1. By grace I'm savedgrace free and boundless! My heart, believ'st thou this or not? Why tremblest thou with terror groundless? Has ever God a falsehood taught? His Word is truethen this must be: By grace there is a crown for thee.
2. By grace! our works are all rejected, All claims of merit pass for naught; The mighty Savior, long expected, To us this blissful truth has brought, That He by death redeems our race, And we are saved alone by grace.
3. By grace! mark well this phrase's meaning, When sin rolls sorrows o'er thy breast, When Satan threats with pride o'erweening, When troubled conscience sighs for rest: What reason ne'er can comprehend It pleases God by grace to send.
4. By grace His Son, on earth appearing, Vouchsafed beneath thy woe to bend; Hadst thou, damnation justly fearing, Done aught to render Him thy friend? Was't not that He thy welfare sought, And but by grace deliv'rance wrought?
5. By grace! this ground of our salvation As long as God is true endures: What saints have penned by inspiration, What God to our poor soul secures, What all our faith must rest upon, Is grace, free grace through His dear Son.
6. By grace! but think not, thou who livest Securely on in godless ways, That thou, though all are called, receivest The promised rest that wakes our praise: By grace none find in heaven a place Who live in sin in hope of grace.
7. By grace! They who have heard this sentence Must bid hypocrisy farewell; For only after deep repentance The soul what grace imports can tell; To sin while grace a trifle seems, To faith it bright with glory beams.
8. By grace the timid hearts that languish, Find access to the Father's heart, When conflicts fierce and bitter anguish Bid all their joy and hopes depart. Where, oftimes, should I strength obtain, Bid grace my anchor not remain!
9. By grace! on this in death I'll rest me, Rejoicing e'en though feeling naught; I know my sin it oft oppressed me But Him, too, who my soul hath bought: My heart exults grief flees apace Because my soul is saved by grace.
10. By grace! O sin and Satan hear it! I bear my flag of faith in hand, And pass, in spite of doubts, nor fear it, The Red Sea to the promised land; I hold the word my Savior taught As certain, whether felt or not.
Words: Christian L. Scheidt, 1742. Translated by Matthias Loy, (1828-1915).
Music: 'O Dass Ich Tansend Zungen' Johann Balthasar König, 1738.
Setting: "The Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal" (Ohio Synod), 1908.
copyright: public domain. This score is a part of the Open Hymnal Project, 2007 Revision.
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