The Lutheran Hymnal ‎#589

589. Oh, How Blest Are Ye Whose Tolls are Ended

1 Oh, how blest are they whose toils are ended,
Who thro' 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 heartbreakings.

3 Ye meanwhile are in their chambers sleeping,
Quiet, and set free from all our weeping;
No cross or sadness
There can hinder their untroubled gladness.

4 Christ has wiped away their tears forever;
Ye have that for which we still endeavor;
To you are chanted
Songs that ne'er to 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, 0 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.

Amen.

Text Information

• First Line: Oh, how blest are ye whose toils are ended
• Title: Oh, How Blest Are Ye Whose Tolls are Ended
• German Title: O wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen
• Translator: Henry W. Longfellow (1845, alt.)
• Author: Simon Dach (1635)
• Meter: 10.10.5.10.
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1941
• Scripture:
  Revelation 14:13
• Topic: The Last Things: Death and Burial

Tune Information

• Name: O WIE SELIG
• Meter: 10.10.5.10.
• Key: E♭ Major
• Source: J. Georg Stözel's "Choral-Buch: Stuttgart, 1744