Comfort Comfort Ye My People
Comfort, comfort ye my people
Comfort Comfort Ye My People is a hymn text by Johannes Olearius (1661) in 8.8.7.8.8.7 meter. Translated by Catherine Winkworth. Found in elw 106, h82 67, lbw 29, lsb 347. Sung to FREU DICH SEHR.
This hymn embodies Lutheran consolation theology, emphasizing that all comfort originates in God's mercy and reaches us through Christ's redemptive work. It powerfully expresses the Reformation doctrine of justification by faith alone, as the sinner's only true comfort lies in God's forgiving grace revealed in Jesus.
History & Background
Johannes Olearius composed this hymn in 1661 as a setting of Isaiah 40:1-8, intended for Advent meditation on divine comfort and Christ's coming. Catherine Winkworth translated it into English in 1863 for her influential collection, making it a staple of English-language Lutheran hymnody.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 106
- The Hymnal 1982 — 67
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 29
- Lutheran Service Book — 347
- Lutheran Worship — 28
- Trinity Hymnal — 197
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 61
- United Methodist Hymnal — 211
Translation
Bulletin Note
Written by Johannes Olearius in 1661, this hymn distills Lutheran consolation theology into one powerful prayer: all comfort originates in God's mercy and reaches sinners through Christ's grace alone.
Preaching Connection
This hymn crystallizes the movement from Law to Gospel: the conviction that our sin demands pardon meets the proclamation that God Himself comes with saving might.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- Of Justification Augsburg Confession
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law's accusation answered by Gospel promise: God's absolute pardon and Christ's sufficient redemption transform mourning into comfort and restore creation's proper order
Background Research
Johannes Olearius (1611-1684), Lutheran court preacher at Halle and Weissenfels, wrote it in 1671 for St. John the Baptist's Day (June 24), a setting of Isaiah 40:1-5; published in his Geistliche Singe-Kunst (1671). Winkworth's English in Chorale Book for England (1863). Its tune is the Genevan Psalter's Psalm 42 (Louis Bourgeois, 1551), a Reformed melody in Lutheran use. Source: hymnary.org.
Overview
A paraphrase of Isaiah 40:1-8 written for the Feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24). It proclaims God's comfort and forgiveness to Jerusalem (st. 1-2) and then John the Baptist's call to prepare the way (st. 3-4). The order is significant: comfort and pardon first, then the call to repentance — which is itself a gracious invitation, because the glory of the Lord is coming and his Word cannot fail.
Central theme: God's comfort and forgiveness announced, and the call to prepare the way of the Lord
Structure
Isa 40:1-2 (st. 1-2: comfort and pardon); Isa 40:3-5 (st. 3-4: the herald and the way prepared); Isa 40:8 implied in st. 4's last line.
Law & Gospel Shape
Gospel first (forgiveness, st. 1-2), then the Law-shaped call to repent (st. 3-4), framed by the promise of God's glory.
Confessional Connections
Absolution as the 'speaking of peace' to God's people (AC XI-XII); the office of the preacher as herald.
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Second or Third Sunday in Advent (John the Baptist); Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24).
Historical Notes
Olearius (1611-1684) was a Lutheran court preacher at Halle and Weissenfels, and compiled a major hymnal.
About the Tune
FREU DICH SEHR (Genevan Psalter, 1551) — a Genevan psalm tune in bar form with a dancing rhythm.
Scripture References
Isa 40:1-8 Mark 1:1-8 Luke 3:2-6 Matt 3:1-3 Ps 103:12 Isa 43:25 Isa 61:3
Stanza by Stanza
God commands that his people be comforted and that peace be spoken to those sitting in darkness and grief; tell Jerusalem that peace awaits, her sins are covered, and her warfare is over.
Isa 40:1-2. The doubled 'Comfort, comfort' is God's own urgency. God commands preachers to speak comfort — the Gospel is not optional. 'Speak ye to Jerusalem' (Hebrew: 'speak to the heart of Jerusalem') — tenderly, personally. 'Her warfare now is over' (her hard service is ended) and 'her sins I cover' (her iniquity is pardoned) are announcements of completed fact, in the voice of God ('I'). This is absolution: the preacher speaks God's own forgiveness (John 20:23). 'Sit in darkness' links to Luke 1:79.
- Scripture
- Isa 40:1-2, Luke 1:79, Ps 32:1, John 20:23, 2 Cor 5:18-20
- Imagery & language
- Comfort spoken to the heart; warfare ended; sins covered.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — absolution.
- Connection to previous
- Opening proclamation.
God will pardon her sins, blotting out every misdeed; he will no longer see what deserved his anger; her long suffering is over, and he will turn her sadness into lasting joy.
An expansion of Isa 40:2. 'Blotting out' (Isa 43:25; 44:22; Ps 51:1) — sin erased from the record. 'He no more will see or heed' — God chooses not to remember (Jer 31:34; Ps 103:12). Note the honesty: these sins 'well deserved His anger'; grace does not deny guilt, it covers it. The transformation of 'pining sadness' into 'ever-springing gladness' recalls Isa 61:3 and Jer 31:13. Forgiveness changes the whole person's state.
- Scripture
- Isa 43:25, Isa 44:22, Jer 31:34, Ps 103:12, Isa 61:3, Jer 31:13
- Imagery & language
- Blotting out; sadness turned to gladness.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — pardon.
- Connection to previous
- Elaborates the pardon of st. 1.
The herald's voice cries in the desert, calling everyone to repent because the kingdom is here; obey the warning, prepare God's way, let valleys rise and hills bow down to greet him.
Isa 40:3-4, applied by all four Gospels to John the Baptist (Mark 1:2-4). 'Bidding all men to repentance / Since the Kingdom now is here' combines Isaiah with Matt 3:2. Note again the order in the hymn: the call to repentance comes after the promise of pardon. Repentance is the response to the coming King, not a precondition for God's love. The valleys and hills are interpreted spiritually: the lowly are lifted (despair overcome) and the proud are humbled (Luke 1:52; 3:5).
- Scripture
- Isa 40:3-4, Mark 1:2-4, Matt 3:1-3, Luke 3:4-6, Luke 1:52
- Imagery & language
- Herald; desert; valleys raised and hills lowered.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — call to repentance — in the light of the coming kingdom.
- Connection to previous
- Turns from proclamation of pardon to the herald's call.
Straighten what was crooked and smooth what was rough; let hearts be true and humble as fits his holy reign; the Lord's glory is spread over the earth, and all flesh will see the sign that his Word never fails.
Isa 40:4-5, 8. The crooked and rough are made straight and plain — in the hymn applied to the heart: 'Let your hearts be true and humble.' Repentance is the straightening of a crooked heart, a work God does through Law and Gospel. 'All flesh shall see' the glory (Isa 40:5; Luke 3:6) — fulfilled in the incarnation (John 1:14). The last line echoes Isa 40:8: 'the word of our God will stand forever.' The guarantee of all the hymn's comfort is the unbreakable Word.
- Scripture
- Isa 40:4-5, 8, Luke 3:5-6, John 1:14, 1 Pet 1:24-25, Ps 51:10
- Imagery & language
- Crooked made straight; rough made plain; glory shed abroad.
- Law / Gospel
- Law (humble hearts) and Gospel (glory revealed, Word unbroken).
- Connection to previous
- Completes the herald's call and returns to God's promise.
Themes
God's comfort and consolation Forgiveness of sins Messianic hope Divine mercy Preparation for Christ