O Lord How Shall I Meet Thee

The singer asks how to welcome Christ rightly; the church longs to greet him as hope and delight; he prays the Lord to light the lamp of faith in his heart so he may humbly do what pleases God.

The opening question is the Palm Sunday crowd's question turned personal (Matt 21:1-9, the historic Gospel for Advent 1). It is also the question every reformation of piety has to answer: what must I do to be ready for Christ? Gerhardt's first answer is already a prayer, not a program: 'O kindle, Lord, most holy, / Thy lamp within my breast.' The lamp recalls the wise virgins (Matt 25:1-13) and the lamp of the Word (Ps 119:105). The light of faith must be lit by God himself (2 Cor 4:6). Only then can one 'in spirit lowly' do what pleases him — good works follow faith, they do not prepare for it.

Scripture

Matt 21:1-9, Matt 25:1-13, Ps 119:105, 2 Cor 4:6, Rom 13:11-12, Heb 11:6

Imagery & language

Welcoming a guest; a lamp kindled in the breast.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — prayer for faith before works.

Connection to previous

Opening question.

As Zion spread branches and palms before Christ, the singer will adore him with joyful songs; his heart will bloom with new praise and will always give honor to his name.

The Palm Sunday scene (Matt 21:8; John 12:13). The crowd's palms become the believer's songs and psalms — the church's worship is how Zion welcomes its King today. 'My heart shall bloom forever / For Thee with praises new' echoes Ps 96:1 ('a new song') and Isa 35:1-2 (the desert blossoming). Praise is the fitting response of a heart that has been visited; it is not the price of the visit. This stanza responds to the first: once God kindles faith, the heart answers with worship.

Scripture

Matt 21:8-9, John 12:13, Ps 96:1, Ps 118:26-27, Isa 35:1-2

Imagery & language

Green boughs and palms; a blooming heart.

Law / Gospel

Response of faith — praise.

Connection to previous

Answers the question 'how shall I meet Thee' with worship.

The singer lay chained and groaning, standing in shame; Christ came to free and honor him, giving him a glory and treasure kept in heaven that will not fail like earthly riches.

Here the real answer begins: I could not meet Christ; he came to me. The fetters recall Isa 61:1 ('to proclaim liberty to the captives') and Luther's 'Fast bound in Satan's chains I lay.' Shame is exchanged for honor — a personal form of the great exchange (2 Cor 5:21). The 'treasure safe on high' quotes Matt 6:19-20 and 1 Pet 1:4 ('an inheritance that is imperishable… kept in heaven for you'). The contrast with 'earthly riches' that fly away (Prov 23:5) is typical of Gerhardt, who lost much in the Thirty Years' War. The structure is pairs of before-and-after: chained/freed, shamed/honored.

Scripture

Isa 61:1-3, Luke 4:18, Ps 107:10-14, 1 Pet 1:4, Matt 6:19-20, Prov 23:5

Imagery & language

Fetters; shame; heavenly treasure vs. fleeting riches.

Law / Gospel

Law (bondage, shame) answered by Gospel (freedom, honor).

Connection to previous

Turns from the singer's response to what Christ does.

Love brought Christ down to become man and come to the singer; his longing for our salvation won our freedom; his indescribable love embraced our lost and fallen race.

The theological center of the hymn: the cause of the incarnation is love alone (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9-10). The word 'love' appears six times in the stanza in some form — Gerhardt is not being sentimental; he is excluding every other cause, especially any merit in us. 'Thy thirst for my salvation' may recall Christ's 'I thirst' on the cross (John 19:28), read as his longing for our redemption. 'Procured my liberty' — freedom from sin, death, and the devil, purchased (Gal 5:1). 'Our lost and fallen race' — the love is universal, embracing all humanity (1 John 2:2).

Scripture

John 3:16, 1 John 4:9-10, Phil 2:6-8, Gal 5:1, John 19:28, Eph 2:4-5

Imagery & language

Love personified; thirst; embrace.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — the incarnation as love.

Connection to previous

Explains why Christ came to free the singer (st. 3).

The sorrowful who sit in gloom, mourn lost joys, and fear their judgment should rejoice; Christ is near, standing at the door, and he will help and comfort them and tell them to weep no more.

The hymn turns outward and addresses others, as a preacher would. Those 'in deepest gloom' recall Isa 9:2 and Luke 1:79. 'Tremble at your doom' names the terror of conscience before God's judgment — Anfechtung. The answer is the nearness of Christ: 'He is near you' (Phil 4:5) and 'standing at the door' (Rev 3:20; Jas 5:9). 'Bids you weep no more' echoes Jesus' words to the widow of Nain (Luke 7:13) and Rev 21:4. Advent is good news for the sad, not just a season of joyful anticipation for the happy.

Scripture

Isa 9:2, Luke 1:79, Phil 4:4-5, Rev 3:20, Luke 7:13, Rev 21:4, Isa 61:2-3

Imagery & language

Gloom; a door; tears dried.

Law / Gospel

Gospel addressed to the troubled conscience.

Connection to previous

Applies the love of st. 4 to the sorrowful.

You do not need to labor and fret day and night about how to draw Christ to yourself by your own strength in your distress; he comes willingly, moved only by love, and calms your troubles, for he knows them all.

This is perhaps the most important stanza for Lutheran theology, and a direct rejection of the idea that we must prepare ourselves to receive grace (the medieval facere quod in se est, 'do what is in you'). We do not 'draw Him by our might'; 'He comes, He comes all willing, / Moved by His love alone.' This is the monergism of FC II: God alone converts, and Christ comes to sinners who cannot come to him (John 6:44; Rom 5:6-8). It is also pastoral: the anxious soul that worries whether it has prepared well enough for Christ is told to stop toiling. 'For all to Him are known' — Christ already knows every trouble (Ps 139:1-4; Heb 4:15).

Scripture

John 6:44, Rom 5:6-8, Rom 9:16, Eph 2:8-9, Matt 11:28, Ps 139:1-4, Heb 4:15

Imagery & language

Toil and languishing; drawing by force; Christ coming willingly.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — rejection of self-preparation.

Connection to previous

Removes the burden implied in the question of st. 1.

Do not let the terrible burden of sin's debt trouble your soul; the Lord will pardon guilt and cover it with grace; he comes to bring the peace of forgiveness and secure the heavenly inheritance for all God's children.

Sin as debt (Matt 6:12; Col 2:13-14, 'canceling the record of debt that stood against us'). 'Cover by His grace' echoes Ps 32:1 ('Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered'), which Paul cites for justification (Rom 4:7). The purpose of Christ's coming is named exactly: 'the peace of sin forgiven' (Rom 5:1). 'God's sons… their heritage in heaven' — adoption and inheritance (Gal 4:4-7; 1 Pet 1:4). This is the article of justification sung in Advent.

Scripture

Col 2:13-14, Ps 32:1-2, Rom 4:7-8, Rom 5:1, Gal 4:4-7, 1 Pet 1:3-4

Imagery & language

Debt and burden; covering; inheritance.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — forgiveness and adoption.

Connection to previous

Addresses the guilty after the sad (st. 5) and the anxious (st. 6).

Even if enemies rage with cunning and malice, do not fear; the Lord fights and will scatter their power; he comes as a glorious King, and all his earthly enemies oppose his victorious course in vain.

The persecuted and attacked are now addressed. 'Foes' include the devil, the world, and persecutors of the church (Ps 2:1-4, 'Why do the nations rage?'). 'Your Lord, the battle waging' recalls Ex 14:14 ('The LORD will fight for you') and Luther's 'But for us fights the Valiant One.' Christ comes 'a King most glorious' — Palm Sunday's humble King is also the victorious King of Ps 24:7-10. The futility of opposition is a theme of Ps 2 and Acts 4:25-28.

Scripture

Ps 2:1-6, Ex 14:14, Ps 24:7-10, Rom 8:31, Acts 4:25-28, 1 Cor 15:25

Imagery & language

War; raging foes; victorious king.

Law / Gospel

Gospel — Christ's victory.

Connection to previous

Addresses the threatened, completing the series of comforts.

Christ comes to judge the nations, terrifying to his enemies but a light of comfort and blessed hope to those who love his appearing; the singer asks the glorious Sun to come and guide us safely home.

The hymn ends with the second Advent. Christ's coming is double-edged: 'A terror to His foes' (Law) and 'A Light of consolations' (Gospel). 'Who love the Lord's appearing' quotes 2 Tim 4:8; 'blessed Hope' is Titus 2:13. The final prayer addresses Christ as the 'glorious Sun' (Mal 4:2, 'the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings'; Luke 1:78). 'Guide us safely home' — Advent ends not in fear of judgment but in confidence of homecoming. The same Christ who came to Jerusalem on a donkey comes at the end to bring his people home.

Scripture

Matt 25:31-33, 2 Tim 4:8, Titus 2:13, Mal 4:1-2, Luke 1:78-79, Rev 22:20

Imagery & language

Judgment; sun and beams; homecoming.

Law / Gospel

Law (judgment for foes) and Gospel (hope for believers).

Connection to previous

Moves from the first coming (st. 1-4) and present comfort (5-8) to the final coming.