Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice

A call to the whole church to rejoice and sing together about what God has done, ending with the note that the victory was costly to him.

The opening is a summons to corporate praise modeled on the Psalms ('Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand… has worked salvation,' Ps 98:1). 'His right arm' is Old Testament language for God's saving power in the Exodus (Ex 15:6, 12), so Luther frames the Gospel as a new Exodus. The final line, 'Right dearly it hath cost Him,' is theologically weighty: the joy is not cheap. Grace is free to us but costly to God — a line that guards the hymn against any sense that salvation is a mere decree. The 'united heart and voice' also sets the tone: what follows is personal ('I'), but it is sung by the assembly, so every voice tells the same story as its own.

Scripture

Ps 98:1-2, Ex 15:1-6, Isa 52:10, 1 Pet 1:18-19

Imagery & language

God's 'right arm' (Exodus warrior imagery); the church as a singing choir.

Law / Gospel

Gospel announced in summary before the story is told.

Connection to previous

Thesis stanza: announces the conclusion before the narrative begins.

The singer describes his former state: captive to Satan, overshadowed by death, tormented by sin from conception, and sinking ever deeper.

Luther names the three tyrants of his theology — the devil, death, and sin — the same triad Christ defeats (Heb 2:14-15; 1 Cor 15:55-57). 'In sin my mother bore me' is a direct echo of Ps 51:5 and is the hymn's statement of original sin: the problem is not merely bad acts but a corrupted nature from birth (AC II). 'Deep and deeper still I fell' rejects any notion that the sinner is gradually improving; left alone, the slide only continues. 'Life had become a living hell' reflects Luther's own experience of Anfechtung (spiritual assault and terror) as a monk. The word 'possessed' presents sin as an occupying power, not just a moral failing. This is the Law doing its first work: diagnosing the condition so that the cure will be welcome.

Scripture

Ps 51:5, Eph 2:1-3, Rom 7:14-24, Heb 2:14-15, John 8:34

Imagery & language

Chains and imprisonment; death 'brooding' like a dark bird; sin as possessing power.

Law / Gospel

Law — diagnosis of bondage.

Connection to previous

Begins the plight narrative introduced by st. 1's 'wonders God hath done.'

Good works and free will were useless; they could earn nothing and only fought against God, leaving the singer in despair facing death and hell.

This is the sharpest polemical stanza and the theological heart of the plight section. 'My own good works availed me naught' rejects the late-medieval scheme of merit (doing what is in you, congruent merit). 'Free will against God's judgment fought, / Dead to all good remaining' states what Luther would defend against Erasmus in The Bondage of the Will (1525): in spiritual matters the human will is not neutral but actively hostile to God (Rom 8:7). AC XVIII and Formula of Concord II stand behind this. The despair of the last lines is not pessimism for its own sake; it is the Law's goal — to empty the sinner of self-trust so that he looks outside himself. Luther himself described exactly this experience of the monastery: the harder he tried, the more terrified he became.

Scripture

Rom 3:20, Rom 8:7-8, Eph 2:8-9, Gal 2:16, Isa 64:6

Imagery & language

Works as currency that buys nothing; the will as a combatant against God.

Law / Gospel

Law — second use at full strength, driving to despair of self.

Connection to previous

Completes the descent; the next stanza's 'But God' depends on this bottoming-out.

God saw the singer's misery before the world was made, remembered his mercy, planned salvation, turned a father's heart toward him, and gave his dearest treasure.

The pivot of the hymn, echoing Eph 2:4 ('But God, being rich in mercy…'). Salvation begins entirely on God's side. 'Before the world's foundation' (Eph 1:4) introduces election, but notice how Luther uses it: not as speculation about who is chosen, but as comfort — God had me in mind before I existed, so my rescue does not depend on my strength. This is precisely how the Formula of Concord (Art. XI) says predestination should be taught. 'A father's heart He turned to me' is warmly personal language; Luther often spoke of God's Vaterherz. 'He gave His dearest Treasure' points to John 3:16 and Rom 8:32 — the cost first mentioned in st. 1 is now named: the Son.

Scripture

Eph 2:4-5, Eph 1:4-5, John 3:16, Rom 8:32, Titus 3:4-5

Imagery & language

God as a father moved with compassion; the Son as a treasure given away.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — divine initiative.

Connection to previous

Turning point ('But God') answering the despair of st. 3.

The Father speaks to the Son: it is time for compassion; go, bring salvation, free humanity from sin and sorrow, and destroy death so they may live forever.

Luther dramatizes an intra-Trinitarian conversation — the Father commissioning the Son. This device (also used by Gerhardt in 'A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth') shows that the incarnation is the unified will of the Trinity, not a reluctant Son placating an angry Father. ''Tis time to have compassion' recalls Gal 4:4 ('when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son'). 'Bright Jewel of My crown' expresses the Son's preciousness to the Father, sharpening the cost. The commission has two objects: free man from sin and sorrow, and 'slay bitter death.' Atonement and victory belong together here — Luther holds the satisfaction and Christus Victor themes side by side without choosing between them.

Scripture

Gal 4:4-5, John 3:17, Matt 3:17, 1 Cor 15:26, Heb 2:14

Imagery & language

Royal court imagery (jewel, crown); death personified as an enemy to be slain.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — the Father's sending.

Connection to previous

Moves from the Father's decision (st. 4) to his spoken command.

The Son obeys, is born of a virgin, becomes our brother, takes no pomp but a servant's form, and does this to lead the devil captive.

A compact Christological creed. 'Born of virgin mother' confesses the Second Article. 'He came to be my Brother' draws on Heb 2:11-17: Christ shares our flesh so that he can be a merciful high priest — the incarnation is for us, not only an event. 'A servant's form, like mine, He bore' paraphrases Phil 2:7 and stresses the state of humiliation. The final line, 'To lead the devil captive,' borrows Ps 68:18 / Eph 4:8 (he led captivity captive) and makes the incarnation the opening move of the conquest of Satan. The irony is pointed: the captor of st. 2 ('Fast bound in Satan's chains') becomes the captive.

Scripture

Phil 2:6-8, Heb 2:11-17, Isa 7:14, Eph 4:8, Ps 68:18, Col 2:15

Imagery & language

Humble servant's clothing vs. royal pomp; the captor taken captive.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — incarnation and humiliation.

Connection to previous

Reverses st. 2's imagery of captivity.

Christ now speaks directly to the singer: hold fast to me; I am your rock and castle, your ransom; I fight for you; I am yours and you are mine; the enemy cannot divide us.

The narrative voice changes — from here to the end Christ speaks. This is the Gospel as a personal address ('to me'), which is how Luther understood the means of grace: Christ himself speaks forgiveness to the hearer. 'Rock and Castle' echoes Ps 18:2 and anticipates 'A Mighty Fortress' (Ein feste Burg). 'Thy Ransom I Myself will be' (Mark 10:45) is substitution in plain words. 'I am thine, and evermore thou shalt be Mine' is the language of marriage (Song 2:16) and expresses Luther's 'joyous exchange' from The Freedom of a Christian (1520): the bride receives everything the bridegroom has. 'The Foe shall not divide us' anticipates Rom 8:38-39.

Scripture

Ps 18:2, Mark 10:45, Song 2:16, John 10:28-29, Rom 8:38-39

Imagery & language

Fortress/castle; wrestler fighting on one's behalf; bridal union.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — promise and union with Christ.

Connection to previous

Turning point in voice: narration becomes Christ's direct speech.

Christ foretells his death: the enemy will kill him, but he suffers it for the believer's good; his innocence will bear the believer's sin, life will defeat death, and the believer will be blessed forever.

The Passion stanza, told prospectively by Christ himself. 'All this I suffer for thy good' makes the pro me (for me) of the Gospel explicit — a hallmark of Luther's theology. 'My innocence shall bear thy sin' is a precise statement of the great exchange of 2 Cor 5:21 and of vicarious satisfaction. 'Be steadfast and believing' places faith as the receiving hand: the believer does nothing but trust the promise. 'Life shall from death the victory win' joins cross and resurrection — Luther rarely separates them. Note the paradox that the 'Foe' who sheds the blood is in that very act defeated.

Scripture

2 Cor 5:21, Isa 53:5-6, 1 Pet 2:24, 1 Cor 15:54-57, Heb 2:14

Imagery & language

Shed blood; exchange of innocence for sin; life wrestling death.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — atonement.

Connection to previous

Fulfills the commission given in st. 5.

Christ says he returns to the Father and sends the Holy Spirit, who will comfort, teach, and guide the believer into all truth.

A paraphrase of the Upper Room promises (John 14-16). The ascension is not Christ's absence but the condition for the Spirit's coming (John 16:7). The Spirit's three works — comfort in trouble, teaching to know and follow Christ, guiding into truth — match Luther's explanation of the Third Article (calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies). Importantly, the Spirit points to Christ ('know and follow Me'), never to himself; this guards against enthusiasm (Schwärmerei), the claim to Spirit-revelation apart from the Word, which Luther opposed (Smalcald Articles III.8).

Scripture

John 14:16-18, John 14:26, John 16:7-15, Acts 1:8-9

Imagery & language

The Spirit as Comforter, Teacher, and Guide.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — the Spirit's gift.

Connection to previous

Extends redemption into the church's life after Easter.

Christ's final charge: teach what I have done and taught, never forsake my ways, so my kingdom flourishes and God is praised; beware those who would corrupt the heavenly treasure.

The hymn ends with a commission paralleling Matt 28:20 ('teaching them to observe all that I have commanded'). The order matters: 'what I have done' (Gospel) before 'and taught.' The warning about 'base alloy' corrupting 'the heavenly treasure' is a metallurgical image: the pure Gospel can be debased like coinage mixed with cheap metal. It recalls Gal 1:6-9 and 2 Cor 4:7, and in 1523 had a polemical edge against the mixing of grace with merit. Theologically this is the third use of the Law and a charge to the ministry; the redeemed life is shaped by Christ's ways, and the church is responsible for guarding doctrine. 'This counsel I bequeath thee' casts the stanza as a last will — Christ's testament to his church.

Scripture

Matt 28:19-20, Gal 1:6-9, 2 Tim 1:13-14, 1 Tim 6:20, 2 Cor 4:7

Imagery & language

Debased coinage ('base alloy'); a bequest or last will.

Law / Gospel

Instruction for the redeemed (third use) and warning to guard the Gospel.

Connection to previous

Closes the hymn and the arc that began with a call to proclaim (st. 1).