It can bestow no treasure
On me that Christ arose.
If I will not with pleasure
The power of death oppose,
And with my heart embrace
The Savior, who is risen
And has from error’s prison
Redeemed me by His grace.
Lord Jesus, help me ever
To fight “the old man” so
That he shall not deliver
Me to eternal woe,
But that I here may die
From sin and all offences
And, by the blood that cleanses,
Attain my home on high.
Thus, the permanent value of Kingo’s hymns rests not only on their rugged and
expressive poetry but on the earnest and warm-hearted Christian spirit that breathes through them. In the perennial freshness of this spirit succeeding generations have experienced their kinship with the poet and found expression for their own hope and faith. The following ageless prayer expresses not only the spirit of the poet but that of earnest Christians everywhere and of every age.
Print Thine image pure and holy[4]
On my heart, O Lord of Grace;
So that nothing high nor lowly
Thy blest likeness can efface.
Let the clear inscription be:
Jesus, crucified for me,
And the Lord of all creation,
Is my refuge and salvation.
[3]Another translation: “He that believes and is baptized” by G. T. Rygh in
“Hymnal for Church and Home”.
[4]Another translation: “On my heart imprint thine image” by P. O. Stromme in
“Hymnal for Church and Home”.
Chapter Seven
Kingo’s Later Years
Kingo’s work with the hymnal had brought him much disappointment and some
loss of popularity. He felt not without justification that he had been ill treated.
He did not sulk in his tent, however, but pursued his work with unabated zeal.
His diocese was large, comprising not only Fyn but a large number of smaller islands besides. The work of making periodical visits to all parishes within such a far-flung charge was, considering the then available means of transportation, not only strenuous but hazardous. Roads were bad and vessels weak and slow.
Hardships and danger beset his almost continuous voyages and journeys. A number of poems relating the adventures of the traveler are reminiscenses of his own experiences.
But his work of visiting the churches constituted, of course, only a part of his duties. He had to preach in the cathedral at Odense at least every Wednesday in
Lent and on all festival Sundays; examine the work and conduct of all pastors within the diocese; act as an arbiter in disputes between them and their parishioners; make sure that the financial affairs of the church and its institutions were honestly conducted; attend to the collection of church taxes; and superintend all schools, hospitals and institutions of charity. The efficient accomplishment of all these tasks might well test the strength and ability of any man.
His manifold duties also engendered numerous occasions for friction, especially
