Let Us All with Gladsome Voice
Let us all with gladsome voice
Let Us All with Gladsome Voice is a hymn text by Paul Gerhardt (1648) in L.M. (8.8.8.8) meter. Translated by John C. Macduff. Found in CW21 332, CW93 64, ELH 134, elw 280. Sung to BEATUS VIR.
The hymn embodies Lutheran Christmas theology by connecting the birth of Christ to the universal proclamation of salvation and reconciliation with God. It reflects the Reformed Catholic emphasis on the incarnation as God's gracious act of love for all humanity, central to Lutheran understanding of the Gospel.
History & Background
Paul Gerhardt's original German text 'Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle' was published in 1648 as part of his significant contribution to Lutheran hymnody during the Thirty Years' War. The English translation by John C. Macduff preserves the joyful proclamation of Christ's birth and its redemptive significance.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship: Hymnal — 332
- Christian Worship — 64
- Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary — 134
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 280
- Lutheran Service Book — 390
- Lutheran Worship — 42
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 97
Translation
Bulletin Note
Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676), a Lutheran pastor who survived the Thirty Years' War, wrote this 1648 hymn from deep suffering. It reflects the Reformed Catholic theology of incarnational grace central to Lutheran faith: God's love made visible in human flesh.
Preaching Connection
This hymn transforms Christmas from sentimental nostalgia into Gospel proclamation, showing how the Law's demand for perfection gives way to the grace of God's self-giving in the stable—inviting the sermon to unfold what true 'gladness' means in light of Christ's redemptive birth.
In the Church Year
Suggested in the one-year series
- Christmas 1 (3×)
- Circumcision and Name of Jesus (3×)
- Christmas 2 (2×)
- Christmas Dawn (1×)
Suggested in the three-year series
- Christmas 1 (1×)
- New Year's Eve (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 short, simple Christmas and New Year hymn first printed in a Dresden hymnal of 1632. In four quatrains it praises God for giving his Son (st. 1), tells of the Son's coming into this 'vale of tears' so we may reign with him (st. 2), marvels at the 'happy exchange' — we are rich because he became poor (st. 3) — and prays for Christ's nearness and a glad New Year (st. 4). Its brevity makes it ideal for children and for the turn of the year.
Central theme: The wondrous exchange: Christ became poor and served in sorrow so that we might be rich and reign in gladness
Structure
Four quatrains (7.6.7.6). Praise for the gift (1) — exchange of sadness for gladness (2) — exchange of poverty for riches (3) — prayer (4).
Law & Gospel Shape
Gospel; the 'vale of tears' and 'sadness' are the condition Christ enters and transforms.
Confessional Connections
The 'happy exchange' (fröhlicher Wechsel) of Luther's Freedom of a Christian: Christ takes our poverty, sin and death, and gives his riches, righteousness and life. This is the heart of the Lutheran doctrine of justification (AC IV; FC III, imputation).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Christmas; New Year's Eve/Day and the Name of Jesus (st. 4); children's services.
Historical Notes
Anonymous; first in Dresden, 1632, during the Thirty Years' War. Translated by Catherine Winkworth.
About the Tune
LASST UNS ALLE (Dresden, 1632).
Scripture References
2 Cor 8:9 John 3:16 Isa 9:6 Ps 84:6 Matt 20:28 Isa 53:3 2 Tim 2:12 Rev 22:5 Ps 103:1-2 Matt 28:20 Ps 65:11
Stanza by Stanza
Let us all praise the God of heaven with joyful voices, who has given his own Son to make our hearts rejoice.
The simplest form of the Christmas Gospel: God 'His own Son hath given' (John 3:16; Isa 9:6, 'to us a son is given'). Note that the giver is the Father: Christmas is first his gift. The purpose — 'to bid our hearts rejoice' — echoes the angel's 'good news of great joy' (Luke 2:10). Joy here is not a demand but the natural response to a gift; the hymn begins with praise because the Gospel always precedes and produces our response.
- Scripture
- John 3:16, Isa 9:6, Rom 8:32, Luke 2:10-11, Ps 100:1-2
- Imagery & language
- Gladsome voice; the gift of the Son.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the Father gives the Son.
- Connection to previous
- Opening.
He comes to this vale of tears to serve here in sadness, so that we may reign with him in gladness in heaven's homes.
'Vale of tears' (Ps 84:6, the valley of Baca) is the traditional image of earthly life under sin. Christ enters it not as a visitor but as a servant who shares its sadness — 'a man of sorrows' (Isa 53:3; Matt 20:28). The stanza is built on exchange: he comes here so that we go there; he serves in sadness so we reign in gladness (2 Tim 2:12; Rev 22:5). Christ's humiliation is the means of our exaltation. 'Heaven's fair homes' recalls John 14:2, the many rooms.
- Scripture
- Ps 84:6, Isa 53:3, Matt 20:28, Phil 2:7, 2 Tim 2:12, Rev 22:5, John 14:2
- Imagery & language
- Vale of tears versus heaven's homes; sadness versus gladness.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — his humiliation, our exaltation.
- Connection to previous
- Shows what the gift of st. 1 accomplishes.
We are rich because he was poor — isn't that a wonder? So praise God forever, here on earth and in the world to come.
The shortest possible statement of the 'happy exchange,' taken from 2 Cor 8:9: 'though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.' Luther's Freedom of a Christian describes this exchange as a marriage: Christ takes the bride's debts and gives her his wealth. Our 'riches' are forgiveness, righteousness, adoption and eternal life — all imputed and given in Christ (FC III). 'Is not this a wonder?' invites the singer to marvel rather than explain. Praise is to be 'here… and yonder' — the same song continues into eternity.
- Scripture
- 2 Cor 8:9, Eph 1:7, Eph 2:7, Rom 11:33, Phil 2:6-8, Rev 5:12-13
- Imagery & language
- Rich/poor antithesis; wonder.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the happy exchange.
- Connection to previous
- Distills the exchange of st. 2 to a single line.
Lord Christ, dear Savior, be always near us; grant us now a glad New Year. Amen, Jesus, hear us!
The closing prayer asks for two things: Christ's nearness ('Be Thou ever near us,' trusting Matt 28:20) and a 'glad New Year.' Like Keimann's hymn (TLH 96), this ties Christmas to the turning of the year, recalling that the Circumcision and Name of Jesus fall on January 1 (Luke 2:21). 'Amen, Jesus, hear us!' is prayer addressed directly to Christ, confessing him as true God who hears. The 'Amen' expresses the certainty of faith that the prayer is heard (Small Catechism, Conclusion of the Lord's Prayer).
- Scripture
- Matt 28:20, Ps 65:11, Luke 2:21, John 14:13-14, 2 Cor 1:20
- Imagery & language
- Simple, childlike petition; the Amen.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — confidence in Christ's nearness and hearing.
- Connection to previous
- Closes the praise of st. 1-3 in prayer.
Themes
Joy in salvation Nativity of Christ Praise and thanksgiving Gospel proclamation Universal redemption