"Salvation unto Us has Come"

by Paul Speratus, 1484-1551

Text From:

THE LUTHERAN HYMNAL

(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941)

1. Salvation unto us has come

By God's free grace and favor;

Good works cannot avert our doom,

They help and save us never.

Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone,

Who did for all the world atone;

He is our one Redeemer.

2. What God did in His Law demand

And none to Him could render

Caused wrath and woe on every hand

For man, the vile offender.

Our flesh has not those pure desires

The spirit of the Law requires,

And lost is our condition.

3. It was a false, misleading dream

That God His Law had given

That sinners should themselves redeem

And by their works gain heaven.

The Law is but a mirror bright

To bring the inbred sin to light

That lurks within our nature.

4. From sin our flesh could not abstain,

Sin held its sway unceasing;

The task was useless and in vain,

Our gilt was e'er increasing.

None can remove sin's poisoned dart

Or purify our guileful heart,-

So deep is our corruption.

5. Yet as the Law must be fulfilled

Or we must die despairing,

Christ came and hath God's anger stilled,

Our human nature sharing.

He hath for us the Law obeyed

And thus the Father's vengeance stayed

Which over us impended.

6. Since Christ hath full atonement made

And brought to us salvation,

Each Christian therefore may be glad

And build on this foundation.

Thy grace alone, dear Lord, I plead,

Thy death is now my life indeed,

For Thou hast paid my ransom.

7. Let me not doubt, but trust in Thee,

Thy Word cannot be broken;

Thy call rings out, "Come unto Me!"

No falsehood hast Thou spoken.

Baptized into Thy precious name,

My faith cannot be put to shame,

And I shall never perish.

8. The Law reveals the guilt of sin

And makes men conscience-stricken;

The Gospel then doth enter in

The sinful soul to quicken.

Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live;

The Law no peace can ever give,

No comfort and no blessing.

9. Faith clings to Jesus' cross alone

And rests in Him unceasing;

And by its fruits true faith is known,

With love and hope increasing.

Yet faith alone doth justify,

Works serve thy neighbor and supply

The proof that faith is living.

10. All blessing, honor, thanks, and praise

To Father, Son, and Spirit,

The God that saved us by His grace,-

All glory to His merit!

O Triune God in heaven above,

Who hast revealed Thy saving love,

Thy blessed name be hallowed.

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Notes:

Hymn 377 from _The Lutheran Hymnal_

Text: Rom. 3: 5

Author: Paul Speratus, 1523, cento

Translated by: composite

Titled: "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her"

Tune: "Es ist das Heil"

German melody, c. 1400

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This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg

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