The Lutheran Hymnary ‎#596

596. O how blest are ye whose toils are ended!

1 O how blest are ye whose toils are ended!
Who, through death, have unto God ascended!
Ye have arisen
From the cares which keep us still in prison.

2 We are still as in a dungeon living,
Still oppressed with sorrow and misgiving;
Our undertakings
Are but toils and troubles and heart-breakings.

3 Ye, meanwhile, are in your chambers sleeping,
Quiet, and set free from all our weeping;
No cross nor sadness
There can hinder your untroubled gladness.

4 Christ has wiped away your tears forever;
Ye have that for which we still endeavor.
To you are chanted
Songs which yet no mortal ears were granted.

5 Ah! who would then not depart with gladness,
To inherit heaven for earthly sadness?
Who here would languish
Longer in bewailing and in anguish?

6 Come, O Christ, and loose the chains that bind us!
Lead us forth, and cast this world behind us!
With Thee, th'Anointed,
Finds the soul its joy and rest appointed.

Text Information

• First Line: O how blest are ye whose toils are ended!
• Author: S. Dach (1635)
• Meter: 10, 10, 5, 10.
• Publication Date: 1913
• Topic: The Last Things: Burial and Resurrection; The Last Things: Burial and Ressurection; Resurrection

Tune Information

• Name: [O how blest are ye whose toils are ended]
• Composer: J. Crüger (1649)
• Meter: 10, 10, 5, 10.
• Key: d minor