O Sinner, Come Thy Sin to Mourn The PRELUDE is Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685-1750) setting of “O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß” from the Orgelbüchlein (BWV 622). The 1996 Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary offers this translation by J.T. Mueller (1885-1967), sung as today’s VOLUNTARY:
O sinner, come thy sin to mourn, So vast and vile that it has borne,
Christ to this vale of anguish;
Son of a Virgin, sweet and mild, In poverty the Holy Child,
Thy Substitute, did languish;
Behold, with faith, God’s only Son!
Come nigh and see what Love has done, To save thee from damnation;
The Father cast on Him thy guilt, For thee His precious blood was spilt,
To bless thee with salvation.
O meditate, how painfully, the Lamb of God, on Calvary
Has died for thy transgressions;
How dreary was that awful night, Of agony, how great the fight
Of His most wondrous Passion!
O Son of God, eternal Word,
Divine Redeemer, dearest Lord We marvel at Thy suffering,
For Thy disgrace, and pain, and shame, We’ll ever magnify Thy name,
And praise Thy glorious offering.
