Christ, the Life of All the Living
Christ, the life of all the living
Christ, the Life of All the Living is a hymn text by Ernst Christoph Homburg (1659) in 8.7.8.7.8.8.7 meter. Translated by Catherine Winkworth. Found in elw 339, lbw 97, lsb 420, lw 94. Sung to ST. AGNES.
This hymn exemplifies Lutheran devotion to Christ's substitutionary atonement, emphasizing how Christ's death becomes the source of eternal life for believers. The text reflects the comfort and certainty found in Christ's vicarious suffering, central to Lutheran soteriology and pastoral care.
History & Background
Originally published in German as 'Christus, das Leben aller Lebenden' in Homburg's 1659 hymnal. Catherine Winkworth's English translation, published in her 1863 Chorale Book for England, became the standard version used in English-speaking Lutheran congregations.
Ernst C. Homburg (b. Mihla, near Eisenach, Germany, 1605; d. Naumberg, Germany, 1681) wrote this German chorale text (‘Jesu, meines Lebens Leben”), which was published in Part One of his Geistliche Lieder (1658). Homburg, who wrote most of his hymns for his own devotions, described his eight-stanza text as a “hymn of thanksgiving to his Redeemer and Savior for his bitter sufferings. ” In early life Homburg was a writer of love and drinking songs. After a difficult time of family illness he experienced a religious conversion, and his poetry took a more serious turn. A lawyer by profession, he wrote hymns to express and strengthen his own faith rather than for public use. Some 150 of his hymn texts were published in his Geistliche Lieder. The translation of selected stanzas is by Catherine Winkworth , who published them in her Chorale Book for England (1863). 527 THE PSALMS, BIBLE SONGS, AND HYMNS The text is a meditation on the suffering and death of Christ, which brought eternal life to believers (st. 1), provided full atonement for our sin (st. 2), and mortified our “old nature” (st. 3). The tone of unending gratitude to God reflected in the refrain line—“thousand, thousand thanks are due”—runs throughout the entire text.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 339
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 97
- Lutheran Service Book — 420
- Lutheran Worship — 94
- Psalter Hymnal — 371
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 151
- With One Voice — 642
Translation
Liturgical Use
Lent, especially Holy Week; any worship service with a thanksgiving focus.
Bulletin Note
Written by Ernst Christoph Homburg in 1659, this German hymn crystallizes Lutheran devotion to Christ's substitutionary atonement, becoming a cornerstone text for Reformation faith and pastoral comfort through suffering.
Preaching Connection
This hymn crystallizes the Law-Gospel dialectic: our sin demands our death, yet Christ's vicarious suffering and resurrection reverse that sentence, making Him our life—a proclamation that transforms despair into Easter hope.
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law (conviction of sin and need for God's Word) → Gospel (Christ's redemption and grace) → Sanctification (Word as guide for holy living)
Overview
A Passion hymn of thanksgiving built on a single pattern: Christ suffered X so that I might receive Y. Each stanza pairs one element of the Passion with its benefit, and each ends 'Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, / Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.' It is a sustained, almost catechetical exposition of substitution: his bonds, my freedom; his wounds, my healing; his curse, my blessing; his shame, my glory; his anguish, my comfort; his torment, my rescue.
Central theme: The great exchange of the Passion, answered by endless thanksgiving
Structure
Seven stanzas, each pairing a suffering of Christ with a benefit to the believer; refrain of thanks in st. 1-6; st. 7 summarizes.
Law & Gospel Shape
Pure Gospel; the believer's sin and doom appear only as what Christ bore away.
Confessional Connections
Vicarious satisfaction and the great exchange (AC III-IV; Apology IV; FC III). A model of how Lutheran piety moves from the cross to thanksgiving.
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Lent; Holy Week; Good Friday; communion.
Historical Notes
Homburg (1605-1681), a lawyer in Naumburg, turned to sacred poetry after illness and family hardship.
About the Tune
JESU, MEINES LEBENS LEBEN (1687) — solemn yet warm.
Scripture References
Isa 53:4-6 1 Pet 2:24 Gal 3:13 2 Cor 5:21 Matt 26:64-67 Matt 27:27-31 John 19:30
Stanza by Stanza
Christ, the life of all the living and the death of death, gave himself into the depths of woe for me; through his sufferings, death, and merit I inherit eternal life; endless thanks to him.
Two paradoxical titles: 'Life of all the living' (John 1:4; 11:25; 14:6) and 'Death of death' (Hos 13:14; 2 Tim 1:10). 'Thyself for me once giving' — the pro me of the Gospel (Gal 2:20). 'Sufferings, death, and merit' — Christ's merit, not ours, is the basis of inheritance (Rom 5:19; Titus 3:7). The refrain makes thanksgiving the only fitting response; repayment is impossible.
- Scripture
- John 11:25, John 14:6, Hos 13:14, 2 Tim 1:10, Gal 2:20, Titus 3:7
- Imagery & language
- Life and death; depths of woe; inheritance.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — merit of Christ.
- Connection to previous
- Thesis.
Christ took bonds, stripes, and beating; pain and scorn were heaped on the sinless Son of God; so he freed my soul from sin's bonds forever.
The arrest and scourging (Matt 26:47-57; John 19:1). The first exchange: his bonds, my freedom (Isa 61:1; John 8:36). 'Sinless Son of God' (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15) — only the sinless could take the sinner's place. The emphatic 'Thou, ah! Thou' expresses wonder that it was he.
- Scripture
- Matt 26:47-57, John 19:1, Isa 53:5, 2 Cor 5:21, John 8:36
- Imagery & language
- Bonds; stripes; rod.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — exchange: bonds for freedom.
- Connection to previous
- First particular exchange.
He alone bore the blows so my wounds could be healed; he suffered alone and sad to give rest to my weary soul; enduring God's curse, he secured blessing for me.
Isa 53:5 ('with his wounds we are healed'; 1 Pet 2:24). 'Sad and lonely' — Christ abandoned by disciples and forsaken by God (Matt 26:56; 27:46). 'Rest to give my weary soul' (Matt 11:28). The climax: 'the curse of God enduring, / Blessing unto me securing' — Gal 3:13-14 precisely. Christ bore not merely human cruelty but God's judgment against sin.
- Scripture
- Isa 53:5, 1 Pet 2:24, Matt 27:46, Matt 11:28, Gal 3:13-14
- Imagery & language
- Wounds and healing; curse and blessing.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — exchange: curse for blessing.
- Connection to previous
- Deepens the exchange to God's curse.
Mockers surrounded him with scorn and crowned him with thorns; he bore all disgrace so he could claim me as his own and crown me with heavenly glory.
The mocking and crown of thorns (Matt 27:27-31). The exchange: his thorny crown, my crown of glory (2 Tim 4:8; 1 Pet 5:4). 'That as Thine Thou mightest own me' — redemption is purchase into ownership (1 Cor 6:19-20; Luther: 'that I may be His own').
- Scripture
- Matt 27:27-31, Heb 12:2, 1 Cor 6:19-20, 2 Tim 4:8, 1 Pet 5:4
- Imagery & language
- Scoffers; crown of thorns; crown of glory.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — exchange: disgrace for glory.
- Connection to previous
- Exchange in honor and shame.
He let men beat him so I might be free of pain; enemies falsely accused him, and from that I gain security; his soul languished without comfort so that I could be comforted in anguish.
The false accusations at the trial (Matt 26:59-61). The exchange extends to justification: Christ falsely accused, the guilty sinner securely acquitted (Rom 8:33-34). 'Comfortless Thy soul did languish' (Matt 26:38) — so that we have comfort in our own anguish (2 Cor 1:5). Lutheran consolation draws precisely here.
- Scripture
- Matt 26:38, Matt 26:59-61, Isa 53:7-8, Rom 8:33-34, 2 Cor 1:3-5
- Imagery & language
- Bruises; false accusation; comfortless soul.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — exchange: accusation for acquittal, anguish for comfort.
- Connection to previous
- Exchange in the courtroom and the soul.
He endured great affliction patiently, even crucifixion, to atone fully for me; he chose torment so my doom would be prevented.
The crucifixion itself. 'Fully to atone' — the atonement is complete (Heb 10:14; John 19:30). 'Thou didst choose' — voluntary sacrifice (John 10:18). 'That my doom should be prevented' — judgment averted (Rom 8:1). Patience in suffering recalls Isa 53:7 and 1 Pet 2:23.
- Scripture
- Isa 53:7, 1 Pet 2:23, John 10:18, Heb 10:14, John 19:30, Rom 8:1
- Imagery & language
- Torment; doom prevented.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — complete atonement.
- Connection to previous
- Climax at the cross.
For everything that won my pardon — his sorrow, anguish in the garden, groaning, bleeding, dying, and his last triumphant cry — the singer will thank Christ forever and praise him in heaven.
A summary litany of the Passion from Gethsemane (Luke 22:44) to the 'last triumphant cry' — 'It is finished' (John 19:30), a cry of victory, not defeat. The refrain changes: thanks now extends into eternity ('shall praise Thee, Lord, on high'). The whole Passion is seen as one work 'that wrought my pardon.'
- Scripture
- Luke 22:44, Heb 5:7, John 19:30, Rev 5:9-12
- Imagery & language
- Garden; groaning; bleeding; triumphant cry.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — thanksgiving for the whole Passion.
- Connection to previous
- Summary and final thanksgiving.
Themes
Atonement and redemption through Christ's passion Comfort in Christ's sufferings Substitutionary sacrifice Life and resurrection in Christ