Evangelical Lutheran hymnal ‎#119

119. Comfort, comfort ye my people

1 Comfort, comfort ye my people,
Speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning 'neath their sorrow’s load;
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover,
And her warfare now is over.

2 Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
Blotting out each dark misdeed;
That which well deserved His anger
He will not more see or heed.
She hath suffer'd many a day,
Now her griefs have passed away,
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever springing gladness.

3 For Elijah's voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Bidding all men to repentance,
Since the kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey,
Now prepare for God a way!
Let the valleys rise to meet Him,
And the hills bow down to greet Him.

4 Make ye straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain,
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign;
For the glory of the Lord
Now o'er earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That His Word is never broken.

Text Information

• First Line: Comfort, comfort ye my people
• Author: Johann Olearius (1671)
• Translator: Catherine Winkworth (1863)
• Meter: No. 38
• Language: English; Latin
• Publication Date: 1908
• Topic: The Church Year: John the Baptist; Fourth Sunday of Advent
• Notes: From the German text: Troestet, troestet meine Lieben

Tune Information

• Name: LUDWIGSBURG (Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele)
• Meter: No. 38
• Key: G Major
• Source: French Psalm Tune, Geneva, 1551