One day of pleasure
Found with Thee, Lord,
When on the wings of Thy quickening word
Souls are uplifted and Thou art adored.
Quicken in spirit,
Grow in Thy merit
Shall now Thy friends.
Blessings in showers
Filled with Thy powers
On them descends
Until at home in the city of gold
All shall in wonder Thy presence behold.
Grundtvig’s hymns are for the most part church hymns, presenting the objective
rather than the subjective phase of Christian faith. He wrote for the congregation and held that a hymn for congregational singing should express the common faith and hope of the worshippers, rather than the personal feelings and experiences of the individual. Because of this his hymns are frequently criticized for their lack of personal sentiment. The personal note is not wholly lacking in his work, however, as witnessed by the following hymn.
Suffer and languish,
Tremble in anguish
Must every soul that awakes to its guilt.
Sternly from yonder,
Sinai doth thunder:
Die or achieve what no sinner fulfilled.
Tremble with gladness,
Smile through their sadness
Shall all that rest in the arms of the Lord.
Grace beyond measure,
Comfort and treasure
Gathers the heart from His merciful word.
Bravely to suffer,
Gladly to offer
Praises to God ’neath the weight of our cross,
This will the Spirit
Help us to merit
Granting a breath from God’s heaven to us.
Even stronger is the personal sentiment of this appealing hymn.
With her cruse of alabaster,
Filled with ointment rare and sweet,
Came the woman to the Master,
Knelt contritely at His feet,
Feeling with unfeigned contrition
How unfit was her condition
To approach the Holy One.
