Friday, December 20, 2024

We Believe in One True God

463 We Believe in One True God

1 We all believe in one true God,
   Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
   Ever-present help in need,
   Praised by all the heav'nly host,
   By whose mighty power alone
   All is made and wrought and done.

2 We all believe in Jesus Christ,
   Son of God and Mary's Son,
   Who descended from his throne
   And for us salvation won,
   By whose cross and death are we
   Rescued from all misery.

3 We confess the Holy Ghost,
   Who from both fore'er proceeds,
   Who upholds and comforts us
   In all trials, fears, and needs.
   Blest and holy Trinity,
   Praise forever be to thee!
                         Tobias Clausnitzer
                         Trans. by Catherine Winkworth
                         The Methodist Hymnal, 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Wow. For a hymn that only occurs in 50-odd hymnals, this one sure shows a lot of variation. The basic theme stays the same, but the words are all over. I couldn't find one that aligned fully with the Methodist hymnal I'm going through.

You can definitely tell that the hymnwriter is a Western Christian and not Eastern Orthodox: "Who from both fore'er proceeds" is something only a Western Christian would say. The filioque clause is still a hotly debated issue between East and West. </idle musing>

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