Ihr lieben Christen, freut euch nun

Ihr lieben Christen, freut euch nun. Erasmus Alber* (ca. 1500-1553). First printed in a Low German text of 1542 with the title ‘Dre lede volgen Dat Erste Van der tokumpst des Heren Christi am jüngsten dage’ (‘three hymns follow, the first on the coming of Christ the Lord at Judgement Day’). In Wackernagel, Das Deutsche Kirchenlied III. 879-80, it has the title ‘Ein Lied von der Zukunfft des Herrn Christi: am Jüngsten Tag’. It had 18 stanzas. In EG, where it is placed in the Advent section, it is shortened to five stanzas, 1, 2, 4, 13 and 18. It is a dramatic hymn on the ‘Jüngsten Tag’ (Judgement Day). The first line, ‘Beloved Christians, now rejoice’, also contains the meaning of ‘[sich]...