I Come, O Savior, to Thy Table
I come, O Savior, to Thy table
I Come, O Savior, to Thy Table is a hymn text by Johann Gerhardt (1630) in 7.6.7.6.7.8.8.8 meter. Translated by August Crull. Found in elw 477, lbw 213, lsb 618, lw 242.
This hymn expresses classical Lutheran eucharistic theology, emphasizing both the gift of grace in Holy Communion and the communicant's penitent approach. It reflects the catechetical emphasis on worthy reception through faith and proper self-examination.
History & Background
Originally composed as 'Herzlich tut mich verlangen' by Johann Gerhardt in the early 17th century as part of German hymn tradition. The text was translated into English by August Crull in 1921 for use in Lutheran hymnals.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 477
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 213
- Lutheran Service Book — 618
- Lutheran Worship — 242
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 315
- With One Voice — 673
Translation
Bulletin Note
Gerhardt (1607–1676) composed this communion hymn during the Thirty Years' War, offering his plague-stricken congregation a sacramental anchor in Christ amid suffering and death. It remains a treasure of Lutheran catechetical piety.
Preaching Connection
This hymn deepens sermon proclamation of Law and Gospel by showing how genuine repentance and faith naturally flow together at the table—the law's exposure of sin opens us to receive the Gospel's gift of Christ's very body and blood for our forgiveness.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- The Definition & Command of Communion Small Catechism — Holy Communion
Overview
A long Communion hymn by Friedrich Christian Heyder, a Thuringian pastor, in fifteen stanzas, each followed by the refrain 'Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood be for my soul the highest good!' (CCEL prints the refrain only after stanza 1). It moves through the whole act of communing: coming weak and weary (st. 1); praying to approach worthily (st. 2); trusting the Shepherd despite a sinful heart (st. 3); hating sin as poison (st. 4); Christ's yearning for sinners (st. 5-6); contrition and pleading his merit (st. 7); the Supper as testament, bond and covenant (st. 8-9); its gifts to the poor, weak, angels and against hell (st. 10); 'Thy body, given for me' (st. 11); union with Christ (st. 12); no condemnation (st. 13); no fear of death (st. 14); and the indwelling Trinity (st. 15). TLH and LSB often divide it into two hymns at stanza 11.
Central theme: The penitent believer's coming to the Supper and the gifts received there: forgiveness, union with Christ, victory over death
Structure
Fifteen quatrains (9.8.9.8) with a two-line refrain. Preparation (1-7) and reception and fruits (8-15); st. 11 begins the second part ('Thy Body, Given for Me, O Savior' in the index).
Law & Gospel Shape
Law: weak, weary, sinful heart, sin as poison, wilful sinning, judgment (1-7). Gospel: the Shepherd, Christ's yearning, his merit, testament and covenant, body and blood given, no condemnation (3-15).
Confessional Connections
The Supper as Christ's testament (Luther: 'a testament is a promise made by one about to die,' LC V; Heb 9:15-17). 'Thy merit pleads' — faith, not our worthiness (st. 7; Ap IV). 'Who can condemn me?' — Rom 8:33-34, justification as the Supper's gift (SC VI: forgiveness, life and salvation). Indwelling of the Trinity (John 14:23).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Distribution hymn (often divided at st. 11); preparation for Communion; Maundy Thursday.
Historical Notes
Heyder (1677-1754), pastor in Thuringia; published 1710. TLH's text is a composite translation.
About the Tune
ICH STERBE TÄGLICH (Leipzig manuscript, 1756).
Scripture References
John 6:35 1 Cor 11:27-28 John 10:11, 28 Rom 6:23 Heb 10:26 1 Tim 2:4 Matt 11:28 Ps 51:17 Luke 22:20 Heb 9:15-17 John 6:31-35 Luke 22:19-20 John 6:56 Gal 2:20 Rom 8:33-34 Heb 2:14-15 John 14:23
Stanza by Stanza
I come to your table, Savior, for my soul is weak and weary; you, Bread of Life, alone can satisfy and heal me. Refrain: Lord, may your body and blood be my soul's highest good!
The communicant comes as 'weak and weary' — the very people the Supper is for (LC V.70-72). Christ the Bread of Life (John 6:35) 'alone' satisfies. Refrain (after each stanza): 'Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood be for my soul the highest good!' The refrain names the content (body and blood) and purpose (the soul's good) of the Sacrament.
- Scripture
- John 6:35, Matt 11:28, Isa 55:2
- Imagery & language
- Table; weak and weary; refrain.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the Bread of Life for the weak.
- Connection to previous
- Opening.
Grant that I may now approach your heavenly table worthily and, bowing low before you, look only to you, Lord.
'In manner worthy' (1 Cor 11:27-28). Worthiness is defined in the next line: 'look only unto Thee' — faith directed to Christ, not to one's own preparation (SC VI).
- Scripture
- 1 Cor 11:27-28, Heb 12:2, Isa 45:22
- Imagery & language
- Bowing; looking.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — worthiness as faith.
- Connection to previous
- Preparation.
Though I am unworthy, Savior, because I have a sinful heart, you will never banish your lamb, for you are my faithful Shepherd.
Personal unworthiness does not exclude, because the Shepherd does not cast out his lamb (John 10:28; 6:37). Comfort rests on Christ's faithfulness, not the communicant's state.
- Scripture
- John 10:11, 28, John 6:37, Isa 40:11
- Imagery & language
- Lamb and Shepherd.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — sinful heart; Gospel — the faithful Shepherd.
- Connection to previous
- Comfort.
Let me hate all sin forever as death and poison to my soul, so that I may never, through willful sinning, see your judgment take its toll.
Sin as 'death and poison' (Rom 6:23). 'Wilful sinning' — deliberate, impenitent sin (Heb 10:26) — is incompatible with faith and brings judgment (1 Cor 11:29). Repentance includes hatred of sin.
- Scripture
- Rom 6:23, Heb 10:26-27, 1 Cor 11:29, Ps 97:10
- Imagery & language
- Poison; judgment.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — warning against impenitence.
- Connection to previous
- Warning.
Your heart is full of eager longing that sinners turning to you in faith may see salvation; so I, a sinner, come to you.
Christ's heart 'yearns' for sinners (1 Tim 2:4; Matt 23:37). The logic: because Christ wants sinners, 'I, a sinner, come.' The qualification for coming is being a sinner who trusts him.
- Scripture
- 1 Tim 2:4, Matt 23:37, Luke 19:10, Ezek 33:11
- Imagery & language
- Yearning heart.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — Christ's desire for sinners.
- Connection to previous
- Ground of coming.
I am weary and heavy laden; my soul is sorely burdened with sin; receive me graciously and gladden my heart, for I am now your guest.
Matt 11:28 applied directly. 'Thy guest' — the host is Christ; the guest is welcomed (Luke 15:2).
- Scripture
- Matt 11:28, Luke 15:2, Ps 38:4
- Imagery & language
- Burden; guest.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — burdened; Gospel — welcomed as guest.
- Connection to previous
- Coming.
Here you will find a very humble heart that falls at your feet, that weeps over sin as it should, yet pleads only your merit, as is right.
Contrition ('weeps o'er sin') and faith ('solely Thy merit pleads') — the two parts of repentance (AC XII). The decisive word: 'solely Thy merit' — not tears, not humility, but Christ's merit is the plea (Ap IV). 'As it is meet' — fitting.
- Scripture
- Ps 51:17, Luke 7:38, Rom 3:24, Phil 3:9
- Imagery & language
- Lowly heart; tears; merit.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — contrition; Gospel — Christ's merit alone.
- Connection to previous
- Preparation complete.
By faith I call your holy table the testament of your deep love; for through it I can now see how love moves your heart.
'Testament' — Luke 22:20 ('This cup is the new testament in my blood,' KJV). Luther emphasized the Supper as Christ's last will, a promise sealed by his death (Heb 9:15-17). 'By faith' — only faith perceives it rightly. The Supper reveals 'how love Thy heart doth move.'
- Scripture
- Luke 22:20, Heb 9:15-17, 1 Cor 11:25, John 13:1
- Imagery & language
- Testament; love.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the Supper as testament of love.
- Connection to previous
- Nature of the Supper.
What higher gift could we inherit? It is the bond and solid foundation of faith, the strength of heart and spirit, the covenant of hope and grace.
A litany of the Supper's significance: 'faith's bond and solid base' — it strengthens and anchors faith; 'strength of heart' (LC V.23: food for the soul); 'covenant of hope and grace' (Luke 22:20). 'Inherit' links with 'testament.'
- Scripture
- Luke 22:20, Heb 13:9, Col 2:7, Heb 6:19
- Imagery & language
- Gift, bond, base, covenant.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — gifts of the Supper.
- Connection to previous
- Gifts.
This feast is manna, abundant wealth to the poor, power to the weak, joy to angels, confusion to hell, and life for us in death's dark hour.
Manna (John 6:31-35), riches for the poor, power for the weak, angels' joy (1 Pet 1:12), hell's defeat, and life in death — the Supper as viaticum. The list moves from present need to the last hour.
- Scripture
- John 6:31-35, 2 Cor 8:9, 2 Cor 12:9, 1 Pet 1:12, John 6:54
- Imagery & language
- Manna; wealth; hell confounded.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — manifold benefits.
- Connection to previous
- Benefits.
Your body given for me, Savior, your blood shed for me — these are my life and strength forever; by them my hungry soul is fed.
The second part begins with the words of institution: 'given for you… shed for you' (Luke 22:19-20). 'For me' — the heart of the Sacrament (SC VI: 'these words, "given and shed for you"… are the chief thing'). Body and blood are 'life and strength' (John 6:54-55).
- Scripture
- Luke 22:19-20, Matt 26:26-28, John 6:54-55
- Imagery & language
- Given for me; shed for me.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — body and blood for me.
- Connection to previous
- Second part: reception.
Lord, I am now united with you; I live in you and you in me. No sorrow fills my soul; delighted, it finds its only joy in you.
John 6:56: 'abides in me, and I in him.' Gal 2:20: 'Christ who lives in me.' Union with Christ is the Supper's fruit. Joy replaces sorrow.
- Scripture
- John 6:56, John 15:4-5, Gal 2:20, Phil 4:4
- Imagery & language
- Union; mutual indwelling.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — union with Christ.
- Connection to previous
- Fruit: union.
Who can condemn me now? Surely the Lord who justifies is near. I fear no hell, and so, secure, I rise to heaven with Jesus.
Rom 8:33-34: 'Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?' The Supper delivers forgiveness and so certainty of justification. 'No hell I fear' — the terror of conscience removed (Ap XII).
- Scripture
- Rom 8:1, 33-34, Isa 50:8, John 5:24
- Imagery & language
- Courtroom question; security.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — no condemnation.
- Connection to previous
- Fruit: justification.
Though death threatens disaster, it cannot rob me of my joy, for he who is Master of death is always near with help and comfort.
Christ the 'Master' of death (Rev 1:18; Heb 2:14-15). The Supper prepares for dying; Christ is 'nigh' in death as in the Sacrament.
- Scripture
- Rev 1:18, Heb 2:14-15, 1 Cor 15:55-57, Ps 23:4
- Imagery & language
- Death's threat; Master of death.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — victory over death.
- Connection to previous
- Fruit: courage in death.
My heart has now become your dwelling, blessed Holy Trinity; with angels I will live in joy forever, telling your praises.
John 14:23: 'we will come to him and make our home with him.' The Trinity indwells the believer. The final vision joins angels in eternal praise — the Sanctus of the liturgy anticipated.
- Scripture
- John 14:23, 1 Cor 3:16, Eph 3:17, Rev 5:11-13
- Imagery & language
- Dwelling; angels.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — indwelling and eternal praise.
- Connection to previous
- Concludes.
Themes
Holy Communion Sacramental grace Repentance and confession Union with Christ