BEAUTIFUL SAVIOR
Beautiful
Savior, king of creation, Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I'd love
thee, truly I'd serve thee, light of my soul, my joy, my crown.
Fair are the
meadows, fair are the woodlands, robed in flow'rs of blooming
spring;
Jesus is
fairer; Jesus is purer. He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.
Fair is the
sunshine; fair is the moonlight; bright the sparkling stars on
high.
Jesus shines
brighter; Jesus shines purer than all the angels in the sky.
Beautiful
Savior, Lord of the nations, Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and
honor, praise, adoration, now and forevermore be thine!
Text:
Gesangbuch, Münster, 1677; tr. Joseph A. Seiss, 1823-1904
I can’t remember
a time when I didn’t know this hymn. It’s been my favorite for as
long as I can remember. The music is beautiful in itself. I love
to hear the organist play it. The words portray Jesus in so many
wonderful ways — Son of God, Son of Man, King, Lord, Joy, Crown —
nearly all the descriptions of him we need in just four short
verses.
I always feel
peace and calm when singing this hymn. I love the outdoors, and
the comparisons to sunshine, moonlight, meadows, flowers and stars
are meaningful to me. I often feel closer to Jesus when I am
outside, especially in places of exceptional beauty. Nothing
people have built compares to our earth, to the beauty that God
made for us to enjoy. Jesus is like these parts of nature, but
fairer, purer and brighter. He is beyond anything beautiful that
we can see or imagine. This is hard to even think about, but with
faith we can believe that someday we will see Jesus in all his
beauty.
Even in this time
for contemplation and repentance during Lent, Jesus is our light.
He is always with us, no matter what life brings us. “He makes
our sorrowing spirit sing.” Let us continue our somber Lenten
journey knowing that Jesus has conquered all things. He has died
on the cross for us; there is no greater beauty than that.
Beautiful Savior,
help me to sing this song of praise and adoration every day. When
I see my favorite mountains, flowers and plains, let me feel
closer to you. In your name I pray.
Marsha Meili
