“Beautiful Savior,” ELW 838 and LBW 518
1 Beautiful Savior, King of creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I'd love thee, truly I'd serve thee,
light of my soul, my joy, my crown.
2 Fair are the meadows, fair are the woodlands,
robed in flow'rs of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
he makes our sorrowing spirit sing.
3 Fair is the sunshine, fair is the moonlight,
bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
than all the angels in the sky.
4 Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine!
Devotion
What God has done for us through Christ is overwhelming. The price paid for our salvation is priceless. Jesus Christ was not compelled to take our place on the cross. He did it out of love. Another aspect of what should overwhelm every Christian is the status of the pre-incarnate Christ and what in fact he is.
The composer captures some of these in the hymn: Jesus Christ is the King of Creation. Consequently, he is more wonderful than the created order. He is more beautiful than our concept of beauty. He is purer than what we consider pure. In fact, he is the Son of God and Son of Man.
If such a person is the one who secured our salvation and eternal hope, then what shall we do in return? We need to love and serve him truly. We need to praise and adore him even when our spirits are sorrowing.
Prayer
Lord, the pressures of life are so challenging that we tend to forget who you are and what you have done for us. Then, even when we remember, we take you for granted. Help us, O Lord, not only to appreciate what you have done for us, but to demonstrate our appreciation as well. Amen.