Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Friday, September 25, 2020

"By Grace I'm Saved"

About a year ago, I happened to notice a feature in "By Grace I'm Saved."  It's sung to the tune "O dass ich tausend Zungen hätte" (there are two hymn tunes in LSB with this title; this one was written by Cornelius Heinrich Dretzel), and the first phrase (repeated as the third phrase) has a cross inscription:


The first line of the first verse is "By grace I'm saved, grace free and boundless."  "By grace I'm saved" is what's sung to the cross inscription, illustrating that it's through Christ's death and resurrection - not by our own works or merit - that we are saved.

The third line of the second verse is "God in His love sent our Redeemer."  "God in His love" is what's sung to the cross inscription here, pointing out the connection between God's love and the crucifixion.  As Romans 5:8 says:  "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."