggest that Christians must be angry with people who do not trust Christ in order to make Christians out of them? Where in the Bible is there any suggestion that Jesus told his followers to angrily threaten unbelievers? Where does Jesus show Christians how to scorn people who reject Christ in order to make them want to be Christians?

By Katherine Harms, author of Oceans of Love available for Kindle at Amazon.com.

Image: Open Hymnal
Source:http://foter.com/ License: CC BY-NC-SA