Oh Rejoice Ye Christians Loudly
Oh rejoice, ye Christians loudly
Oh Rejoice Ye Christians Loudly is a hymn text by Johann Herrmann (1630) in 8.7.8.7.8.8.7 meter. Translated by Catherine Winkworth. Found in lsb 897, lw 40, tlh 96.
The hymn celebrates Christ's self-emptying (kenosis) as expressed in 2 Corinthians 8:9, emphasizing the paradox that God's Son became poor so that believers might become rich. It reflects Luther's emphasis on the Gospel of grace and the sufficiency of Christ's redemptive work for human salvation.
History & Background
Composed by Johann Herrmann in 1630 as a German Easter hymn entitled 'Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle.' The text was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth in 1863 and has become a standard Easter hymn in Lutheran hymnals.
Hymnal Appearances
- Lutheran Service Book — 897
- Lutheran Worship — 40
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 96
Translation
Bulletin Note
Written in 1630 by Johann Herrmann, this German hymn captures the Reformation's jewel: the sufficiency of Christ's cross and resurrection for salvation, inviting believers into exuberant joy at their redemption.
Preaching Connection
This hymn gives voice to the kenosis of 2 Corinthians 8:9, allowing your congregation to sing their confession that Christ's voluntary poverty and death are the very means by which the Gospel's promise of grace becomes theirs.
Overview
Christian Keimann, rector of the Latin school in Zittau, wrote this hymn for Christmas and New Year, and the town organist Andreas Hammerschmidt set it in 1646, near the end of the Thirty Years' War. It is jubilant: God has done wondrous things and dwells with us (st. 1); the Savior chooses poverty and suffers to redeem us by his blood (st. 2); the believer gives thanks and prays never to forget (st. 3); and the hymn closes with prayer for the Church and 'a glad New Year' (st. 4). A long refrain after every stanza drives out sorrow because 'the Sun of Grace is shining.'
Central theme: Christian joy that drives away sorrow because Christ, the Sun of Grace, has come to dwell with us and redeem us
Structure
Four ten-line stanzas: six lines of text and a four-line refrain. Proclamation (1) — redemption through humiliation and blood (2) — thanksgiving and perseverance (3) — intercession for the Church and New Year (4).
Law & Gospel Shape
Gospel throughout; sorrow and 'repining' are banished by grace, not by effort.
Confessional Connections
Incarnation and atonement held together: Christmas leads to the blood (st. 2; AC III). Salvation 'eternally' by Christ (st. 3) — assurance grounded in him. The Church as Christ's 'members' and 'brethren' (st. 4; AC VII).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Christmas; the Sunday after Christmas; New Year's Eve and Day (st. 4 especially).
Historical Notes
Keimann (1607-1662) and Hammerschmidt (1611/12-1675) worked together in Zittau. The hymn's joyous tone is striking against the devastation of the war years.
About the Tune
FREUET EUCH, IHR CHRISTEN (Andreas Hammerschmidt, 1646), with its extended 'Freude, Freude' refrain.
Scripture References
2 Cor 8:9 Ps 126:2-3 John 1:14 Luke 2:7 Phil 2:7-8 1 Pet 1:18-19 Eph 1:7 Ps 103:2 Acts 11:23 1 Cor 12:12-27 Eph 3:17-19 Isa 42:3 Mal 4:2 Isa 60:1
Stanza by Stanza
Rejoice loudly, Christians, for our joy has begun; God has done wonderful things. Tell of his goodness, who honored our race by coming to dwell with us. Refrain: joy beyond gladness; Christ has taken away sadness; away with sorrow, for the Sun of Grace is shining.
'Our joy hath now begun' — Christian joy has a starting point in history, the incarnation. 'Wondrous things our God hath done' echoes Ps 98:1 and 126:3. The phrase 'who our race hath honored thus' is a theme dear to Lutheran Christology: by taking human nature into personal union with himself, the Son has honored our race above the angels (Heb 2:16). 'That He deigns to dwell with us' is John 1:14 — he 'tabernacled' among us. The refrain: 'Joy beyond all gladness' because Christ has 'done away with sadness'; sorrow is dismissed because 'the Sun of Grace is shining' (Mal 4:2). Joy is not a mood commanded by the Law but the fruit of a fact proclaimed.
- Scripture
- Ps 98:1, Ps 126:2-3, Heb 2:16, John 1:14, Mal 4:2, Isa 60:1
- Imagery & language
- Loud joy; 'Sun of Grace'; dismissal of sorrow.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — God has come to dwell with us.
- Connection to previous
- Opening.
See, my soul, your Savior chooses weakness and poverty; he comes to you in such love and does not refuse the hardest bed; he suffers everything for your good, to redeem you by his blood. Refrain.
Keimann turns to the individual soul, and to the self-chosen poverty of Christ (2 Cor 8:9, the hymn's text). 'Chooses' is important: the humiliation is voluntary (Phil 2:7; John 10:18). 'The hardest couch' is the manger, but it foreshadows the cross. The stanza draws the line from crib to Calvary explicitly: 'All He suffers for thy good, to redeem thee by His blood' (1 Pet 1:18-19; Eph 1:7). Lutheran Christmas hymns regularly make this link: the purpose of the incarnation is the atonement. The suffering begins at birth (Luther: Christ's whole life is passion).
- Scripture
- 2 Cor 8:9, Phil 2:7-8, John 10:18, Luke 2:7, Luke 9:58, 1 Pet 1:18-19, Eph 1:7, Rev 5:9
- Imagery & language
- Weakness, poverty, the hard couch; blood.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — voluntary humiliation for my redemption.
- Connection to previous
- Explains the 'wondrous things' of st. 1.
Lord, how can I thank you rightly? I acknowledge that through you I am saved forever; let me not forget it lightly, but cling to you always and receive true peace in my heart. Refrain.
The response of faith is thanksgiving, but the singer admits he cannot thank 'rightly' (Ps 116:12, 'What shall I render?'). The first thanks is simply to confess the gift: 'by Thee I am saved eternally' — salvation located wholly in Christ, and certain. The prayer 'let me not forget it lightly' recalls Ps 103:2 ('forget not all his benefits') and the danger of a faith that treats grace casually. 'To Thee at all times cleave' (Acts 11:23) and 'true peace' (Rom 5:1; John 14:27) show that perseverance and peace are both gifts received in clinging to Christ.
- Scripture
- Ps 116:12-13, Ps 103:2, Acts 11:23, Rom 5:1, John 14:27, Phil 4:7
- Imagery & language
- The question of thanks; cleaving; peace.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — assurance and peace; prayer for faithfulness.
- Connection to previous
- Personal response to the redemption of st. 2.
Jesus, guard and guide your members, fill your brothers with grace, hear their prayers everywhere; rekindle life's faintest embers; grant all Christians near and far holy peace and a glad New Year. Refrain.
The hymn widens to the whole Church: 'Thy members' (1 Cor 12:27) and 'Thy brethren' (Heb 2:11) — Christ is not ashamed to call us brothers. The intercession is threefold: guard and guide, fill with grace, hear prayer. 'Quicken now life's faintest embers' recalls Isa 42:3 — the faintly burning wick he will not quench; a tender promise for weak faith. The prayer for 'holy peace' would have been poignant in 1646, with the Thirty Years' War still raging. The 'glad New Year' ties Christmas to the civil year: the Christian year and the calendar both belong to Christ.
- Scripture
- 1 Cor 12:27, Heb 2:11, Ps 121:7-8, Isa 42:3, Matt 12:20, Phil 4:7, Ps 65:11
- Imagery & language
- Members and brethren; embers rekindled; New Year.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — intercession for the Church.
- Connection to previous
- From personal thanksgiving (st. 3) to prayer for all Christians.
Themes
Christ's incarnation and redemption Christian joy and exultation God's grace and poverty of Christ Resurrection hope Praise and thanksgiving