Today Thy Mercy Calls Us
Today thy mercy calls us
Today Thy Mercy Calls Us is a hymn text by Oswald Allen (1852) in L.M. (8.8.8.8) meter. Found in CW21 916, CW93 339, elw 459, lbw 304. Sung to MELCOMBE.
The hymn embodies the Lutheran understanding of justification by grace through faith, presenting the believer's daily repentance and reliance upon God's mercy. It reflects the principle of simul iustus et peccator (simultaneously justified and sinner) central to Lutheran anthropology.
History & Background
Written by English clergyman Oswald Allen in 1852, this hymn emphasizes the responsive nature of Christian faith to God's merciful call. It has been widely adopted in Lutheran hymnals since the 19th century.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship: Hymnal — 916
- Christian Worship — 339
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 459
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 304
- Lutheran Service Book — 915
- Lutheran Worship — 347
- Trinity Hymnal — 495
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 279
Bulletin Note
Composed by Oswald Allen in 1852, this hymn expresses the Lutheran understanding of simul iustus et peccator—the believer simultaneously justified and sinner—through the image of daily merciful invitation to repentance and grace.
Preaching Connection
This hymn embodies the daily operation of Law and Gospel: the Law exposes our need for mercy each morning, while the Gospel proclaims the ever-open door of God's grace, sustaining the believer in the life of repentance that marks justified sinners.
In the Church Year
Suggested in the one-year series
- Trinity 3 (2×)
Suggested in the three-year series
- Ash Wednesday (4×)
- Lent 4 (2×)
- Proper 5 (2×)
- Lent 2 (1×)
- Pentecost (1×)
- Proper 18 (1×)
- Proper 25 (1×)
- Proper 6 (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 hymn of invitation and assurance by the Englishman Oswald Allen. Its key word is 'today' (2 Cor 6:2; Heb 3:7). God's mercy calls us to be washed, however great our sin (st. 1); his gate is open with a Father's welcome — the past forgotten, present joy, future grace (st. 2); the Father calls, the Spirit waits, and no one asks how often we have come home (st. 3); and the 'all-embracing Mercy' and 'ever-open Door' is our one hope when all seems against us (st. 4). It is a hymn for the troubled conscience, full of the parable of the prodigal son.
Central theme: God's mercy calls sinners home today, with a Father's welcome and an ever-open door
Structure
Four eight-line stanzas (7.6.7.6 D). Cleansing (1) — welcome (2) — the Father's home (3) — the ever-open door in despair (4).
Law & Gospel Shape
Law: 'however great our trespass… however long… turned away… we oft have wandered' (1, 3). Gospel: blood that cleanses, a Father's welcome, the past forgotten, an ever-open door.
Confessional Connections
Christ's blood cleanses from all sin (AC IV). Repeated forgiveness: 'no question will be asked us how often we have come' — the daily return to Baptism and repeated absolution (LC IV; SA III.iii). The universal, earnest call (FC XI).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Lent; confession and absolution; invitation; New Year (the 'today' theme).
Historical Notes
Allen (1816-1878), English writer; the hymn appeared in his Hymns of the Christian Life (1861).
About the Tune
ANTHES (Friedrich K. Anthes, 1847).
Scripture References
2 Cor 6:2 Heb 3:7-8, 15 Isa 1:18 1 John 1:7 Rev 7:14 John 10:9 Luke 15:20-24 Isa 43:25 Jer 31:34 Luke 15:7, 10 Rev 3:8 Ps 34:15 Matt 18:21-22
Stanza by Stanza
Today your mercy calls us to wash away our sin. However great our trespass, whatever we have been, however long our hearts have turned away from mercy, your precious blood can cleanse us and make us white today.
'Today' — 'now is the day of salvation' (2 Cor 6:2). The triple 'however… whatever… however long' anticipates the objections of the troubled conscience and answers them all with Christ's blood (1 John 1:7; Isa 1:18, 'though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow'). There is no sin too great and no delay too long. 'Make us white today' — Rev 7:14.
- Scripture
- 2 Cor 6:2, Heb 3:15, Isa 1:18, 1 John 1:7, Rev 7:14
- Imagery & language
- Washing; 'however'; whiteness.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — great trespasses; Gospel — cleansing blood.
- Connection to previous
- Opening call.
Today your gate is open, and all who enter will find a Father's welcome and pardon for their sin. The past will be forgotten, present joy given, future grace promised, and a glorious crown in heaven.
Christ the 'door' (John 10:9). 'A Father's welcome' — the prodigal's father running to meet him (Luke 15:20-24). The threefold time — past forgotten (Isa 43:25; Jer 31:34), present joy, future grace and crown (2 Tim 4:8) — shows that justification reshapes the whole of life.
- Scripture
- John 10:9, Luke 15:20-24, Isa 43:25, Jer 31:34, 2 Tim 4:8
- Imagery & language
- Open gate; past, present, future.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — pardon and welcome.
- Connection to previous
- The gate.
Today our Father calls us, his Holy Spirit waits, his blessed angels gather around heaven's gates. No one will ask us how often we have come; though we have often wandered, it is our Father's home.
The whole Trinity is involved: the Father calls, the Spirit waits — patient and working through the Word, the angels rejoice (Luke 15:10). The pastoral heart of the hymn: 'No question will be asked us how often we have come.' The Christian returns repeatedly, and is never turned away (Matt 18:21-22; 1 John 1:9). Luther described the Christian life as daily return to Baptism. 'It is our Father's home' — we come not as strangers but as children.
- Scripture
- Luke 15:10, Luke 15:11-24, Matt 18:21-22, 1 John 1:9, Rom 8:15, Gal 4:6
- Imagery & language
- Gates; angels; home.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — repeated welcome.
- Connection to previous
- The Father's house.
All-embracing Mercy, ever-open Door, what would we do without you when heart and eyes overflow? When everything seems against us, driving us to despair, we know one gate is open and one ear will hear our prayer.
The climax addresses Mercy itself. 'Ever-open Door' — Rev 3:8, 'I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut' (TLH's text for the hymn). The stanza speaks to despair — Anfechtung — 'when all things seem against us.' The answer is not a feeling but a fact: 'one gate is open, one ear will hear' (Ps 34:15; 1 Pet 3:12). Lutheran pastoral care directs the despairing conscience to precisely this objective promise.
- Scripture
- Rev 3:8, Ps 34:15, 1 Pet 3:12, Ps 42:5, 2 Cor 4:8-9, Rom 8:31-39
- Imagery & language
- Door; tears; one ear.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — mercy in despair.
- Connection to previous
- Concluding consolation.
Themes
Repentance God's mercy Divine call Conversion Grace