such as the beautiful, “Come, Rains from the Heavens, to Strengthen and Nourish the Languishing Field,” he wrote no outstanding Pentecost hymns of his

own composition. It remained for Grundtvig to supply the Danish church with a

wealth of unexcelled hymns on the Holy Ghost.

Aside from his Christmas hymns, Brorson’s greatest contribution to hymnody is

perhaps his revival hymns, a type in which the Lutheran church is rather poor.

The special message of the Pietist movement was an earnest call to awake, and

Brorson repeated that call with an appealing insistence and earnestness. The word of God has been sown, but where are its fruits?

O Father, may Thy word prevail

Against the power of Hell!

Behold the vineyard Thou hast tilled

With thorns and thistles filled.

’Tis true, the plants are there,

But ah, how weak and rare,

How slight the power and evidence

Of word and sacraments.

It is, therefore, time for all Christians to awake.

Awaken from your idle dreaming!

Ye lukewarm Christians, now arise.

Behold, the light from heaven streaming

Proclaims the day of mercy flies.

Throw off that sinful sleep before

To you is closed the open door.

Many are heedless, taking no thought of the day when all shall appear before the judgment of God. Such people should arouse themselves and prepare for the rendering of their account.

O heart, prepare to give account

Of all thy sore transgression.

To God, of grace and love the Fount,

Make thou a full confession.

What hast thou done these many years

The Lord hath thee afforded.

Nothing but sin and earthly cares

Is in God’s book recorded.

He realizes that many continue in their sin because of ignorance, and with these he pleads so softly:

If thou but knew the life that thou are leading

In sin and shame is Satan’s tyranny,

Thou wouldest kneel and with the Lord be pleading

That He thy soul from bondage would set free.

Oh, how the Saviour would rejoice

If thou today should’st listen to His voice!

And the day of salvation is now at hand.

O, seek the Lord today,

Today He hath salvation.

Approach Him while He may

Still hear thy supplication.

Repent and seek His grace

While yet His call doth sound,

Yea turn to Him thy face

While still He may be found.

Orthodoxy had instilled a formal, but often spiritless faith. Pietism aimed to awaken the great mass of formal believers to a new life, a living and active faith.

This is strongly expressed in the very popular hymn below.

The faith that Christ embraces[6]