1. Built on the Rock the Church shall stand,
Even when steeples are falling;
Crumbled have spires in every land;
Bells still are chiming and calling;
Calling the young and old to rest,
But above all the soul distrest,
Longing for rest everlasting.
2. Surely in temples made with hands,
God, the Most High, is not dwelling,
High above earth His temple stands,
All earthly temples excelling;
Yet he who dwells in Heav'n above
Chooses to live with us in love,
Making our bodies his temple.
3. We are God's house of living stones,
Built for His own habitation;
He through baptismal grace us owns,
Heirs of his wondrous salvation;
Were we but two his name to tell,
Yet he would deign with us to dwell,
With all his grace and his favor.
4. Grant then, O God, your will be done,
That when the church bells are ringing,
Many in saving faith may come
Where Christ his message is bringing:
"I know mine own, mine own know me,
You, not the world, my face shall see:
My peace I leave with you always."
Source: Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship #49
Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig was the son of a pastor, and was born at Udby, in Seeland, in 1783. He studied in the University of Copenhagen from 1800-1805; and, like some other eminent men, did not greatly distinguish himself; his mind was too active and his imagination too versatile to bear the restraint of the academic course. After leaving the university he took to teaching; first in Langeland, then (1808) in Copenhagen. Here he devoted his attention to poetry, literature, and Northern antiquities. In 1810 he became assistant to his father in a parish in Jutland. The sermon he preached at his ordination, on the subject "Why has the Lord's word disappeared from His house," attracted much attention, which is rarely the case with "pro… Go to person page >
Born: March 21, 1867, Norddalen, Norway.
Died: October 2, 1937, Chicago, Illinois.
Buried: Decorah, Iowa.
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