477

Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers

Full Text

1 Rejoice, rejoice, believers,
and let your lights appear;
the evening is advancing,
and darker night is near.
The Bridegroom is arising
and soon is drawing nigh.
Up, pray and watch and wrestle;
at midnight comes the cry.

2 The watchers on the mountain
proclaim the Bridegroom near;
go forth as he approaches,
with alleluias clear.
The marriage feast is waiting;
the gates wide open stand.
Arise, O heirs of glory;
the Bridegroom is at hand.

3 The saints, who here in patience
their cross and sufferings bore,
shall live and reign forever
when sorrow is no more.
Around the throne of glory
the Lamb they shall behold;
in triumph cast before him
their diadems of gold.

4 Our hope and expectation,
O Jesus, now appear;
arise, O Sun so longed for,
o'er this benighted sphere.
With hearts and hands uplifted,
we plead, O Lord, to see
the day of earth's redemption
that sets your people free!

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Scripture References

Further Reflections on Scripture References

Considered to be one of the finest hymn writers of the Pietistic period, Laurentius Laurenti wrote this text based on the parable of the wise and foolish maidens (Matt. 25: 1-13; see also 613). Stanzas 1 and 2 focus on the expected coming of the bridegroom; stanza 3 is a prayer for Christ's return to complete the work of redemption and to set his people free.

 

 

Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 19, Question and Answer 52 professes that “in all distress and persecution, with uplifted head, I confidently await the very judge who has already offered himself to the judgment of God in my place and removed the whole curse from me. Christ will cast all his enemies and mine into everlasting condemnation, but will take me and all his chosen ones to himself into the joy and glory of heaven.”

 
Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 57 describes what believers can expect to experience: “…We will see our Savior face to face…he will set all things right…we face that day without fear for the Judge is our Savior whose shed blood declares us righteous. We live confidently, anticipating his coming...”

477

Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers

Tune Information

Name
HAF TRONES LAMPA FÄRDIG
Meter
7.6.7.6 D

Recordings

477

Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers

Hymn Story/Background

Considered to be one of the finest hymn writers of the Pietistic period, Laurentius Laurenti wrote this text based on the parable of the wise and foolish maidens (Matthew 25: 1-13). Stanzas 1-3 focus on the expected coming of the bridegroom; stanza 4 is a prayer for Christ's return to complete the work of redemption and to set his people free.
 
Sarah Borthwick Findlater translated the text into English and published it in Hymns from the Land of Luther 1854), a collection of 122 hymns translated by her and her sister Jane Orthwick. Findlater was a fine linguist; as a translator of German chorales, she is considered second only to Catherine Winkworth. Findlater's husband, Eric John, was a pastor in the Free Church of Scotland in Lochearnhead, Perthshire. The Findlater parsonage was known as being literate and hospitable.
— Bert Polman

Author Information

Laurentius Laurenti (b. Husum, Schleswig, Germany, 1660; d. Bremen, Germany, 1722) studied at the University of Rostock and in Kiel. In 1684 he moved to Bremen, where he was appointed music director and cantor in the Lutheran Cathedral Church. A well known writer of German hymns in the Pietist tradition, Laurenti based most of his hymn texts on the gospel lessons for the church year. They were published in Evangelia Melodica (1700).
— Bert Polman
Sarah Borthwick Findlater (b. Edinburgh, Scotland, November 26, 1823; d. Torquay, England, May 2, 1886), daughter of James Borthwick of Edinburgh and wife of Rev. Eric John Findlater of Lochearnhead, Perthshire, was a joint translator with her sister, Jane Borthwick, of the well-known volumes titled Hymns from the Land of Luther.
— Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/nutter/hymnwriters.Findlatr.html)

Composer Information

Henry V. Gerike (b. 1948) has an undergraduate degree from Concordia College (University), St. Paul, MN, and a Master’s Degree in Church Music from Concordia College (University), River Forest, IL. He served as a teacher for 15 years in Lutheran elementary schools in Missouri and Illinois, before entering Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO, and received a Master of Divinity degree. Since his student days, he has conducted the Concordia Seminary Chorus. His other duties include being an editor and writer for Concordia Publishing House and Kantor at Church of the Reformation—Lutheran, Affton, MO. Most recently he completed a book of devotions for church choirs, Christ in Our Hearts—Christ on Our Lips, published by Concordia.
— Concordia Publishing House (https://www.cph.org/m-83-henry-v-gerike.aspx)

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