1 Go forth, my heart, and seek delight,
While summer reigns so fair and bright,
View God's abundance daily,
The bounty of these gardens see,
Behold how they for me and thee
Have decked themselves so gaily.
2 The trees with spreading leaves are blessed,
The earth her barren soil has dressed
In green so young and tender.
Narcissus and the tulip fair
Are cloth'd in raiment far more rare
Than Solomon in splendor.
3 Fast grows the wheat, like waving gold,
And gives delight to young and old;
They praise with glad thanksgiving
Him who through mercy measureless
Vouchsafed the soul of man to bless
With goods that grace his living.
4 Thy splendor, Lord, doth shine so bright
And fills us with such pure delight
While here on earth abiding;
What, then, may be in store for me
And all who heaven's glory see,
In golden halls residing?
5 Oh, choose me for Thy Paradise,
While yet I dwell beneath the skies,
But let me flourish ever.
With Thee alone will I abide,
Thine honor serve, and none beside,
Till soul and body sever.
Source: Hymnal for Church and Home (2nd ed.) #63
Paul Gerhardt (b. Gräfenheinichen, Saxony, Germany, 1607; d. Lubben, Germany, 1676), famous author of Lutheran evangelical hymns, studied theology and hymnody at the University of Wittenberg and then was a tutor in Berlin, where he became friends with Johann Crüger. He served the Lutheran parish of Mittenwalde near Berlin (1651-1657) and the great St. Nicholas' Church in Berlin (1657-1666). Friederich William, the Calvinist elector, had issued an edict that forbade the various Protestant groups to fight each other. Although Gerhardt did not want strife between the churches, he refused to comply with the edict because he thought it opposed the Lutheran "Formula of Concord," which condemned some Calvinist doctrines. Consequently, he was r… Go to person page >
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