Hymns and Hymnwriters of Denmark

 By J. C. AABERG

 Published by The Committee on Publication of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Des Moines, Ia. 1945

 Copyright 1945 The Danish Ev. Luth. Church In America

 Printed in Lutheran Publishing House Blair, Nebr. 

 Foreword

This book deals with a subject which is new to most English readers. Forthough Danish hymnody long ago became favorably known in Northern Europe, no adequate presentation of the subject has appeared in English. NewerAmerican Lutheran hymnals contain a number of Danish hymns, some of whichhave gained considerable popularity, but the subject as a whole has notbeen presented. 

A hymn is a child both of its author and of the time in which he lived. Aproper knowledge of the writer and the age that gave it birth willenhance our understanding both of the hymn and of the spiritual movementit represents. No other branches of literature furnish a moreilluminating index to the inner life of Christendom than the great lyricsof the Church. Henry Ward Beecher said truly: "He who knows the way thathymns flowed, knows where the blood of true piety ran, and can trace itsveins and arteries to its very heart. "

Aside from whatever value they may have in themselves, the hymnspresented on the following pages therefore should convey an impression ofthe main currents within the Danish church, and the men that helped tocreate them. 

The names of Kingo, Brorson and Grundtvig are known to many, but so farno biographies of these men except of the sketchiest kind have appearedin English. It is hoped that the fairly comprehensive presentation oftheir life and work in the following pages may fill a timely need. 

In selecting the hymns care has been taken to choose those that are mostcharacteristic of their authors, their times and the movements out ofwhich they were born. While the translator has sought to producefaithfully the metre, poetry and sentiment of the originals, he hasattempted no slavishly literal reproduction. Many of the finest Danishhymns are frankly lyrical, a fact which greatly increases the difficultyof translation. But while the writer is conscious that his translationsat times fail to reproduce the full beauty of the originals, he stillhopes that they may convey a fair impression of these and constitute anot unworthy contribution to American hymnody. 

An examination of any standard American church hymnal will prove thatAmerican church song has been greatly enriched by transplantations ofhymns from many lands and languages. If the following contribution from aheretofore meagerly represented branch of hymnody adds even a little tothat enrichment, the writer will feel amply rewarded for the many hoursof concentrated labor he has spent upon it. 

Most of the translations are by the writer himself. When translations byothers have been used, credit has been given to them except where onlyparts of a hymn have been presented. 

Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 21st, 1944. 

 INDEX

 Chapter Page Table of Contents 7 I Early Danish Hymnody 9 II Reformation Hymnody 11 III Kingo's Childhood and Youth 21 IV Kingo, the Hymnwriter 31 V Kingo's Psalmbook 41 VI Kingo's Church Hymns 44 VII Kingo's Later Years 51 VIII Brorson's Childhood and Youth 59 IX Brorson, the Singer of Pietism 65 X Brorson's Swan Song 84 XI Grundtvig's Early Years 93 XII The Lonely Defender of the Bible 103 XIII The Living Word 112 XIV Grundtvig, the Hymnwriter 121 XV Grundtvig's Hymns 128 XVI Grundtvig's Later Years 150 XVII Other Danish Hymnwriters 161

 Chapter One Early Danish Hymnody

Danish hymnody, like that of other Protestant countries, is largely achild of the Reformation. The Northern peoples were from ancient timeslovers of song. Much of their early history is preserved in poetry, andno one was more honored among them than the skjald who most skillfullypresented their thoughts and deeds in song. Nor was this love of poetrylost with the transition from paganism to Christianity. The splendid folksongs of the Middle Ages prove conclusively that both the love of poetryand the skill in writing it survived into the new age. One can onlywonder what fine songs the stirring advent of Christianity might haveproduced among a people so naturally gifted in poetry if the church hadencouraged rather than discouraged this native gift. 

But the Church of Rome evinced little interest in the ancient ways of thepeople among whom she took root. Her priests received their training in aforeign tongue; her services were conducted in Latin; and the nativelanguage and literature were neglected. Except for a few lawbooks, theseven hundred years of Catholic supremacy in Denmark did not produce asingle book in the Danish language. The ordinances of the church, furthermore, expressly forbade congregational singing at the churchservices, holding that, since it was unlawful for the laity to preach, itwas also impermissible for them to sing in the sanctuary. It is thuslikely that a Danish hymn had never been sung, except on a few specialoccasions in a Danish church before the triumph of the Reformation. 

It is not likely, however, that this prohibition of hymn singing could beeffectively extended to the homes or occasional private gatherings. HansThomisson, who compiled the most important of the early Danish hymnals, thus includes five "old hymns" in his collection with the explanationthat he had done so to show "that even during the recent times of errorthere were pious Christians who, by the grace of God, preserved the trueGospel. And though these songs were not sung in the churches--which werefilled with songs in Latin that the people did not understand--they weresung in the homes and before the doors". 

Most of these earlier hymns no doubt were songs to the Virgin Mary orlegendary hymns, two types of songs which were then very common andpopular throughout the church. Of the few real hymns in use, some werecomposed with alternating lines of Danish and Latin, indicating that theymay have been sung responsively. Among these hymns we find the oldestknown Danish Christmas hymn, which, in the beautiful recast of Grundtvig, is still one of the most favored Christmas songs in Danish. 

 Christmas with gladness sounds, Joy abounds When praising God, our Father, We gather. We were in bondage lying, But He hath heard our prayer. Our inmost need supplying, He sent the Savior here. Therefore with praises ringing, Our hearts for joy are singing: All Glory, praise and might Be God's for Christmas night. 

 Right in a golden year, Came He here. Throughout a world confounded Resounded The tidings fraught with gladness For every tribe of man That He hath borne our sadness And brought us joy again, That He in death descended, Like sun when day is ended, And rose on Easter morn With life and joy reborn. 

 He hath for every grief Brought relief. Each grateful heart His praises Now raises. With angels at the manger, We sing the Savior's birth, Who wrought release from danger And peace to man on earth, Who satisfies our yearning, And grief to joy is turning Till we with Him arise And dwell in Paradise. 

The earliest Danish texts were translations from the Latin. Of these thefine translations of the well known hymns, "Stabat Mater Dolorosa", and"Dies Est Laetitia in Ortu Regali", are still used, the latter especiallyin Grundtvig's beautiful recast "Joy is the Guest of Earth Today". 

At a somewhat later period, but still well in advance of the Reformation, the first original Danish hymns must have appeared. Foremost among these, we may mention the splendid hymns, "I Will Now Hymn His Praises Who AllMy Sin Hath Borne", "On Mary, Virgin Undefiled, Did God Bestow HisFavor", and the beautiful advent hymn, "O Bride of Christ, Rejoice", allhymns that breathe a truly Evangelical spirit and testify to a remarkableskill in the use of a language then so sorely neglected. 

Best known of all Pre-Reformation songs in Danish is "The Old ChristianDay Song"--the name under which it was printed by Hans Thomisson. Of thethree manuscript copies of this song, which are preserved in the libraryof Upsala, Sweden, the oldest is commonly dated at "not later than 1450". The song itself, however, is thought to be much older, dating probablyfrom the latter part of the 14th century. Its place of origin isuncertain, with both Sweden and Denmark contending for the honor. Thefact that the text printed by Hans Thomisson is identical, except forminor variations in dialect, with that of the oldest Swedish manuscriptproves, at least, that the same version was also current in Danish, andthat no conclusion as to its origin can now be drawn from the chancepreservation of its text in Sweden. The following translation is based onGrundtvig's splendid revision of the song for the thousand years'festival of the Danish church. [1]

 With gladness we hail the blessed day Now out of the sea ascending, Illuming the earth upon its way And cheer to all mortals lending. God grant that His children everywhere May prove that the night is ending. 

 How blest was that wondrous midnight hour When Jesus was born of Mary! Then dawned in the East with mighty power The day that anew shall carry The light of God's grace to every soul That still with the Lord would tarry. 

 Should every creature in song rejoice, And were every leaflet singing, They could not His grace and glory voice, Though earth with their praise were ringing, For henceforth now shines the Light of Life, Great joy to all mortals bringing. 

 Like gold is the blush of morning bright, When day has from death arisen. Blest comfort too holds the peaceful night When skies in the sunset glisten. So sparkle the eyes of those whose hearts In peace for God's summons listen. 

 Then journey we to our fatherland, Where summer reigns bright and vernal. Where ready for us God's mansions stand With thrones in their halls supernal. So happily there with friends of light We joy in the peace eternal. 

In this imperishable song, Pre-Reformation hymnody reached its highestexcellence, an excellence that later hymnody seldom has surpassed. "TheOld Christian Day Song" shows, besides, that Northern hymnwriters even"during the time of popery" had caught the true spirit of Evangelicalhymnody. Their songs were few, and they were often bandied about likehomeless waifs, but they embodied the purest Christian ideals of that dayand served in a measure to link the old church with the new. 

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[1]Other translations: "O day full of grace, which we behold" by C. Doving in "Hymnal for Church and Home. " "The dawn from on high is on our shore" by S. D. Rodholm in "World of Song". 

 Chapter Two Reformation Hymnody

The Danish Reformation began quietly about 1520, and culminatedpeacefully in the establishment of the Lutheran church as the church ofthe realm in 1536. The movement was not, as in some other countries, thework of a single outstanding reformer. It came rather as an almostspontaneous uprising of the people under several independent leaders, among whom men like Hans Tausen, Jorgen Sadolin, Claus Mortensen, HansSpandemager and others merely stand out as the most prominent. And it wasprobably this very spontaneity which invested the movement with such anirresistible force that within in a few years it was able to overthrow anestablishment that had exerted a powerful influence over the country formore than seven centuries. 

In this accomplishment Evangelical hymnody played a prominent part. Though the Reformation gained little momentum before 1526, the Papistsbegan as early as 1527, to preach against "the sacrilegious custom ofroaring Danish ballads at the church service". As no collection of hymnshad then been published, the hymns thus used must have been circulatedprivately, showing the eagerness of the people to adopt the new custom. The leaders of the Reformation were quick to recognize the new interestand make use of it in the furtherance of their cause. The first Danishhymnal was published at Malmø in 1528 by Hans Mortensen. It contained tenhymns and a splendid liturgy for the morning service. This smallcollection proved so popular that it was soon enlarged by the addition ofthirty new hymns and appropriate liturgies for the various otherservices, that were held on the Sabbath day. Independent collections werealmost simultaneously published by Hans Tausen, Arvid Petersen andothers. And, as these different collections all circulated throughout thecountry, the result was confusing. At a meeting in Copenhagen ofEvangelical leaders from all parts of the country, it was decided torevise the various collections and to combine them into one hymnal. Thisfirst common hymnal for the Danish church appeared in 1531, and served asthe hymnal of the church till 1544, when it was revised and enlarged byHans Tausen. Tausen's hymnal was replaced in 1569 by _The DanishPsalmbook_, compiled by Hans Thomisson, a pastor of the Church of OurLady at Copenhagen, and the ablest translator and hymnwriter of theReformation period. _Hans Thomisson's Hymnal_--as it was popularlynamed--was beyond question the finest hymnal of the transition period. Itwas exceptionally well printed, contained 268 hymns, set to theirappropriate tunes, and served through innumerable reprints as the hymnalof the Danish church for more than 150 years. 

Thus the Reformation, in less than fifty years, had produced anacceptable hymnal and had established congregational singing as anindispensable part of the church service. The great upheaval had failed, nevertheless, to produce a single hymnwriter of outstanding merit. Theleaders in the movement were able men, striving earnestly to satisfy apressing need. But they were not poets. Their work consisted of passabletranslations, selections from Pre-Reformation material and a few originalhymns by Claus Mortensen, Arvid Petersen, Hans Thomisson and others. Itrepresented an honest effort, but failed to attain greatness. Peopleloved their new hymns, however, and clung to them despite their haltingmetres and crude style, even when newer and much finer songs wereavailable. But when these at last had gained acceptance, the old hymnsgradually disappeared, and very few of them are now included in theDanish hymnal. The Reformation produced a worthy hymnal, but none of thegreat hymnwriters whose splendid work later won Danish hymnody anhonorable place in the church. 

Hans Chrestensen Sthen, the first notable hymnwriter of the Danishchurch, was already on the scene, however, when Hans Thomisson's Hymnalleft the printers. He is thought to have been born at Roskilde about1540; but neither the date nor the place of his birth is now known withcertainty. He is reported to have been orphaned at an early age, andsubsequently, to have been adopted and reared by the renowned RoyalChamberlain, Christopher Walkendorf. After receiving an excellenteducation, he became rector of a Latin school at Helsingør, the Elsinoreof Shakespeare's _Hamlet_, and later was appointed to a pastorate in thesame city. In this latter office he was singularly successful. Lysander, one of his biographers, says of him that he was exceptionally welleducated, known as a fine orator and noted as a successful author andtranslator. His hymns prove that he was also an earnest and warm-heartedChristian. The peoples of Helsingør loved him dearly, and for many years, after he had left their city, continued to "remember him with gifts oflove for his long and faithful service among them". In 1583, to thesorrow of his congregation he had accepted a call to Malmø, a city on theeastern shore of the Sound. But in this new field his earnest Evangelicalpreaching, provoked the resentment of a number of his most influentialparishioners, who, motivated by a wish to blacken his name and secure hisremoval, instigated a suit against him for having mismanaged aninheritance left to his children by his first wife. The childrenthemselves appeared in his defence, however, and expressed their completesatisfaction with his administration of their property; and the trumpedup charge was wholly disproved. But his enemies still wanted to have himremoved and, choosing a new method of attack, forwarded a petition to theking in which they claimed that "Master Hans Chrestensen Sthen because ofweakness and old age was incompetent to discharge his duties as apastor", and asked for his removal to the parishes of Tygelse andKlagstrup. Though the king is reported to have granted the petition, other things seem to have intervened to prevent its execution, and theill-used pastor appears to have remained at Malmø until his death, thedate of which is unknown. 

Sthen's fame as a poet and hymnwriter rests mainly on two thin volumes ofpoetry. _A Small Handbook, Containing Diverse Prayers and Songs Togetherwith Some Rules for Life, Composed in Verse_, which appeared in 1578, and_A Small Wander Book_, published in 1591. The books contain both a numberof translations and some original poems. In some of the latter Sthenreadopts the style of the old folk songs with their free metre, nativeimagery and characteristic refrain. His most successful compositions inthis style are his fine morning and evening hymns, one of which is givenbelow. 

 The gloomy night to morning yields, So brightly the day is breaking; The sun ascends over hills and fields, And birds are with song awaking. Lord, lend us Thy counsel and speed our days, The light of Thy grace surround us. 

 Our grateful thanks to God ascend, Whose mercy guarded our slumber. May ever His peace our days attend And shield us from troubles somber. Lord, lend us Thy counsel and speed our days, The light of Thy grace surround us. 

 Redeem us, Master, from death's strong hand, Thy grace from sin us deliver; Enlighten us till with Thine we stand, And make us Thy servants ever. Lord, lend us Thy counsel and speed our days, The light of Thy grace surround us. 

 Then shall with praise we seek repose When day unto night hath yielded, And safe in Thine arms our eyelids close To rest by Thy mercy shielded. Lord, lend us Thy counsel and speed our days, The light of Thy grace surround us. 

Sthen's hymns all breathe a meek and lowly spirit. They express in thesimplest words the faith, hope and fears of a humble, earnest Christian. The following still beloved hymn thus presents a vivid picture of themeek and prayerful spirit of its author. 

 O Lord, my heart is turning To Thee with ceaseless yearning And praying for Thy grace. Thou art my sole reliance Against my foes' defiance; Be Thou my stay in every place. 

 I offer a confession Of my severe transgression; In me is nothing good. But, Lord, Thou wilt not leave me And, like the world, deceive me; Thou hast redeemed me with Thy blood. 

 Blest Lord of Life most holy, Thou wilt the sinner lowly Not leave in sin and death; Thine anger wilt not sever The child from Thee forever That pleads with Thee for life and breath. 

 O Holy Spirit, guide me! With wisdom true provide me; Help me my cross to bear. Uphold me in my calling And, when the night is falling, Grant me Thy heavenly home to share. 

Most widely known of all Sthen's hymns is his beloved "Lord Jesus Christ, My Savior Blest". In its unabbreviated form this hymn contains eightstanzas of which the initial letters spell the words: "Hans Anno"; and ithas become known therefore as "Sthen's Name Hymn". The method of thusaffixing one's name to a song was frequently practiced by authors for thepurpose of impressing people with their erudition. The meek and anxiousspirit that pervades this hymn makes it unlikely, however, that Sthenwould have employed his undoubted skill as a poet for such a purpose. Thehymn is thought to have been written at Malmø at the time its authorencountered his most severe trials there. And its intimate personal notemakes it likely that he thus ineradicably affixed his name to his hymn inorder to indicate its connection with his own faith and experience. "Sthen's Name Hymn" thus should be placed among the numerous great hymnsof the church that have been born out of the sorrows and travails oftheir authors' believing but anxious hearts. The translation given belowis from the abbreviated text now used in all Danish hymnals. 

 Lord Jesus Christ, My Savior blest, My refuge and salvation, I trust in Thee, Abide with me, Thy word shall be My shield and consolation. 

 I will confide, Whate'er betide, In Thy compassion tender. When grief and stress My heart oppress, Thou wilt redress And constant solace render. 

 When grief befalls And woe appalls Thy loving care enfolds me. I have no fear When Thou art near, My Savior dear; Thy saving hand upholds me. 

 Lord, I will be Alway with Thee Wherever Thou wilt have me. Do Thou control My heart and soul And make me whole; Thy grace alone can save me. 

 Yea, help us, Lord, With one accord To love and serve Thee solely, That henceforth we May dwell with Thee Most happily And see Thy presence holy. 

With Sthen the fervid spirit of the Reformation period appears to havespent itself. The following century added nothing to Danish hymnody. Anders Chrestensen Arrebo, Bishop at Tronhjem, and an ardent lover andadvocate of a richer cultivation of the Danish language and literature, published a versification of the Psalms of David and a few hymns in 1623. But the Danish church never became a psalm singing church, and his hymnshave disappeared. Hans Thomisson's hymnal continued to be printed withoccasional additions of new material, most of which possessed nopermanent value. But the old hymns entered into the very heart and spiritof the people and held their affection so firmly that even Kingo lostmuch of his popularity when he attempted to revise them and remove someof their worst poetical and linguistic defects. They were no longerimprinted merely on the pages of a book but in the very heart andaffection of a nation. 

 Thomas Kingo, the Easter Poet of Denmark

 Chapter Three Kingo's Childhood and Youth

Thomas Kingo, the first of the great Danish hymnwriters, grew forth as aroot out of dry ground. There was nothing in the religious and secularlife of the times to foreshadow the appearance of one of the greathymnwriters, not only of Denmark but of the world. 

The latter part of the 16th and the first half of the 17th centuries marka rather barren period in the religious and cultural life of Denmark. Thespiritual ferment of the Reformation had subsided into a staid anduniform Lutheran orthodoxy. Jesper Brochman, a bishop of Sjælland and themost famous theologian of that age, praised king Christian IV for "thezeal with which from the beginning of his reign he had exerted himself tomake all his subjects think and talk alike about divine things". That theforemost leader of the church thus should recommend an effort to imposeuniformity upon the church by governmental action proves to what extentchurch life had become stagnant. Nor did such secular culture as therewas present a better picture. The Reformation had uprooted much of thecultural life that had grown up during the long period of Catholicsupremacy, but had produced no adequate substitute. Even the oncerefreshing springs of the folk-sings had dried up. Writers werelaboriously endeavoring to master the newer and more artistic forms ofpoetry introduced from other countries, but when the forms had beenachieved the spirit had often fled, leaving only an empty shell. Of allthat was written during these years only one song of any consequence, "Denmark's Lovely Fields and Meadows", has survived. 

Against this bleak background the work of Kingo stands out as an amazingachievement. Leaping all the impediments of an undeveloped language andan equally undeveloped form, Danish poetry by one miraculous sweepattained a perfection which later ages have scarcely surpassed. 

 Thomas Kingo

Of this accomplishment, Grundtvig wrote two hundred years later: "Kingo'shymns represent not only the greatest miracle of the 17th century butsuch an exceptional phenomenon in the realm of poetry that it isexplainable only by the fates who in their wisdom preserved the seed ofan Easter Lily for a thousand years, and then returned it across the seathat it might flower in its original soil". Kingo's family on thepaternal side had immigrated to Denmark from that part of Scotland whichonce had been settled by the poetic Northern sea rovers, and Grundtvigthus conceives the poetic genius of Kingo to be a revival of an ancestralgift, brought about by the return of his family to its original home anda new infusion of pure Northern blood. The conception, like so much thatGrundtvig wrote is at least ingenious, and it is recommended by the factthat Kingo's poetry does convey a spirit of robust realism that is farmore characteristic of the age of the Vikings than of his own. 

Thomas Kingo, the grandfather of the poet, immigrated from Crail, Scotland, to Denmark about 1590, and settled at Helsingør, Sjælland, where he worked as a tapestry weaver. He seems to have attained aposition of some prominence, and it is related that King James IV ofScotland, during a visit to Helsingør, lodged at his home. His son, HansThomeson Kingo, who was about two years old when the family arrived inDenmark, does not appear to have prospered as well as his father. Helearned the trade of linen and damask weaving, and established a modestbusiness of his own at Slangerup, a town in the northern part of Sjællandand close to the famous royal castle of Frederiksborg. At the age ofthirty-eight he married a young peasant girl, Karen Sørendatter, andbuilt a modest but eminently respectable home. In this home, ThomasKingo, the future hymnwriter, was born December 15, 1634. 

It was an unusually cold and unfriendly world that greeted the advent ofthe coming poet. The winter of his birth was long remembered as one ofthe hardest ever experienced in Denmark. The country's unsuccessfulparticipation in the Thirty Year's War had brought on a depression thatthreatened its very existence as a nation; and a terrible pestilencefollowed by new wars increased and prolonged the general misery, makingthe years of Kingo's childhood and youth one of the darkest periods inDanish history. 

But although these conditions brought sorrow and ruin to thousands, evenamong the wealthy, the humble home of the Kingos somehow managed tosurvive. Beneath its roof industry and frugality worked hand in hand withpiety and mutual love to brave the storms that wrecked so many andapparently far stronger establishments. Kingo always speaks with thegreatest respect and gratitude of his "poor but honest parents". In apoetic description of his childhood years he vividly recalls theirindulgent kindness to him. 

 I took my pilgrim staff in hand Ere I attempted talking; I had scarce left my swaddling-band Before they set me walking. They coached me onward with a smile And suited me when tearful. One step was farther than a mile, For I was small and fearful. 

But discipline was not forgotten. Parents in those days usually kept therod close to the apple, often too close. And Kingo's parents, despitetheir kindness, made no exception to the rule. He was a lively, headstrong boy in need of a firm hand, and the hand was not wanting. 

 As a child my daily bread I with rod and penance had, he wrote later, adding that the fruits of that chastisement are now sweetto him. Nor do his parents ever appear to have treated him with the cold, almost loveless austerity that so many elders frequently felt it theirduty to adopt toward their children. Their discipline was tempered bykindness and an earnest Christian faith. Although Hans Kingo seems tosome extent to have been influenced by the strict Presbyterianism of hisScotch forebears, he does not appear, like so many followers of thatstern faith, to have taught his children to believe in God as the strictjudge rather than as the loving Father of Jesus Christ. In his lateryears the son at least gives us an attractive picture of his childhoodfaith:

 I gratefully remember God's loving care for me Since from my nursery chamber I toddled fearfully. I lived contented in His care And trusted in His children's prayer. 

These bright years of his happy childhood were somewhat darkened, however, when, at the age of six, he entered the Danish and, two yearslater, the Latin school of his home town. Nothing could be more unsuitedfor a child of tender years than the average school of those days. Thecurriculum was meager, the teaching poor and the discipline cruel. Everyday saw its whipping scenes. For a day's unexplained absence thepunishment for the smaller boys was three lashes on their bare seats andfor the larger an equal number on their bare backs. For graver offencesup to twenty lashes might be administered. On entering the Latin schoolevery boy had to adopt a new language. Only Latin could be spoken withinits classical confines; and woe be to the tike who so far forgot himselfas to speak a word in the native tongue anywhere upon the schoolpremises. The only way anyone, discovered to have perpetrated such acrime, could escape the severest punishment was to report another culpritguilty of the same offense. Under such conditions one cannot wonder thatKingo complains:

 The daily round from home to school Was often hard and weary. It did my youthful ardour cool And made my childhood dreary. 

At the age of fifteen Kingo, for reasons now unknown, was transferredfrom the school of his home town to that at the neighboring city ofHillerød. Here, on account of his outstanding ability, he was acceptedinto the home of his new rector, Albert Bartholin, a young man ofdistinguished family and conspicuous personal endowments. 

Although the school at Hillerød was larger, it probably was not muchbetter than that at Slangerup; but the close association of the humbleweaver's son with his distinguished rector and his refined family, nodoubt, was a distinct advantage to him. The location of Hillerød on theshores of the idyllic Frederiksborg Lake and close to the magnificentcastle of the same name is one of the loveliest in Denmark. The castlehad recently been rebuilt, and presented, together with its lovelysurroundings, a most entrancing spectacle. Its famous builder, ChristianIV, had just gone the way of all flesh; but the new king, Frederik, knownfor his fondness for royal pomp, frequently resided at the castletogether with his court, and thus Kingo must often have enjoyed theopportunity to see both the king and the outstanding men of hisgovernment. 

It is not unlikely that this near view of the beauty and splendor of hiscountry, the finest that Denmark had to offer, served to awaken in Kingothat ardent love for all things Danish for which he is noticed. Whilestill at Hillerød he, at any rate, commenced a comprehensive study ofDanish literature, a most unusual thing for a young student to do at atime when German was the common language of all the upper classes andDanish was despised as the speech of traders and peasants. As neither hisschool nor the general sentiment of the intellectual classes did anythingto encourage interest in native culture, some other influence must havearoused in the young Kingo what one of his early biographers calls "hispeculiar inclination for his native tongue and Danish poetry". A fewpatriotic and forward looking men, it is true, had risen above thegeneral indifference and sought to inspire a greater interest in the useand cultivation of the Danish language; but this work was still very muchin its infancy, and it is not likely that the young Kingo knew much aboutit. 

He graduated from Hillerød in the spring of 1654, and enrolled at theuniversity of Copenhagen on May 6 of the same year. But a terrificoutbreak of the plague forced the university to close on May 30, andKingo returned to his home. The scourge raged for about eight months, carrying away one third of the city's population, and it was winterbefore Kingo returned to the school and enrolled in the department oftheology. The rules of the university required each student, at thebeginning of his course, to choose a preceptor, a sort of guardian whoshould direct his charge in his studies and counsel him in his personallife and conduct. For this very important position Kingo wisely chose oneof the most distinguished and respected teachers at the university, Prof. Bartholin, a brother of his former rector. Professor Bartholin was notonly a learned man, known for his years of travel and study in foreignparts, but he was also a man of rare personal gifts and sincere piety. Inhis younger days he had spent four years at the castle of Rosenholm wherethe godly and scholarly nobleman, Holger Rosenkrans, then gathered groupsof young nobles about him for study and meditation. Rosenkrans was aclose friend of John Arndt, a leader in the early Pietist movement inGermany, to which the young Bartholin under his influence became deeplyattached. Nor had this attachment lessened with the years. AndBartholin's influence upon Kingo was so strong that the latter, whenentering upon his own work, lost no time in showing his adherence to theArndt-Rosenkrans view of Christianity. 

Meanwhile he applied himself diligently to his work at the university. Like other disciplines the study of theology at that time was affected bya considerable portion of dry-rust. Orthodoxy ruled the cathedra. Withthat as a weapon, the student must be trained to meet all the wiles ofthe devil and perversions of the heretics. Its greatest Danish exponent, Jesper Brochman, had just passed to his reward, but his monumental work, _The System of Danish Theology_, remained after him, and continued toserve as an authoritative textbook for many years to come. Though dry anddevoted to hairsplitting as orthodoxy no doubt was, it probably was notquite as lifeless as later generations represent it to have been. Kingois often named "The Singer of Orthodoxy", yet no one can read hissoul-stirring hymns with their profound sense of sin and grace withoutfeeling that he, at least, possessed a deeper knowledge of Christianitythan a mere dogmatic training could give him. 

Kingo's last months at the university were disturbed by a new war withSweden that for a while threatened the independent existence of thecountry, a threat which was averted only by the ceding of some of itsfinest provinces. During these stirring events, Kingo had to prepare forhis final examinations which he passed with highest honors in the springof 1658. 

Thus with considerable deprivation and sacrifice, the humble weaver's sonhad attained his membership in the academic world, an unusualaccomplishment for a man of his standing in those days. His good parentshad reason to be proud of their promising and well educated son who now, after his many years of study, returned to the parental home. His staythere was short, however, for he obtained almost immediate employment asa private tutor, first with the family of Jørgen Sørensen, the overseerat Frederiksborg castle, and later, with the Baroness Lena Rud of VedbyManor, a position which to an impecunious but ambitious young man likeKingo must have appeared especially desirable. Lena Rud belonged to whatat that time was one of the wealthiest and most influential families inthe country. Many of her relatives occupied neighboring estates, acircumstance which enabled Kingo to become personally acquainted with anumber of them; and with one of them, the worthy Karsten Atke, he soonformed a close and lasting friendship. He also appears to have made avery favorable impression upon his influential patrons and, despite hissubordinate position, to have become something of a social leader, especially among the younger members of the group. 

Meanwhile the country once again had been plunged into a desperatestruggle. The Swedish king, Gustav X, soon repented of the peace he hadmade when the whole country was apparently at his mercy, and renewed thewar in the hope of affixing the Danish crown to his own. This hopevanished in the desperate battle of Copenhagen in 1659, where the Swedisharmy suffered a decisive defeat by the hand of an aroused citizenry. Butdetachments of the defeated army still occupied large sections of thecountry districts where they, like all armies of that day, robbed, pillaged and murdered at will, driving thousands of people away fromtheir homes and forcing them to roam homeless and destitute through thewasted countryside. Acts of robbery and violence belonged to the order ofthe day. Even Kingo received a bullet through his mouth in a fight with aSwedish dragoon, whom he boldly attempted to stop from stealing one ofhis employer's horses. When the country finally emerged from theconflict, her resources were depleted, her trade destroyed, and largesections of her country districts laid waste, losses which it requiredyears for her to regain. But youth must be served. Despite the gravityand hardships of the day, the young people from Vedby managed to havetheir parties and other youthful diversions. And at these, Kingo soonbecame a welcome and valued guest. His attractive personality, sprightlyhumor and distinct social gifts caused his highly placed friends toaccept him with delight. 

This popularity, if he had cared to exploit it, might have carried himfar. In those days the usual road to fame and fortune for an obscureyoung man was to attach himself to some wealthy patron and acquire aposition through him. With the aid of his wealthy friends Kingo couldeasily enough have obtained employment as a companion to some young noblegoing abroad for travel and study. It came, therefore, as a surprise toall when he accepted a call as assistant to the Reverend Jacobsen Worm atKirkehelsinge, a country parish a few miles from Vedby. The position wasso far short of what a young man of Kingo's undoubted ability andexcellent connections might have obtained, that one may well ask for hismotive in accepting it. And although Kingo himself has left no directexplanation of his action, the following verses, which he is thought tohave written about this time, may furnish a key. 

 Wherever in the world I went Upon my work or pleasure bent, I everywhere my Lord did find, He so absorbed my heart and mind That I His blessed image traced In everything I saw or faced. 

 My thoughts on heaven ever dwelt, For earth I but aversion felt. My heart exalted Jesus' name, His kingdom was my constant theme; My prayer was, by repentance true, All carnal passions to subdue. 

It is understandable, at least, that a young man with such sentimentsshould forego the prospect of worldly honor for a chance to serve hisMaster. 

Kingo was ordained in the Church of Our Lady at Copenhagen in September, 1661, and was installed in his new office a few weeks later. The sevenyears that he spent in the obscure parish were, no doubt, among the mostfruitful years of Kingo's life, proving the truth of the old adage thatit is better that a man should confer honor on his position than that theposition should confer honor upon him. His fiery, forceful eloquence madehim known as an exceptionally able and earnest pastor, and his literarywork established his fame as one of the foremost Danish poets of his day. 

While still at Vedby, Kingo had written a number of poems which, widelycirculated in manuscripts, had gained him a local fame. But he nowpublished a number of new works that attained nation-wide recognition. These latter works compare well with the best poetry of the period andcontain passages that still may be read with interest. The style isvigorous, the imagery striking and at times beautiful, but the Danishlanguage was too little cultivated and contemporary taste too uncertainto sustain a work of consistent excellence. Most successful of Kingo'searly poems are "Karsten Atke's Farewell to Lion County", a truly feltand finely expressed greeting to his friends, the Atkes, on theirdeparture from their former home, and "Chrysillis", a lovesong, writtenin a popular French style that was then very much admired in Denmark. Both poems contain parts that are surprisingly fine, and they attained animmense popularity. But although Kingo throughout his life continued towrite secular poetry that won him the highest praise, that part of hiswork is now well nigh forgotten. It is truly interesting to compare thefaded beauty of his secular poems with the perennial freshness of hishymns. 

It was inevitable that Kingo, with his high ambitions and undoubtedability should desire a larger field of labor. His salary was so smallthat he had to live in the home of his employer, a circumstance that forvarious reasons was not always pleasant. Pastor Worm had married thriceand had a large family of children of all ages from a babe in arms to ason at the university. This son, Jacob Worm, was a brilliant butirascible and excessively proud youth only a few years younger thanKingo. From what we know about him in later years, it is likely thatKingo's contact with him during his vacations at home must have provedexceedingly trying. The bitter enmity that later existed between the twomen probably had its inception at this time. In 1666, Kingo, therefore, applied for a waiting appointment to his home church at Slangerup, wherethe pastor was growing old and, in the course of nature, could beexpected ere long to be called to his reward. The application wasgranted, and when the pastor did die two years later, Kingo at once wasinstalled as his successor. 

Slangerup was only a small city, but it had a new and very beautifulchurch, which still stands almost unchanged. One may still sit in thesame pews and see the same elaborately carved pulpit and altar whichgraced its lofty chancel during the pastorate of the great hymnwriter. Abeautiful chandelier, which he donated and inscribed, still adorns thearched nave. In this splendid sanctuary it must have been inspiring tolisten to the known eloquence of its most famous pastor as he preachedthe gospel or, with his fine musical voice, chanted the liturgy beforethe altar. The church was always well attended when Kingo conducted theservice. People soon recognized his exceptional ability and showed theirappreciation of his devoted ministry. The position of a pastor was thenmuch more prominent than it is now. He was the official head of numerousenterprises, both spiritual and civic, and the social equal of the bestpeople in the community. With many people the custom of calling him"Father" was then by no means an empty phrase. Parishioners sought theirpastor and accepted his counsel in numerous affairs that are nowconsidered to be outside of his domain. In view of Kingo's humbleantecedents, a position of such prominence might well have proveddifficult to maintain among a people that knew his former station. But ofsuch difficulties the record of his pastorate gives no indication. Hewas, it appears, one exception to the rule that a prophet is notrespected in his own country. 

When he moved to Slangerup, Kingo was still unmarried. But about twoyears later he married the widow of his former superior, Pastor Worm, becoming at once the head of a large family consisting of the children ofhis wife and those of her first husband by his previous marriage. It wasa serious responsibility to assume, both morally and financially. Theparish was quite large, but his income was considerably reduced by thepayment of a pension to the widow of the former pastor and the salary toan assistant. With such a drain on his income and with a large family tosupport, Kingo's economic circumstances must have been strained. But hewas happy with his wife and proved himself a kind and conscientiousstepfather to her children who, even after their maturity, maintained aclose relationship with him. 

Kingo's happiness proved, however, to be but a brief interlude to aperiod of intense sorrows and disappointments. His wife died less than ayear after their marriage; his father, whom he loved and revered, passedaway the same year; and the conduct of his stepson, the formerlymentioned Jacob Worm, caused him bitter trouble and humiliation. Thebright prospect of this brilliant but erratic youth had quickly faded. After a number of failures, he had been forced to accept a position asrector of the small and insignificant Latin school at Slangerup, thuscoming under the immediate authority of Kingo, who, as pastor, supervisedthe educational institutions of the parish. Worm always seems to havethought of Kingo as a former assistant to his father, and his position asan inferior to a former inferior in his own home, therefore, bitterlywounded his pride. Seeking an outlet for his bitterness, he wrote anumber of extremely abusive poems about his stepfather and circulatedthem among the people of the parish. This unwarranted abuse aroused theanger of Kingo and provoked him to answer in kind. The ensuing battle ofvituperation and name-calling brought no honor to either side. Worm'sconduct toward his superior, the man who was unselfishly caring for hisminor sisters and brothers, deserves nothing but condemnation; but it ispainful, nevertheless, to behold the great hymnwriter himself employingthe abusive language of his worthless opponent. The times were violent, however, and Kingo possessed his share of their temper. Kingo's last actin this drama between himself and his stepson throws a somewhat softeninglight upon his conduct. Embittered by persistent failures, Worm continuedto pour out his bitterness not only upon his stepfather, but upon otherand much higher placed persons until at last he was caught and sentencedto die on the gallows for "having written and circulated grosslydefamatory poems about the royal family". In this extremity, he appealedto Kingo, who successfully exerted his then great influence to have thesentence commuted to banishment for life to the Danish colony in India. 

 Chapter Four Kingo, the Hymnwriter

Kingo's first hymns appeared shortly before Christmas, 1673, in a smallvolume entitled _Spiritual Song-Choir, Part I_. The book containedfifteen morning and evening hymns and seven paraphrases of the psalms. Later editions were enlarged by seven "Morning and Evening Sighs" shorthymns that belong to the very best in the collection. 

In a foreword addressed to the king, Kingo states that "he has writtenthese hymns with the hope that they might serve to edify his fellowChristians, advance the teaching of the Gospel and benefit the royalhousehold at those daily devotions which it is the duty of everyChristian home to practice". He prays, therefore, he continues, that "theking will graciously bestow the same approval upon this work that he hasso kindly given to his previous efforts, and thereby encourage him tocontinue his endeavor until the Danes shall possess a hymnody that theyhave neither begged nor borrowed from other nations. For the Danishspirit, " he concludes, "is assuredly neither so weak nor so poor that itcannot fly as high toward heaven as that of other peoples without beingborne upon strange and foreign wings". 

Commenting on the content of the book, Kingo further explains that heexpects sensitive readers will discover imperfections in his work whichhe himself has failed to see, and that it would please him to have suchblemishes called to his attention so that they might be corrected infuture issues. His choice of tunes will, he fears, provoke criticism. Hehas set a number of hymns to the melodies of popular songs in order that"those, who for the sake of its tune, now gladly listen to a song ofSodom may, if they be Christians, with the more pleasure use it with ahymn about Zion. By examining the work of other hymnwriters possiblecritics might assure themselves, however, that he had in this matter onlyfollowed their example. " But Kingo need not have apologized for hischoice of tunes, for they were on the whole fine and were receivedwithout objection. 

It would be difficult to overstate the enthusiasm with which Kingo'shymns were received. Within a few years they were printed in numerouseditions and translated into several foreign languages. Theirenthusiastic reception was well deserved. Viewed against the backgroundof literary mediocrity that characterized the period, Kingo's hymns standout with amazing perfection. Danish hymnody contained nothing that couldcompare with them, and other countries, as far as morning and eveninghymns were concerned, were in the same position. Paul Gerhardt's finehymn, "Now Rests Beneath Night's Shadow", which was written twenty yearsearlier, had been ridiculed into disuse; Ken's famous morning hymn datesfrom twenty years later; and none of these are as fine as the best ofKingo's. 

As might be expected, the hymns are not all of the same merit. Some ofthem are exceedingly fine; others show the defects of an imperfectlydeveloped language and a deficient literary taste. In the matter of styleand form the author had almost nothing to guide him. It is notsurprising, therefore, that his work shows crudities which no present daywriter would commit, but that it should contain so much that is trulybeautiful, even when measured by the standards of today. 

Kingo had the true poet's ability to see things poetically. To him therays of the rising sun were not only shining but "laughing on the roof"of his home. His imagery is rich and skillfully applied. Many of hishymns abound in striking similes. Their outstanding characteristic, however, is a distinctive, forceful realism. Kingo, when he chose to doso, could touch the lyre with enhancing gentleness, but he preferred thestrong note and searched always for the most graphic expression, sometimes too graphic, as when he speaks of the "frothing wrath of God"and "the oozy slime of sin". Yet it is this trait of robust reality thatinvests his hymns with a large part of their enduring merit. "When Kingosings of God, one feels as though He were right there with him", one ofhis commentators exclaims. Nor is that realism a mere literary pose. Likemost great hymns, his best hymns are reflections of his own experiences. Kingo never attained a state of saintly serenity. Whatever peace he foundwas gained only through a continuous struggle with his own fiery andpassionate nature. Few hymns convey a more vivid impression of abelieving, struggling soul than Kingo's. 

His morning hymns are among his best. He loved light and gloried in thebirth of each new day. The sun is his favorite symbol. Its risingsignifies to him the final triumph of life over death, and the new day isa token thereof. It sounds a joyful call to wake and resume life anew. 

 "Awake, my soul, the sun is risen, Upon my roof its rays now laugh, --"

Every Christian should rejoice in the newborn day and thank God for it:

 Break now forth in Jesus' name, Blessed morn, in all thy splendor! I will sweetest music render And thy wondrous gifts proclaim. All my spirit with rejoicing Thanks the Lord for rest and care And, His grace and goodness voicing, Wings its way to Him in prayer. 

But the commencing day also calls for consecration lest its hours bewasted and its opportunities lost:

 Grant me, Lord, that on this day Now with light and grace beginning, I shall not submit to sinning Nor Thy word and way betray. Blessed Jesus, hover ever Over me, my Sun and Shield, That I firm may stand and never Unto sin and Satan yield. 

And the passing hours must admonish the Christian to work while it is dayand to prepare for the evening that is coming:

 Let each fleeting hour of grace And the chiming bells remind me That to earth I must not bind me But Thy life and gifts embrace. And when dawns my final morrow, Let me go to Thee for aye, Let my sin and care and sorrow With my dust be put away. 

Finest of all Kingo's morning hymns is the splendid "The Sun Arises Nowin Light and Glory". This hymn presents all the finest traits of Kingo'spoetry, its vivid imagery, forceful style and robust faith. The followingtranslation is by the Rev. P. C. Paulsen. 

 The sun arises now In light and glory And gilds the rugged brow Of mountains hoary. Rejoice, my soul, and lift Thy voice in singing To God from earth below, Thy song with joy aglow And praises ringing. 

 As countless as the sand And beyond measure, As wide as sea and land So is the treasure Of grace which God each day Anew bestoweth And which, like pouring rain, Into my soul again Each morning floweth. 

 Preserve my soul today From sin and blindness; Surround me on my way With loving kindness. Embue my heart, O Lord, With joy from heaven; I then shall ask no more Than what Thou hast of yore In wisdom given. 

 Thou knowest best my needs, My sighs Thou heedest, Thy hand Thy children leads, Thine own Thou feedest. What should I more desire, With Thee deciding The course that I must take, Than follow in the wake Where Thou art guiding. 

Evening naturally inspires a different sentiment than morning. The risingsun calls for activity, the setting sun for reflection. As the sun sets, as work ceases and the busy day merges into the quiet night the soulbegins to take account of its gains and losses, its assets andliabilities. The dying day also conveys a sense of insecurity, ofapproaching death and the need for pardon and protection. All thesesentiments, so different from the hopes and prospects of the morning, arewonderfully portrayed in Kingo's evening hymns, as for instance:

 Vanish now all sinful dreaming, Let the joy from heaven streaming Occupy my soul and mind. Watch, my spirit, and prepare thee, Lest the cunning foe ensnare thee When repose hath made thee blind. 

 Sleep now in God's care appeasing. While the noise of day is ceasing, Lean upon thy Savior's breast. He will guard thee through the somber Night and make thy final slumber Quiet, peaceful, happy, blest. 

In the last line with its crescendo of peace and happiness one almostsees the night merge into the final rest. 

Among his evening hymns now available in English, the following, perhaps, is the best known. 

 Softly now the day is ending, Night o'er hill and vale descending, I will kneel before Thee, Lord. Unto Thee my thanks I render That Thou didst in mercy tender Life and peace to me accord. 

 May Thy church Thy peace inherit, Guide our leaders by Thy spirit, Grant our country strength and peace. To the straying, sad and dreary, To each Christian faint or weary Grant Thou solace and surcease. 

 Keep me, Jesus, while I slumber! From my perils without number, Shield me, Master, in Thy might, That, released from sin and sorrow, I may sing this song tomorrow: Jesus was my Sun this night. 

The publication of these hymns firmly established Kingo's reputation asthe foremost poet of his country. Expressions of appreciation poured inupon him from high and low. The king, to whom the hymns were dedicated, so greatly appreciated the gift that, only three years later, he calledtheir otherwise obscure author to become bishop of Fyn, one of thelargest and most important dioceses of the country. 

Kingo was only forty-two years old when he assumed his new position. Hisquick elevation from an obscure parish to one of the highest officeswithin the church might well have strained the abilities of an older andmore experienced man. But there can be no doubt that he filled his highposition with signal ability. He was both able and earnest, bothpractical and spiritual. His diocese prospered under his care and hiswork as a bishop, aside from his renown as a poet, was outstanding enoughto give him an enviable reputation in his own generation. 

But since his permanent fame and importance rest upon his achievement asa hymnwriter, his appointment as bishop probably must be counted as aloss, both to himself and to the church. His new responsibilities and themultifarious duties of his high office naturally left him less time forother pursuits. He traveled, visited and preached almost continuouslythroughout his large charge, and it appears like a miracle that underthese circumstances, he still found time to write hymns. But in 1684, only two years after his consecration as bishop, he published the secondpart of _Spiritual Song-Choir_. 

This book bears a dedication to the queen, Charlotte Amalia. She wasGerman by birth and a pious, able and distinguished woman in her ownright. Kingo praises her especially for her effort to learn and speak theDanish language. In this respect, he declares, "Her Majesty put many toshame who have eaten the king's bread for thirty years without learningto speak thirty words of Danish, because they hold it to be a homespunlanguage, too coarse for their silky tongues". 

_Spiritual Song-Choir, Part II_ contains twenty hymns and seventeen"sighs", thus outwardly following the arrangement of Part I. But thecontent is very different. The hymns are songs of penitence, repentanceand faith. They show mastery of form, a wealth of imagery, a facility forconcentrated expression and a range of sentiment from stark despair tothe most confident trust that is, perhaps, unequalled in Danish poetry. It is an embattled soul that speaks through these hymns, a soul that hasfaced the abyss and clung heroically, but not always successfully, to thepinnacle of faith. One feels that the man who penned the following lineshas not merely imagined the nearness of the pit but felt himself standingon the very brink of it. 

 Mountains of transgressions press On my evil burdened shoulders, Guilt bestrews my path with boulders, Sin pollutes both soul and flesh, Law and justice are proclaiming Judgment on my guilty head, Hell's eternal fires are flaming, Filling all my soul with dread. 

Of an even darker mood is the great hymn: "Sorrow and Unhappiness", withthe searching verse:

 Is there then no one that cares, Is there no redress for sorrow, Is there no relief to borrow, Is there no response to prayers, Is the fount of mercy closing, Is the soul to bondage sold, Is the Lord my plea opposing, Is His heart to sinners cold?

The poet answers his questions in the following stanzas by assuringhimself that the Sun of God's grace can and will pierce even his "cloudof despair", and that he must wait therefore in quietness and trust:

 O my soul, be quiet then! Jesus will redress thy sadness, Jesus will restore thy gladness, Jesus will thy help remain. Jesus is thy solace ever And thy hope in life and death; Jesus will thee soon deliver; Thou must cling to that blest faith. 

The uncertainty of life and its fortunes furnished a favored theme formany of his hymns, as for instance in the splendid--

 Sorrow and gladness oft journey together, Trouble and happiness swift company keep; Luck and misfortune change like the weather; Sunshine and clouds quickly vary their sweep. 

which is, poetically at least, one of his finest compositions. The poet'sown career so far had been one of continuous and rather swiftadvancement. But there was, if not in his own outward fortune, then inthe fortunes of other notables of his day, enough to remind him of theinconstancy of worldly honor and glory. Only a few months before thepublication of his hymns, Leonora Christine Ulfeldt, the once beautiful, admired and talented daughter of Christian IV, had been released fromtwenty-two years of imprisonment in a bare and almost lightlessprison-cell; Peder Griffenfeldt, a man who from humble antecedentsswiftly had risen to become the most powerful man in the kingdom, hadbeen stript even more swiftly of all his honors and thrown into a dismalprison on a rocky isle by the coast of Norway; and there were other andwell known instances of swift changes in the fortunes of men in thosedays when they were subject not only to the ordinary vicissitudes ofhuman existence but to the fickle humor of an absolute monarch. It is, therefore, as though Kingo at the height of his own fortune would remindhimself of the quickness with which it might vanish, of the evanescenseand vanity of all worldly glory. That idea is strikingly emphasized inthe following famous hymn:

 Vain world, fare thee well! I purpose no more in thy bondage to dwell; The burdens which thou hast enticed me to bear, I cast now aside with their troubles and care. I spurn thy allurements, which tempt and appall; 'Tis vanity all!

 What merit and worth Hath all that the world puts so temptingly forth! It is naught but bubbles and tinctured glass, Loud clamoring cymbals and shrill sounding brass. What are their seductions which lure and enthrall; 'Tis vanity all!

 O honor and gold, Vain idols which many with worship behold! False are your affluence, your pleasure and fame; Your wages are envy, deception and shame, Your garlands soon wither, your kingdom shall fall; 'Tis vanity all!

 O carnal desire, Thou tempting, consuming and treacherous fire, That catches like tinder and scorches like flame, Consigning the victim to sorrow and shame, Thy honeyest potion is wormwood and gall; 'Tis vanity all!

 Then, fare thee farewell, Vain world, with thy tempting and glamorous spell! Thy wiles shall no longer my spirit enslave, Thy splendor and joy are designed for the grave I yearn for the solace from sorrows and harm Of Abraham's arm!

 There shall all my years I bloom like the lily when summer appears; There day is not ruled by the course of the sun Nor night by the silvery light of the moon; Lord Jesus shall shine as my sun every day In heaven for aye. 

This is an eloquent farewell, clothed in all the expressive wealth oflanguage and imagery of which Kingo was such a master. One cannot repressthe feeling, however, that it presents a challenge rather than afarewell. A man that so passionately avows his repudiation of the worldmust have felt its attraction, its power to tempt and enthrall. He fightsagainst it; the spirit contends with the flesh, but the fight is noteasy. And it is in part this very human trait in Kingo that endears hissong to us. What Christian does not recognize some of his own experiencesin the following characteristic song:

 Ever trouble walks beside me, [2] Ever God with grace provides me, Ever have I fear and grief, Ever Jesus brings relief. 

 Ever sin my heart accuses, Ever Jesus help induces, Ever am I weighed with care, Ever full of praise and prayer. 

 So is joy by grief attended, Fortune with misfortune blended; Blessings mixed with grief and strife Is the measure of my life. 

 But, O Jesus, I am crying: Help that faith, on Thee relying, Over sin and grief alway Shall prevail and gain the day. 

Some statements in this hymn have frequently been criticized ascontradictory, for how can one be "always" full of care and "always" fullof praise and prayer? The terms cancel each other. But are not suchcontradictions expressive of life itself? Few--if any--are wholly onething or wholly another. People are complex. Their joys struggle withtheir sorrows, their most earnest faith with their doubts and fears. Itbrings Kingo nearer to us to know that he shared that struggle. His songshave appealed to millions because they are both so spiritual and sohuman. How expressive of human need and Christian trust are not thefollowing brief lines:

 Lord, though I may The whole long day Find no relief from sorrow, Yea, should the night Afford no light To ease my plight-- Thou comest on the morrow. 

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[2]Another translation: "Ever is a peril near me" by C. Doving in "Hymnal for Church and Home". 

 Chapter Five Kingo's Psalmbook

After the publication of _Spiritual Song-Choir II_, Kingo stood at thevery height of his fame. His hymns were sung everywhere, and nobles andcommoners vied with each other in chanting his praises. But a much moredifficult task now awaited him--that of preparing a new hymnal. 

Hans Thomisson's hymnal had become antiquated after serving the churchfor nearly one hundred and twenty-five years. It had served its purposewell. Its hymns had been sung by high and low until they had entered intothe thoughts and conscience of all. A changing language and a fastdeveloping literary taste long ago had shown their need for revision; butthe people so far had opposed all attempts to change their beloved oldsongs. Their defects by now had become so conspicuous, however, that eventhe more conservative admitted the desirability of at least a limitedrevision. And the only man for the undertaking of such a task was, ofcourse, Kingo. 

In March, 1683, King Christian V, therefore, commissioned Thomas Kingo toprepare and publish a new church hymnal for the kingdom of Denmark andNorway. The carefully prepared instructions of his commission directedhim to eliminate undesirable hymns; to revise antiquated rhymes andexpressions; to adopt at least two new hymns by himself or another forevery pericope and epistle of the church year, but under no circumstancesto make any changes in Luther's hymns that would alter their meaning. 

Kingo would undoubtedly have saved himself a great deal of disappointmentif he had conscientiously followed his instructions. But the draft of thefirst half of the hymnal, which was sent to the king six years later, showed that, intentionally or otherwise, he had ignored them almostcompletely. The draft contained 267 hymns of which 137 were his own andthe remainder those of various authors, both old and new. Though Kingomight reasonably have been criticized for adopting such a proportionallylarge number of his own compositions, it was not, however, his selectionof new hymns but his treatment of the old hymns that provoked thegreatest opposition. For he had not contented himself with merelyrevising the latter but in many instances had rewritten them socompletely that they were unrecognizable. And it mattered not that thenew texts were on the whole much finer than the old, for people were notyet ready to relinquish these. The opposition grew so strong that theking, though he had already approved the proposed hymnal, a few weekslater revoked not only his approval but Kingo's commission. 

This summary action came as an almost stunning blow to Kingo, affectingseriously both his pride and his finances. On the strength of the king'sapproval, he had already bought a printing press, acquired largequantities of material and printed a large edition of the book. And theseinvestments, which represented a large part of his private fortune, werenow apparently lost. It helped but little that the king, in order tosalve the wound he had inflicted upon one of his most distinguishedsubjects, elevated him to the nobility, for the hurt was too deep to behealed by a mere gesture. 

One cannot deny, however, that the monarch had serious reason for hisaction. Not only had Kingo violated his instructions but he had planned abook that hardly could have proved satisfactory. It would have been bothtoo large and too expensive for common use. He himself, on the otherhand, had reason to complain that he had not been consulted before thework, on which he had spent so much of his time and substance, wassummarily rejected. No doubt the king had acted with unseemly haste andlack of consideration. 

The work was now held in abeyance for a few years. But the need for a newhymnal was too pressing to be permanently ignored. The king, therefore, appointed Søren Jonasson, a provost at the cathedral of Roskilde, toundertake the work. Jonasson was known as an excellent translator ofGerman hymns, and the choice appeared reasonable. He worked fast and inless than two years was able to present a draft of his work. Thiscontained a well balanced selection of the old hymns and about twenty newhymns by himself and various German authors, but not a single hymn byKingo. The omission no doubt reflects the envy that the poet's quick riseto fame had stirred up against him in certain influential circles. Hisenemies, however, had overshot their mark. Even the king realized that itwould be impossible at this time to publish a hymnal that ignored thework of the country's greatest hymnwriter. And so Jonasson's workpromptly shared the fate of his predecessor's. 

The troublesome problem now rested again for a few years until it wasrevived by the zealous efforts of the king's chaplain, Peter Jespersen, aclose friend of the Norwegian hymnwriter, Peter Dass and himself a nativeof the northern country. 

A committee was appointed to prepare and publish a new hymnal "thatshould give due recognition" to the work of Kingo. Although it was notspecifically directed to do so, the committee proved its good will towardthe harshly treated poet by entering into correspondence with him andasking him to forward the material he already possessed, and to write theadditional hymns that might be needed to complete the hymnal. With thisrequest Kingo gladly complied, hoping that thus after all the greaterpart of his work would be put to use. In this, however, he wasdisappointed. When the hymnal finally appeared it contained 297 hymns ofwhich only 85 were by Kingo. This represented, it is true, a great changefrom Jonasson's proposal, but when it is remembered that the first halfof the work, proposed by himself, contained 136 of his own hymns, andthat he had written an additional number by the request of the committee, it will be seen that even now less than half of his hymns found a placein the hymnal. 

Aside from this deplorable loss, it must be conceded that the committeehad done an excellent work and that its hymnal was much better suited forgeneral use than Kingo's proposed hymnal would have been. The committeealso had shown its fairness toward Kingo by commissioning him to printthe hymnal and to enjoy exclusive rights of its distribution for tenyears, so that he might recoup some of the losses he had sustained by therejection of his own book. He repaid the favor by turning out a mostexcellent piece of work; and the book, both in content and appearanceundoubtedly rated as the finest hymnal the Danish church had so farproduced. It served the church for more than a hundred years, and wasalways known as "Kingo's Hymnal", for, after all, his great hymns werewhat gave it permanent value. 

 Chapter Six Kingo's Church Hymns

Kingo's church hymns naturally differ from his spiritual songs. They aremore objective in form and less fiery in spirit. Most of them followtheir themes quite closely, reproducing in many instances even the wordsof their text. Kingo is too vital, however, to confine himself wholly toan objective presentation. Usually the last stanzas of his hymns aredevoted to a brief and often striking application of their text. Hepossessed to a singular degree the ability to express a thought tersely, as for instance in the following stanza, the last of a hymn on thebaptism of the Lord:

 Our Lord is then our brother In whom we may confide, The Church of God our mother, The Holy Ghost our guide; Our blest baptismal dower The bands of hell has riven And opened us God's heaven, This is our faith each hour. 

The hymns may be classed under four headings: Festival Hymns, SacramentalHymns, Historical Hymns and Hymns on the Gospels and Epistles. 

With the exception of his Easter anthem, his festival hymns cannotcompare with those of later authors. Some of his Pentecost hymns, such asthe hymns given below, are, however, still favorites. 

 The day of Pentecost draws nigh; Come, Holy Spirit from on high, Who with the Father and the Son Is God eternal, three in one. 

 O God triune, Thy grace impart Into my carnal, sinful heart, That it a temple blest may be Prepared and set aside for Thee. 

 Come, Holy Ghost, and witness bear That I the life of Christ do share, And that I know no other name To save my soul from guilt and shame. 

 O Counselor of truth and light, Teach me to know my Lord aright, That from the way of faith I may Not even for a moment stray. 

 Blest Spirit of my God and Lord, Preserve me in Thy way and word, Imbue me with Thy life and breath, Console me in the hour of death. 

Kingo frequently is referred to as "the Easter Singer of Denmark". Hisclaim to this title rests mainly on one song. Easter with its story oftriumphant victory appealed especially to him; and he wrote severalexcellent hymns on the theme, but they are all overshadowed by thesplendid anthem presented below. 

 Like the golden sun ascending In the darkly clouded sky And on earth its glory spending Until clouds and darkness fly, So my Jesus from the grave, From death's dark, abysmal cave, Rose triumphant Easter morning, Brighter than the sun returning. 

 Thanks, O thanks, to Thee arisen Lord and God Immanuel, That the foe could not imprison Thee within his hell-dark cell. Thanks that Thou didst meet our foe And his kingdom overthrow. Jubilant my spirit raises New Thy never ending praises. 

 Sin and death and every arrow Satan hence may point at me Fall now broken at the narrow Tomb that saw Thy victory; There Thou didst them all destroy Giving me the cup of joy That Thou glorious resurrection Wrought my pardon and protection. 

 Thou wilt hence to life awake me By Thy resurrection power; Death may wound and overtake me, Worms my flesh and bones devour, But I face the threat of death With the sure and joyful faith That its fearful reign was ended When Thy might its portal rended. 

 Blessed Jesus, let the Spirit So imbue my heart with grace That I walk by Thy blest merit And no more the way retrace To the vile and miry pit Where I lay condemned, unfit, Till redeemed to life victorious By Thy resurrection glorious. 

In this rugged hymn Kingo is at his best--fiery, vital, a master ofimagery and graphic expression. 

His hymns on the sacraments faithfully reflect the doctrines of theLutheran Church. Here he most clearly shows his ability to presentobjective truths in a devotional spirit. We meet in these a Christian whohumbly and prayerfully accepts the whole mystery of God. For centuriesthese rugged songs have served to express the sentiments of millions asthey met at the baptismal font or knelt before the altar. The followingis one of the most favored baptismal hymns both in the Danish andNorwegian churches:

 Whoso believes and is baptized[3] God's kingdom shall inherit, For he is cleansed by Jesus Christ Who, by His grace and merit, Adopts him as His child and heir, Grants him in heaven's bliss to share And seals him with His Spirit. 

 We ask with earnest faith of Thee, Our Lord and blest Defender, That Thou wilt guide us constantly And, in Thy mercy tender, Keep us in our baptismal grace Until at last we take our place With Thee 'midst heaven's splendor. 

Kingo's communion hymns have to a large extent been superseded by laterhymns of Grundtvig and others. But some of them are still in common use. The following characteristic hymn is frequently used before thecommunion. 

 Lord Jesus Christ receive me now As with a heart contrite I bow Before Thine altar, blessed Lamb, Who bore my sorrow, sin and shame. 

 I am today my Saviour's guest. Bethink, my soul, the honor blest, That He, Thy Lord, will sup with thee And will Himself Thy nurture be. 

 He offers to thee with the bread His body riven for thy aid, And with the wine His precious blood, The price of thy eternal good. 

 How this can be, I cannot tell; He did not on the mystery dwell; No mind the secret can perceive, It is enough that I believe. 

 Rejoice, then, O my soul today That God's appointed servant may Now offer thee the gift so free Through which thy Lord unites with thee. 

 O Lord, I offer Thee my soul To nourish, strengthen and make whole. Uphold me by Thy means of grace Until I see Thee face to face. 

The short hymn given below is a favorite after the communion in numerousDanish and Norwegian churches. 

 O dearest Lord, receive from me The heartfelt thanks I offer Thee, Who through Thy body and Thy blood Hast wrought my soul's eternal good. 

 Break forth, my soul, in joy and praise; What wealth is mine this day of days! My Jesus dwells within my soul; Let every tongue His grace extol. 

Kingo's historical hymns, that is, his hymns on the stories of theGospels, usually are not counted among the best. Yet there are many finehymns among them, such as the annunciation hymn, "There Came a Messagefrom the Sky"; the hymn about the wedding at Cana, "How Blessed Was thatWedding Feast"; and the splendid hymn on the transfiguration of the Lord, "I Lift My Eyes and Spirit Up unto the Hallowed Mountain Top Where JesusOnce Ascended". Best known among this group of hymns is, however, hisgreat sequence of songs on our Lord's passion. In these inspired hymns wemeet again the Kingo that we know from his spiritual songs, fiery, eloquent, imaginative, seeking to picture every detail and mood of theSavior's suffering from the garden to the cross. Though it is difficultto choose among hymns so universally fine, the one given below is, atleast, fairly representative of the group. 

 Over Kedron Jesus passes Ready for His passion day, While the Prince of Darkness masses All his legions for the fray. Wily foes with evil hearts Bend their bows and point their darts, Aiming at the Savior solely, As the world forsakes Him wholly. 

 David once in great affliction Crossed the Kedron's narrow stream, While his foes without restriction Hatched their vile and cunning scheme. Darker far the shadows now Bend about the Savior's brow As He hastens to His passion For the sinful world's salvation. 

 See Him, torn by woe appalling, Kneeling in the garden still, And upon His Father calling That, if possible, He will Take the bitter cup away. But how meekly He doth pray! What the Father shall Him offer, He obediently will suffer. 

 See, what agony assails Him In that dark and fearful hour; Every friend deserts or fails Him; Satan strikes with all his power; And the flowers beneath Him grow Crimson with the purple flow From His anguished frame distilling As His cup of woe is filling. 

 But, O flower, whose tender blossom Caught that precious, purple dew From the Saviour's riven bosom, In a blessed hour you grew! Eden's flowers did not bear Fruits that could with yours compare: By the blood your petals staining, I am now salvation gaining. 

 When I like the flower must wither, When I wilt and fade like grass, When the hour of death draws hither, When I from this world shall pass, When my heart has ceased to beat When I face God's judgment seat, Then His blood, which stained the garden, Shall procure my lasting pardon. 

Kingo's hymns on the pericopes have proved less resistant to time thanmost of his other work. They are in reality brief commentaries, presenting a practical rather than a poetical exposition and applicationof their texts. But even so, the singular freshness of their thought andstyle has preserved many of them until our day. The following hymn onMatthew 8, 23-27, the stilling of the storm, furnishes a characteristicexample of this group of hymns. 

 What vessel is that passing Across the boundless deep, On which the billows massing In foaming fury sweep? She seems in sore distress As though she soon would founder Upon the shoals around her And sink without redress. 

 It is the storm-tossed vessel Of God's own church on earth, With which the world doth wrestle, And send its fury forth, While Jesus oft appears As though He still were sleeping, With His disciples weeping And crying out in fears. 

 But let the world with fury Against the church but rave, And spend its might to bury Her in the roaring wave! It only takes a word To hush the wild commotion And show the mighty ocean Her Lord is still aboard. 

Kingo is often called the singer of orthodoxy. His hymns faithfullypresent the accepted doctrines of his church. No hymnwriter is morestaunchly Lutheran than he. But he was too vital to become a meredoctrinaire. With him orthodoxy was only a means to an end, a morevigorous Christian life. Many of his hymns present a forceful andstraightforward appeal for a real personal life with God. The followinghymn may be called an orthodox revival hymn. It was a favorite with thegreat Norwegian lay preacher, Hans Nielsen Hauge. 

 The power of sin no longer Within my heart shall reign; Faith must grow ever stronger And carnal lust be slain; For when I was baptized, The bonds of sin were severed And I by grace delivered To live for Jesus Christ. 

 Would I accept the merit Of my baptismal grace And with my faith and spirit The Savior's cross embrace, How great would be my blame Should I abide in evil And not renounce the devil In Christ my Savior's name. 

 It can bestow no treasure On me that Christ arose. If I will not with pleasure The power of death oppose, And with my heart embrace The Savior, who is risen And has from error's prison Redeemed me by His grace. 

 Lord Jesus, help me ever To fight "the old man" so That he shall not deliver Me to eternal woe, But that I here may die From sin and all offences And, by the blood that cleanses, Attain my home on high. 

Thus, the permanent value of Kingo's hymns rests not only on their ruggedand expressive poetry but on the earnest and warm-hearted Christianspirit that breathes through them. In the perennial freshness of thisspirit succeeding generations have experienced their kinship with thepoet and found expression for their own hope and faith. The followingageless prayer expresses not only the spirit of the poet but that ofearnest Christians everywhere and of every age. 

 Print Thine image pure and holy[4] On my heart, O Lord of Grace; So that nothing high nor lowly Thy blest likeness can efface. Let the clear inscription be: Jesus, crucified for me, And the Lord of all creation, Is my refuge and salvation. 

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[3]Another translation: "He that believes and is baptized" by G. T. Rygh in "Hymnal for Church and Home". 

[4]Another translation: "On my heart imprint thine image" by P. O. Stromme in "Hymnal for Church and Home". 

 Chapter Seven Kingo's Later Years

Kingo's work with the hymnal had brought him much disappointment and someloss of popularity. He felt not without justification that he had beenill treated. He did not sulk in his tent, however, but pursued his workwith unabated zeal. His diocese was large, comprising not only Fyn but alarge number of smaller islands besides. The work of making periodicalvisits to all parishes within such a far-flung charge was, consideringthe then available means of transportation, not only strenuous buthazardous. Roads were bad and vessels weak and slow. Hardships and dangerbeset his almost continuous voyages and journeys. A number of poemsrelating the adventures of the traveler are reminiscenses of his ownexperiences. 

But his work of visiting the churches constituted, of course, only a partof his duties. He had to preach in the cathedral at Odense at least everyWednesday in Lent and on all festival Sundays; examine the work andconduct of all pastors within the diocese; act as an arbiter in disputesbetween them and their parishioners; make sure that the financial affairsof the church and its institutions were honestly conducted; attend to thecollection of church taxes; and superintend all schools, hospitals andinstitutions of charity. The efficient accomplishment of all these tasksmight well test the strength and ability of any man. 

His manifold duties also engendered numerous occasions for friction, especially with the civil authorities, whose rights and duties oftenoverlapped his own. And he did not escape the danger of such bickeringswith their resultant ill-feeling. There is nothing to indicate that hewas contentious by nature. But he was no doubt zealous in defending theprerogatives of his office. His temper was quick and somewhat martial. "One could very well, " one of his biographers declares, "envision him asa knight in full armor leading a troop in the charge. " With the exceptionof his active enemies, most of his contemporaries agree, however, that hewas commonly more than patient in his dealings with others. 

Kingo was an able administrator, and the institutions and finances of thediocese prospered under his care. But it was as an earnest Christian anda tireless worker for the spiritual improvement of his people that he wontheir respect. He was known as an "eloquent man, mighty in theScriptures. " One of his contemporaries said of him: "Were we not forcedafter hearing him preach to say with the disciples, 'Did not our heartsburn within us when he opened the Scriptures to us and, like a son ofthunder, published the sins of the house of Jacob, or, like Barnabas, theson of comfort, bound up our wounds and comforted us with the comfortwith which he had himself been so richly comforted by God. '" The fewextracts of his sermons that have come down to us verify the truth ofthis statement. They show us a man firmly grounded in his own faith andzealous in impressing its truth upon others. His preaching was strictlyorthodox and yet fiery and practical. The poetical language and forcefuleloquence of his sermons remind one of the best of his spiritual songs. 

Kingo's writings and frequent travels brought him into contact with mostof the outstanding personages of his country in his day. His charmingpersonality, lively conversation and fine sense of humor made him awelcome guest wherever he appeared. On the island of Taasinge, he was afrequent and beloved guest in the stately castle of the famous, pious andrevered admiral, Niels Juul, and his equally beloved wife, BirgitteUlfeldt. His friendship with this worthy couple was intimate and lasting. When admiral Juul died, Kingo wrote the beautiful epitaph that stilladorns his tomb in the Holmen church at Copenhagen. On the island ofFalster he often visited the proud and domineering ex-queen, CarolinaAmalia. He was likewise a frequent visitor at the neighboring estate ofthe once beautiful and adored daughter of king Christian IV, LeonoraUlfeldt, whom the pride and hatred of the ex-queen had consigned fortwenty-two years to a dark and lonely prison cell. Years of suffering, aswe learn from her still famous book _Memories of Misery_, had made theprincess a deeply religious woman. Imprisonment had aged her body, buthad neither dulled her brilliant mind nor hardened her heart. She spenther remaining years in doing good, and she was a great admirer of Kingo. 

Thus duty and inclination alike brought him in contact with people ofvery different stations and conditions in life. His position and highpersonal endowments made him a notable figure wherever he went. But hehad his enemies and detractors as well as his friends. It was noteveryone who could see why a poor weaver's son should be raised to such ahigh position. Kingo was accused of being greedy, vain, over-ambitiousand self-seeking, all of which probably contained at least a grain oftruth. We should have missed some of his greatest hymns, if he had been asaint, and not a man of flesh and blood, of passionate feelings anddesires, a man who knew from his own experiences that without Christ hecould do nothing. 

Despite certain peculiar complications, Kingo's private life was quitehappy. Four years after the death of his first wife, he entered intomarriage with Johanne Lund, a widow many years older than he. She broughtwith her a daughter from her former marriage. And Kingo thus had theexceptional experience of being stepfather to three sets of children, thedaughter of his second wife and the children and stepchildren of hisfirst. To be the head of such a family must inevitably have presentedconfusing problems to a man who had no children of his own. But with theexception of his stepson, all the children appear to have loved him andmaintained their relation to him as long as he lived. 

His second wife died in 1694, when she was seventy-six and he sixty yearsold. During the later years of her life she had been a helpless invalid, demanding a great deal of patience and care of her busy husband. Contemporaries comment on the frequent sight of the famous bishopgood-humoredly carrying his wife about like a helpless child. Less than ayear after her death, Kingo entered into a new marriage, this time withan attractive young lady of the nobility, Birgitte Balslev, his junior bymore than thirty years. This new marriage provoked a great deal of gossipand many predictions of disaster on account of the great disparity inyears of the contracting parties. But the predictions proved whollyunfounded, and the marriage singularly happy. Kingo and Birgitte, acontemporary tells us, were "inseparable as heart and soul. " She was anaccomplished and highly intelligent woman, and Kingo found in her, perhaps for the first time in his life, a woman with whom he could sharefully the rich treasure of his own heart and mind. He is credited withthe remark that he had done what all ought to do: married an elderlywoman in his young days, whom he could care for when she grew old, and ayoung woman in his later years, who could comfort him in his old age. 

But Kingo did not show the effect of his years. He was still as energeticand vigorous as ever in the prosecution of his manifold duties. For anumber of years after his marriage, he even continued his strenuousvisits to all parts of his see, now always accompanied by his wife. Hisleisure hours were usually spent on a beautiful estate a few miles fromOdense, which belonged to his wife. At this favored retreat and in thecompany of friends, he still could relax and become the liveliest of themall. 

The years, however, would not be denied. At the turn of the century, hesuffered a first attack of the illness, a bladder complaint, that laterlaid him in his grave. He made light of it and refused to ease hisstrenuous activity. But the attack returned with increasing frequencyand, on a visit to Copenhagen in the fall of 1702, he was compelled totake to his bed. He recovered somewhat and was able to return home. Butit was now clear to all that the days of the great bishop were numbered. Early in the new year he became bedfast and suffered excruciatingly attimes. "But he submitted himself wholly to God's will and bore histerrible suffering with true Christian patience, " one of his biographerstells us. To those who asked about his condition, his invariable answerwas, that all was well with him. If anyone expressed sympathy with him, he usually smiled and said that "it could not be expected that the twoold friends, soul and body, should part from each other without pain. "When someone prayed or sang for him he followed him eagerly, expressinghis interest with his eyes, hands and whole being. 

A week before his death he called the members of his family to his bed, shared the Holy Communion with them and thanked them and especially hiswife, for their great kindness to him during his illness. On October 13, a Saturday, he slept throughout the day, but awoke in the evening andexclaimed: "Lord God, tomorrow we shall hear wonderful music!" And on themorning of October 14, 1703, just as the great bells of the cathedral ofSt. Knud called people to the service, his soul departed peacefully tojoin the Church above. God had heard at last the earnest prayer of hisown great hymns:

 But, O Jesus, I am crying: Help that faith, on Thee relying, Over sin and sorrow may Ever rise and win the day. 

His body was laid to rest in a small village church a few miles outsideof Odense. There one still may see the stone of his tomb, bearing aninscription that likens him to a sun which, although it has set, stilllights the way for all true lovers of virtue. Other monuments to hismemory have been raised at Slangerup, Odense and other places. But hisfinest and most lasting memorials are his own great hymns. In these hiswarm, passionate spirit still speaks to a larger audience than he everreached in his own day. The years have served only to emphasize the truthof Grundtvig's beautiful epitaph to him on his monument at Odense:

 Thomas Kingo is the psalmist Of the Danish temple choir. This his people will remember Long as song their hearts inspire. 

 Hans Adolph Brorson, the Christmas Singer of Denmark

 Chapter Eight Brorson's Childhood and Youth

Hans Adolph Brorson came from Schleswig, the border province betweenDenmark and Germany which for centuries has constituted a battlegroundbetween the two countries and cost the Danes so much in blood and tears. His family was old in the district and presented an unbroken line ofsubstantial farmers until his grandfather, Broder Pedersen, broke it bystudying for the ministry and becoming pastor at Randrup, a small countryparish on the west coast of the province. 

Broder Pedersen remained at Randrup till his death in 1646, and was thensucceeded by his son, Broder Brodersen, a young man only twenty-threeyears old, who shortly before his installation had married CatherineMargaret Clausen, a daughter of the manager of Trojborg manor, the estateto which the church at Randrup belonged. Catherine Clausen bore herhusband three sons, Nicolaj Brodersen, born July 23, 1690, BroderBrodersen, born September 12, 1692, and Hans Adolph Brodersen--orBrorson--as his name was later written--born June 20, 1694. 

Broder Brodersen was a quiet, serious-minded man, anxious to give hisboys the best possible training for life. Although his income was small, he managed somehow to provide private tutors for them. Both he and hiswife were earnest Christians, and the fine example of their own lives wasno doubt of greater value to their boys than the formal instruction theyreceived from hired teachers. Thus an early biographer of the Brorsonswrites: "Their good parents earnestly instructed their boys in all thatwas good, but especially in the fear and knowledge of God. Knowing that agood example is more productive of good than the best precept, they werenot content with merely teaching them what is good, but strove earnestlyto live so that their own daily lives might present a worthy pattern fortheir sons to follow. "

Broder Brodersen was not granted the privilege of seeing his sons attaintheir honored manhood. He died in 1704, when the eldest of them wasfourteen and the youngest only ten years old. Upon realizing that he mustleave them, he is said to have comforted himself with the words of Kingo:

 If for my children I Would weep and sorrow And every moment cry: Who shall tomorrow With needful counsel, home and care provide them? The Lord still reigns above, He will with changeless love Sustain and guide them. 

Nor was the faith of the dying pastor put to shame. A year after hisdeath, his widow married his successor in the pastorate, Pastor OleHolbeck, who proved himself a most excellent stepfather to his adoptedsons. 

Reverend Holbeck personally taught the boys until Nicolaj, and a yearlater, Broder and Hans Adolph were prepared to enter the Latin school atRibe. This old and once famous school was then in a state of decay. Thetown itself had declined from a proud city, a favored residence of kingsand nobles, to an insignificant village of about fifteen hundredinhabitants. Of its former glory only a few old buildings and, especially, the beautiful cathedral still remained. And the Latin schoolhad shared the fate of the city. Its once fine buildings were decaying;its faculty, which in former times included some of the best knownsavants of the country, was poorly paid and poorly equipped; and thenumber of its students had shrunk from about 1200 to less than a score. Only the course of study remained unchanged from the Middle Ages. Latinand religion were still the main subjects of instruction. It matteredlittle if the student could neither speak nor write Danish correctly, buthe must be able to define the finest points in a Latin grammar of morethan 1200 pages. Attendance at religious services was compulsory; but theservices were cold and spiritless, offering little attraction to anadolescent youth. 

The boys completed their course at Ribe and entered the university ofCopenhagen, Nicolaj in the fall of 1710 and the younger brothers a yearlater. But the change offered them little improvement. The whole countrysuffered from a severe spiritual decline. Signs of an awakening were hereand there, but not at the university where Lutheran orthodoxy stillmaintained its undisputed reign of more than a hundred years, though ithad now become more dry and spiritless than ever. 

The brothers all intended to prepare for the ministry. But after twoyears Nicolaj for various reasons left the University of Copenhagen tocomplete his course at the University of Kiel. Broder remained atCopenhagen, completing his course there in the spring of 1715. HansAdolph studied for three years more and, even then, failed to completehis course. 

 Hans Adolph Brorson

It was a period of transition and spiritual unrest. The spiritual revivalnow clearly discernible throughout the country had at last reached theuniversity. For the first time in many years the prevailing orthodoxywith its settled answers to every question of faith and conduct wasmeeting an effective challenge. Many turned definitely away fromreligion, seeking in other fields such as history, philosophy andespecially the natural sciences for a more adequate answer to theirproblems than religion appeared to offer. Others searched for a solutionof their difficulty in new approaches to the old faith. The result was aspiritual confusion such as often precedes the dawn of a new awakening. And Brorson appears to have been caught in it. His failure to completehis course was by no means caused by indolence. He had, on the contrary, broadened his studies to include a number of subjects foreign to hiscourse, and he had worked so hard that he had seriously impaired hishealth. But he had lost his direction, and also, for the time being, allinterest in theology. 

It was, therefore, as a somewhat spiritually confused and physicallybroken young man that he gave up his studies and returned to his home atRandrup. His brothers were already well started upon their conspicuouslysuccessful careers, while he was still drifting, confused and uncertain, a failure, as some no doubt would call him. His good stepfather, nevertheless, received him with the utmost kindness. If he harbored anydisappointment in him, he does not appear to have shown it. His stepsonremained with him for about a year, assisting him with whatever he could, and had then so far recovered that he was able to accept a position astutor in the family of his maternal uncle, Nicolaj Clausen, at LøgumKloster. 

Løgum Kloster had once been a large and powerful institution and a centerof great historic events. The magnificent building of the cloister itselfhad been turned into a county courthouse, at which Nicolaj Clausen servedas county president, but the splendid old church of the cloister stillremained, serving as the parish church. In these interesting surroundingsand in the quiet family circle of his uncle, Brorson made furtherprogress toward normal health. But his full recovery came only after asincere spiritual awakening in 1720. 

The strong revival movement that was sweeping the country and displacingthe old orthodoxy, was engendered by the German Pietist movement, entering Denmark through Slesvig. The two conceptions of Christianitydiffered, it has been said, only in their emphasis. Orthodoxy emphasizeddoctrine and Pietism, life. Both conceptions were one-sided. If orthodoxyhad resulted in a lifeless formalism, Pietism soon lost its effectivenessin a sentimental subjectivism. Its neglect of sound doctrine eventuallygave birth to Rationalism. But for the moment Pietism appeared to supplywhat orthodoxy lacked: an urgent call to Christians to live what theyprofessed to believe. 

A number of the early leaders of the movement in Denmark lived in theneighborhood of Løgum Kloster, and were personally known to Brorson. Butwhether or not any of these leaders was instrumental in his awakening isnow unknown. One of his contemporaries simply states that "Brorson atthis time sought to employ his solitude in a closer walk with God inChrist and, in so doing, received a perfect assurance of the Lord'sfaithfulness to those that trust in Him. " Thus whatever influenceneighboring Pietists may have contributed to the great change in hislife, the change itself seems to have been brought about through his ownJacob-like struggle with God. And it was a complete change. If he hadformerly been troubled by many things, he henceforth evinced but onedesire to know Christ and to be known by Him. 

A first fruit of his awakening was an eager desire to enter the ministry. He was offered a position as rector of a Latin school, but hisstepfather's death, just as he was considering the offer, caused him torefuse the appointment and instead to apply for the pastorate at Randrup. His application granted, he at once hastened back to the university tofinish his formerly uncompleted course and obtain his degree. Havingaccomplished this in the fall of the same year, on April 6, 1722, he wasordained to the ministry together with his brother, Broder Brorson, whohad resigned a position as rector of a Latin school to become pastor atMjolden, a parish adjoining Randrup. As his brother, Nicolaj Brorson, shortly before had accepted the pastorate of another adjoining parish, the three brothers thus enjoyed the unusual privilege of living andworking together in the same neighborhood. 

The eight years that Brorson spent at Randrup where his father andgrandfather had worked before him were probably the happiest in his life. The parish is located in a low, treeless plain bordering the North Sea. Its climate, except for a few months of summer, is raw and blustery. Instormy weather the sea frequently floods its lower fields, causing severelosses in crops, stocks and even in human life. Thus Brorson's stepfatherdied from a cold caught during a flight from a flood that threatened theparsonage. The severe climate and constant threat of the sea, however, fosters a hardy race. From this region the Jutes together with theirneighbors, the Angles and Saxons, once set out to conquer and settle theBritish Isles. And the hardihood of the old sea-rovers was not whollylost in their descendants when Brorson settled among them, although ithad long been directed into other and more peaceful channels. 

The parsonage in which the Brorsons lived stood on a low ridge, risinggently above its surroundings and affording a splendid view over farreaches of fields, meadows and the ever changing sea. The view wasespecially beautiful in early summer when wild flowers carpeted themeadows in a profusion of colors, countless birds soared and sang abovethe meadows and shoals of fish played in the reed bordered streams. Itwas without doubt this scene that inspired the splendid hymn "Arise, AllThings that God Hath Made. "

Brorson was happy to return to Randrup. The parish was just then thecenter of all that was dearest to him in this world. His beloved motherstill lived there, his brothers were close neighbors, and he brought withhim his young wife, Catherine Clausen, whom he had married a few daysbefore his installation. 

Nicolaj and Broder Brorson had, like him, joined the Pietist movement, and the three brothers, therefore, could work together in completeharmony for the spiritual revival of their parishes. And they did notspare themselves. Both separately and cooperatively, they laboredzealously to increase church attendance, revive family devotions, encourage Bible reading and hymn singing, and minimize the many worldlyand doubtful amusements that, then as now, caused many Christians tofall. They also began to hold private assemblies in the homes, a work forwhich they were bitterly condemned by many and severely reprimanded bythe authorities. It could not be expected, of course, that a work sodevoted to the furtherance of a new conception of the Christian lifewould be tolerated without opposition. But their work, nevertheless, wasblest with abundant fruit, both in their own parishes and throughoutneighboring districts. Churches were refilled with worshippers, familyaltars rebuilt, and a new song was born in thousands of homes. Peopleexpressed their love for the three brothers by naming them "The RareThree-Leafed Clover from Randrup. " It is said that the revival inspiredby the Brorsons even now, more than two hundred years later, is plainlyevident in the spiritual life of the district. 

Thus the years passed fruitfully for the young pastor at Randrup. Herejoiced in his home, his work and the warm devotion of his people. Itcame, therefore, as a signal disappointment to all that he was the firstto break the happy circle by accepting a call as assistant pastor atChrist church in Tønder, a small city a few miles south of Randrup. 

 Chapter Nine The Singer of Pietism

The city of Tønder, when Brorson located there, had about two thousandinhabitants. At one time it had belonged to the German Dukes of Gottorp, and it was still largely German speaking. Its splendid church had threepastors, two of whom preached in German and the third, Brorson, inDanish. 

The parish Pastor, Johan Herman Schraeder, was an outstanding and highlyrespected man. Born at Hamburg in 1684, he had in his younger days servedas a tutor for the children of King Frederick IV, Princess CharlotteAmalia and Prince Christian, now reigning as King Christian VI. 

Pastor Schraeder was a zealous Pietist and a leader of the Pietistmovement in Tønder and its neighboring territory. Like the Brorsons hesought to encourage family devotions, Bible reading and, especially, hymnsinging. People are said to have become so interested in the latter thatthey brought their hymnals with them to work so that they might sing fromthem during lunch hours. He himself was a noted hymnwriter and hymncollector, who, shortly after Brorson became his assistant, published aGerman hymnal, containing no less than 1157 hymns. 

Schraeder, we are told, had been personally active in inducing Brorson toleave his beloved Randrup and accept the call to Tønder. As Brorson wasknown as an ardent Pietist, Schraeder's interest in bringing him toTønder may have originated in a natural wish to secure a congenialco-worker, but it may also have sprung from an acquaintance with his workas a hymnwriter. For although there is no direct evidence that any ofBrorson's hymns were written at Randrup, a number of circumstances makeit highly probable that some of them were composed there and thatSchraeder was acquainted with them. Such a mutual interest also helps toexplain why Brorson should leave his fruitful work at Randrup for aninferior position in a new field. It is certain that the change broughthim no outward advantages, and his position as a Danish pastor in alargely German speaking community must have presented certain unavoidabledifficulties. 

Although Brorson to our knowledge took no part in the endless contestbetween German and Danish, his personal preference was, no doubt, for thelatter. It is thus significant that, although he must have been aboutequally familiar with both languages, he did not write a single hymn inGerman. He showed no ill will toward his German speaking compatriots, however, and worked harmoniously with his German speaking co-workers. Butthis strongly German atmosphere does constitute a peculiar setting forone of the greatest hymnwriters of the Danish church. 

The congregation at Tønder had formed the peculiar custom of singing inGerman--even at the Danish service. It is self-evident, however, thatsuch a custom could not be satisfactory to Brorson. He was a Pietist withthe fervent longing of that movement for a real spiritual communion withhis fellow Christians. But a custom that compelled the pastor and hiscongregation to speak in different tongues was, of necessity, a hindranceto the consummation of such a desire. And now Christmas was drawing near, that joyful season which Brorson, as his hymns prove, loved so well andmust heartily have desired to share with his hearers, a desire which thismixture of tongues to a certain extent, made impossible. He and hiscongregation had to be one in language before they could wholly be one inspirit. 

And so, shortly before the great festival in 1732, he published a smalland unpretentious booklet entitled: _Some Christmas Hymns, Composed tothe Honor of God, the Edification of Christian Souls and, in Particular, of My Beloved Congregation during the Approaching Joyful Christmastide, Humbly and Hastily Written by Hans Adolph Brorson_. 

This simple appearing booklet at once places Brorson among the greathymnwriters of the Christian church. It contains ten hymns, seven ofwhich are for the Christmas season. Nearly every one of them is nowcounted among the classics of Danish hymnody. 

Brorson seems at once to have reached the height of his ability as ahymnwriter. His Christmas hymns present an intensity of sentiment, amastery of form and a perfection of poetical skill that he rarelyattained in his later work. They are frankly lyrical. Unlike his greatEnglish contemporary, Isaac Watts, who held that a hymn should not be alyrical poem and deliberately reduced the poetical quality of his work, Brorson believed that a Christian should use "all his thought and skillto magnify the grace of God". The opinion of an English literary critic"that hymns cannot be considered as poetry" is disproved by Brorson'swork. Some of his hymns contain poetry of the highest merit. Theirphrasing is in parts extremely lyrical, utilizing to the fullest extentthe softness and flexibility that is supposed to be an outstandingcharacteristic of the Danish tongue; their metres are most skillfullyblended and their rhymes exceedingly varied. His masterly use of what wasoften considered an inconsequential appendage to poetry isextraordinarily skillful. Thus he frequently chooses a harsh or a softrhyme to emphasize the predominating sentiment of his verse. 

Brorson is without doubt the most lyrical of all Danish hymnwriters. Literary critics have rated some of his hymns with the finest lyrics inthe Danish language. Yet his poetry seldom degenerates to a mere form. His fervid lyrical style usually serves as an admirable vehicle for thewarm religious sentiment of his song. 

In their warm spirit and fervid style Brorson's hymns in some waysstrikingly resemble the work of his great English contemporaries, theWesleys. Nor is this similarity a mere chance. The Wesleys, as we know, were strongly influenced first by the Moravians and later by the GermanPietists. Besides a number of Moravian hymns, John Wesley also translatedseveral hymns from the hymnbook compiled by the well-known Pietist, JohanFreylinghausen. The fervid style and varied metres of these hymnsintroduced a new type of church song into the English and Americanchurches. But Freylinghausen's _Gesang-Buch_ also formed the basis of thehymnal compiled by Johan Herman Schraeder from which Brorson chose mostof the originals of his translations. Thus both he and the Wesleys in ameasure drew their inspiration from the same source. The Danish poet andhis English contemporaries worked independently and mediated theirinspiration in their own way, but the resemblance of their work isunmistakable. In poetical merit, however, the work of Brorson far excelsthat of the Wesleys. But his Christmas hymns also surpass most earlierDanish hymns and even the greater part of his own later work. 

One's first impression of the booklet that so greatly has enriched theChristmas festival of Denmark and Norway, is likely to be disappointing. At the time of Brorson the festival was frequently desecrated by aceaseless round of worldly amusements. People attended the festivalservices of the church and spent the remainder of the season in a whirlof secular and far from innocent pleasures. With his Pietistic viewsBrorson naturally deplored such a misuse of the season. And his firsthymn, therefore, sounds an earnest call to cease these unseemly pleasuresand to use the festival in a Christian way. 

 Cast out all worldly pleasure This blessed Christmastide, And seek the boundless treasure That Jesus doth provide. 

But although such a warning may have been timely, then as now, it hardlyexpresses the real Christmas spirit. In the next hymn, however, he atonce strikes the true festival note in one of the most triumphantChristmas anthems in the Danish or any other language. 

 This blessed Christmastide we will, With heart and mind rejoicing, Employ our every thought and skill, God's grace and honor voicing. In Him that in the manger lay We will with all our might today Exult in heart and spirit, And hail Him as our Lord and King Till earth's remotest bounds shall ring With praises of His merit. 

 A little Child of Jesse's stem, And Son of God in heaven, To earth from heaven's glory came And was for sinners given. It so distressed His loving heart To see the world from God depart And in transgression languish, That He forsook His home above And came to earth in tender love To bear our grief and anguish. 

 Therefore we hymn His praises here And though we are but lowly, Our loud hosannas everywhere Shall voice His mercy holy. The tent of God is now with man, And He will dwell with us again When in His name assembling. And we shall shout His name anew Till hell itself must listen to Our Christmas song with trembling. 

 And though our song of joy be fraught With strains of lamentation, The burden of our cross shall not Subdue our jubilation. For when the heart is most distressed, The harp of joy is tuned so best Its chords of joy are ringing, And broken hearts best comprehend The boundless joy our Lord and Friend This Christmas day is bringing. 

 Hallelujah, our strife is o'er! Who would henceforth with sadness Repine and weep in sorrow sore This blessed day of gladness. Rejoice, rejoice, ye saints on earth, And sing the wonders of His birth Whose glory none can measure. Hallelujah, the Lord is mine, And I am now by grace divine The heir of all His treasure!

Equally fine but more quietly contemplative is the next hymn in thecollection which takes us right to the focal point of Christmas worship, the stable at Bethlehem. 

 My heart remains in wonder Before that lowly bed Within the stable yonder Where Christ, my Lord, was laid. My faith finds there its treasure, My soul its pure delight, Its joy beyond all measure, The Lord of Christmas night. 

 But Oh! my heart is riven With grief and sore dismay To see the Lord of heaven Must rest on straw and hay, That He whom angels offer Their worship and acclaim From sinful man must suffer Such scorn, neglect and shame. 

 Why should not castles royal Before Him open stand, And kings, as servants loyal, Obey His least command? Why came He not in splendor Arrayed in robes of light And called the world to render Its homage to His might?

 The sparrow finds a gable Where it may build its nest, The oxen know a stable For shelter, food and rest; Must then my Lord and Savior A homeless stranger be, Denied the simplest favor His lowly creatures see. 

 O come, my Lord, I pray Thee, And be my honored guest. I will in love array Thee A home within my breast. It cannot be a stranger To Thee, who made it free. Thou shalt find there a manger Warmed by my love to Thee. 

Far different from this song of quiet contemplation is the searching hymnthat follows it. 

 How do we exalt the Father That He sent His Son to earth. Many with indifference gather At His gift of boundless worth. 

This is followed by another hymn of praise. 

 Lift up your voice once more The Savior to adore. Let all unite in spirit And praise the grace and merit Of Jesus Christ, the Holy, Our joy and glory solely. 

And then comes "The Fairest of Roses", which a distinguished critic calls"one of the most perfect lyrics in the Danish language". This hymn isinspired by a text from the Song of Songs "I am the rose of Sharon andthe lily of the valley". It is written as an allegory, a somewhat subduedform of expression that in this case serves admirably to convey animpression of restrained fire. Its style is reminiscent of the folksongs, with the first stanza introducing the general theme of the song, the appearance of the rose, that is, of the Savior in a lost andindifferent world. The remainder of the verses are naturally divided intothree parts: a description of the dying world in which God causes therose to appear, a lament over the world's indifference to the gift whichit should have received with joy and gratitude, and a glowing declarationof what the rose means to the poet himself. 

Many chapters have been written about the poetic excellencies of thishymn, such as the perfect balance of its parts, the admirable treatmentof the contrast between the rose and the thorns, and the skillful choiceof rhymes to underscore the predominating sentiment of each verse. Butsome of these excellencies have no doubt been lost in the translation andcan be appreciated only by a study of the original. English translationsof the hymn have been made by German-, Swedish-, and Norwegian-Americanwriters, indicating its wide popularity. The following is but anotherattempt to produce a more adequate rendering of this beautiful song. 

 Now found is the fairest of roses, Midst briars it sweetly reposes. My Jesus, unsullied and holy, Abode among sinners most lowly. 

 Since man his Creator deserted, And wholly His image perverted, The world like a desert was lying, And all in transgressions were dying. 

 But God, as His promises granted, A rose in the desert hath planted, Which now with its sweetness endoweth The race that in sinfulness groweth. 

 All people should now with sweet savor Give praise unto God for His favor; But many have ne'er comprehended The rose to the world hath descended. 

 Ye sinners as vile in behavior As thorns in the crown of the Savior, Why are ye so prideful in spirit, Content with your self-righteous merit?

 O seek ye the places more lowly, And weep before Jesus, the Holy, Then come ye His likeness the nearest; The rose in the valley grows fairest. 

 My Jesus, Thou ever remainest My wonderful rose who sustainest My heart in the fullness of pleasure; Thy sweetness alone I will treasure. 

 The world may of all things bereave me, Its thorns may assail and aggrieve me, The foe may great anguish engender: My rose I will never surrender. 

The last Christmas hymn of the collection is printed under the heading:"A Little Hymn for the Children", and is composed from the text "Have yenot read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfectedpraise". Said to be the oldest children's hymn in Danish, it is still oneof the finest. It is written as a processional. The children comehastening on to Bethlehem to find the new-born Lord and offer Him theirhomage. One almost hears their pattering feet and happy voices as theyrush forward singing:

 Here come Thy little ones, O Lord, To Thee in Bethlehem adored. Enlighten now our heart and mind That we the way to Thee may find. 

 We hasten with a song to greet And kneel before Thee at Thy feet. O blessed hour, O sacred night, When Thou wert born, our soul's Delight!

 Be welcome from Thy heavenly home Unto this vale of tears and gloom, Where man to Thee no honor gave But stable, manger, cross and grave. 

 But Jesus, oh! how can it be That but so few will think of Thee And of that tender, wondrous love Which drew Thee to us from above?

 O draw us little children near To Thee, our Friend and Brother dear, That each of us so heartily In faith and love may cling to Thee. 

 Let not the world lead us astray That we our Christian faith betray, But grant that all our longings be Directed always unto Thee. 

 Then shall the happy day once come When we shall gather in Thy home And join the angels' joyful throng In praising Thee with triumph song. 

 We gather now about Thee close Like leaves around the budding rose, O grant us, Savior, that we may Thus cluster round Thy throne for aye. 

His Christmas hymns were so well received that Brorson was encouraged tocontinue his writing. During the following year he published no less thanfive collections bearing the titles: _Some Advent Hymns_, _Some PassionHymns_, _Some Easter Hymns_, _Some Pentecost Hymns_, and _Hymns for theMinor Festivals_. All of these hymns were likewise kindly received andtherefore he continued to send out new collections, publishing during thefollowing years a whole series of hymns on various phases of Christianfaith and life. In 1739, all these hymns were collected into one volumeand published under the title: _The Rare Clenod of Faith_. 

This now famous book contains in all 67 original and 216 translatedhymns. The arrangement of the hymns follows in the main the order of theLutheran catechism, covering not only every division but almost everysubdivision of the book. Brorson, it appears, must have written his hymnsafter a preconceived plan, a rather unusual method for a hymnwriter tofollow. 

_The Rare Clenod of Faith_ fails as a whole to maintain the high standardof the Christmas hymns. Although the language, as in all that Brorsonwrote, is pure and melodious, the poetic flight and fresh sentiment ofhis earlier work is lacking to some extent in the latter part of thecollection. One reason for this is thought to be that Brorson, onlocating at Tønder, had come into closer contact with the more extremeviews of Pietism. The imprint of that movement, at least, is moredistinct upon his later than upon his earlier work. The greatpreponderance of his translated over his original hymns also affects thespirit of the collection. He was not always fortunate in the selection ofthe original material for his translations. Some of these express theexcessive Pietistic contemplation of the Savior's blood and wounds;others are rhymed sermons rather than songs of praise. 

Despite these defects, _The Rare Clenod of Faith_, still ranks with thegreat books of hymnody. It contains a wealth of hymns that will neverdie. Even the less successful of its compositions present a trueEvangelical message, a message that, at times, sounds a stern call toawake and "shake off that sinful sleep before to you is closed the opendoor" and, at others, pleads softly for a closer walk with God, a deeperunderstanding of His ways and a firmer trust in His grace. There are manystrings on Brorson's harp, but they all sound a note of vital faith. 

Judging Brorson's original hymns to be far superior to his translations, some have deplored that he should have spent so much of his time intransferring the work of others. And it is, no doubt, true that hisoriginal hymns are as a whole superior to his translations. But many ofthese are so fine that their elimination would now appear like anirreplaceable loss to Danish hymnody. The constant love with which manyof them have been used for more than two hundred years should silence theclaim that a translated hymn must of necessity be less valuable than anoriginal. A considerable number of the originals of Brorson's mostfavored translations have long been forgotten. 

As a translator Brorson is usually quite faithful to the originals, following them as closely as the differences in language and mode ofexpression permit. He is not slavishly bound, however, to his text. Hisconstant aim is to reproduce his text in a pure and idiomatic Danish. Andas his own poetic skill in most cases was superior to that of theoriginal writer, his translations are often greatly superior to theiroriginals in poetical merit. 

Although the translation of a translation of necessity presents a veryunreliable yard-stick of a man's work, the following translation ofBrorson's version of the well-known German hymn, "Ich Will Dich Lieben, Meine Starke" may at least indicate the nature of his work as atranslator. 

 Thee will I love, my strength, my Treasure; My heart in Thee finds peace and joy. Thee will I love in fullest measure, And in Thy cause my life employ. Thee will I love and serve alone. Lord, take me as Thine own. 

 Thee will I love, my Life Eternal, My Guide and Shepherd on Life's way. Thou leadest me to pastures vernal, And to the light of endless day. Thee will I love, Whose blood was spilt To cleanse my soul from guilt. 

 Long, long wert Thou to me a stranger, Though Thou didst love me first of all, I strayed afar in sin and danger And heeded not Thy loving call Until I found that peace of heart Thou canst alone impart. 

 Lord, cast not out Thy child, returning A wanderer, naked and forlorn. The tempting world, I sought with yearning, Had naught to give but grief and scorn. In Thee alone for all its grief My heart now finds relief. 

 Thee will I love and worship ever, My Lord, my God and Brother dear! Must every earthly tie I sever And naught but sorrow suffer here, Thee will I love, my Lord divine; O Jesus, call me Thine. 

Equally characteristic of his work is his translation of the less-knownbut appealing German hymn "Der Schmale Weg Ist Breit Genug zum Leben". 

 The narrow way is wide enough to heaven For those who walk straight-forward and with care And take each step with watchfulness and prayer. When we are by the Spirit driven, The narrow way is wide enough to heaven. 

 The way of God is full of grace and beauty For those who unto Him in faith have turned And have His way with love and ardor learned. When we accept His call and duty, The way of God is full of grace and beauty. 

 The yoke of God is not too hard to carry For those who love His blessed will and way And shall their carnal pride in meekness slay. When we with Him in faith will tarry, The yoke of God is not too hard to carry. 

 O Jesus, help me Thy blest way to follow. Thou knowest best my weak and fainting heart And must not let me from Thy way depart. I shall Thy name with praises hallow, If Thou wilt help me Thy blest way to follow. 

But fine as many of his translations are, Brorson's main claim to famemust rest, of course, upon his original compositions. These are ofvarying merit. His Christmas hymns were followed by a number of hymns forthe festivals of the church year. While some of these are excellent, others are merely rhymed meditations upon the meaning of the season andlack the freshness of his Christmas anthems. The triumphant Easter hymngiven below belongs to the finest of the group. 

 Christians, who with sorrow On this Easter morrow Watch the Savior's tomb, Banish all your sadness, On this day of gladness Joy must vanquish gloom. Christ this hour With mighty power Crushed the foe who would detain Him; Nothing could restrain Him. 

 Rise, ye feeble-hearted, Who have pined and smarted, Vexed by sin and dread. He has burst the prison And with might arisen, Jesus, Who was dead. And His bride For whom He died, He from sin and death now raises; Hail Him then with praises. 

 When our sins aggrieve us, Jesus will receive us, All our debt He paid. We, who were transgressors Are now blest possessors Of His grace and aid. When in death He gave His breath To the cruel foe He yielded That we should be shielded. 

 Earth! where are thy wonders! Hell! where are thy thunders! Death, where is thy sting! Jesus rose victorious, Reigns in heaven glorious As our Lord and King. Him, the Lord, Who did accord Us so great a joy and favor, We will praise forever. 

Brorson's other hymns are too numerous to permit a more than cursoryreview. Beginning with the subject of creation, he wrote a number ofexcellent hymns on the work and providence of God. Best known among theseis the hymn given below, which is said to have so pleased the king thathe chose its author to become bishop. The hymn is thought to have beenwritten while Brorson was still at Randrup. But whether this be so ornot, it is evidently inspired by the natural scenery of that locality. 

 Arise, all things that God hath made[5] And praise His name and glory; Great is the least His hand arrayed, And tells a wondrous story. 

 Would all the kings of earth display Their utmost pomp and power, They could not make a leaflet stay And grow upon a flower. 

 How could the wisdom I compass To show the grace and wonder Of but the smallest blade of grass On which the mind would ponder. 

 What shall I say when I admire The verdant meadows blooming, And listen to the joyful choir Of birds above them zooming. 

 What shall I say when I descry Deep in the restless ocean The myriad creatures passing by In swift and ceaseless motion. 

 What shall I say when I behold The stars in countless numbers Display their light and charm untold While nature sweetly slumbers. 

 What shall I say when I ascend To Him Who made creation, And see the angel host attend His throne with adoration. 

 What shall I say--vain are my words And humble my opinion! Great is Thy wisdom, Lord of lords, Thy glory and dominion!

 Lift up your voice with one accord Now, every tribe and nation: Hallelujah, great is our Lord And wondrous His creation!

The Pietist movement is known for its fervid glorification of the Savior, and particularly of His blood and wounds, a glorification which at timesappears objectionable because of the too-familiar and realistic terms inwhich it is expressed. Brorson did not wholly escape the excesses of themovement in this respect, especially in his translations. In his originalhymns the excesses are less apparent. However faithful he might be to themovement he possessed a wholesome restraint which, when he was notfollowing others, caused him to moderate its most inappropriateextravagances. What can be more reverent than this beautiful tribute tothe Savior:

 Jesus, name of wondrous grace, Fount of mercy and salvation, First fruit of the new creation, Weary sinners' resting place, Banner of the faith victorious, Anchor of our hope and love, Guide us in Thy footsteps glorious, Bear us to Thy home above. 

Or more expressive than this jubilant hymn of adoration:

 O Thou blest Immanuel! What exceeding joy from heaven Hast Thou caused in me to dwell By Thy life for sinners given. Thou hast broke the bands at last Which my yearning soul held fast. 

 In Thine arms I find relief, Soon Thy home I shall inherit, Sin and sorrow, death and grief Nevermore shall vex my spirit. For Thy word confirms the pledge Of my lasting heritage. 

 Lord, my praise ascends to Thee For these days of joy and sorrow; They shall end in jubilee On that blest eternal morrow When the Sun of Paradise Shall for me in splendor rise. 

 Rise in joyful faith, my soul! Banish all thy grief and sadness. Strong the stream of life shall roll Through my heart with constant gladness. Jesus, Who mine anguish bore, Be now praised for evermore. 

Most beautiful is also his hymn to the Lamb of God, translated by PastorD. G. M. Bach. 

 I see Thee stand, O Lamb of God, On Zion's mountain peak. But Oh the way that Thou hast trod, So long, so hard, so bleak! What Thou didst suffer for our woe, No man can ever know. 

Though Brorson made a number of excellent translations of hymns to theSpirit such as the beautiful, "Come, Rains from the Heavens, toStrengthen and Nourish the Languishing Field, " he wrote no outstandingPentecost hymns of his own composition. It remained for Grundtvig tosupply the Danish church with a wealth of unexcelled hymns on the HolyGhost. 

Aside from his Christmas hymns, Brorson's greatest contribution tohymnody is perhaps his revival hymns, a type in which the Lutheran churchis rather poor. The special message of the Pietist movement was anearnest call to awake, and Brorson repeated that call with an appealinginsistence and earnestness. The word of God has been sown, but where areits fruits?

 O Father, may Thy word prevail Against the power of Hell! Behold the vineyard Thou hast tilled With thorns and thistles filled. 'Tis true, the plants are there, But ah, how weak and rare, How slight the power and evidence Of word and sacraments. 

It is, therefore, time for all Christians to awake. 

 Awaken from your idle dreaming! Ye lukewarm Christians, now arise. Behold, the light from heaven streaming Proclaims the day of mercy flies. Throw off that sinful sleep before To you is closed the open door. 

Many are heedless, taking no thought of the day when all shall appearbefore the judgment of God. Such people should arouse themselves andprepare for the rendering of their account. 

 O heart, prepare to give account Of all thy sore transgression. To God, of grace and love the Fount, Make thou a full confession. What hast thou done these many years The Lord hath thee afforded. Nothing but sin and earthly cares Is in God's book recorded. 

He realizes that many continue in their sin because of ignorance, andwith these he pleads so softly:

 If thou but knew the life that thou are leading In sin and shame is Satan's tyranny, Thou wouldest kneel and with the Lord be pleading That He thy soul from bondage would set free. Oh, how the Saviour would rejoice If thou today should'st listen to His voice!

And the day of salvation is now at hand. 

 O, seek the Lord today, Today He hath salvation. Approach Him while He may Still hear thy supplication. Repent and seek His grace While yet His call doth sound, Yea turn to Him thy face While still He may be found. 

Orthodoxy had instilled a formal, but often spiritless faith. Pietismaimed to awaken the great mass of formal believers to a new life, aliving and active faith. This is strongly expressed in the very popularhymn below. 

 The faith that Christ embraces[6] And purifies the hearts The faith that boldly faces The devil's fiery darts, That faith is strong and must Withstand the world's temptation And in all tribulation, In Christ, the Saviour, trust. 

 The faith that knows no struggle Against the power of sin, The faith that sounds no bugle To waken, fight and win, That faith is dead and vain, Its sacred name disgracing, And impotent when facing The devil's mighty reign. 

 A Christian wears his armor To wage the war of faith Against the crafty charmer, His foe in life and death. With Jesus he must stand Undaunted and victorious, If he would win his glorious Reward at God's right hand. 

 It is a comfort pleasing In our embattled life, To feel our strength increasing In trying days of strife. And as our days shall be The Lord will help accord us And with His gifts reward us When striving faithfully. 

 O Lord, my hope most fervent, My refuge in all woe, I will hence be Thy servant Through all my days below. Let come whatever may, I will exalt Thee ever, And ask no other favor Than live with Thee for aye. 

Although Brorson knew that--

 The cost is greater than at first expected To be in God's unbounded gifts perfected. 

he holds that

 It does not cost too hard a strife To be a Christian, pure and heaven-minded, --

But a Christian must be steadfast and persevering, as he admonisheshimself and others in the following very popular hymn. The translation isby Pastor P. C. Paulsen. 

 Stand fast, my soul, stand fast In Christ, thy Saviour! Lose not the war at last By faint behaviour. It is of no avail That thou hast known Him If when thy foes assail, Thou shalt His banner fail, And thus disown Him. 

 To brandish high thy sword, With calm assurance, And face the devil's horde With brave endurance, Is meet and well begun, And merits praising. But from the strife to run, When blows thy courage stun, Is most disgracing. 

 Let Satan rave and rage By hosts attended, The war for Christ I wage Until it's ended. When leaning on His arm With firm reliance, I need not take alarm, To me can come no harm From Hell's defiance. 

 When Jesus' love I see, It me constraineth, So that from carnal glee My soul abstaineth. When heaven to me is dear, Its joys attractive, Of hell I have no fear, For Christ, my Lord, is near, In battle active. 

 In just a little while The strife is ended, And I from Satan's guile For aye defended. Then I, where all is well, In heaven's glory, Among the saints shall dwell, And with rejoicing tell Salvation's story. 

Therefore children of God should rejoice. 

 Children of God, born again by His Spirit, Never ye cease in His name to rejoice; Jesus believing and saved by His merit, Come we to Him with a jubilant voice. 

But even a child of God must not expect to escape from the common trialsand perils of life. God promises assistance but not exemption to thosewho love Him. In the following striking hymn, Brorson vividly picturesboth the trials and the comfort of a child of God. 

 I walk in danger everywhere, [7] The thought must never leave me, That Satan watches to ensnare And with his guile deceive me. His cunning pitfalls may Make me an easy prey Unless I guard myself with care; I walk in danger everywhere. 

 I walk through trials everywhere; The world no help can offer. The burdens I am called to bear I must with patience suffer; Though often I discern No place where I may turn When clouds surround me far and near; Death walks beside me everywhere. 

 Death walks besides me everywhere; Its shadows oft appall me. I know not when the hour is here When God from earth shall call me. A moment's failing breath, And I am cold in death, Faced with eternity fore'er; Death walks besides me everywhere. 

 I walk 'mongst angels everywhere; They are my sure defenders; The hordes of hell in vain prepare Against such strong contenders. All doubts and fears must flee, With angels guarding me; No foe can harm me in their care; I walk 'mongst angels everywhere. 

 I walk with Jesus everywhere; His goodness never fails me. I rest beneath His shielding care When trouble sore assails me. And by His footsteps led, My path I safely tread. Despite all ills my foes prepare: I walk with Jesus everywhere. 

 I walk to heaven everywhere, Preparing for the morrow When God shall hear my anxious prayer And banish all my sorrow. Be quiet then, my soul, Press onward to thy goal. All carnal pleasures thou forswear, And walk to heaven everywhere. 

Unlike Kingo and Grundtvig, Brorson wrote no outstanding hymns on thesacraments. Pietism was in the main a revival movement and placed nospecial emphasis on the means of grace. And although Brorson remained aloyal son of the established church, he wrote his finest hymns on thosephases of Christianity most earnestly emphasized by the movement to whichhe belonged. While this is only what could be expected, it indicates bothhis strength and limitation as a hymnwriter. He was above all the sweetsinger of Pietism. 

The hymns of Brorson that appeared during his lifetime were all writtenwithin the space of four years. In that brief period he composed a volumeof songs that rank with the finest in the Christian church, and just ashe might have been expected to produce his finest work, he discontinuedhis effort. The hymns of the _Swan-Song_--which we shall discusslater--though written for his own edification, indicate what he mighthave attained if he had continued to write for publication. His reasonfor thus putting aside the lyre, which for a little while he had playedso appealingly, is unknown. Some have suggested that he wrote his hymnsaccording to a preconceived plan, which, when completed, he felt noinclination to enlarge; others have surmised that the new and ardentduties, bestowed upon him about this time, deprived him of the leisure towrite. But as Brorson himself expressed no reason for his action, no onereally knows why this sweet singer of Pietism so suddenly ceased to sing. 

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[5]Another translation with the same first line by A. M. Andersen in "Hymnal for Church and Home". 

[6]Another translation: "The faith that God believeth" by P. C. Paulsen in "Hymnal for Church and Home". 

[7]Another translation: "I walk in danger all the way" by D. G. Ristad in "Hymnal for Church and Home". 

 Chapter Ten Brorson's SWAN-SONG

The Pietist movement, new and numerically small when the Brorsons alignedthemselves with it, made such sweeping progress that within a few yearsit became the most powerful movement within the Danish church. And in1739, it ascended the throne in the persons of King Christian VI and hisconsort, Queen Sophia Magdalene of Kulmbach, an event of greatsignificance to the fortunes of the Brorsons. 

In Denmark the king is officially the head of the church. At the time ofBrorson all church appointments belonged to him, and King Christian VI, if he had so wanted, could thus have filled all vacancies with adherentsof the movement in which he sincerely believed. He was, however, nofanatic. Earnestly concerned, as he no doubt was, to further thespiritual welfare of his subjects, his only desire was to supply allchurch positions at his disposal with good and able men. And as such theBrorsons were recommended to him by his old tutor and adviser in churchaffairs, John Herman Schraeder. On this recommendation, he successivelyinvited the brothers to preach at court. Their impression upon him was sofavorable that within a few years he appointed Nicolaj to become pastorof Nicolaj church in Copenhagen, one of the largest churches in thecapital, Broder to become Provost of the cathedral at Ribe and, two yearslater, Bishop of Aalborg, and Hans Adolph to succeed his brother at Ribeand, four years later, to become bishop of that large and historicallyfamous bishopric. Thus the brothers in a few years had been elevated fromobscurity to leading positions within their church. 

Contemporaries express highly different estimates of Brorson as a bishop. While praised by some, he is severely criticized by others as unfit bothby ability and temperament for the high office he occupied. This lastestimate now is generally held to be unjust and, to some extent at least, inspired by jealousy of his quick rise to fame and by antagonism to hispietistic views. A close examination of church records and his officialcorrespondence proves him to have been both efficient in theadministration of his office and moderate in his dealings with others. Hewas by all accounts an eloquent and effective speaker. Although Ribe wasa small city, its large cathedral was usually crowded whenever it wasknown that Brorson would conduct the service. People came from far awayto hear him. And his preaching at home and on his frequent visits to allparts of his large bishopric bore fruit in a signal quickening of theChristian life in many of the parishes under his charge. He was, we aretold, as happy as a child when he found pastors and their people workingfaithfully together for the upbuilding of the kingdom. But his own zealcaused him to look for the same earnestness in others. And he was usuallystern and, at times, implacable, in his judgment of neglect andslothfulness, especially in the pastors. 

His private life was by all accounts exceptionally pure and simple, atrue expression of his sincere faith and earnest piety. A domestic, whofor many years served in his home has furnished us with a mostinteresting account of his home life. Brorson, she testifies, was anexceptionally kind and friendly man, always gentle and considerate in hisdealing with others except when they had provoked him by some grossneglect or inattention to right and duty. He was generous to a faulttoward others, but very frugal, even parsimonious in his home and in hispersonal habits. Only at Christmas or on other special occasion would heurge his household to spare nothing. He was a ceaseless and industriousworker, giving close personal attention to the multiple duties of hisimportant position and office. His daily life bore eloquent witness ofhis sincere piety. When at home, no matter how busy, he always gatheredhis whole household for daily devotions. Music constituted his solediversion. He enjoyed an evening spent in playing and singing with hisfamily and servants. If he chanced to hear a popular song with a pleasingtune, he often adopted it to his own words, and sang it in the familycircle. Many of the hymns in his Swan-Song are said to have been composedand sung in that way. 

His life was rich in trials and suffering. His first wife died just as hewas preparing to go to Copenhagen for his consecration as a bishop, andthe loss affected him so deeply that only the pleading of his friendsprevented him from resigning the office. He later married a mostexcellent woman, Johanne Riese, but could never forget the wife of hisyouth. Several of his children preceded him in death, some of them whilestill in their infancy, and others in the prime of their youth. His ownhealth was always delicate and he passed through several severe illnessesfrom which his recovery was considered miraculous. His heaviest crosswas, perhaps, the hopeless insanity of his first-born son, who throughouthis life had to be confined to a locked and barred room as a hopeless anddangerous lunatic. A visitor in the bishop's palace, it is related, onceremarked: "You speak so often about sorrows and trials, Bishop Brorson, but you have your ample income and live comfortably in this fine mansion, so how can you know about these things?" Without answering, Brorsonbeckoned his visitor to follow him to the graveyard where he showed himthe grave of his wife and several of his children, and into the palacewhere he showed him the sad spectacle of his insane son. Then the visitorunderstood that position and material comfort are no guaranty againstsorrow. 

A very sensitive man, Brorson was often deeply afflicted by his trials, but though cast down, he was not downcast. The words of his own belovedhymn, "Whatever I am called to bear, I must in patience suffer, " no doubtexpress his own attitude toward the burdens of his life. His trialsengendered in him, however, an intense yearning for release, especiallyduring his later years. The hymns of his _Swan-Song_ are eloquenttestimonies of his desire to depart and be at home with God. 

With the passing years his health became progressively poorer and hisweakening body less able to support the strain of his exacting office. Hewould listen to no plea for relaxation, however, until his decreasingstrength clearly made it impossible for him to continue. Even then herefused to rest and planned to publish a series of weekly sermons that hemight thus continue to speak to his people. But his strength waned soquickly that he was able to complete only one of the sermons. 

On May 29, 1764, he begged a government official to complete a casebefore him at his earliest convenience "for I am now seventy years old, feeble, bedridden and praying for release from this unhappy world. " Onlya day later, his illness took a grave turn for the worse. He sank into astupor that lasted until dusk when he awoke and said clearly, "My Jesusis praying for me in heaven. I see it by faith and am anxious to go. Comequickly, my Lord, and take me home!" He lingered until the morning ofJune 3, when he passed away peacefully just as the great bells of thecathedral announced the morning service. 

Several fine memorials have been raised to his memory, among them anexcellent statue at the entrance to the cathedral at Ribe, and a tableton the inside wall of the building right beside a similar remembrance ofHans Tausen, the leader of the Danish reformation and a former bishop ofthe diocese. But the finest memorial was raised to him by his son throughthe publication of _Hans Adolph Brorson's Swan-Song_, a collection ofhymns and songs selected from his unpublished writings. 

The songs of the _Swan-Song_ were evidently written for the poet's ownconsolation and diversion. They are of very different types and merit, and a number of them might without loss have been left out of thecollection. A few of them stand unexcelled, however, for beauty, sentiment and poetic excellence. There are songs of patience such as theinimitable:

 Her vil ties, her vil bies, Her vil bies, o svage Sind. Vist skal du hente, kun ved at vente, Kun ved at vente, vor Sommer ind. Her vil ties, her vil bies, Her vil bies, o svage Sind. 

which one can hardly transfer to another language without marring itstender beauty. And there are songs of yearning such as the greatlyfavored, O Holy Ghost, my spirit With yearning longs to see Jerusalem That precious gem, Where I shall soon inherit The home prepared for me. 

 But O the stormy waters! How shall I find my way Mid hidden shoals, Where darkness rolls, And join thy sons and daughters Who dwell in thee for aye. 

 Lord, strengthen my assurance Of dwelling soon with Thee, That I may brave The threatening wave With firm and calm endurance; Thyself my pilot be. 

And there is "The Great White Host", most beloved of all Brorson's hymns, which Dr. Ryden, a Swedish-American Hymnologist, calls the most popularScandinavian hymn in the English language. Several English translationsof this song are available. The translation presented below is from thenew English hymnal of the Danish Lutheran churches in America. 

 Behold the mighty, whiterobed band[8] Like thousand snowclad mountains stand With waving palms And swelling psalms Above at God's right hand. These are the heroes brave that came Through tribulation, war and flame And in the flood Of Jesus' blood Were cleansed from sin and shame. Now with the ransomed, heavenly Throng They praise the Lord in every tongue, And anthems swell Where God doth dwell Amidst the angels' song. 

 They braved the world's contempt and might, But see them now in glory bright With golden crowns, In priestly gowns Before the throne of light. The world oft weighed them with dismay. And tears would flow without allay, But there above The Saviour's love Has wiped their tears away. Theirs is henceforth the Sabbath rest, The Paschal banquet of the blest, Where fountains play And Christ for aye Is host as well as guest. 

 All hail to you, blest heroes, then! A thousand fold is now your gain That ye stood fast Unto the last And did your goal attain. Ye spurned all worldly joy and fame, And harvest now in Jesus' name What ye have sown With tears unknown Mid angels' glad acclaim. Lift up your voice, wave high your palm, Compass the heavens with your psalm: All glory be Eternally To God and to the Lamb. 

Brorson's hymns were received with immediate favor. _The Rare Clenod ofFaith_ passed through six editions before the death of its author, and anew church hymnal published in 1740 contained ninety of his hymns. Pietism swept the country and adopted Brorson as its poet. But its reignwas surprisingly short. King Christian VI died in 1746, and the new king, a luxury-loving worldling, showed little interest in religion and none atall in Pietism. Under his influence the movement quickly waned. Duringthe latter part of the eighteenth century it was overpowered by a wave ofreligious rationalism which engulfed the greater part of the intellectualclasses and the younger clergy. The intelligentsia adopted Voltaire andRousseau as their prophets and talked endlessly of the new age ofenlightenment in which religion was to be shorn of its mysteries andpeople were to be delivered from the bonds of superstition. 

In such an atmosphere the old hymns and, least of all, Brorson's hymnswith their mystic contemplation of the Saviour's blood and wounds couldnot survive. The leading spirits in the movement demanded a new hymnalthat expressed the spirit of the new age. The preparation of such a bookwas undertaken by a committee of popular writers, many of whom openlymocked Evangelical Christianity. Their work was published under the title_The Evangelical Christian Hymnal_, a peculiar name for a book which, ashas been justly said, was neither Evangelical nor Christian. Thecompilers had eliminated many of the finest hymns of Kingo and Brorsonand ruthlessly altered others so that they were irrecognizable. Tocompensate for this loss, a great number of "poetically perfect hymns" bynewer writers--nearly all of whom have happily been forgotten--wereadopted. 

But while would-be leaders discarded or mutilated the old hymns and, witha zeal worthy of a better cause, sought to force their new songs upon thecongregations, many of these clung tenaciously to their old hymnal andstoutly refused to accept the new. In places the controversy evendeveloped into a singing contest, with the congregations singing thenumbers from the old hymnal and the deacons from the new. And thesecontests were, of course, expressive of an even greater controversy thanthe choice of hymns. They represented the struggle between pastors, working for the spread of the new gospel, and congregations stillclinging to the old. With the highest authorities actively supporting thenew movement, the result of the contest was, however, a foregoneconclusion. The new enlightenment triumphed, and thousands of EvangelicalChristians became homeless in their own church. 

During the subsequent period of triumphant Rationalism, groups ofEvangelical laymen began to hold private assemblies in their own homesand to provide for their own spiritual nourishment by reading Luther'ssermons and singing the old hymns. In these assemblies Brorson's hymnsretained their favor until a new Evangelical awakening during the middlepart of the nineteenth century produced a new appreciation of the oldhymns and restored them to their rightful place in the worship of thechurch. And the songs of the Sweet Singer of Pietism have, perhaps, neverenjoyed a greater favor in his church than they do today. 

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[8]Another translation: "Like thousand mountains brightly crowned" by S. D. Rodholm in "World of Song". 

 Nicolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig the Singer of Pentecost

 Chapter Eleven Grundtvig's Early Years

The latter part of the eighteenth and the earlier part of the nineteenthcentury produced a number of great changes in the spiritual, intellectualand economic life of Denmark. The strong Pietist movement at the time ofBrorson, as we have seen, lost much of its momentum with the death ofKing Christian VI, and within a few years was overwhelmed by a wave ofthe intellectual and religious Rationalism then engulfing a large part ofEurope. Religion, it was claimed, should be divested of its mysteries andreason made supreme. Whatever could not justify itself before the bar ofthe human intellect should be discarded as outworn conceptions of a lessenlightened age. The movement, however, comprised all shades of opinionsfrom pure agnosticism to an idealistic belief in God, virtue andimmortality. 

Although firmly opposed by some of the most influential Danish leaders ofthat day, such as the valiant bishop of Sjælland, Johan Edinger Balle, Rationalism swept the country with irresistible force. Invested in theattractive robe of human enlightenment and appealing to man's naturalintellectual vanity, the movement attracted the majority of the upperclasses and a large proportion of the clergy. Its adherents studiedRousseau and Voltaire, talked resoundingly of human enlightenment, organized endless numbers of clubs, and--in some instances--workedzealously for the social and economic uplift of the depressed classes. 

In this latter endeavor many pastors assumed a commendable part. Havinglost the old Gospel, the men of the cloth became eager exponents of the"social gospel" of that day. While we may not approve their Christmassermons "on improved methods of stable feeding, " or their Easter sermons"on the profitable cultivation of buckwheat, " we cannot but recognizetheir devoted labor for the educational and economic uplift, especiallyof the hard-pressed peasants. 

Their well-meant efforts, however, bore little fruit. The great majorityof the people had sunk into a slough of spiritual apathy from whichneither the work of the Rationalists nor the stirring events of the timecould arouse them. 

The nineteenth century began threateningly for Denmark, heaping calamityafter calamity upon her. England attacked her in 1801 and 1807, robbingher of her fine fleet and forcing her to enter the European war on theside of Napoleon. The war wrecked her trade, bankrupted her finances andended with the severance of her long union with Norway in 1814. Butthrough it all Holger Danske slept peacefully, apparently unaware thatthe very existence of the nation was threatened. 

It is against this background of spiritual and national indifference thatthe towering figure of Grundtvig must be seen. For it was he, more thanany other, who awakened his people from their lethargic indifference andstarted them upon the road toward a happier day spiritually andnationally. 

Nicolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig, like so many of Denmark's greatestmen, was the son of a parson. He was born September 8, 1783, at Udby, acountry parish in the south-eastern part of Sjælland. His father, JohanOttesen Grundtvig, was a pastor of the old school, an upright, earnestand staunch supporter of the Evangelical Lutheran faith. His mother, Catherine Marie Bang, was a high-minded, finely educated woman with anardent love for her country, its history, traditions and culture. Her sonclaimed that he had inherited his love of "song and saga" from her. 

The Grundtvigs on both sides of the family were descendants of a longline of distinguished forebears, the most famous of whom was ArchbishopAbsalon, the founder of Copenhagen and one of the most powerful figuresin 13th Century Denmark. And they still had relatives in high places. Thus Johan Edinger Balle, the formerly mentioned bishop of Sjælland, wasa brother-in-law of Johan Grundtvig; Cathrine Grundtvig's brother, Dr. Johan Frederik Bang, was a well-known professor of medicine and thestepfather of Jacob Peter Mynster; and her younger sister, SusannaKristine Steffens, was the mother of Henrik Steffens, a professor at theuniversities of Halle and Breslau, a friend of Goethe and Schiller, and aleader of the early Romantic movement, both in Germany and Denmark. 

Cathrine Grundtvig bore her husband five children, of whom Nicolaj wasthe youngest. But even with such a large household to manage, she foundtime to supervise the early schooling of her youngest son. She taught himto read, told him the sagas of his people and gave him his first lessonsin the history and literature, both of his own and of other nations. 

It was a period of stirring events. Wars and revolutions raged in manyparts of Europe. And these events were eagerly followed and discussed inthe parsonage. Listening to his elders, Grundtvig saw, as it were, history in its making and acquired an interest in the subject thatproduced rich fruits in later years. The wholesome Christian life of hishome and the devotional spirit of the services in his father's churchalso made a deep impression upon him, an impression that even thescepticism of his youth could not eradicate. 

But his happy childhood years ended all too quickly. At the age of ninehe left his home to continue his studies under a former tutor, Pastor L. Feld of Thyregod, a country parish in Jylland. There he spent six lonelybut quite fruitful years, receiving among other things a solid trainingin the classical languages. In 1798, he completed his studies with Rev. Feld and enrolled in the Latin school at Aarhus, the principal city ofJylland. But the change proved most unfortunate for young Grundtvig. Under the wise and kindly guidance of Rev. Feld he had preserved thewholesome, eager spirit of his childhood, but the lifeless teaching, thecompulsory religious exercises and the whole spiritless atmosphere of hisnew school soon changed him into an indifferent, sophisticated andself-satisfied cynic with little interest in his studies, and none at allin religion. 

At the completion of his course, however, this attitude did not deter himfrom enrolling at the University of Copenhagen with the intention ofstudying for the ministry. A university education was then consideredalmost indispensable to a man of his social position, and his parentsearnestly wished him to enter the church. Nor was his attitude towardChristianity greatly different from that of his fellow students or evenfrom that of many pastors already preaching the emasculated gospel ofGod, Virtue, and Immortality which the Rationalists held to be the trueessence of the Christian religion. Believing the important part of theGospel to be its ethical precepts, Grundtvig, furthermore, prided himselfupon the correctness of his own moral conduct and his ability to controlall unworthy passions. "I was at that time, " he later complained, "nothing but an insufferably vain and narrow-minded Pharisee. "

From this spirit of superior self-sufficiency, only two thingsmomentarily aroused him during his university years--the English attacksupon Copenhagen; and a series of lectures by his cousin, Henrik Steffens. 

Steffens, as a student at Jena, had met and become an enthusiasticdisciple of Schelling, the father of natural philosophy, a pantheisticcolored conception of life, opposed to the narrowly materialistic viewsof most Rationalists. Lecturing at the university during the years1802-1803, Steffens aroused a tremendous enthusiasm, both among thestudents and some of the older intellectuals. "He was a fiery speaker, "Grundtvig remarks later, "and his lectures both shocked and inspired usalthough I often laughed at him afterward. "

Despite his attempt to laugh away the impression of the fiery speaker, Grundtvig, nevertheless, retained at least two lasting memories from thelectures--the power of the spoken word, a power that even against hiswill could arouse him from his cynical indifference, and the reverencewith which Steffens spoke of Christ as "the center of history. " The humanrace, he contended, had sunk progressively lower and lower from the fallof man until the time of Nero, when the process had been reversed and manhad begun the slow upward climb that was still continuing. And of thisprogress the speaker in glowing terms pictured Christ as the livingcenter. 

Grundtvig was graduated from the university in the spring of 1803. Hewished to remain in Copenhagen but could find no employment and wasforced, therefore, to return to his home. Here he remained for about ayear, after which he succeeded in obtaining a position as tutor for theson of Lieutenant Steensen Leth of Egelykke, a large estate on the islandof Langeland. 

Except for the fact that Egelykke was far from Copenhagen, Grundtvig soonbecame quite satisfied with his new position. Both the manor and itssurroundings were extremely beautiful, and his work was congenial. Hisemployer, a former naval officer, proved to be a rough, hard-drinkingworldling; but his hostess, Constance Leth, was a charming, well-educatedwoman whose cultural interests made the manor a favored gathering placefor a group of like-minded ladies from the neighborhood. And with thesecultured women, Grundtvig soon felt himself much more at home than withhis rough-spoken employer and hard-drinking companions. 

But if Grundtvig unexpectedly was beginning to enjoy his stay atEgelykke, this enjoyment vanished like a dream when he suddenlydiscovered that he was falling passionately in love with his attractivehostess. It availed him nothing that others as he well knew might haveaccepted such a situation with complacence; to him it appeared anunpardonable reproach both to his intelligence and his honor. Havingproudly asserted the ability of any intelligent man to master hispassions, he was both horrified and humiliated to discover that he couldnot control his own. 

 Nicolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig

Grundtvig never consciously revealed his true sentiment to ConstanceLeth. At the cost of an intense struggle, he managed outwardly tomaintain his code of honorable conduct. But he still felt humbled andshaken by his inability to suppress his inner and as he saw it guiltypassion. And under this blow to his proud self-sufficiency, he felt, perhaps for the first time in his life, the need for a power greater thanhis own. "To win in this struggle, " he wrote in his diary, "lies beyondmy own power. I must look for help from above or sink as the stone sinkswhile the lightly floating leaves mock it and wonder why it cannot floatas they do. "

The struggle against his passion engendered a need for work. "In order toquiet the storm within me, " he writes, "I forced my mind to occupy itselfwith the most difficult labor. " Although he had paid small attention tothe suggestion at the time, he now remembered and began to read some ofthe authors Steffens had recommended in his lectures: Goethe, Schiller, Schelling, Fichte, Shakespeare and others. He also studied the work ofnewer Danish writers, such as Prof. Jens Møller, a writer on Northernmythology, and Adam Oehlenschlaeger, a young man who, inspired bySteffens, was becoming the foremost dramatic poet of Denmark. He evenrenewed the study of his long neglected Bible. The motive of hisextensive reading was, no doubt, ethical rather than esthetic, a searchfor that outside power of which the battle within him revealed his urgentneed. Thus he wrote:

 My spirit opened its eyes, Saw itself on the brink of the abyss, Searched with trembling and fear Everywhere for a power to save, And found God in all things, Found Him in the songs of the poets, Found Him in the work of the sages, Found Him in the myths of the North, Found Him in the records of history, But clearest of all it still Found Him in the Book of Books. 

The fate that appears to crush a man may also exalt him. And so it waswith Grundtvig. His suffering crushed the stony shell of cynicalindifference in which he had long enclosed his naturally warm andimpetuous spirit and released the great latent forces within him. In themidst of his struggle, new ideas germinated springlike in his mind. Heread, thought and wrote, especially on the subject that was always nearto his heart, the mythology and early traditions of the Northern peoples. And after three years of struggle, he was at last ready to break awayfrom Egelykke. If he had not yet conquered his passion, he had so farmastered it that he could aspire to other things. 

Thus ended what a modern Danish writer, Skovgaard-Petersen, calls "thefinest love story in Danish history. " The event had caused Grundtvig muchpain, but it left no festering wounds. His firm refusal to permit hispassion to sully himself or degrade the woman he loved had, on thecontrary, made it one of the greatest incitations to good in his wholelife. 

On his return to Copenhagen Grundtvig almost at once obtained a positionas teacher in history at Borch's Collegium for boys. His new positionsatisfied him eminently by affording him a chance to work with hisfavorite subject and to expand his other intellectual interests. He soonmade friends with a number of promising young intellectuals who, in turn, introduced him to some of the outstanding intellectual and literarylights of the country, and within a short while the list of hisacquaintances read like a Blue Book of the city's intelligentsia. 

Although Grundtvig was still quite unknown except for a few articles in acurrent magazine, there was something about him, an originality of view, an arresting way of phrasing his thoughts, a quiet sense of humor, thatcommanded attention. His young friends willingly acknowledged hisleadership, and the older watched him with expectation. Nor were theydisappointed. His _Northern Mythology_ appeared in 1808, and _Episodesfrom the Decay of Northern Heroism_ only a year later. And thesestrikingly original and finely written works immediately established hisreputation as one of the foremost writers of Denmark. There were eventhose who in their enthusiasm compared him with the reveredOehlenschlaeger. A satirical poem, "The Masquerade Ball of Denmark, "inspired by the frivolous indifference with which many people had reactedto the English bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, showed his power ofburning scorn and biting satire. 

In the midst of this success and the preparation of plans for new andmore ambitious works, Grundtvig received a request from his old father tocome home and assist him with his parish work. The request was not at allpleasing to him. His personal attitude toward Christianity was stilluncertain, and his removal from the capital would interfere with hisliterary career. But as the wish of his good parents could not beignored, he reluctantly applied for ordination and began to prepare hisprobation sermon. 

This now famous sermon was delivered before the proper officials March17, 1810. Knowing that few besides the censors would be present to hearhim and feeling that an ordinary sermon would be out of place before suchan audience, Grundtvig prepared his sermon as an historical survey of thepresent state of the church rather than as an Evangelical discourse. 

His study of history had convinced him of the mighty influenceChristianity had once exerted upon the nations, and he, therefore, posedthe question why this influence was now in decline. "Are the gladtidings, " he asked, "which through seventeen hundred years passed fromconfessing lips to listening ears still not preached?" And the answer is"no". Even the very name of Jesus is now without significance and worthto most people of the younger generation, "for the Word of God hasdeparted from His house and that which is preached there is not the Wordof God, but the earth-bound speculations of men. The holy men of oldbelieved in the message they were called to preach, but the human spirithas now become so proud that it feels itself capable of discovering thetruth without the light of the Gospel, and so faith has died. MyBrethren!" he exclaims, "Let us not, if we share this blindness andcontempt for the heavenly light, be false and shameless enough todesecrate the Holy Place by appearing there as preachers of aChristianity in which we ourselves do not believe!"

The sermon was delivered with much force and eloquence. Grundtvig felthimself stirred by the strength of his own argument; and a comparison ofthe warm devotional spirit of a church service, as he remembered it fromhis childhood, with the cold indifference of later days moved him tosentimental tears, the first pious tears that he had shed for many years, he said later. Even the censors were so impressed that they unanimouslyawarded him the mark of excellent, a generosity they bitterly regretted afew weeks later. For Grundtvig, contrary to his promise--as the censorsasserted but Grundtvig denied--published his sermon. And it was warmlyreceived by the Evangelicals as the first manna that had fallen in adesert for many years. But the Rationalists violently condemned it andpresented the Committee on Church Affairs with an indignant protestagainst its author "for having grossly insulted the Danish clergy. "

Considering the enthusiastic approval the sermon had received in variousquarters, the committee would gladly have squashed the complaint. But thecomplainers, comprising many of the most influential pastors in the city, were too powerful to be ignored. And so Grundtvig was found guilty "ofhaving willfully insulted the Danish clergy, both individually and as abody, " and sentenced to receive a reprimand by the dean of thetheological faculty. 

When Grundtvig on January 11, 1811, presented himself before the dean toreceive his reprimand, he looked so pale and shaken that even the worthyofficial took compassion upon him and advised him privately that he mustnot take his sentence too seriously. It was not, however, the sternreprimand of the dean but an experience of far greater consequence thatso visibly blanched the cheeks of the defendant. 

The prospect of entering the active ministry caused Grundtvig to examineseriously his own attitude toward Christianity. And although the bishopvetoed his assignment to Udby and thus released him from the immediateprospect of entering the pulpit, this did not stop the trend of histhoughts. He had lost his former indifference toward religion anddiscovered the historical significance of Christianity, but just what didthe Christian faith mean to him personally?

He was still pondering this question, when in the fall of 1810, hecommenced a study of the Crusades, "the heroic age of Christianity, " asone historian called the period. The phrase appealed to him. He hadlately wandered through the mystic halls of Northern gods and heroes anddeplored the decay of their heroic spirit. He admired the heroic, and hisheart still wavered between the mighty Wodin and the meek and lowlyChrist. But the heroic age of Christianity--was it possible then thatChristianity too could rise to the heroic?

In the course of his study he read _The Early History of Prussia_ by A. Von Kotzebue in which the author, after ridiculing "the missionary zealthat, like a fire on the steppes, caught the kings of Poland andScandinavia and moved them to frantic efforts for the conversion ofneighboring peoples, " proudly stated, "But while her neighbors allaccepted Christianity and the withered cross drew steadily nearer to thegreen oak, Prussia remained faithful to her ancient gods. "

"The withered Cross!" The words stung Grundtvig to the quick. He hurledthe book away, sprang up and stormed about the room, vowing that he wouldhenceforth dedicate his life to the cause of the spurned emblem. 

A few weeks of restless exaltation followed. He read his Bible, studiedLuther's catechism and pondered the ways and means of accomplishing areform of his church, especially a reform inspired by pen and ink. Buthis _New Year's Night_, a small book published during this period, showshis still troublesome uncertainty, his constant wavering between the oldgods and the Christ of the Gospels, between various degrees ofRationalism and a full acceptance of the mystery of the cross. In amighty hymn of praise to the suffering Savior, he wrote many years later:"Yes, my heart believes the wonder of Thy cross, which ages ponder"--buthe had yet to pass through the depths before he could say that. Even so, he now exultingly wrote: "On the rim of the bottomless abyss toward whichour age is blindly hastening, I will stand and confront it with apicture, illumined by two shining lights, the Word of God, and thetestimony of history. As long as God gives me strength to lift up myvoice, I will call and admonish my people in His name. "

But from this pinnacle of proud exultation, he was suddenly hurled intothe abyss when, like a bolt of lightning, the thought struck him: But areyou yourself a Christian, have you received the forgiveness of your sin?

"It struck me like a hammer, crashing the rock, " he said later, "what theLord tells the ungodly: 'What hast thou to declare my statutes or thatthou shouldest take my covenant into thy mouth, seeing that thou hatestmy instruction and castest my word behind thee!'" Gone like a dream werenow all his proud fancies. Only one thought filled his whole being--toobtain the forgiveness of his sin and the assurance of God's grace. Butso violent became his struggle that his mind at times reeled on the brinkof insanity. His young friends stood loyally by him, comforting andguarding him as far as they could. And when it became clear that he mustbe removed from the noise of the city, one of them, F. Sibbern, volunteered to take him home. There his old parents received him withunderstanding, even rejoicing that anxiety for his soul and not otherthings had so disturbed his mind. 

The peace of the quiet countryside, the understanding care of his parentsand the soothing influence of their firm Evangelical faith acted as abalm to Grundtvig's struggling spirit. He loved to enter the old churchof his childhood, to hear his father preach, or sit alone before thealtar in meditation and prayer. And there before the altar of the churchin which he had been baptized and confirmed, he at last found peace, thetrue peace of God that passeth all understanding. 

After the great change in his life, Grundtvig now wished most heartily tobecome his father's assistant. The elder Grundtvig had already forwardedhis resignation from the pastorate but was more than happy to apply forits return and for the appointment of his son as his assistant. And so, Grundtvig was ordained at Copenhagen, May 11, 1811, and installed at Udbya few days later. He was back again in the old church of his childhood. 

 Chapter Twelve The Lonely Defender of the Bible

Grundtvig began his work at Udby with all the zeal of a new convert. Heministered to young and old, spent himself in work for the sick and thepoor, and preached the Gospel with a fervor that was new, not only to thepeople of Udby, but to most people of that generation. If other thingshad not intervened, like his father, he might have spent his life as asuccessful country pastor. But his father died January 5, 1813. Theauthorities refused to confirm Grundtvig in the vacant charge, and he andhis mother, shortly afterward, were compelled to leave the parsonage thathad been their home for more than forty years. His mother settled inPrastø, a small city a few miles from Udby, and Grundtvig returned toCopenhagen to search for a new position, a task that this time provedboth long and painful. 

Among available positions, Grundtvig especially coveted a professorshipin history at the newly founded university of Oslo, Norway, at whichthree of his friends, S. B. Hersleb, Niels Trechow and George Sverdrup, had already obtained employment. But although these friends workedzealously for his appointment, even after the separation of Norway fromDenmark, their efforts were fruitless. Grundtvig was not destined toleave his native land. Nor were his attempts to secure other worksuccessful. In spite of the fact that he applied for almost every vacancyin the church, even the smallest, his powerful enemies among theRationalists were influential enough to prevent his appointment to any ofthem. 

Meanwhile he was by no means idle. Following his conversion, he felt fora time like a man suddenly emerging from darkness into the brightness ofa new day. Old things had passed away, but the brilliance of the newlight confused him. What could he do? How many of his former interestswere reconcilable with his new views? Could he, for instance, continuehis writings? "When my eyes were opened, " he writes, "I considered allthings not directly concerned with God a hindrance to the blessedknowledge of my Lord, Jesus Christ. " After a time he saw, however, thathis ability to write might be accepted as a gift from God to be used inHis service. "The poet when inspired, " he says, "may proclaim a messagefrom above to the world below, " and so, "after dedicating it to Himself, the Lord again handed me the harp that I had placed upon His altar. "

During his brief stay at Udby, Grundtvig published three larger works:_Episodes from the Battle between Ases and Norns_, _Saga_ and _A NewYear's Gift for 1812_. [9] The first of these was nearly completed beforehis conversion, and as he now reread the manuscript, its content almostshocked him. Was it possible that he had felt and written thus only a fewmonths ago! He thought of destroying the work but decided to recast it inconformity with his present views and to express these clearly in apreface. With the completion of this task, however, he took a long leavefrom the "ice-cold giants of the North" that had so long engrossed hisattention. 

After his brief visit with the heroes of the past, Grundtvig again turnedhis attention to their descendants in the present. And the contrast wasalmost startling. The war still was dragging on and the country sinkingdeeper and deeper into the morass of political, commercial and economicdifficulties. But the majority of the people seemed completelyindifferent to her plight. "They talked of nothing, " Grundtvig says, "butof what they had eaten, worn and amused themselves with yesterday, orwhat they would eat, wear and amuse themselves with tomorrow. " Was itpossible that these people could be descendants of the giants whose valorand aggressive spirit had once challenged the greater part of Europe?

Grundtvig was convinced that the spiritual apathy of his people resultedfrom the failure of their spiritual leaders to uphold the Evangelicalfaith, and that the salvation of the nation depended on a true revival ofEvangelical Christianity. For this reason he now exerted every means athis command to induce the people and, especially, their leaders to returnto the old paths. In numerous works, both in verse and in prose, he urgedthe people to renew the faith of their fathers and challenged theirleaders to take a definite stand for Biblical Christianity. He became thelonely defender of the Bible. 

Among outstanding personalities of that day, there were especially twothat attracted widespread attention: J. P. Mynster, assistant pastor atthe Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, and Adam Gottlieb Oehlenschlaeger, the dramatic poet, then at the height of his fame. With their influencethese men, as Grundtvig saw it, might give a strong impetus to the muchneeded awakening; and, he therefore, approached them personally. 

Rev. Mynster, a stepson of Grundtvig's maternal uncle, after a period ofrationalism, had experienced a quiet conversion to Evangelical faith andwon a respected name as a faithful and gifted preacher of the Gospel, aname which he retained throughout his conspicuous career as pastor of theChurch of Our Lady in Copenhagen and, later, as Bishop of Sjælland. Heand Grundtvig, working to the same purpose, ought to have united withanother, but they were both too individualistic in temperament and viewsto join forces. Mynster was coldly logical, calm and reserved, a lover ofform and orderly progress. Grundtvig was impetuous, and volcanic, inconstant ferment, always in search of spiritual reality and whollyindifferent to outward appearances. His own experience had led him tobelieve that a return to Evangelical Christianity could be effected onlythrough a clean break with Rationalism, and he could not understandMynster's apparent attempt to temporize and bring about a gradualtransition from one to the other. There should be no compromise betweentruth and falsehood. All believers in the Gospel should stand up andproclaim it fearlessly, no matter what the consequences. 

And so Grundtvig wrote to Mynster: "Dear Rev. Mynster, I owe you anapology for asking a question that in our days may appear inexcusable:What is your real belief regarding the Bible and the faith of JesusChrist? If you humbly believe in God's Word, I shall rejoice with youeven if you differ with me in all other things. Dear Rev. Mynster--foryou are that to me--if my question appears unseemly, you must not let ithurt you, for I have written only as my heart dictates. " But Mynster didfeel offended and answered Grundtvig very coldly that his questionsimplied an unwarranted and offensive doubt of his sincerity that mustmake future intercourse between them difficult--if not impossible. 

Nor was Grundtvig more successful with a letter of similar purport toOehlenschlaeger whose later writings he found lacked the spiritualsincerity of his earlier work. "My concern about this, " he wrote, "isincreased by the thought that this lessening of spirituality must beexpressive of a change in your own spiritual outlook, your innerrelationship with God whom all spiritual workers should serve, countingit a greater achievement to inspire their fellow men with a trueadoration of our Lord than to win the acclaim of the world. " But likeMynster the highly feted poet accepted this frank questioning of hisinner motive as an unwarranted impertinence, the stupid intrusion of anintolerable fanatic with whom no friend of true enlightenment could haveanything to do. Grundtvig was fast finding out what it means to becounted a fool for Christ's sake--or for what he thought was Christ'ssake. 

In the midst of these troubles Grundtvig again turned his attention tohistory, his favorite subject from childhood days. His retreat from thepresent to the past implied no abolition, however, of his resolve todedicate himself to a spiritual revival of his people. Through hishistorical work he wished to show the influence of Christianity upon thepeople of Europe. "That the life of every people, " he writes, "is andmust be a fruit of faith should be clear to all. For who can dispute thatevery human action--irrespective of how little considered it may havebeen--is expressive of its doer's attitude, of his way of feeling andthinking. But what determines a man's way of thinking except hisessential thoughts concerning the relationship between God and the world, the visible and the invisible? Every serious thinker, therefore, mustrecognize the importance of faith in the furtherance of science, theprogress of nations and the life of the state. It is a fearful delusionthat man can be immoral, an unbeliever, even an enemy of the cross ofChrist, and yet a furtherer of morality and science, a good neighbor anda benefactor to his country. "

_A Brief Survey of the World's History_, which Grundtvig published in1812, is thus the opposite of an objective presentation of historicalevents. It is a Christian philosophy of history, an attempt to prove thetruth of the Gospel by its effect upon the nations. With the Bible beforehim Grundtvig weighs and evaluates people and events upon the scale ofthe revealed word. And his judgment is often relentless, stripping bothpersons and events of the glorified robes in which history and traditionsinvested them. In answer to countless protests against such a method ofreading history, Grundtvig contends that the Christian historian mustaccept the consequences of his faith. He cannot profess the truth ofChristianity and ignore its implication in the life of the world. If theGospel be true, history must be measured by its relation to its truth. 

Grundtvig's history caused a sensation, especially on account of itsfrank appraisal of many well-known persons. Nearly all praised its lucidstyle; a few, such as George Sverdrup, spoke highly of its strikinglyoriginal estimate and correlation of events; but the intelligentsiacondemned it as the work of an impossible fanatic. With this work, theyclaimed, Grundtvig had clearly removed himself from the pale ofintelligent men. 

But while his enemies raged, Grundtvig was already busy with anotherwork: _A Brief Account of God's Way with the Danish and NorwegianPeoples_. This history which, written in verse and later published underthe title of _Roskilde Rhymes_, was first read at a diocesan conventionin Roskilde Cathedral, the Westminster Abbey of Denmark. Although thepoem contained many urgent calls to the assembled pastors to awake andreturn to the way of the fathers, whose bones rested within the walls ofthe historic sanctuary, its reading caused no immediate resentment. Mostof the reverend listeners are reported, in fact, to have been peacefullyasleep when late in the evening Grundtvig finished the reading of hislengthy manuscript. But a paper on "Polemics and Tolerance" which he readat another convention two years later kept his listeners wide awake. 

"Our day has inherited two shibboleths from the eighteenth century:enlightenment and tolerance. By the last of these words most peopleunderstand an attitude of superior neutrality toward the opinions ofothers, even when these opinions concern the highest spiritual welfare ofman. Such an attitude has for its premise that good and evil, truth andfalsehood are not separate and irreconcilable realities but onlydifferent phases of the same question. But every Christian, thoroughlyconvinced of the antagonism and irreconcilability of truth withfalsehood, must inevitably hate and reject such a supposition. IfChristianity be true, tolerance toward opinions and teachings denying itstruth is nothing but a craven betrayal of both God and man. It iswritten, 'Judge and condemn no one' but not 'Judge and condemn nothing. 'For every Christian must surely both judge and condemn evil. 

"There are times when to fight for Christianity may not be an urgentnecessity; but that cannot be so in our days when every one of its divinetruths is mocked and assailed. 

"You call me a self-seeking fanatic, but if I be that, why are youyourself silent? If I be misleading those who follow me, why are you, thetrue watchmen of Zion, not exerting yourself to lead them aright? I standhere the humblest of Danish pastors, a minister without a pulpit, a manreviled by the world, shorn of my reputation as a writer, and held to bedevoid of all intelligence and truth. Even so I solemnly declare that thereligion now preached in our Danish church is not Christianity, isnothing but a tissue of deception and falsehood, and that unless Danishpastors bestir themselves and fight for the restoration of God's word andthe Christian faith there will soon be no Christian church in Denmark. "

The immediate effect of this bold challenge was a stern reprimand fromBishop Frederik Munter, accompanied by a solemn warning that if he everagain ventured to voice a similar judgment upon his fellow pastors, sterner measures would at once be taken against him. Besides this, hisenemies raved, some of his few remaining friends broke with him, and H. C. Ørsted, the famous discoverer of electro-magnetism, continued anattack upon him that for bitterness has no counterpart in Danish letters. In the midst of this storm Grundtvig remained self-possessed, answeringhis critic quite calmly and even with a touch of humor. Althoughrelentless in a fight for principles, he was never vindictive toward hispersonal enemies. In 1815, he published a collection of poems, _Kvaedlinger_, in which he asks, "Who knoweth of peace who never hasfought, whoso has been saved and suffered naught?" And these lines nodoubt express his personal attitude toward the battles of life. 

Being without a pulpit of his own, Grundtvig, after his return toCopenhagen, frequently accepted invitations to preach for other pastors. But as the opposition against him grew, these invitations decreased and, after the Roskilde affair, only one church, the church of Frederiksberg, was still open to him. Grundtvig felt his exclusion very keenly, but heknew that even friendly pastors hesitated to invite him for fear ofincurring the disapproval of superiors or the displeasure of influentialparishioners. And so, at the close of a Christmas service in theFrederiksberg church in 1815, he solemnly announced that he would notenter a pulpit again until he had been duly appointed to do so by theproper authorities. 

Grundtvig's withdrawal from the church, though pleasing to his activeenemies, was a great disappointment to his friends. His services hadalways been well attended, and his earnest message had brought comfort tomany, especially among the distressed Evangelicals. But others, too, feltthe power of his word. Thus a man in Copenhagen, after attending one ofhis services, wrote to a friend, "that he had laughed at the beginning ofthe sermon and wept at its conclusion" and that "it was the only earnesttestimony he had ever heard from a pulpit. " And a reporter writing to aCopenhagen newspaper about his last service said, "Our famous Grundtvigpreached yesterday at Frederiksberg church to such a crowd of people thatthe church was much too small to accommodate them. Here were people fromall walks of life, and the speaker, we are convinced, stirred them to thebottom of their souls. Here was a Mynster's clarity, a Fallesen'searnestness, and a Balle's appeal united with a Nordahl Brun's manlinessand admirable language. " And this about a man for whom his church had noroom!

Thus Grundtvig instead of the friendly co-operation he had hoped forespecially from the spiritual and intellectual leaders of the peoplefound himself virtually shut out from the circle to which he naturallybelonged, and from the church he loved, perhaps better than any man ofhis generation. 

But if his hope of enlisting the leaders in a campaign to revive thespiritual life of the common people had been disappointed, his owndetermination to devote his life to that purpose remained unshaken. If hecould look for no help from the recognized leaders of his nation, he mustsomehow gain a hearing from the common people themselves. His personalcontact with these, however, was rather slight. Except for his brief workas a pastor, he had so far spent the greater part of his life inintellectual pursuits quite removed from the interest of the common man. And the question was then how he, a man without any special position andinfluence, could reach the ears of his countrymen. 

In searching for an answer to this question, he remembered the two thingsthat most profoundly had influenced his own spiritual outlook, his studyof the traditions and history of his people, and his religious awakeningin 1810. Was it not possible then that a like change might be engenderedin others by presenting them with a picture of their own glorious pastor, as his friend Ingemann later expressed it, by calling forth thegenerations that died to testify against the generation that lived? Inpresenting such a picture he would not have to rely on his owninventiveness but could use material already existing, foremost amongwhich were the famous _Sagas of Norwegian Kings_ by Snorra Sturlason, and_Denmark's Chronicle_ by Saxo Grammaticus, the former written inIcelandic, and the latter in Latin. 

When Grundtvig presented this plan to his remaining friends, theyreceived it at once with enthusiasm and began the organization ofsocieties both in Denmark and Norway for the purpose of sponsoring itsexecution, in itself a most herculean task. 

The two books contain together about fifteen hundred large and closelyprinted pages and present a circumstantial account of the earlymythological and factual history of the two nations. Even a merelyliteral translation of them might well consume years of labor. ButGrundtvig's plan went much farther than mere literal translation. Wishingto appeal to the common people, he purposed to popularize the books andto transcribe them in a purer and more idiomatic Danish than the acceptedliterary language of the day, a Danish to be based on the dialects of thecommon people, the folk-songs, popular proverbs, and the old hymns. Itwas a bold undertaking, comparable to the work of Luther in modelling thelanguage of the German Bible after the speech of the man in the streetand the mother at the cradle, or to the great effort of Norway in ourdays to supplant the Danish-Norwegian tongue with a language from thevarious dialects of her people. Nor can it be said that Grundtvig wasimmediately successful in his attempt. His version of the sagas soundssomewhat stilted and artificial, and it never became popular among thecommon people for whom it was especially intended. Eventually, however, he did develop his new style into a plain, forceful mode of expressionthat has greatly enriched the Danish language of today. 

For seven years Grundtvig buried himself in "the giant's mount, " emergingonly occasionally for the pursuit of various studies in connection withhis work or to voice his views on certain issues that particularlyinterested him. He discovered a number of errors in the Icelandic versionof Beowulf and made a new Danish translation of that important work; heengaged in a bitter literary battle with Paul Mueller, a leader among theyounger academicians, in defence of the celebrated lyric poet, JensBaggesen, who had aroused the wrath of the students by criticising theirrevered dramatist, Oehlenschlaeger; and he fought a furious contest withthe greatly admired song and comedy writer, John L. Heiberg, in defenceof his good friend, Bernhard Severin Ingemann, whose excellent but overlysentimental lyrics had invited the barbed wit of the humorist. Butalthough Grundtvig's contributions to these disputes were both able andpointed, their main effect was to widen the breach between him and thealready antagonistic intellectuals. 

In 1817 Grundtvig published the second part of _World Chronicles_, and afew issues of a short-lived periodical entitled "Dannevirke" which amongother excellent contributions presented his splendid poem, "The EasterLily, " a poetic dramatization of our Lord's resurrection, about which thepoet, Baggesen, said that "it outweighed all Oehlenschlaeger's tragediesand that he himself had moments when he would rather have been the authorof this incomparably beautiful poem than of everything he himself hadwritten. "

Grundtvig began his translation of the sagas on a wave of highenthusiasm. But as the years multiplied, the interest of his supporterswaned and he himself wearied of the task. He began, besides, to doubt hisability to resurrect the heroic dead in such a manner that they couldrevive the dropping spirit of the living. 

In a welcome to Ingemann, on his return from a tour abroad, he expressesthe hope that the poet will now devote his gifts to a reincarnation ofhis country's old heroes. He himself has tried to do this. "He has madearmor, shields and swords for them of saga's steel, and borrowed horsesfor them from the ancient bards, but he has no cloth fit for the coats ofsuch elegant knights nor feathers beautiful enough to adorn theirhelmets. He can sound a challenge but has no voice for singing; he canring a bell but can not play the lute. " In other words, he can depict thethoughts and ideals of the old heroes but lacks the poetical ability torecreate them as living personalities--a remarkably true estimate of hisown limitations. 

The discovery that his translation of the sagas was not accomplishing itsintended purpose, and a growing apprehension that the written word was, perhaps, impotent to revive the spiritual life of his people, engenderedin him an increasing wish to leave "the mount of the dead" and re-enterthe world of the living. His economic circumstances also necessitated achange. In 1818 he had married Elizabeth Blicher, the daughter of abrother pastor, and he found it well nigh impossible to support his wifeand growing family on the meager returns from his writings and a smallpension which the government allowed him for his work with the sagas. 

Spurred by these reasons, he applied for almost every vacancy in thechurch, even the smallest, and, in 1821, succeeded in obtaining anappointment to the pastorate at Prastø, a small city on the south-easternshores of Sjælland. 

Grundtvig was well satisfied with his new charge. He was kindly receivedby his congregation; the city was quite close to his beloved Udby, andhis mother still lived there. "In the loveliest surroundings my eyes haveever seen and among a friendly people, " he writes, "my strength soonrevived so that I could continue my literary work and even complete mywearisome translation of the sagas. "

An incident is related from his work at Prastø which throws a somewhatrevealing light upon his ability as a pastor. At his only confirmationservice there, the confirmants, we are told, wept so that he had to pauseseveral times in his address to them in order to let them regain theircomposure. Since he was always quite objective in his preaching andheartily disbelieved in the usual revival methods, the incidentillustrates his rare ability to profoundly stir even the less mature ofhis hearers by his objective presentation of the Gospel. Even hisbitterest enemies could not deny the evident effectiveness of hisministry in every charge he served. 

His work at Prastø was, however, of brief duration. In 1822, less thantwo years after his installation, he received and accepted a call asassistant pastor at Our Savior's Church in Copenhagen, thus attaining hislong deferred wish for a pulpit in the capital. 

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[9]The printed text is corrupt here. _Saga: A New Year's Gift for 1812_ is one work. Possibly the third work referenced is _World Chronicles_, the first part of which was published in 1812. 

 Chapter Thirteen The Living Word

Grundtvig began his ministry in the capital with high hopes, but he wassoon disappointed. His services as usual attracted large audiences, audiences that frequently overflowed the spacious sanctuary. But thesecame from all parts of the city, an ever changing throng from which itwas quite impossible to create a real congregation. The parish itself wasso large that the mere routine duties of his office consumed much of histime. There were mass weddings, mass baptisms, mass funerals for peopleof whom he knew little and could have no assurance that he was not"giving the holy unto dogs or casting pearls before swine. " With theprevailing decay of church-life most pastors accepted these conditionswith equanimity, but to Grundtvig they constituted an increasingly heavyburden. 

He was still lonely. Awakened Christians were few, and his fellow pastorswere nearly all Rationalists who looked upon him as a dangerous fanaticwhom it was best to avoid. Grundtvig's opinion about them, thoughdifferent, was scarcely higher. It provoked him to observe pastors openlyrepudiating doctrines and ordinances which they had sworn to defend. Tohis mind such a course was both dishonorable to themselves and unjusttoward their congregations which, whether or not they approved of theseunlawful acts, had to be served by their parish pastors. The majority, itis true, accepted the new doctrines with indifference. Rationalism thenas now promoted apathy rather than heresy. But Grundtvig observed itsblighting effect everywhere, even upon himself. 

Signs of a new awakening, nevertheless, were appearing here and there, especially in certain rural communities. Influenced by the Haugeanmovement in Norway and Grundtvig's own earlier work, scattering groups ofEvangelicals and Pietists began to evince new life and activity. Peasantsin a number of parishes in Jutland refused to accept the EvangelicalChristian hymnal and a new rationalistic colored catechism, choosing togo to jail rather than to compromise their faith; and groups ofEvangelical laymen on the island of Fyn began to hold private assembliesat which they nourished themselves by reading Luther's sermons andsinging Kingo's and Brorson's hymns. Most if not all of these groupsadmired Grundtvig for his bold defiance of Biblical Christianity andlooked hopefully to him for encouragement. If, as his enemies charged, hehad wished to make himself the head of a party, he could easily have doneso by assuming the leadership of the private assemblies. 

But Grundtvig never compromised his views for the sake of attracting afollowing, and he did not approve of private assemblies. Such groups, hewrote, had frequently disrupted the church, bred contempt for Scripture, and fostered a perverted form of piety. Even as a release from thepresent deplorable situation, they might easily produce more harm thangood. 

Although Grundtvig could not approve of the assemblies he, nevertheless, sympathized deeply with the distressed laity. A layman was then bound tohis parish, and Grundtvig clearly understood the difficulty of laymen whohad to accept the ministry, have their children baptized, instructed andconfirmed by pastors denying fundamental doctrines of their faith. Withhis usual frankness he therefore threw caution to the winds and remindedthe pastors that it was their own failure to preach and defend theLutheran faith that was forcing Evangelical laymen to seek in theassemblies what was arbitrarily withheld from them in the church. "Whether it be good or bad, recommendable or deplorable, " Grundtvigwrote, "it is, at any rate, a fact that the spirit of the church servicehas changed so greatly during the last half century that it is almostimpossible for an Evangelical Christian to derive any benefit from it, and it is this situation that has forced earnest laymen to invent such asubstitute for the church as the private assemblies evidently are. "

For a number of years Grundtvig thought and wrote almost ceaselesslyabout this problem. With conditions so perverted that the lawbreakerswere imprisoning the victims of their own lawlessness, something oughtevidently to be done about it. But what could he do?

He tried to attack Rationalism from new angles. In a carefully writtenarticle in "The Theological Monthly, " a magazine that he published incollaboration with the learned but crusty Dr. G. A. Rudelbach, he arguedthat any inquiry concerning the nature of Christianity should distinguishbetween the questions: What is true Christianity? and Is ChristianityTrue? The first was a historical question, and could be answered only byan examination of the original teachings of Christianity; the second wasa question of conscience and depended on the attitude of the individual. He was he asserted, perfectly willing to recognize the right of theRationalists to believe what ever they choose, but as a historian he hadto protest against the propagation of any belief under the name ofChristianity that clearly denied what Christianity originally affirmed. 

His writing, however, produced no evident result. The rationalists eithermaintained a contemptuous silence or answered him by their favorite cryof ignorance and fanaticism. The true teachings of Christianity, theyasserted, could be ascertained only by the trained theologian, able toread the Bible in the original and trained to interpret it in the lightof current knowledge. Such men knew, it was claimed, that many of thedoctrines formerly held by the church, such as the divinity of Christ, the atonement and the triunity of God, were not found in the Scripturesat all or were based on misread or misinterpreted texts. 

Although these contentions were almost as old as Christianity itself, Grundtvig still found that a clear refutation of them was practicallyimpossible. He could not disprove them by Scripture, for the Rationalistswould claim their interpretation of the Bible to be as trustworthy as hisown; nor could he appeal to the confessions, for his opponents openlyrepudiated these as antiquated conceptions of a less enlightened age. Hisonly hope of giving any real guidance to the confused and distressedlaity of his church thus appeared to depend on the possibility ofdiscovering an expression of Christianity so authoritative that the mostlearned perverter of the faith could not repudiate it and so plain thatthe humblest believer could understand it. In his anxiety it even seemedto him that the Lord had failed adequately to provide for His little onesif He had not supplied them with such a shield against the storm ofconfusing doctrines. 

"Being greatly distressed with the thought that all humble Christiansmust either fall into doubt concerning their only Savior and His Gospelor build their faith on the contradictory teachings of learnedtheologians, " he wrote, "I perceived clearly the pressing need of thechurch for a simpler, more dependable and authoritative statement of thatword of God which shall never pass away than all the book-worms of theworld could ever produce. But while my anxiety for the distressed laityof my church grew and I sought night and day for a clear testimony ofJesus that would enable them to try the spirits whether they be of God, agood angel whispered to me: 'Why seekest thou the living among the dead?'Then the scales fell from my eyes, and I saw clearly that the word of Godwhich I so anxiously sought could be no other than that which at alltimes, in all churches and by all Christians has been accepted as a trueexpression of their faith and the covenant of their baptism, theApostolic Creed. "

In his search for an effective means of arming the laity against theconfusing claims of the Rationalists, Grundtvig thus came to place theCreed above the Bible, or rather to assert that the two should stand sideby side, and that all explanations of the latter should agree with theplain articles of the former so that every Christian personally couldweigh the truth or error of what was taught by comparing it with hisbaptismal covenant. 

Grundtvig supported his "great discovery" with passages from the Bibleand the church fathers, especially Irenaeus. He advanced the theory thatJesus had taught the Creed to His disciples during the forty days afterHis resurrection in which He remained with them, "speaking of the thingspertaining to the kingdom of God"; that the Creed through the earlycenturies had been regarded as too sacred to commit to writing and, therefore had been transmitted orally; and that it constituted, togetherwith the words of institution of the sacraments and the Lord's prayer, ina special sense "the living word of God" by which He builds and vivifiesHis church. It should be stated, however, that Grundtvig's intention bydistinguishing between what he called "the living" and "the writtenword, " was not to belittle the Bible but only to define its proper place, the place of enlightening and guiding those, who through God's livingcovenant with them in their baptism already have become Christians. AChristian, he believed, is reborn in his baptism, nourished in theCommunion and enlightened by the Word. 

A critical examination of Grundtvig's theory, about which thousands ofpages have been written, lies beyond the scope of this work. Grundtvighimself felt that his "discovery" had given him a solid foundation forhis stand against the Rationalists. And his theory unquestionably didenable him, in the midst of an almost hopeless religious confusion, toreassert the essentials of Evangelical Christianity, to refute thecontentions of the Rationalists by weighing them on an acknowledgedhistorical basis of faith, and to reemphasize that the Christian churchis not a creation of theological speculations but of God's own work inHis word and sacraments. 

Grundtvig for some time previous to his discovery had felt exceedinglydepressed. His long struggle for the reawakening of his people to aricher Christian and national life appeared fruitless. Most of theintellectual and spiritual leaders of his time looked upon the very ideaof sharing the richer cultural and spiritual values of life with thecommon man as a visionary conception of an unstable and erratic mind. Oneought naturally, they admitted, to be interested in improving the socialand economic conditions of the lower classes, but the higher treasures ofmind and spirit belonged in the very nature of things to the cultured fewand could not be shared with the common herd. 

In spite of these discouragements, Grundtvig somehow experienced awonderful rebirth of his hope in the spring of 1824, an experience towhich he gave eloquent expression in his great poem, "New Year'sMorning. " He writes in the preface that he has "long enough battled witha witch called indifference, and has discovered that the battle whereinone is most likely to be defeated is the battle against nothing. " Hetherefore urges his friends to ignore the witch and join him in adetermined crusade for a reawakening of the Northern spirit to theaccomplishment of Christian deed. 

Grundtvig's hope for a season of quiet and peaceful cooperation with hisfriends was, however, soon shattered. In the summer of 1825, a youngprofessor of theology, H. N. Clausen, published a book entitled: _TheConstitution, Doctrine and Rituals of Catholicism and Protestantism_. AsProf. Clausen enjoyed a great popularity among his students and, as ateacher of theology, might influence the course of the Danish church formany years, Grundtvig was very much interested in what he had to say. Heobtained the book and read it quickly but thoughtfully, underscoring thepoints with which he disagreed. And these were numerous. At the verybeginning of the book, he found the author asserting that "the Protestanttheologian, since he need recognize no restriction of his interpretationsby creeds, traditions, or ecclesiastical authorities, is as onceinfinitely more free and important than his Catholic colleague. For asthe Protestant church unlike the Catholic possesses no conclusive andauthoritative system of belief either in her creeds or in Scripture, itdevolves upon her trained theologians to set forth what the trueteachings of Christianity really are. "Why, O why!" the professorexclaims, "should eternal Wisdom have willed revelation to appear in aform so imperfect? What other purpose, I ask you, can an all-wiseProvidence have had with such a plan than to compel the children of manto recognize that it is only through the exercise of their own, humanintelligence that the revelation of God can be comprehended!"

As Grundtvig mused upon these assertions so expressive of all that he haddenied and fought against, he felt at once that they constituted achallenge which he could not leave unanswered. He had shortly beforewritten to a friend: "Since the perverters of Christianity have become soself-confident that they will not answer any charge against them exceptwhen it is addressed to themselves personally and by name, one mayeventually have to employ that form of attack. " And that was the form hechose to use in his now famous book. _The Reply of the Church to Prof. H. N. Clausen_. 

"By the publication of this book, " he writes, "Prof. Clausen has puthimself forward as a leader among the enemies of the church and theperverters of God's word in this country. A church, such as he advocates, that has no determinable form, exists only in the brains of thetheologians, and must be construed from theological speculations on thebasis of a discredited Bible and according to the changing thoughts andopinions of man, is plainly nothing but a fantastic dream, a comic if itwere not so tragic conception of a Christian congregation which claims toconfess the same faith, but knows not what it is, and holds that it isinstituted by God, but cannot tell for what purpose before thetheologians have found it out. 

"Against such a church, I place the historical church, that is the churchof the Gospel, instituted by Christ Himself, created by His word andvivified by His Spirit. For I contend that the Christian church now asalways consists of that body of believers who truly accept the faith oftheir baptismal covenant, Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper as the faithand means of salvation. "

_The Reply of the Church_ caused a sensation. It was read and discussedeverywhere. But if Grundtvig had hoped to force a general discussion ofthe plight of the church, he was disappointed. Prof. Clausen answered himwith a lawsuit "for malicious injury to his professional honor"; hisenemies all condemned him, and his friends were silent. If they approvedof the substance of his charges, they disapproved of their form. Grundtvig appeared to have thrown away the last remnant of his alreadytattered reputation, and only the years would reveal that in doing so hehad struck a deadlier blow against Rationalism than he had expected, thathe had, in fact, for years to come made Rationalism impossible in Denmarkas a form of Christianity. 

Meanwhile the Danish church was preparing to celebrate its thousandthanniversary in May, 1826. Grundtvig looked forward to the event withalmost child-like anticipation, hoping that the celebration might serveto awaken a new appreciation of the old church. To heighten thefestivities the authorities had authorized pastors to select the hymnsfor the services in their own churches, and Grundtvig had written andpublished a pamphlet of hymns to be used in his church. But shortlybefore the festival, his bishop informed him that only hymns from theauthorized hymnal could be chosen. As no one else had composed hymns forthe occasion, Grundtvig could not doubt that this new ruling was aimedsolely at him, and this new evidence at the length to which his enemieswould go for the sake of humiliating him appeared to him like the laststraw. He had long suffered under the difficulty of serving a churchwhich honored the law-breaker and persecuted the law-abiding and thoughtof resigning. But he had a family to support. And while he himself wouldgladly bear the poverty his resignation would inevitably bring him, hedoubted his right to impose such a burden upon his family. The difficultywas finally solved for him by his wife, who one day came into his studyand said: "Father, I know what is troubling you. You wish to resign andhesitate to do so for our sake. But I want you to do whatever you thinkis right. The Lord will provide for us. "

And so it was settled. His resignation was handed to the authorities afew days before the festival, and it was accepted so quickly that he wasreleased from office before the following Sunday. When the festive Sundaycame which he had looked forward to with so much pleasure, he sat idly inhis study across from the church and watched people come for the service, but another pastor preached the sermon, he had earnestly wished todeliver, and other hymns than his own beloved songs served as vehiclesfor the people's praise. 

Public sentiment regarding Grundtvig's resignation varied. His friendsdeplored the action, holding that he should have remained in hispastorate both for the sake of his congregation and the cause which hehad so ably championed. But his opponents rejoiced, seeing in hisresignation just another proof of an erratic mentality. For who had everheard of a normal person withdrawing from a secure and respectableposition without even asking for the pension to which he was entitled?

The six years during which Grundtvig remained without a pulpit were amongthe busiest and most fruitful of his life. He published his_Sunday-Book_, a collection of sermons which many still rate among thefinest devotional books in Danish; made extended visits to England in1829-1831, for the purpose of studying the old Anglo Saxon manuscriptskept there, an undertaking that awakened the interest of the Englishthemselves in these great treasures; wrote his splendid _NorthernMythology or Picture Language_, and _The World's History after the BestSources_, works in which he presents the fundamental aspects of hishistorical, folk and educational views that have made his name known notonly in Scandinavia but in almost every country in the world. 

Meanwhile he again had entered the pulpit. As a compensation for the lossof his ministry, a group of his friends shortly after his resignationbegan to hold private assemblies. When Grundtvig still firmly refused totake part in these, they decided to organize an independent congregation, petition the government for permission to use an abandoned GermanLutheran church and call Grundtvig as their pastor. The petition waspromptly refused, though Grundtvig himself pleaded with the authoritiesto permit the organization of an independent congregation as the bestmeans of relieving the dissatisfied members of the church and declaredthat he would himself join the assemblies unless some such measure ofrelief was granted. When the authorities ignored his plea, Grundtvig madegood his threat and appeared at the assemblies, drawing such a crowd thatno private home could possibly hold it, whereupon it was decided tosecure a public hall for future meetings. But when the authorities heardthis, they suddenly experienced a change of heart and offered thetroublesome preacher and his friends the use of Frederik's church for avesper service each Sunday. 

The eight years Grundtvig served as an independent preacher at theFrederik's church were among the happiest in his life. He rejoiced toknow that the large, diversified audience crowding the sanctuary eachSunday came wholly of its own free will. It also pleased the nowgray-haired pastor to see an increasing number of students becomeconstant attendants at his services. Even so, his position had itsdrawbacks. He was permitted neither to administer the sacraments nor toinstruct the young people, and the authorities even denied him the rightto confirm his own sons. Grundtvig felt especially this refusal so keenlythat he again was thinking of resigning his pulpit when the king offeredhim an appointment as pastor of Vartov, a large institution for the aged. 

Thus from 1839 until Grundtvig's death the chapel at Vartov became hishome and that of his friends and the center of the fast growingGrundtvigian movement. People from all walks of life, from the Queen tothe common laborer, became regular attendants at the unpretentioussanctuary, and the eyes of some old people still shine when they recallthe moving spirit of the services there, the venerable appearance andwarm monotone voice of the pastor, and, especially, the hearty, soul-stirring singing. Many of Grundtvig's own great hymns wereintroduced at Vartov. From there they spread throughout the church. Andit was to a large extent the hearty, inspiring congregational singing atVartov which made the Danish church a singing church. 

 Chapter Fourteen The Hymnwriter

 Splendid are the heavens high, Beautiful the radiant sky, Where the golden stars are shining, And their rays, to earth inclining, -: Beckon us to heaven above :-

 It was on a Christmas night, Darkness veiled the starry height; But at once the heavens hoary Beamed with radiant light and glory, -: Coming from a wondrous star :-

 When this star so bright and clear Should illume the midnight drear, Then, according to tradition, Should a king of matchless vision -: Unto earth from heaven descend :-

 Sages from the East afar When they saw this wondrous star, Went to worship and adore Him And to lay their gifts before Him -: Who was born that midnight hour :-

 Him they found in Bethlehem Without crown or diadem, They but saw a maiden lowly With an infant pure and holy -: Resting in her loving arms :-

 Guided by the star they found Him whose praise the ages sound. We have still a star to guide us Whose unsullied rays provide us -: With the light to find our Lord :-

 And this star so fair and bright Which will ever lead aright, Is God's word, divine and holy, Guiding all His children lowly -: Unto Christ, our Lord and King :-

This lovely, childlike hymn, the first to appear from Grundtvig's pen, was written in the fall of 1810 when its author was still battling withdespair and his mind faltering on the brink of insanity. Against thisbackground the hymn appears like a ray of sunlight breaking through aclouded sky. And as such it must undoubtedly have come to its author. Asan indication of Grundtvig's simple trust in God, it is noteworthy thatanother of his most childlike hymns, "God's Child, Do Now Rest Thee, " waslikewise composed during a similar period of distress that beset him manyyears later. 

For a number of years Grundtvig's hymn of the Wise Men represented hissole contribution to hymnody. Other interests engaged his attention andabsorbed his energy. During his years of intense work with the sagas heonly occasionally broke his "engagement" with the dead to strike the lyrefor the living. In 1815 he translated "In Death's Strong Bonds Our SaviorLay" from Luther, and "Christ Is Risen from the Dead" from the Latin. Thethree hundredth anniversary of the Reformation brought his adaptation ofKingo's "Like the Golden Sun Ascending" and translations of Luther's "AMighty Fortress Is Our God" and "The Bells Ring in the Christmastide. " In1820 he published his now popular "A Babe Is Born at Bethlehem" from anold Latin-Danish text, and 1824 saw his splendid rendering of "The OldDay Song, " "With Gladness We Hail the Blessed Day, " and his original "OnIts Rock the Church of Jesus Stood Mongst Us a Thousand Years. "

These songs constitute his whole contribution to hymnody from 1810 to1825. But the latter year brought a signal increase. In the midst of hisfierce battle with the Rationalists he published the first of his reallygreat hymns, a song of comfort to the daughters of Zion, sittingdisconsolately at the sickbed of their mother, the church. Her presentstate may appear so hopeless that her children fear to remember herformer glory:

 Dares the anxious heart envision Still its morning dream, View, despite the world's derision, Zion's sunlit height and stream? Wields still anyone the power To repeat her anthems strong, And with joyful heart embower, Zion with triumphant song. 

Her condition is not hopeless, however, if her children will gather abouther. 

 Zion's sons and daughters rally Now upon her ancient wall! Have her foemen gained the valley, Yet her ramparts did not fall. Were her outer walls forsaken Still her cornerstone remains, Firm, unconquered and unshaken, Making futile all their gains. 

Another of his great hymns dates from the same year. Grundtvig was in thehabit of remaining up all night when he had to speak on the followingday. The Christmas of 1825 was particularly trying to him. He hadapparently forfeited his last vestige of honor by publishing his _Replyof the Church_; the suit started against him by Professor Clausen stilldragged its laborious way through the court; and his anxiety over thepresent state of the church was greatly increased by the weight of hispersonal troubles. He felt very much like the shepherds watching theirflocks at night, except that no angels appeared to help him with themessage his people would expect him to deliver in the morning. Perhaps hewas unworthy of such a favor. He rose, as was his custom, and made around into the bedrooms to watch his children. How innocently they slept!If the angels could not come to him, they ought at least to visit thechildren. If they heard the message, their elders might perchance catchit through them. 

Some such thought must have passed through the mind of the lonely pastoras he sat musing upon his sermon throughout the night, for he appearedunusually cheerful as he ascended his pulpit Christmas morning, preacheda joyful sermon, and said, at its conclusion, that he had that nightbegotten a song which he wished to read to them. That song has sincebecome one of the most beloved Christmas songs in the Danish language. Togive an adequate reproduction of its simple, childlike spirit in anotherlanguage is perhaps impossible, but it is hoped that the translationgiven below will convey at least an impression of its cheerful welcome tothe Christmas angels. 

 Be welcome again, God's angels bright From mansions of light and glory To publish anew this wintry night The wonderful Christmas story. Ye herald to all that yearn for light New year after winter hoary. 

 With gladness we hear your sweet refrain In praise of God's glory solely; Ye will not this wintry night disdain To enter our dwellings lowly. And bring to each yearning heart again The joy that is pure and holy. 

 In humble homes as in mansions rare With light in the windows glowing, We harbor the babes as sweet and fair As flowers in meadows growing. Oh, deign with these little ones to share The joy from your message flowing. 

 Reveal the child in the manger still With angels around Him singing The song of God's glory, peace, good-will That joy to all hearts is bringing, While far over mountain, field and hill, The bells are with gladness ringing. 

 God's angels with joy to earth descend When hymns to His praise are chanted; His comfort and peace our Lord will lend To all who for peace have panted; The portals of heaven open stand; The Kingdom to us is granted. 

In 1826 Grundtvig, as already related, published his hymns for thethousand years' festival of his church. But a few months later he againburied himself in his study, putting aside the lyre, which for a littlewhile he had played so beautifully. Many had already noticed his hymns, however, and continued to plead with him for more. The new Evangelicalrevival, which he had largely inspired, intensified the generaldissatisfaction with the rationalistic Evangelical Christian Hymnal, andcalled for hymns embodying the spirit of the new movement. And who couldbetter furnish these than Grundtvig? Of those who pleaded with him fornew hymns, none was more persistent than his friend, Pastor Gunni Busck. When Grundtvig wrote to him in 1832 that his _Northern Mythology_ wasnearing completion, Busck at once answered: "Do not forget your moreimportant work; do not forget our old hymns! I know no one else with yourability to brush the dust off our old songs. " But Grundtvig was still toobusy with other things to comply with the wish of his most faithful andhelpful friend. 

During the ensuing years, however, a few hymns occasionally appeared fromhis pen. A theological student, L. C. Hagen, secured a few adapted andoriginal hymns from him for a small collection of _Historical Hymns andRhymes for Children_, which was published in 1832. But the adaptationswere not successful. Despite the good opinion of Gunni Busck, Grundtvigwas too independent a spirit to adjust himself to the style and mode ofothers. His originals were much more successful. Among these we find suchgems as "Mongst His Brothers Called the Little, " "Move the Signs of Griefand Mourning from the Garden of the Dead, " and "O Land of Our King, "hymns that rank with the finest he has written. 

In 1835 Grundtvig at last wrote to Gunni Busck that he was now ready tocommence the long deferred attempt to renew the hymnody of his church. Busck received the information joyfully and at once sent him a thousanddollars to support him during his work. Others contributed their mite, making Grundtvig richer financially than he had been for many years. Herented a small home on the shores of the Sound and began to preparehimself for the work before him by an extensive study of Christianhymnody, both ancient and modern. 

"The old hymns sound beautiful to me out here under the sunny sky andwith the blue water of the Sound before me, " he wrote to Busck. He didnot spend his days day-dreaming, however, but worked with such intensitythat only a year later he was able to invite subscriptions on the firstpart of his work. The complete collection was published in 1837 under thetitle: _Songs of the Danish Church_. It contains in all 401 hymns andsongs composed of originals, translations and adaptations from Greek, Latin, German, Icelandic, Anglo-Saxon, English and Scandinavian sources. The material is of very unequal merit, ranging from the superior to thecommonplace. As originally composed, the collection could not be used asa hymnal. But many of the finest hymns now used in the Danish church havebeen selected or adapted from it. 

Although _Songs for the Danish Church_ is now counted among the greatbooks in Danish, its appearance attracted little attention outside thecircle of Grundtvig's friends. It was not even reviewed in the press. Theliterati, both inside and outside the church, still publicly ignoredGrundtvig. But privately a few of them expressed their opinion about thework. Thus a Pastor P. Hjort wrote to Bishop Mynster, "Have you readGrundtvig's _Songs of the Danish Church_? It is a typical Grundtvigianbook, wordy, ingenious, mystical, poetical and full of half digestedideas. His language is rich and wonderfully expressive. But he is nothumble enough to write hymns. "

Meanwhile the demand for a new hymnal or at least for a supplement to theold had become so insistent that something had to be done. J. P. Mynsterwho, shortly before, had been appointed Bishop of Sjælland, favored asupplement and obtained an authorization from the king for theappointment of a committee to prepare it. The only logical man to headsuch a committee was, of course, Grundtvig. But Mynster's dislike of hisvolcanic relative was so deep-rooted that he was incapable of giving anyrecognition to him. And so in order to avoid a too obvious slight to hiscountry's best known hymnwriter, he assigned the work to an alreadyexisting committee on liturgy, of which he himself was president. ThusGrundtvig was forced to sit idly by while the work naturally belonging tohim was being executed by a man with no special ability for the task. Thesupplement appeared in 1843. It contained thirty-six hymns of which sixwere written by Kingo, seven by Brorson, and one by Grundtvig, the latterbeing, as Grundtvig humorously remarked, set to the tune of the hymn, "Lord, I Have Done Wrong. "

Mynster's influence was great enough to secure the supplement a widecirculation. The collection, nevertheless, failed to satisfy the need ofthe church. Dissatisfaction with it was so general that the pastors'conference of Copenhagen appointed a committee consisting of Grundtvig, Prof. Martensen, Mynster's own son-in-law, Rev. Pauli, his successor asProvost of the Church of Our Lady, and two other pastors to prepare andpresent a proposal for a new hymnal. It was an able committee from whicha meritorious work might reasonably be expected. 

Grundtvig was assigned to the important work of selecting and revisingthe old hymns to be included in the collection. He was an inspiring butat times difficult co-worker. Martensen recalls how Grundtvig at timesaroused the committee to enthusiasm by an impromptu talk on hymnody or arecitation of one of the old hymns, which he loved so well. But he alsorecalls how he sometimes flared up and stormed out of the committee roomin anger over some proposed change or correction of his work. When hisanger subsided, however, he always conscientiously attempted to effectwhatever changes the committee agreed on proposing. Yet excellent as muchof his own work was, he possessed no particular gift for mending the workof others, and his corrections of one defect often resulted in another. 

The committee submitted its work to the judgment of the conference inJanuary 1845. The proposal included 109 hymns of which nineteen were byKingo, seven by Brorson, ten by Ingemann, twenty-five by Grundtvig andthe remainder by various other writers, old and new. It appeared to be awell balanced collection, giving due recognition to such newer writers asBoye, Ingemann, Grundtvig and others. But the conference voted to rejectit. Admitting its poetical excellence and its sound Evangelical tenor, some of the pastors complained that it contained too many new and too fewold hymns; others held that it bore too clearly the imprint of one man, acomplaint which no doubt expressed the sentiment of Mynster and hisfriends. A petition to allow such churches as should by a majority voteindicate their wish to use the collection was likewise rejected by theBishop. 

Grundtvig was naturally disappointed by the rejection of a work uponwhich he had spent so much time and energy. The rejection furthermoreshowed him that he still could expect no consideration from theauthorities with Mynster in control. He was soon able, however, tocomfort himself with the fact that his hymns were becoming popular inprivate assemblies throughout the country, and that even a number ofchurches were beginning to use them at their regular services in defianceof official edicts. The demand for granting more liberty to the laymen intheir church life, a demand Grundtvig long had advocated, was in factbecoming so strong that the authorities at times found it advisable tooverlook minor infractions of official rulings. Noting this new policy, Grundtvig himself ventured to introduce some of the new hymns into hischurch. In the fall of 1845, he published a small collection of Christmashymns to be used at the impending Christmas festival. When the innovationpassed without objections, a similar collection of Easter hymns wasintroduced at the Easter services, after which other collections for thevarious seasons of the church year appeared quite regularly until allspecial prints were collected into one volume and used as "the hymnal ofVartov. "

The work of preparing a new authorized hymnal was finally given toGrundtvig's closest friend, Ingemann. This hymnal appeared in 1855, underthe title, _Roskilde Convent's Psalmbook_. This book served as theauthorized hymnal of the Danish church until 1899, when it was replacedby _Hymnal for Church and Home_, the hymnal now used in nearly all Danishchurches both at home and abroad. It contains in all 675 hymns of which96 are by Kingo, 107 by Brorson, 29 by Ingemann and 173 by Grundtvig, showing that the latter at last had been recognized as the foremosthymnwriter of the Danish church. 

 Chapter Fifteen Grundtvig's Hymns

Grundtvig wrote most of his hymns when he was past middle age, a man ofextensive learning, proved poetical ability and mature judgment, especially in spiritual things. Years of hard struggles and unjustneglect had sobered and mellowed but not aged or embittered him. 

His long study of hymnology together with his exceptional poetical giftenabled him to adopt material from all ages and branches of Christiansong, and to wield it into a homogenous hymnody for his own church. Histreatment of the material is usually very free, so free that it is oftendifficult to discover any relationship between his translations and theirsupposed originals. Instead of endeavoring to transfer the metre, phrasing and sentiment of the original text, he frequently adopts only asingle thought or a general idea from its content, and expresses this inhis own language and form. 

His original hymns likewise bear the imprint of his ripe knowledge andspiritual understanding. They are for the most part objective in contentand sentiment, depicting the great themes of Biblical history, doctrineand life rather than the personal feeling and experiences of theindividual. A large number of his hymns are, in fact, faithful but oftenstriking adaptations of Bible stories and texts. For though he wasfrequently accused of belittling the Book of Books, his hymns to a largerextent than those of any other Danish hymnwriter are directly inspired bythe language of the Bible. He possessed an exceptional ability to absorbthe essential implications of a text and to present it with the tersenessand force of an adage. 

Although Grundtvig's hymns at times attain the height of pure poetry, their poetic merit is incidental rather than sought. In the pride of hisyouth he had striven, as he once complained, to win the laurel wreath, but had found it to be an empty honor. His style is more often forcefulthan lyrical. When the mood was upon him he could play the lyre withentrancing beauty and gentleness, but he preferred the organ with allstops out. 

His style is often rough but expressive and rich in imagery. In this hestrove to supplant time-honored similes and illustrations from Biblicallands with native allusions and scenes. Pictures drawn from the Danishlandscape, lakes and streams, summer and winter, customs and life aboundin his songs, giving them a home-like touch that has endeared them tomillions. 

His poetry is of very unequal merit. He was a prolific writer, producing, besides many volumes of poetry on various subjects, about three thousandhymns and songs. Among much that is excellent in this vast productionthere are also dreary stretches of rambling loquacity, hollow rhetoricand unintelligible jumbles of words and phrases. He could beinsupportably dull and again express more in a single stanza, couplet orphrase than many have said in a whole book. A study of his poetry is, therefore, not unlike a journey through a vast country, alternating infertile valleys, barren plains and lofty heights with entrancing viewsinto far, dim vistas. 

This inconsistency in the work of a man so eminently gifted as Grundtvigis explainable only by his method of writing. He was an intuitive writerand preferred to be called a "skjald" instead of a poet. The distinctionis significant but somewhat difficult to define. As Grundtvig himselfunderstood the term, the "skjald", besides being a poet, must also be aseer, a man able to envision and express what was still hidden to thecommon mortal. "The skjald is, " he says, "the chosen lookout of life whomust reveal from his mountain what he sees at life's deep fountain. Whengripped by his vision, " he says further, the skjald is "neither quiescentnor lifeless but, on the contrary, lifted up into an exceptional state ofsensitiveness in which he sees and feels things with peculiar vividnessand power. I know of nothing in this material world to which the skjaldmay more fittingly be likened than a tuned harp with the wind playingupon it. "

A skjald in Grundtvig's conception was thus a man endowed with the giftof receiving direct impressions of life and things, of perceivingespecially the deeper and more fundamental truths of existenceintuitively instead of intellectually. Such perceptions, he admitted, might lack the apparent clarity of reasoned conclusions, but wouldapproach nearer to the truth. For life must be understood from within, must be spiritually discerned. It could never be comprehended by mereintellect or catalogued by supposed science. 

He knew, however, that his work was frequently criticized for itsambiguity and lack of consistency. But he claimed that these defects wereunavoidable consequences of his way of writing. He had to write what hesaw and could not be expected to express that clearly which he himselfsaw only dimly. "I naturally desire to please my readers, " he wrote toIngemann, "but when I write as my intuition dictates, it works well;ideas and images come to me without effort, and I fly lightly as thegazelle from crag to crag, whereas if I warn myself that there must be alimit to everything and that I must restrain myself and write sensibly, Iam stopped right there. And I have thus to choose between writing as thespirit moves me, or not writing at all. "

This statement, although it casts a revealing light both upon his geniusand its evident limitations, is no doubt extreme. However much Grundtvigmay have depended on his momentary inspiration for the poeticaldevelopment of his ideas, his fundamental views on life wereexceptionally clear and comprehensive. He knew what he believed regardingthe essential verities of existence, of God and man, of good and evil, oflife and death. And all other conceptions of his intuitive andfar-reaching spirit were consistently correlated to these basic beliefs. 

Bishop H. Martensen, the celebrated theologian, relates an illuminatingconversation between Grundtvig and the German theologian, P. K. Marheincke, during a visit which the Bishop had arranged between the twomen. Dr. Marheincke commenced a lengthy discourse on the great oppositesin life, as for instance between thinking and being, and Grundtvigreplied, "My opposites are life and death" (Mein Gegensatz ist Leben undTod). 

"The professor accepted my statement somewhat dubiously, " Grundtvig saidlater, "and admitted that that was indeed a great contrast, but--" Thedifference between the two men no doubt lay in the fact that Prof. Marheincke, the speculative theologian, was principally interested in thefirst part of the assumed contrast--thinking, whereas Grundtvig's mainconcern was with the last--being, existence, life. In real life therecould be no more fundamental, no farther reaching contrast than thecontinuous and irreconcilable difference between life and death. Thethought of this contrast lies at the root of all his thinking and colorsall his views. From the day of his conversion until the hour of hisdeath, his one consuming interest was to illuminate the contrast betweenthe two irreconcilable enemies and to encourage anything that wouldstrengthen the one and defeat the other. 

Grundtvig loved life in all its highest aspects and implications, and hehated death under whatever form he saw it. "Life is from heaven, death isfrom hell, " he says in a characteristic poem. The one is representativeof all the good the Creator intended for his creatures, the other of allthe evil, frustration and destruction the great destroyer brought intothe world. There can be no reconciliation or peace between the two, theone must inevitably destroy or be destroyed by the other. He could seenothing but deception in the attempts of certain philosophical ortheological phrasemakers to minimize or explain away the eternalmalignity of death, man's most relentless foe. A human being could fallno lower than to accept death as a friend. Thus in a poem:

 Yea, hear it, ye heavens, with loathing and grief; The sons of the Highest now look for relief In the ways of damnation And find consolation In hopes of eternal death. 

But death is not present only at the hour of our demise. It is presenteverywhere; it is active in all things. It destroys nations, corruptssociety, robs the child of its innocence, wipes the bloom from the cheeksof youth, frustrates the possibilities of manhood and makes pitiful thewhite hair of the aged. For death, as all must see, is only the wage ofsin, the ripe fruit of evil. 

 I recognize now clearly; Death is the wage of sin, It is the fruitage merely Of evil's growth within. 

And its danger is so actual because it is active in every individual inhimself as well as in others:

 When I view the true condition Of my troubled, restless heart, Naught but sin can I envision Even to its inmost part. 

Such then is his fundamental view of the condition of man, a being in thedestructive grip of a relentless foe, a creature whose greatest need is"a hero who can break the bonds of death". And there is but one who cando that, the Son of God. 

Grundtvig's hymns abound in terms of adoration for the Savior of Man. Henames Him the "Joy of Heaven", "The Fortune of Earth", "The Fount ofLight", "The Sovereign of Life", "The Fear of Darkness", "The Terror ofDeath", and speaks of the day when all the "nations of the earth shalloffer praise in the offer bowl of His name. " But he sees the Christ lessas the suffering Lamb of God than as the invincible conqueror of deathand the heroic deliverer of man. 

Like his other hymns most of his hymns to the Savior are objective ratherthan subjective. They present the Christ of the Gospels, covering hislife so fully that it would be possible to compile from them an almostcomplete sequence on His life, work and resurrection. The followingstately hymn may serve as an appropriate introduction to a necessarilybrief survey of the group:

 Jesus, the name without compare; Honored on earth and in heaven, Wherein the Father's love and care Are to His children now given. Saviour of all that saved would be, Fount of salvation full and free Is the Lord Jesus forever. 

 Jesus, the name alone on earth For our salvation afforded. So on His cross of precious worth Is in His blood it recorded. Only in that our prayers are heard, Only in that when hearts are stirred Doth now the Spirit us comfort. 

 Jesus, the name above the sky Wherein, when seasons are ended, Peoples shall come to God on high, And every knee shall be bended, While all the saved in sweet accord Chorus the praise of Christ, the Lord, Savior beloved by the Father. 

Grundtvig sang of Christmas morning "as his heaven on earth", and hewrote some of the finest Christmas hymns in the Danish language. A numberof these have already been given. The following simple hymn from an oldLatin-Danish text is still very popular. 

 A babe is born in Bethlehem, Bethlehem, Rejoice, rejoice Jerusalem; Hallelujah, hallelujah. 

 A lowly virgin gave Him birth, Gave Him birth, Who rules the heavens and the earth; Hallelujah, hallelujah. 

 He in a simple manger lay, Manger lay, Whom angels praise with joy for aye; Hallelujah, hallelujah. 

 And wise men from the East did bring, East did bring, Gold, myrrh and incense to the King; Hallelujah, hallelujah. 

 Now all our fears have passed away, Passed away, The Savior blest was born today; Hallelujah, hallelujah. 

 God's blessed children we became, We became, And shall in heaven praise His name; Hallelujah, hallelujah. 

 There like the angels we shall be, We shall be, And shall the Lord in glory see; Hallelujah, hallelujah. 

 With gladsome praises we adore, We adore, Our Lord and Savior evermore; Hallelujah, hallelujah. 

His hymns on the life and work of our Lord are too numerous to be morethan indicated here. The following hymn on the text, "Blessed are theeyes that see what ye see, and the ears that hear what ye hear", istypical of his expository hymns. 

 Blessed were the eyes that truly Here on earth beheld the Lord; Happy were the ears that duly Listened to His living word. Which proclaimed the wondrous story Of God's mercy, love and glory. 

 Kings and prophets long with yearning Prayed to see His day appear; Angels with desire were burning To behold the golden year When God's light and grace should quicken All that sin and death had stricken. 

 He who, light and life revealing, By His Spirit stills our want; He, who broken hearts is healing By His cup and at the font, Jesus, Fount of joy incessant, Is with light and grace now present. 

 Eyes by sin and darkness blinded May now see His glory bright; Hearts perverse and carnal minded May obtain His Spirit's light. When, contrite and sorely yearning, They in faith to Him are turning. 

 Blessed are the eyes that truly Now on earth behold the Lord; Happy are the ears that duly Listen to His living word! When His words our spirits nourish Shall the kingdom in us flourish. 

Grundtvig reaches his greatest height in his hymns of praise to Christ, the Redeemer. Many of his passion hymns have not been translated intoEnglish. In the original, the following hymn undoubtedly ranks with thegreatest songs of praise to the suffering Lord. 

 Hail Thee, Savior and Atoner! Though the world Thy name dishonor, Moved by love my heart proposes To adorn Thy cross with roses And to offer praise to Thee. 

 O what moved Thee so to love us, When enthroned with God above us, That for us Thou all wouldst offer And in deep compassion suffer Even death that we might live. 

 Love alone Thy heart was filling When to suffer Thou wert willing. Rather givest Thou than takest, Hence, O Savior, Thou forsakest All to die in sinner's place. 

 Ah, my heart in deep contrition Now perceives its true condition, Cold and barren like a mountain, How could I deserve the fountain Of Thy love, my Savior dear. 

 Yet I know that from thy passion Flows a river of salvation Which can bid the mountain vanish, Which can sin and coldness banish, And restore my heart in Thee. 

 Lord, with tears I pray Thee ever: Lead into my heart that river, Which with grace redeeming cleanses Heart and soul of all offences, Blotting out my guilt and shame. 

 Lord, Thy life for sinners giving, Let in Thee me find my living So for Thee my heart is beating, All my thoughts in Thee are meeting, Finding there their light and joy. 

 Though all earthly things I cherish Like the flowers may fade and perish, Thou, I know, wilt stand beside me; And from death and judgment hide me; Thou hast paid the wage of sin. 

 Yes, my heart believes the wonder Of Thy cross, which ages ponder! Shield me, Lord, when foes assail me, Be my staff when life shall fail me; Take me to Thy Paradise. 

Grundtvig's Easter hymns strike the triumphant note, especially suchhymns as "Christ Arose in Glory", "Easter Morrow Stills Our Sorrow", andthe very popular, Move the signs of gloom and mourning[10] From the garden of the dead. For the wreaths of grief and yearning, Plant bright lilies in their stead. Carve instead of sighs of grief Angels' wings in bold relief, And for columns, cold and broken, Words of hope by Jesus spoken. 

His Easter hymns fail as a whole to reach the height of his songs forother church festivals. In this respect, they resemble the hymnody of thewhole church, which contains remarkably few really great hymns on thegreatest events in its history. It is as though the theme were too greatto be expressed in the language of man. 

Grundtvig wrote a number of magnificent hymns on the themes of our Lord'sascension and His return to judge the quick and the dead. Of the latter, the hymn given below is perhaps the most favored of those now availablein English. 

 Lift up thy head, O Christendom! Behold above the blessed home For which thy heart is yearning. There dwells the Lord, thy soul's delight, Who soon with power and glory bright Is for His bride returning. 

 And when in every land and clime, All shall behold His signs sublime, The guilty world appalling, Then shalt with joy thou lift thine eyes And see Him coming in the skies, While suns and stars are falling. 

 While for His coming thou dost yearn, Forget not why His last return The Savior is delaying, And ask Him not before His hour To shake the heavens with His power, Nor judge the lost and straying. 

 O saints of God, for Sodom pray Until your prayers no more can stay The judgment day impending. Then cries the Lord: "Behold, I come!" And ye shall answer: "To Thy home We are with joy ascending!"

 Then loud and clear the trumpet calls, The dead awake, death's kingdom falls, And God's elect assemble. The Lord ascends the judgment throne, And calls His ransomed for His own, While hearts in gladness tremble. 

Grundtvig is often called the Singer of Pentecost. And his hymns on thenature and work of the Spirit do rank with his very best. He believed inthe reality of the Spirit as the living, active agent of Christ in Hischurch. As the church came into being by the outpouring of the Holy Ghoston the day of Pentecost, so our Lord still builds and sanctifies it bythe Spirit, working through His words and sacraments. His numerous hymnson the Spirit are drawn from many sources, both ancient and modern. Histreatment of the originals is so free, however, that it is difficult inmost cases to know whether his versions should be accepted as adaptationsor originals. Of mere translations there are none. The following versionof the widely known hymn, "Veni Sancte Spiritus, " may serve to illustratehis work as a transplanter of hymns. 

 Holy Spirit, come with light, Break the dark and gloomy night With Thy day unending. Help us with a joyful lay Greet the Lord's triumphant day Now with might ascending. 

 Comforter so wondrous kind, Noble guest of heart and mind Fix in us Thy dwelling. Give us peace in storm and strife, Fill each troubled heart and life With Thy joy excelling. 

 Make salvation clear to us, Who despite our sin and dross Would exalt the Spirit. For without Thine aid and love All our life and work must prove Vain and without merit. 

 Raise or bow us with Thine arm, Break temptation's evil charm, Clear our clouded vision. Fill our hearts with longing new, Cleanse us with Thy morning dew, Tears of deep contrition. 

 Blessed Fount of life and breath, Let our hope in view of death Blossom bright and vernal; And above the silent tomb Let the Easter lilies bloom, Signs of life eternal. 

Many of Grundtvig's original hymns evince a strong Danish coloring, afact which is especially evident in a number of his Pentecost hymns. Pentecost comes in Denmark at the first breath of summer when nature, prompted by balmy breezes, begins to unfold her latent life and beauty. This similarity between the life of nature and the work of the Spirit isstrikingly expressed in a number of his Pentecost hymns. 

The following hymn, together with its beautiful tune, is rated as one ofthe most beautiful and, lyrically, most perfect hymns in Danish. Becauseof its strong Danish flavor, however, it may not make an equal appeal toAmerican readers. The main thought of the hymn is that, as in nature, soalso in the realm of the Spirit, summer is now at hand. The coming of theSpirit completes God's plan of salvation and opens the door for theunfolding of a new life. The translation is by Prof. S. D. Rodholm. 

 The sun now shines in all its splendor, The fount of life and mercy tender; Now bright Whitsunday lilies grow And summer sparkles high and low; Sweet songsters sing of harvest gold In Jesus' name a thousand fold. 

 The peaceful nightingales are filling The quiet night with music thrilling. Thus all that to the Lord belong May rest in peace and wake with song, May dream of life beyond the skies, And with God's praise at daylight rise. 

 It breathes from heaven on the flowers, It whispers home-like in the bowers, A balmy breeze comes to our coast From Paradise, no longer closed, And gently purls a brooklet sweet Of life's clear water at our feet. 

 This works the Spirit, still descending, And tongues of fire to mortals lending, That broken hearts may now be healed, And life with grace and love revealed In Him, who came from yonder land And has returned to God's right hand. 

 Awaken then all tongues to honor Lord Jesus Christ, our blest Atoner; Let every voice in anthems rise To praise the Savior's sacrifice. And thou, His Church, with one accord Arise and glorify the Lord. 

Of his other numerous hymns on the Spirit, the one given below is, perhaps, one of the most characteristic. 

 Holy Ghost, our Interceder, Blessed Comforter and Pleader With the Lord for all we need, Deign to hold with us communion That with Thee in blessed union We may in our life succeed. 

 Heavenly Counsellor and Teacher, Make us through Thy guidance richer In the grace our Lord hath won. Blest Partaker of God's fullness, Make us all, despite our dullness, Wiser e'en than Solomon. 

 Helper of the helpless, harken To our pleas when shadows darken; Shield us from the beasts of prey. Rouse the careless, help the weary, Bow the prideful, cheer the dreary, Be our guest each passing day. 

 Comforter, whose comfort lightens Every cross that scars and frightens, Succor us from guilt and shame. Warm our heart, inspire our vision, Add Thy voice to our petition As we pray in Jesus' name. 

Believing in the Spirit, Grundtvig also believed in the kingdom of God, not only as a promise of the future but as a reality of the present. 

 Right among us is God's kingdom With His Spirit and His word, With His grace and love abundant At His font and altar-board. 

Among his numerous hymns on the nature and work of God's kingdom, thefollowing is one of the most favored. 

 Founded our Lord has upon earth a realm of the Spirit Wherein He fosters a people restored by His merit. It shall remain People its glory attain, They shall the kingdom inherit. 

 Forward like light of the morning its message is speeding, Millions receive and proclaim it with gladness exceeding For with His word God doth His Spirit accord, Raising all barriers impeding. 

 Jesus, our Savior, with God in the highest residing, And by the Spirit the wants of Thy people providing, Be Thou our life, Shield and defender in strife, Always among us abiding. 

 Then shall Thy people as Lord of the nations restore Thee, Even by us shall a pathway be straightened before Thee Till everywhere, Bending in worship and prayer, All shall as Savior adore Thee. 

The kingdom of God is the most wonderful thing on earth. 

 Most wonderful of all things is The kingdom Jesus founded. Its glory, treasure, peace and bliss No tongue has fully sounded. 

 Invisible as mind and soul, And yet of light the fountain, It sheds its light from pole to pole Like beacons from a mountain. 

 Its secret is the word of God, Which works what it proposes, Which lowers mountains high and broad And clothes the wastes with roses. 

 Though foes against the kingdom rage With hatred and derision, God spreads its reign from age to age, And brings it to fruition. 

 Its glory rises like a morn When waves at sunrise glitter, Or as in June the golden corn While birds above it twitter. 

 It is the glory of the King Who bore affliction solely That he the crown of life might bring To sinners poor and lowly. 

 And when His advent comes to pass, The Christian's strife is ended, What now we see as in a glass Shall then be comprehended. 

 Then shall the kingdom bright appear In glory true and vernal, And usher in the golden year Of peace and joy eternal. 

But the kingdom of God here on earth is represented by the Christianchurch, wherein Christ works by the Spirit through His word andsacraments. Of Grundtvig's many splendid hymns of the church, thefollowing, in the translation of Pastor Carl Doving, has become widelyknown in all branches of the Lutheran church in America. Pastor Doving'stranslation is not wholly satisfactory, however, to those who know theforceful and yet so appealing language of the original, a fate which, weare fully aware, may also befall the following new version. 

 Built on a rock the church of God Stands though its towers be falling; Many have crumbled beneath the sod, Bells still are chiming and calling, Calling the young and old to come, But above all the souls that roam, Weary for rest everlasting. 

 God, the most high, abides not in Temples that hands have erected. High above earthly strife and sin, He hath his mansions perfected. Yet He, whom heavens cannot contain, Chose to abide on earth with man Making their body His temple. 

 We are God's house of living stones, Built for the Spirit's indwelling. He at His font and table owns Us for His glory excelling. Should only two confess His name, He would yet come and dwell with them, Granting His mercy abounding. 

 Even the temples built on earth Unto the praise of the Father, Are like the homes of hallowed worth Whence we as children did gather. Glorious things in them are said, God there with us His covenant made, Making us heirs of His kingdom. 

 There we behold the font at which God as His children received us; There stands the altar where His rich Mercy from hunger relieved us. There His blest word to us proclaim: Jesus is now and e'er the same, So is His way of salvation. 

 Grant then, O Lord, where'er we roam, That, when the church bells are ringing, People in Jesus' name may come, Praising His glory with singing. "Ye, not the world, my face shall see; I will abide with you, " said He. "My peace I leave with you ever. "

As a believer in objective Christianity, Grundtvig naturally exalts theGod-given means of grace, the word and sacraments, through which theSpirit works. In one of the epigrammatic expressions often found in hiswritings, he says:

 We are and remain, We live and attain In Jesus, God's living word When His word we embrace And live by its grace, Then dwells He within us, our Lord. 

This firm belief in the actual presence of Christ in His word andsacraments lends an exceptional realism to many of his hymns on the meansof grace. Through the translation by Pastor Doving the following briefhymn has gained wide renown in America. 

 God's word is our great heritage, And shall be ours forever. To spread its light from age to age, Shall be our chief endeavor. Through life it guards our way, In death it is our stay. Lord, grant, while worlds endure, We keep its teachings pure Throughout all generations. 

Of his numerous hymns on baptism, the following, which an Americanauthority on hymnody calls the finest baptismal hymn ever written, isperhaps the most representative. 

 O let Thy spirit with us tarry, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, So that the babes we to Thee carry May be unto Thy death baptized. 

 Lord, after Thee we humbly name them, O let them in Thy name arise! If they should stumble, Lord, reclaim them, That they may reach Thy paradise. 

 If long their course, let them not falter. Give to Thine aged servants rest. If short their race, let by Thine altar Them like the swallows find a rest. 

 Upon their heart, Thy name be written, And theirs within Thine own right hand, That even when by trials smitten, They in Thy covenant firm may stand. 

 Thine angels sing for children sleeping, May they still sing when death draws nigh. Both cross and crown are in Thy keeping. Lord, lead us all to Thee on high. 

His communion hymns are gathered from many sources. Of his originals thefollowing tender hymn is perhaps the most typical. 

 Savior, whither should we go From the truest friend we know, From the Son of God above, From the Fount of saving love, Who in all this world of strife Hath alone the word of life. 

 No, I dare not turn from Thee, Though Thy word oft chasten me, For throughout this world, O Lord, Death is still the cruel word. Whoso saves the soul from death Brings redemption, life and breath. 

 "Eat my flesh and drink my blood. " Saith our Lord, so kind and good. "Whoso takes the bread and wine, Shall receive my life divine, Be redeemed from all his foes And arise as I arose. "

 Hear Him then, my heart distressed, Beating anxious in my breast. Take Thy Savior at His word, Meet Him at His altar-board, Eat His body, drink His blood, And obtain eternal good. 

Grundtvig also produced a great number of hymns for the enrichment ofother parts of the church service. Few hymns thus strike a moreappropriate and festive note for the opening service than the short hymngiven below. 

 Come, Zion, and sing to the Father above; Angels join with you And thank Him for Jesus, the gifts of His love. We sing before God in the highest. 

 Strike firmly, O Psalmist, the jubilant chord; Golden be your harp In praise of Christ Jesus, our Savior and Lord. We sing before God in the highest. 

 Then hear we with rapture the tongues as of fire, The Spirit draws nigh, Whose counsels with comforts our spirits inspire, We sing before God in the highest. 

Equally fine is his free rendering of the 84th psalm. 

 Fair beyond telling, Lord, is Thy dwelling, Filled with Thy peace. Oh how I languish And, in my anguish, Wait for release That I may enter Thy temple, O Lord, With Thee communing in deepest accord. 

 With Thy compassion, Lord of Salvation, Naught can compare. Even the sparrow Safe from the arrow Rests in Thy care. And as Thou shieldest the bird in its nest, So let my heart in Thy temple find rest. 

 Years full of splendors, Which to offenders Earth may afford, Never can measure One day of pleasure Found with Thee, Lord, When on the wings of Thy quickening word Souls are uplifted and Thou art adored. 

 Quicken in spirit, Grow in Thy merit Shall now Thy friends. Blessings in showers Filled with Thy powers On them descends Until at home in the city of gold All shall in wonder Thy presence behold. 

Grundtvig's hymns are for the most part church hymns, presenting theobjective rather than the subjective phase of Christian faith. He wrotefor the congregation and held that a hymn for congregational singingshould express the common faith and hope of the worshippers, rather thanthe personal feelings and experiences of the individual. Because of thishis hymns are frequently criticized for their lack of personal sentiment. The personal note is not wholly lacking in his work, however, aswitnessed by the following hymn. 

 Suffer and languish, Tremble in anguish Must every soul that awakes to its guilt. Sternly from yonder, Sinai doth thunder: Die or achieve what no sinner fulfilled. 

 Tremble with gladness, Smile through their sadness Shall all that rest in the arms of the Lord. Grace beyond measure, Comfort and treasure Gathers the heart from His merciful word. 

 Bravely to suffer, Gladly to offer Praises to God 'neath the weight of our cross, This will the Spirit Help us to merit Granting a breath from God's heaven to us. 

Even stronger is the personal sentiment of this appealing hymn. 

 With her cruse of alabaster, Filled with ointment rare and sweet, Came the woman to the Master, Knelt contritely at His feet, Feeling with unfeigned contrition How unfit was her condition To approach the Holy One. 

 Like this woman, I contritely Often must approach the Lord, Knowing that I cannot rightly Ask a place beside His board. Sinful and devoid of merit, I can only cry in spirit: Lord, be merciful to me. 

 Lord of Grace and Mercy, harken To my plea for grace and light. Threatening clouds and tempests darken Now my soul with gloomy night. Let, despite my guilt and error, My repenting tears still mirror Thy forgiving smile, O Lord. 

The following hymn likewise voices the need for personal perseverance. 

 Hast to the plow thou put thy hand Let not thy spirit waver, Heed not the world's allurements grand, Nor pause for Sodom's favor. But plow thy furrow, sow the seed, Though tares and thorns thy work impede; For they, who sow with weeping, With joy shall soon be reaping. 

 But should at times thy courage fail-- For all may fail and falter-- Let not the tempting world prevail On thee thy course to alter. Each moment lost in faint retreat May bring disaster and defeat. If foes bid thee defiance, On God be thy reliance. 

 If steadfast in the race we keep, Our course is soon completed. And death itself is but a sleep, Its dreaded might defeated. But those who conquer in the strife Obtain the victor's crown of life And shall in constant gladness Forget these days of sadness. 

It is, perhaps, in his numerous hymns on Christian trust, comfort andhope that Grundtvig reaches his highest. His contributions to this typeof hymns are too numerous to be more than indicated here. But the hymngiven below presents a fair example of the simplicity and poetic beautythat characterize many of them. 

 God's little child, what troubles you! Think of your Heavenly Father true. He will uphold you by His hand, None can His might and grace withstand. The Lord be praised!

 Shelter and food and counsel tried God for His children will provide. They shall not starve, nor homeless roam, Children may claim their Father's home. The Lord be praised!

 Birds with a song toward heaven soar, Neither they reap nor lay in store, But where the hoarder dies from need, Gathers the little bird a seed. The Lord be praised!

 Clad are the flowers in raiment fair, Wondrous to see on deserts bare. Neither they spin nor weave nor sew Yet no king could such beauty show. The Lord be praised!

 Flowers that bloom at break of dawn Only to die when day is gone, How can they with the child compare That shall the Father's glory share? The Lord be praised!

 God's little child, do then fore'er Cast on the Lord your every care. Trust in His love, His grace and might Then shall His peace your soul delight. The Lord be praised!

 God will your every need allay Even tomorrow as yesterday, And when the sun for you goes down He will your soul with glory crown. The Lord be praised!

Grundtvig's friends were sometimes called the "Merry Christians. " Therewas nothing superficial or lighthearted, however, about the Christianityof their leader. It had been gained through intense struggles andmaintained at the cost of worldly position and honor. But he did believethat God is love, and that love is the root and fount of life, as he saysin the following splendid hymn. The translation is by the ReverendDoving. 

 Love, the fount of light from heaven, Is the root and source of life; Therefore God's decrees are given With His lovingkindness rife. As our Savior blest declareth And the Spirit witness beareth, As we in God's service prove; God is light and God is love. 

 Love, the crown of life eternal, Love the brightness is of light; Therefore on His throne supernal Jesus sits in glory bright. He the Light and Life of heaven, Who Himself for us hath given, Still abides and reigns above In His Father's boundless love. 

 Love, alone the law fulfilling, Is the bond of perfectness; Love, who came, a victim willing, Wrought our peace and righteousness. Therefore love and peace in union Ever work in sweet communion That through love we may abide One with Him who for us died. 

But the fruit of God's love is peace. As Grundtvig, in the hymn above, sings of God's love, so in the sweet hymn given below he sings of God'speace. The translation is by Pastor Doving. 

 Peace to soothe our bitter woes God in Christ on us bestows; Jesus wrought our peace with God Through His holy, precious blood; Peace in Him for sinners found Is the Gospel's joyful sound. 

 Peace to us the church doth tell. 'Tis her welcome and farewell. Peace was our baptismal dower; Peace shall bless our dying hour. Peace be with you full and free Now and in eternity. 

In this peace Christians find refuge and rest. 

 The peace of God protects our hearts Against the tempter's fiery darts. It is as sure when evening falls As when the golden morning calls. 

 This peace our Savior wrought for us In agony upon the cross, And when He up to heaven soared, His peace He left us in His word. 

 His word of peace new strength imparts Each day to faint and troubled hearts, And in His cup and at the font It stills our deepest need and want. 

 This blessed peace our Lord will give To all who in His Spirit live. And even at their dying breath Its comfort breaks the sting of death. 

 When Christ for us His peace hath won He asked for faith and faith alone. By faith and not by merits vain, Our hearts God's blessed peace obtain. 

 Peace be with you, our Savior saith In answer to the word of faith. Whoso hath faith, shall find release And dwell in God's eternal peace. 

Grundtvig's hymns of comfort for the sick and dying rank with the finestever written. He hates and fears death, hoping even that Christ mayreturn before his own hour comes; but if He does not, he prays that theSavior will be right with him. 

 Lord, when my final hours impend, Come in the person of a friend And take Thy place beside me, And talk to me as man to man Of where we soon shall meet again And all Thy joy betide me. 

For though he knows he cannot master the enemy alone, if the Savior isthere--

 Death is but the last pretender We with Christ as our defender Shall engage and put to flight. 

And His word will dispel all fear of the struggle:

 Like dew upon the meadow So falls the word of life On Christians in the shadow Of mortal's final strife. The first fruit of its blessing Is balm for fears distressing, So gone is like a breath The bitterness of death. 

 Like sun, when night is falling, Sets stilly in the west While birds are softly calling Each other from their nest, So when its brief day closes That soul in peace reposes Which knows that Christ the Lord Is with it in His word. 

 And as we shiver slightly An early summer morn When blushing heavens brightly Announce a day new-born, So moves the soul immortal With calmness through death's portal That through its final strife Beholds the Light of Life. 

He could therefore exclaim:

 Christian! what a morn of splendor Full reward for every fear, When the ransomed host shall render Praises to its Savior dear, Shall in heaven's hall of glory Tell salvation's wondrous story, And with the angelic throng Sing the Lamb's eternal song. 

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[10]Another translation: "Take away the signs of mourning" by P. C. Paulsen in "Hymnal for Church and Home". 

 Chapter Sixteen Grundtvig's Later Years

Grundtvig's later years present a striking contrast to the years of hisearlier manhood. The lonely Defender of the Bible became a respected sageand the acknowledged leader of a fast growing religious and folkmovement, both in Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries. His longyears of continuous struggles were followed by years of fruitful work andan extensive growth of his religious and educational ideals until he wasgenerally recognized as one of the most vital spiritual leaders ofScandinavia. 

The first break in the wall of isolation that surrounded him came with aninvitation from a group of students to "the excellent historian, N. F. S. Grundtvig, who has never asked for a reward but only for a chance to dogood, " to deliver a series of historical lectures at Borch's Collegium inCopenhagen. These lectures--seventy-one in all--were delivered beforepacked audiences during the summer and fall of 1838, and were soenthusiastically received that the students, on the evening of theconcluding lecture, arranged a splendid banquet for the speaker, at whichone of them sang:

 Yes, through years of lonely struggle Did you bravely fight, Bearing scorn without complaining Till your hair turned white. 

During his most lonely years Grundtvig once comforted himself with thewords of a Greek sage: "Speak to the people of yesterday, and you will beheard by the people of tomorrow. " Thus it was, no doubt, a greatsatisfaction to him that the first public honor bestowed upon him shouldbe accorded him by his nation's youth. 

From that day his reputation and influence grew steadily. He became anhonored member of several influential societies, such as the Society forNorthern Studies, and the Scandinavian Society, an association ofacademicians from all the Scandinavian countries for the purpose ofeffecting a closer spiritual and cultural union between them. He alsoreceived frequent invitations to lecture both on outstanding occasionsand before special groups. His work as a lecturer probably reached itsculmination at a public meeting on the Skamlingsbanke, a wooded hill onthe borders of Slesvig, where he spoke to thousands of profoundly stirredlisteners, and at a great meeting of Scandinavian students at Oslo, Norway, in 1851, to which he was invited as the guest of honor andacclaimed both by the students and the Norwegian people. When Denmarkbecame a constitutional kingdom in 1848, he was a member of theconstitutional assembly and was elected several times to the Riksdag. 

Meanwhile he worked ceaselessly for the development of his folk andeducational ideals. After his conversion, he felt for a time that his newoutlook was incompatible with his previous enthusiasm for the heroic lifeand ideals of the old North, and that he must now devote himself solelyto the preaching of the Gospel. But the formerly mentioned decline of allphases of Danish life during the early part of the nineteenth century andthe failure of his preaching to evoke any response from an indifferentpeople caused him to suspect a closer relationship between a people'sreligious and national or folk-life than he had hitherto recognized. Wasnot the folk life of a people, after all, the soil in which the Word ofGod must be sown, and could the Word bear fruit in a soil completelyhardened and unprepared to receive it? If it could not, was not a folkawakening a necessary preparation for a Christian?

Under the spur of this question he undertook the translation of the sagasand developed his now widely recognized ideas of folk life and folkeducation, which later were embodied in the Grundtvigian folk schools. The first of these schools was opened at Rødding, Slesvig in 1844. Thewar between Denmark and Germany from 1848 to 1850 delayed theestablishment of other similar schools. But in 1851, Christian Kold, theman who more than any other realized Grundtvig's idea of a school forlife--as the folk schools were frequently called--opened his first schoolat Ryslinge, Fyn. From there the movement spread rapidly not only to allparts of Denmark but also to Norway, Finland and Sweden. The lattercountry now has more schools of the Grundtvigian type than Denmark, andNorway and Finland have about have as many. [11]

To extend the influence of the movement lecture societies, readingcircles, gymnastic societies, choral groups and the like were organizedin almost every parish of Denmark. Thus before Grundtvig died, he had thesatisfaction of seeing his work bear fruit in one of the most vital folkand educational movements of Scandinavia, a movement which has made atremendous imprint upon all phases of life in the Northern countries andwhich today is spreading to many other parts of the world. 

Grundtvig held that the life of a nation, Christian as well as national, never rose above the real culture of its common people. To be real, aculture had to be national, had to be based on a people's naturalcharacteristics and developed in accordance with native history andtraditions. The aim of all true folk-education was the awakening andenrichment of life and not a mere mental or practical training. Thenatural means for the attainment of this aim was a living presentation ofa people's own cultural heritage, their native tradition, history, literature and folk life. But in all cases the medium of thispresentation was the living, that is the spoken word by men and women whowere themselves spiritually alive. Christianity, in his opinion, had notcome to destroy but to cleanse and vivify the folk life of a people, and, since the latter was the soil in which the former had to grow, thefruitfulness of both demanded a living inter-action so that national lifemight become Christian and Christianity national. 

In the practical application of these educational theories, Grundtvigtook no active part. Aside from his conception of the idea and thedevelopment of much of the material used in the folk-school, his greatestcontributions to their work are probably, his innumerable Biblical, historical and folk songs that were and are used in the schools. 

Meanwhile he by no means neglected his religious work. Rationalism hadbeen defeated, a sound Evangelical movement was fast revitalizing thechurch, and he could therefore concentrate his energy on a furtherdevelopment of the view that had come to him during his years ofstruggle. Among innumerable other works, he produced during his lateryears the splendid _Enlightenment of the Church_, published 1840-1844;_Teachings of Our Christian Childhood_, published 1855-1862; _The SevenStars of the Churches_, published 1854-1855; and _The Church Mirror_, aseries of lectures on the main currents of church history, published1861-1863. 

Although Grundtvig's views, and especially his distinction between the"living" and the "written" word, were strongly opposed by many, hisprofoundly spiritual conception of the church, as the body of Christ, andof the sacraments, as its true means of life, has greatly influenced allbranches of the Danish church. In emphasizing the true indwelling ofChrist in the creed and sacraments, he visualized the real presence ofHim in the church and underscored the vital center of congregationalworship with a realism that no theological dissertation can ever convey. Nor did he feel that in so doing he was in any sense diverging from trueLutheranism. The fact that Luther himself chose the creed and the wordsof institution of the sacrament as a basis for his catechism, showed, hecontended, that the great Reformer also had recognized their distinction. 

Despite frequent charges to the contrary, Grundtvig had no desire toengender a separatist movement in the church. He constantly warned hisfollowers against any such tendency. In a closing speech to the Meetingof Friends in 1863, he said, "You can no more forbid the world to callyou Grundtvigians than those whom Luther called to the Lord could forbidanyone to call them Lutherans, but do not yourself adopt that name. Forhistory shows that some have let themselves be called Lutherans untilthey have almost lost the name of Christians. If anyone wishes to name usafter any other than Christ, we ought to tell them that we accept nothingunto salvation except what the Christian church has taught and confessedfrom generation to generation. To or from that we neither add nordetract. We acknowledge without reservation that word of faith which Paulsays is believed to righteousness and confessed unto salvation. Themanner of teaching and believing that faith so that the Old Adam may beput off and the new put on, we hold to be a matter of enlightenment inwhich we shall be guided by Grundtvig, as we are guided by Luther, onlyin so far as we are convinced that he has been guided by Scripture andthe Spirit. We also disclaim any intention of making our conception ofScripture an article of faith which must be accepted by the church. "Grundtvig's followers would, no doubt, have profited greatly byremembering this truly liberal view of their leader. 

Thus his years passed quietly onward, filled with fruitful labor evenunto the end. In contrast to his often stormy public career, Grundtvig'sprivate life was quite peaceful and commonplace, subject only to theusual trials and sorrows of human existence. During the greater part ofhis life he was extremely poor, subsisting on a small government pension, the meager returns from his writings and occasional gifts from friends. For his own part this did not trouble him; his wants were few and easilysatisfied. But he "liked to see shining faces around him, " as he oncewrote, and he had discovered that the face of a child could often bebrightened by a small gift, which he was frequently too poor to give. "But if we would follow the Lord in these days, " he wrote to a friend, "we must evidently be prepared to renounce all things for His sake andcast out all these heathen worries for dross and chaff with which we asChristians often distress ourselves. "

Grundtvig was thrice married. His first wife, Lise Grundtvig, diedJanuary 4, 1851, after a long illness. Her husband said at her grave, "Istand here as an old man who is taking a decided step toward my own graveby burying the bride of my youth and the mother of my children who formore than forty years with unfailing loyalty shared all my joys andsorrows--and mostly latter. "

But Grundtvig did not appear to be growing old. During the followingsummer he attended the great meeting of Scandinavian students at Oslo, where he was hailed as the youngest of them all. And on October 4 of thesame year, he rejoiced his enemies and grieved many of his friends bymarrying Marie Toft, of Rennebeck's Manor, a wealthy widow and his juniorby thirty years. And despite dire predictions to the contrary, themarriage was very happy. Marie Toft was a highly intelligent andspiritual-minded woman who wholeheartedly shared her husband's spiritualviews and ideals; and her death in 1854 came, therefore, as an almostoverwhelming blow. In a letter to a friend a few weeks after her death, Grundtvig writes, "It was wonderful to be loved as unselfishly as Marieloved me. But she belonged wholly to God. He gave and He took; anddespite all objections by the world and our own selfish flesh, thebelieving heart must exclaim, His name be praised. When I consider thegreatness of the treasure that the Lord gave to me by opening this lovingheart to me in my old age, I confess that it probably would have provedbeyond my strength continuously to bear such good days; for had I notalready become critical of all that were not like her, and indifferent toall things that were not concerned with her?"

The last remark, perhaps, refers to a complaint by his friends that hehad become so absorbed in his wife that he neglected other things. Ifthis had been the case, he now made amends by throwing himself into awhirl of activity that would have taxed the strength of a much youngerman. During the following years, he wrote part of his formerly mentionedbooks on the church and Christian education, delivered a large number oflectures, resumed his seat in the Riksdag and, of course, attended to hisgrowing work as a pastor. As he was also very neglectful of his owncomfort in other ways, it was evident to all that such a strenuous lifemust soon exhaust his strength unless someone could be constantly abouthim and minister to his need. For this reason a high-minded young widow, the Baroness Asta Tugendreich Reetz, entered into marriage with him thatshe might help to conserve the strength of the man whom she consideredone of the greatest assets her country possessed. 

Grundtvig once said of his marriages that the first was an idyl, thesecond a romance and the third a fairy-tale. Others said harsher things. But Asta Grundtvig paid no attention to the scandal mongers. A veryearnest Christian woman herself, she devoted all her energy to create areal Christian home for her husband and family. As Grundtvig had alwayslived much by himself, she wished especially to make their home a readygathering place for all his friends and co-workers. In this she succeededso well that their modest dwelling was frequently crowded with visitorsfrom far and near, many of whom later counted their visit with Grundtvigamong the richest experiences of their life. 

Grundtvig's fiftieth anniversary as a pastor was celebrated withimpressive festivities on May 29, 1861. The celebration was attended byrepresentatives from all departments of government and the church as wellas by a host of people from all parts of Scandinavia; and the celebrantwas showered with gifts and honors. The king conferred upon him the titleof bishop; the former queen, Carolina Amalia, presented him with a sevenarmed candlestick of gold from women in Norway, Sweden and Denmark; hisfriend, Pastor P. A. Fenger, handed him a gift of three thousand dollarsfrom friends in Denmark and Norway to finance a popular edition of his_Hymns and Songs for the Danish Church_; and another friend, Gunni Busck, presented him with a plaque of gold engraved with his likeness and a linefrom his hymns, a gift from the congregation of Vartov. 

Many of those who participated in this splendid jubilee felt that itwould be of great benefit to them to meet again for mutual fellowship anddiscussion of pressing religious and national questions. And with thewilling cooperation of Asta Grundtvig, it was decided to invite all whomight be interested to a meeting in Copenhagen on Grundtvig's eightiethbirthday, September 8, the following year. This Meeting of Friends--as itwas named--proved so successful that it henceforth became an annualevent, attended by people from all parts of Scandinavia. AlthoughGrundtvig earnestly desired that these meetings should actually be whatthey were designed to be, meetings of friends for mutual help andenlightenment, his own part in them was naturally important. His powerswere still unimpaired, and his contributions were rich in wisdom andspiritual insight. Knowing himself surrounded by friends, he often spokewith an appealing heartiness and power that made the Meetings of Friendsunforgettable experiences to many. 

Thus the once loneliest man in Denmark found himself in his old agehonored by his nation, surrounded by friends, and besieged by visitorsand co-workers, seeking his help and advice. He was always veryapproachable. In his younger days he had frequently been harsh andself-assertive in his judgment of others; but in his latter years helearned that kindness is always more fruitful than wrath. Sitting in hiseasy chair and smoking his long pipe, he talked frankly and often wittilywith the many who came to visit him. Thus Bishop H. Martensen, thetheologian, tells us that his conversation was admirably eloquent andinterspersed with wit and humor. And a prominent Swedish author, P. Wisselgren, writes: "Some years ago I spent one of the most delightfulevenings of my life with Bishop Grundtvig. I doubt that I have ever met agreater poet of conversation. Each thought was an inspiration and hisheart was in every word he said. "

Grundtvig's outward appearance, especially during his later years, wasextremely charming. His strong countenance framed by long white locks anda full beard bore the imprint of a profound spiritual intellect and abenevolent calmness. The queen, Caroline Amalia, after her first meetingwith him wrote, "Grundtvig has a most beautiful countenance, and heattracted me at once by his indescribably kind and benevolent appearance. What an interesting man he is, and what a pleasure it is to listen to hisopen and forthright conversation. "

And so, still active and surrounded by friends, he saw his long, fruitfullife drawing quietly toward its close. In 1871, he opened the annualMeeting of Friends by speaking from the text: "See, I die, but the Lordshall be with you, " and said in all likelihood this meeting would be thelast at which he would be present. He lived, however, to prepare for thenext meeting, which was to be held on September 11, 1872. On September 1, he conducted his service at Vartov as usual, preaching an exceptionallywarm and inspiring sermon. But the following morning he passed awayquietly while sitting in his easy chair and listening to his son read forhim. 

He was buried September 11, three days after his 89th birthday, in thepresence of representatives from all departments of the government, onefourth of the Danish clergy and a vast assembly of people from all partsof Scandinavia. 

An American writer recently named Grundtvig "The Builder of ModernDenmark. " And there are few phases of modern Danish life which he has notinfluenced. His genius was so unique and his work so many-sided that withequal justice one might call him a historian, a poet, an educator, areligious philosopher, a hymnologist and a folk-leader. Yet there is anunderlying unity of thought and purpose in all his work which makes eachpart of it merely a branch of the whole. This underlying unity is hisclear conception of the spiritual and of man as a spiritual being who canattain his fullest development only through the widest possiblerealization of the spiritual in all his divine and human relationships. In every part of his work Grundtvig, therefore, invariably seeks todiscover the spiritual realities. The mere form of a thing, the form ofreligion, of knowledge, of education, of government, of all humaninstitutions and endeavors have no intrinsic value, are only skeletonsand dead bones until they become imbued and vivified by the spirit. ThusProfessor Martensen, who by no means belonged to the Grundtvigian party, writes, "But among the many things I owe to Grundtvig, I cherish aboveall his conception of the spiritual as the reality besides which allother things are nothing but shadows, and of the spirit inspired word asthe mightiest power in human life. And he gave that to me not as a theorybut as a living truth, a spiritual reality about which there could be noteven a shadow of doubt. "

Grundtvig found the spiritual in many things, in the myth of the North, in history, literature and, in fact, in all things through which man hasto express his god-given nature. He had no patience with the Pietists wholooked upon all things not directly religious as evils with which aChristian could have nothing to do. Yet he believed above all in the HolySpirit as the "Spirit of spirits, " the true agent of God in the world. The work of the Spirit was indispensable to man's salvation, and thefruit of that work, the regenerated Christian life, the highestexpression of the spiritual. Since he believed furthermore, that the HolySpirit works especially in the church through the word and sacraments, the church was to him the workshop of the Spirit. 

In his famous hymn to the church bell, his symbol for the church, hewrites "that among all noble voices none could compare with that of theringing bell. " Despite the many fields in which he traced the imprint ofthe spiritual, the church remained throughout his long life his realspiritual home, a fact which he beautifully expresses in the hymn below. 

 Hallowed Church Bell, not for worldly centers Wast thou made, but for the village small Where thy voice, as home and hearth it enters, Blends with lullabies at evenfall. 

 When a child and in the country dwelling, Christmas morning was my heaven on earth, And thy chimes, like angel voices swelling, Told with joy of my Redeemer's birth. 

 Louder still thy joyful chimes resounded, When on wings of early morning borne, They proclaimed: Awake with joy unbounded, Christ arose this blessed Easter morn. 

 Sweeter even were thy tolls when blending With the calm of summer eventide And, as though from heaven above descending, Bid me cast all grief and care aside. 

 Hence when now the day is softly ending, Shadows fall and birds ascend their nest, Like the flowers my head in silence bending, I am chanting with my soul at rest:

 When at last, O Church Bell, thou art tolling O'er my grave while loved grieve and sigh, Say to them, their troubled heart consoling, He is resting with his Lord on high. 

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[11]The printed text is corrupt, but the correction is not obvious. Norway and Finland might have "about as many" or "about half as many". 

 Other Danish Hymnwriters

 Chapter Seventeen

The Danish church has produced a large number of hymnwriters, who, exceptfor the greatness of Kingo, Brorson and Grundtvig, would have commandedgeneral recognition. The present hymnal of the church containscontributions by about sixty Danish writers. Though the majority of theseare represented by only one or two hymns, others have made largecontributions. 

Kingo, Brorson and Grundtvig, peculiarly enough, had few imitators. Asmall number of writers did attempt to imitate the great leaders, butthey formed no school and their work for the most part was soinsignificant that it soon disappeared. Thus even Kingo's great workinspired no hymnwriter of any consequence, and the fifty years betweenKingo and Brorson added almost nothing to the hymnody of the church. Contemporary with Brorson, however, a few writers appeared whose songshave survived to the present day. Foremost among these is Ambrosius Stub, a unique and sympathetic writer whose work constitutes a distinctcontribution to Danish poetry. 

Ambrosius Stub was born on the island of Fyn in 1705, the son of avillage tailor. Although extremely poor, he managed somehow to enter theUniversity of Copenhagen, but his poverty compelled him to leave theschool without completing his course. For a number of years, he driftedaimlessly, earning a precarious living by teaching or bookkeeping at theestates of various nobles, always dogged by poverty and a sense offrustration. Although he was gifted and ambitious, his lack of a degreeand his continuous poverty prevented him from attaining the position inlife to which his ability apparently entitled him. During his lateryears, he conducted a small school for boys at Ribe, a small city on thewest coast of Jutland, where he died in abject poverty in 1758, only 53years old. 

Stub's work remained almost unknown during his lifetime, but a smallcollection of his poems, published after his death, gained him aposthumous recognition as the greatest Danish poet of the 18th century. Stub's style is extremely noble and expressive, devoid of the excessivebombast and sentimentality that many writers then mistook for poetry. Hewas of a cheerful disposition with a hopeful outlook upon life that onlyoccasionally is darkened by the hardships and disappointments of his ownexistence. Even the poems of his darker moods are colored by his inbornlove of beauty and his belief in the fundamental goodness of life. Manyof his best poems are of a religious nature, and expressive of his warmand trustful Christian faith. In view of the discouraging hardships anddisappointments of his own life, the following much favored hymn throws arevealing light upon the spirit of its author. 

 Undismayed by any fortune Life may have in store for me, This, whatever be my portion, I will always try to be. If I but in grace abide, Undismayed whate'er betide. 

 Undismayed when others harry Mind and soul with anxious care; If the Lord with me will tarry, All my troubles disappear. If I but in grace abide, Undismayed whate'er betide. 

 Undismayed when others sighing, Quail before the evil day, On God's grace I am relying; Nothing can me then dismay. If I but in grace abide, Undismayed whate'er betide. 

 Undismayed when others fearing, See the hour of death draw nigh. With the victor's crown appearing, Why should I repine and sigh. If I but in grace abide, Undismayed whate'er betide. 

 Dearest Lord, if I may treasure Thy abundant grace each day, I shall cherish Thy good pleasure, Be my portion what it may. If I but in grace abide, Undismayed whate'er betide. 

The age of Rationalism discarded most of the old hymns but produced noworthwhile hymns of its own. The most highly praised hymnwriter of theperiod, Birgitte Boye, the wife of a forester, wrote a great number ofhymns of which no less than 150 were included in a new hymnal publishedin 1870, by the renowned statesman, Ove Hoegh Guldberg. Althoughexcessively praised by the highest authorities of the period, BirgitteBoye's hymns contain nothing of permanent value, and have now happilybeen forgotten. 

The Evangelical revival about the middle of the 19th century restored theold hymns to their former favor, and produced besides, a number of newhymnwriters of real merit. Among these, Casper J. Boye is, perhaps, themost prominent. Born of Danish parents at Kongsberg, Norway, in 1791, Boye entered the University of Copenhagen in 1820 where he first took upthe study of law and then, of theology. After graduating from thisdepartment, he became a teacher at a Latin school and some years later, apastor of the large Garrison Church in Copenhagen, where he remaineduntil his death in 1851. Boye was a gifted writer, both on secular andreligious themes. His numerous hymns appeared in six small volumesentitled: _Spiritual Songs_. They are marked by a flowing but at timesexcessively literary style and a quiet spiritual fervor. The followingstill is a favorite opening hymn. 

 Day is breaking, night is ended, And the day of rest ascended Upon church and countryside. Like the day in brightness growing, Grace from God is richer flowing; Heaven's portals open wide. 

 O what joy this day is bringing, When the chiming bells are ringing, Calling man to prayer and praise! All the angel host rejoices And with gladsome, mellow voices Thanks the Lord for light and grace. 

 Sin and death with fear and sorrow And the burden of tomorrow Shall not weigh my heart with care. Unto all in tribulation Doth the Lord of our salvation On this day His peace declare. 

 Be it hushed in solemn stillness, Must I weep in grief or illness, Or confess my guilt and shame, It is blessed to be weeping When the hungry heart is reaping Grace and peace in Jesus' name. 

 O Thou Fount of grace unbounded, Who our wisdom hath confounded, Whom but faith can comprehend! In Thy love my soul reposes; Heaven's portal never closes Till before Thy throne we stand. 

Herman Andreas Timm, a younger contemporary of Boye, also wrote a largenumber of excellent hymns. He was born at Copenhagen in 1800, and was formany years pastor of the church on Amager, a suburb of the capital city. He died in 1866. His hymns appeared in a small volume of poems, publishedin 1834, under the title: _Spiritual Songs_. They are characterized by aneasy literary style and an urgent spiritual appeal. The following verypopular hymn is perhaps the best-known of those now available in English. 

 Dost thou know the living fountain Whence the stream of grace doth flow? Dry the streams from snowcapped mountain, Yet this stream shall fuller grow. From the very heart of God Flows its currents deep and broad, Unto every land and nation, Bringing mercy and salvation. 

 Come unto the living waters! Cried the prophets, do not shrink! God invites His sons and daughters: He that thirsteth come and drink. With this water God imparts Health and strength to sin-sick hearts. Why are ye then hesitating While the Lord with grace is waiting. 

 With us is the day appointed, God has kept His gracious word. He has come, the Lord's annointed; Men have seen the promised Lord. Saints of God from every race Found in Him the fount of grace, And, with joy that never ceases, Said: The Fount of Life is Jesus. 

 Hasten then! Let all assemble At this fountain pure and strong. Come, ye souls that fear and tremble, Come, ye old, and come ye young. Now the hour of grace is here, Draw then to its fountain near. Soon, ah soon! the day is over. Quickly night the world may cover. 

Another contemporary of these writers, and perhaps the most prominent ofthe group, was Theodore Vilhelm Oldenburg. Oldenburg was born atCopenhagen in 1805, son of the Royal Chamberlain, Frederik Oldenburg. Hismother died while he was still a boy, but his excellent father managed togive him a most careful training and a splendid education. He graduated"cum laude" from the University of Copenhagen in 1822, obtained thedegree of Master of Arts during the following year, entered thedepartment of theology and graduated from there three years later, also"cum laude. " In 1830 he accepted a call to become pastor of the parish ofOtterup and Sorterup on the island of Fyn. Here he won high praise forhis conspicuously able and faithful work. Together with the gifted BishopP. C. Kirkegaard, he was editor for a number of years of the influentialperiodical "Nordisk Tidsskrift for Kristelig Teologi, " and also of theoutstanding foreign mission paper, "Dansk Missionsblad. " Through thesepapers he exerted a powerful and always beneficent influence upon thechurches of both Denmark and Norway. His outstanding and richly blestservice was cut short by death in 1842 when he was only 37 years old. Hewas carried to the grave to the strains of his own appealing hymn:"Thine, O Jesus, Thine Forever. "

Oldenburg's quite numerous hymns were printed from time to time invarious periodicals. They express in a noble and highly lyrical style thefirm faith and warm religious fervor of his own consecrated life. 

The hymn given below was written for a foreign mission convention shortlybefore his death. 

 Deep and precious, Strong and gracious Is the word of God above, Gently calling Sinners falling, To the Savior's arm of love. Unto all the word is given: Jesus is the way to heaven. 

 Blessed Savior, Wondrous favor Hast Thou shown our fallen race! Times may alter, Worlds may falter, Nothing moves Thy word of grace. With Thy word Thy grace abideth, And for all our needs provideth. 

 By Thy merit, Through the Spirit Draw all sinners, Lord, to Thee. Sin and error, Death and terror By Thy word shall vanquished be. Guide us all through life's straight portal, Bear us into life immortal. 

Besides Grundtvig the foremost hymnwriter of this period was his closefriend, Bernhard Severin Ingemann, one of Denmark's most popular andbeloved writers. He was born in 1789 in a parsonage on the island ofFalster. His father died in 1800 when the son was only 11 years old, andhis mother left the parsonage to settle in Slagelse, an old city on theisland of Sjælland. Having graduated from the Latin school there in 1806, Ingemann entered the University of Copenhagen in the fall of the sameyear. During the English attack on Copenhagen in 1807, he enrolled in thestudent's volunteer corps and fought honorably in defense of the city. After graduating from the University, he was granted free board and roomat Walkendorf's Collegium, an institution for the aid of indigent butpromising young students. Here he devoted most of his time to literarypursuits and, during the following three years, he published a largenumber of works which won him a favorable name as a gifted lyrical poetof a highly idealistic type. As an encouragement to further efforts, thegovernment granted him a two year stipend for travel and study in foreignparts. He visited Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy, and becameacquainted with many famous literary leaders of that day, especially inGermany. On his return from abroad in 1822 he was appointed a lector atthe famous school at Sorø on the island of Sjælland. In this charming oldcity with its splendid cathedral and idyllic surroundings he spent theremainder of his life in the peace and quiet that agreed so well with hisown mild and seraphic nature. He died in 1862. 

Inspired by Oehlenschlaeger and strongly encouraged by Grundtvig, Ingemann in 1824 began the issuance of his famous historical novels, based upon episodes from the romantic period of Danish history during the13th and 14th centuries. To some extent the novels are modeled upon thesimilar works of Walter Scott but are written in a livelier style andmore idealistic spirit than their English prototype. In later years theirhistorical veracity has been gravely questioned. Enjoying an immensepopularity both in Denmark and in Norway, these highly idealized picturesof the past did much to arouse that national spirit which especiallyGrundtvig had labored long to awaken. After completing his historicalnovels, Ingemann again resumed his lyrical and fictional writings, producing a large number of poems, fairy-tales and novels that furtherincreased his already immense popularity. 

 Bernhard Severin Ingemann

Despite the great popularity of Ingemann's secular writings, it is, nevertheless, his hymns and spiritual songs which will preserve his namethe longest. His first collection of hymns, a small volume of morning andevening songs, appeared in 1822. This collection was followed in 1825 bya volume of church hymns, which was enlarged and reprinted in 1843. Thefavorable reception of these hymns caused Ingemann to be selected toprepare the new church hymnal, published in 1855, a task which heaccomplished to the general satisfaction of all. 

Ingemann's hymns faithfully reflect his own serene and idealistic nature. Their outstanding merits are a limpid, lyrical style and an implicittrust in the essential goodness of life and its Author. Of Kingo'srealistic conception of evil or Grundtvig's mighty vision of existence asa heroic battle between life and death, he has little understanding. Theworld of his songs is as peaceful and idyllic as the quiet countrysidearound his beloved Sorø. If at times he tries to take the deeper note, his voice falters and becomes artificial. But though his hymns on suchthemes as sin and redemption are largely a failure, he has writtenimperishable hymns of idealistic faith and childlike trust in thegoodness and love of God. 

The extreme lyrical quality and highly involved and irregular metre ofmany of Ingemann's hymns make them extremely difficult to translate, andtheir English translations fail on the whole to do justice. Thetranslation given below is perhaps one of the best. It is the work of theRev. P. C. Paulsen. 

 As wide as the skies is Thy mercy, O God; Thy faithfulness shieldeth creation. Thy bounteous hand from the mountains abroad Is stretched over country and nation. 

 Like heaven's embrace is Thy mercy, O Lord; In judgment profound Thou appearest. Thou savest our souls through Thy life-giving word, The cries of Thy children Thou hearest. 

 How precious Thy goodness, O Father above, Where children of men are abiding. Thou spreadest through darkness the wings of Thy love; We under their pinions are hiding. 

 For languishing souls Thou preparest a rest; The quivering dove Thou protectest; Thou givest us being, eternal and blest, In mercy our life Thou perfectest. 

The following hymn is also quite popular. 

 The sun is rising in the east, It gilds the heavens wide, And scatters light on mountain crest, On shore and countryside. 

 It rises from the valley bright, Where Paradise once lay, And bringeth life, and joy and light To all upon its way. 

 It greets us from the land afar Where man with grace was crowned, And from that wondrous Morning Star, Which Eastern sages found. 

 The starry host bow down before The sun that passes them; It seems so like that star of yore Which shone on Bethlehem. 

 Thou Sun of Suns, from heaven come, In Thee our praises rise For every message from Thy home And from Thy Paradise. 

The most beloved of all Ingemann's hymns is his splendid "Pilgrim Song. "

 Dejlig er Jorden, Prægtig er Guds Himmel, Skøn er Sjælenes Pilgrimsgang. Gennem de fagre Riger paa Jorden Gaa vi til Paradis med Sang. 

This hymn is written to the tune of "Beautiful Savior" which Ingemann, incommon with many others, accepted as a marching tune from the period ofthe crusades. Although this historic origin has now been disproved, thetune united with Ingemann's text undoubtedly will remain the most belovedpilgrim song among the Danish and Norwegian peoples. Though fully awareof the impossibility of translating this tenderly beautiful song so thatit is acceptable to those who know the original, the author presents thefollowing translation in the hope that it may interest those who cannotread the original. 

 Fair is creation, [12] Fairer God's heaven, Blest is the marching pilgrim throng. Onward through lovely Regions of beauty Go we to Paradise with song. 

 Ages are coming, Ages are passing Nations arise and disappear. Never the joyful Message from heaven Wanes through the soul's brief sojourn here. 

 Angels proclaimed it Once to the shepherds, Henceforth from soul to soul it passed: Unto all people Peace and rejoicing, Us is a Savior born at last. 

Of other hymns by Ingemann, which are now available in English, we maymention "Jesus, My Savior, My Shepherd Blest, " "The Country Lies in DeepRepose" and "I Live and I Know the Span of My Years. "

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[12]Another translation: "Beauty around us" by S. D. Rodholm in "A World of Song. "

The last half of the 19th century also brought forth a number of Danishhymnwriters of considerable merit, such as Chr. Richardt, Pastor J. P. M. Paulli, Pastor Olfert Ricard and Pastor J. Schjorring. The latter isespecially known by one song which has been translated into manylanguages and with which it seems appropriate to close this survey ofDanish hymnody. 

 Love from God our Lord, Has forever poured Like a fountain pure and clear. In its quiet source, In its silent course Doth the precious pearl appear. 

 Love from God our Lord, Comes with sweet accord, Like a pure and lovely bride. Dwell within my heart, Peace from God impart, Heaven doth with Thee abide. 

 Love from God our Lord, Has to man restored Life and peace from heaven above. Who in love remains, Peace from God obtains; God Himself is ever love.