St. Crispin

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You bring the Hymnal,  I'll bring the History
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Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf (1700-1760) was a wealthy and educated man who also loved the Lord greatly.  Zinzendorf was associated with the Moravian Church.  Zinzendorf  wrote over 200 hymns but his most well known hymn is, "Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness."  Many have criticized his hymns for speaking to intimately of sacred things.  Zinzendorf emphasized a life of vital personal devotedness to Christ, which he called a "Christianity of the heart."  This hymn speaks of the atonement for sin through the blood of Jesus Christ.  It originally had 33 stanzas.  John Wesley translated the hymn from German and cut the stanzas down to 24.  Other editors have abridged it even more that today we usually find only four stanzas in our hymn books (I have included five stanzas -# 3 is usually omitted.)

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Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
"Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

Bold shall I stand in Thy great day.
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully absolved through these I am,
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

The holy, meek, unspotted Lamb,
Who from the Father's bosom came,
Who died for me, e'en me to atone,
Now for my Lord and God I own.

Lord, I believe Thy precious blood,
Which, at the mercy seat of God,
Forever doth for sinners plead,
For me, e'en for my soul, was shed.

Lord, I believe were sinners more
Than sands upon the ocean shore,
Thou hast for all a ransom paid,
For all a full atonement made.
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