Jesus, I Will Ponder Now
Jesus, I will ponder now
Jesus, I Will Ponder Now is a hymn text by Sigmund of Birken (1661) in L.M. (8.8.8.8) meter. Translated by August Crull. Found in CW21 420, CW93 98, ELH 287, elw 345.
This hymn exemplifies Lutheran meditation on Christ's substitutionary atonement, emphasizing how Christ bore the penalty for human sin. It reflects the Reformation emphasis on justification by faith through contemplation of Christ's suffering and sacrifice on behalf of sinners.
History & Background
Written by Sigmund of Birken, a German Baroque poet and hymnodist, in 1661 as a meditation on Christ's passion. The hymn was published in German hymnals and translated into English by August Crull in 1923, becoming a standard Lenten hymn in Lutheran worship.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship: Hymnal — 420
- Christian Worship — 98
- Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary — 287
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 345
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 115
- Lutheran Service Book — 440
- Lutheran Worship — 109
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 140
- Voices Together — 232
Translation
Bulletin Note
Written by Sigmund of Birken in 1661, this hymn exemplifies Lutheran piety's emphasis on meditation. Its tune, O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, carries the weight of Passion tradition, anchoring doctrine in contemplative prayer.
Preaching Connection
This hymn embodies the Lutheran theology of substitutionary atonement: it holds Law and Gospel in creative tension, acknowledging human sinfulness while proclaiming Christ's innocent obedience unto death as the ground of our redemption.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- Of Justification Augsburg Confession
In the Church Year
Suggested in the one-year series
- Good Friday (5×)
- Palm Sunday (4×)
Suggested in the three-year series
- Good Friday (1×)
- Lent 5 (1×)
- Palm Sunday (1×)
From LCMS Worship's published hymn suggestions, 2014–2026. The count is how many of those yearly lists suggested this hymn for that day.
Overview
A model of Lutheran Passion meditation. The singer asks the Spirit to help him contemplate Christ's sufferings (st. 1-2), but not merely as a sad spectacle: he must see the cause (his own sin) and the purpose (his salvation) (st. 3). Then follow repentance (st. 4), comfort for a troubled conscience (st. 5), and a prayer to bear one's own crosses (st. 6). It follows closely Luther's 1519 'Sermon on Meditating on the Holy Sufferings of Christ,' which warns against meditation that ends in pity for Jesus rather than faith in him.
Central theme: Right meditation on Christ's Passion: seeing our sin as its cause and finding comfort in its fruit
Structure
Prayer for meditation (1), what to see (2), why it happened (3), repentance (4), comfort (5), discipleship (6).
Law & Gospel Shape
A carefully balanced Law-Gospel movement: st. 3-4 Law (my sin caused this), st. 5 Gospel (the cross disarms my fear), st. 6 new obedience.
Confessional Connections
Contrition and faith as the two parts of repentance (AC XII); Christ's death as the ground of peace of conscience (Apology IV).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Lent, especially midweek services; Passion Sunday; Holy Week; personal devotion.
Historical Notes
Von Birken (1626-1681) was a Nuremberg poet. Crull's translation (1923) is one of several by this Missouri Synod professor in TLH.
About the Tune
JESU KREUZ, LEIDEN UND PEIN (Melchior Vulpius, 1609) — quietly reflective, matching the meditative text.
Scripture References
Luke 18:31-34 Isa 53:4-6 Heb 6:6 Rom 8:31-32 Matt 16:24 1 John 4:19
Stanza by Stanza
The singer resolves to meditate on Christ's Passion and asks for the Spirit's help to hold its image in love and faith so that he may not perish.
The hymn begins with a resolve and immediately a prayer: we cannot meditate rightly on the cross by our own power — the Spirit must be given (1 Cor 2:14; 12:3). 'In love and faith' sets the goal: not mere emotional impact but trust. 'That I may not perish' quotes John 3:16 and reminds the singer that the Passion is a matter of life and death for him personally.
- Scripture
- Luke 18:31, 1 Cor 2:2, 1 Cor 12:3, John 3:16
- Imagery & language
- Pondering; holding an image in the heart.
- Law / Gospel
- Prayer; Gospel aim (not perishing).
- Connection to previous
- Opening resolve.
A prayer to see clearly every part of Christ's suffering — anguish, bonds, stripes, crucifixion, scourge, spear, nails, thorns — and that God died for man.
A catalogue of the Passion like the medieval meditations, but with a Lutheran edge. The key line is 'How for man Thou diedst, O God' — the communication of attributes (FC VIII): because the person who died is God, the suffering has infinite worth. The prayer 'Make me see' recognizes that sinners do not naturally perceive the meaning of the cross (1 Cor 1:18).
- Scripture
- Isa 53:3-5, Matt 27:26-31, John 19:1-3, 34, Acts 20:28, 1 Cor 1:18
- Imagery & language
- Instruments of the Passion: bonds, scourge, rod, spear, nails, thorns.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the suffering God.
- Connection to previous
- Fills in the 'image' of st. 1.
Not only the sufferings, but their cause and purpose must be seen; the singer confesses that his own sin caused Christ's affliction.
The theological hinge of the hymn. Luther's 1519 sermon warns against meditating on the Passion merely to blame Judas or the Jews or to feel pity; the true fruit is to recognize oneself as the cause. 'Ah! I also and my sin / Wrought Thy deep affliction' is that confession (Isa 53:5-6). 'Its termination' means its goal or outcome — redemption. This is the Law at work through the cross: nothing shows the seriousness of sin like the death of God's Son.
- Scripture
- Isa 53:5-6, Rom 4:25, 1 Pet 2:24, Acts 2:36-37
- Imagery & language
- Seeing causes and ends.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — personal responsibility for sin.
- Connection to previous
- Corrects a merely sympathetic reading of st. 2.
A prayer for repentant sorrow and for holy living, so that one does not crucify Christ anew; how could one love sin when God's Son suffered so much for him?
'Repentant grieving' is contrition, the first part of repentance (AC XII). 'Nor Thee crucify anew' draws on Heb 6:6. The stanza's closing question is a motive for sanctification taken from the Gospel, not from fear: Christ's love for me makes sin repugnant (2 Cor 5:14-15). This is the third use of the Law shaped by gratitude.
- Scripture
- Heb 6:6, 2 Cor 5:14-15, Rom 6:1-2, Titus 2:11-14
- Imagery & language
- Re-crucifying Christ; sinful pleasures.
- Law / Gospel
- Law (contrition) and new obedience.
- Connection to previous
- Moves from recognizing sin to turning from it.
When sin and conscience terrify, the cross should drive away fear and give peace; if God so loves me as to give his Son, he must be merciful.
The Gospel turn, and the heart of the hymn. The same cross that revealed sin (st. 3) now 'disarms' fear — a perfectly Lutheran use of the Passion for the terrified conscience. The final couplet is an argument from Rom 8:32 ('He who did not spare his own Son… how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?'). Note the shift to third person ('His Son'), as if the believer is reasoning to himself. This is the comfort the Apology (IV) says justification must bring.
- Scripture
- Rom 8:31-34, Rom 5:1, Col 2:14, Heb 9:14, 1 John 3:20
- Imagery & language
- Alarm and disarmament; conscience.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — peace of conscience.
- Connection to previous
- Answers the Law of st. 3-4 with Gospel.
A prayer to bear one's own crosses with Christ, learn humility and peace in suffering, return love for love, and finally praise him in heaven.
The final fruit of meditation is discipleship (Matt 16:24). Note 'with Thee' — the Christian's cross is borne in fellowship with Christ (Phil 3:10; 1 Pet 4:13). 'Learning humbleness of Thee' recalls Matt 11:29. 'Love for love' echoes 1 John 4:19. The ending in heavenly praise completes Luther's pattern of Passion meditation: from terror, to faith, to new life, to hope.
- Scripture
- Matt 16:24, Matt 11:29, Phil 3:10, 1 Pet 4:13, 1 John 4:19
- Imagery & language
- Bearing crosses together; love answered with love.
- Law / Gospel
- New obedience and eschatological hope.
- Connection to previous
- Conclusion of the meditation.
Themes
Passion of Christ Atonement Suffering and redemption Meditation on Christ's wounds Substitutionary sacrifice