Plough My Account Sign Out
My Account
    View Cart

    Subtotal: $

    Checkout
    golden background texture

    Motet for a New Year

    By Marianne Wright

    January 1, 2018
    1 Comments
    1 Comments
    1 Comments
      Submit
    • Anne Ryan

      Thank you so much for providing not only the lyrics but the audible version. So lovely and food for thought as well.

    The Plough Music Series is a regular selection of music intended to lift the heart to God. It is not a playlist of background music: each installment focuses on a single piece worth pausing to enjoy.


    The days between Christmas and Epiphany are a time to reflect on the miracle of Christmas and to look toward the challenges of the coming year. Here’s music from 1646 that does both. Starting and ending with a solemn “Alleluia,” the song describes God’s love in sending his son to the manger to be our friend, and expresses the resolve never to waver from Christ. The end of each verse is overtaken by the chorus, an exuberant repetition of the words “Joy, joy upon joy,” and the song ends with a prayer for a peaceful and blessed new year for all of God’s people. The prayer for peace was as urgent then as today: the Thirty Years’ War had already dragged on for twenty-eight years when composer Andreas Hammerschmidt – who with his family was a refugee during the war – wrote this hope-filled motet.

    Listen to this recording:

    Detail of a painting depicting a nighttime winter scene with the moon shining on a bridge, a pond and a church. George Herbert McCord, Night Scene in Winter with Moon and a Church Tower in the Background (detail)
    Contributed By MarianneWright Marianne Wright

    Marianne Wright, a member of the Bruderhof, lives in southeastern New York with her husband and five children.

    Learn More
    1 Comments
    You have ${x} free ${w} remaining. This is your last free article this month. We hope you've enjoyed your free articles. This article is reserved for subscribers.

      Already a subscriber? Sign in

    Try 3 months of unlimited access. Start your FREE TRIAL today. Cancel anytime.

    Start free trial now

    Lyrics

    Allelujah!

    Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle!
    Freue sich, wer immer kann,
    Gott hat viel an uns getan.
    Freuet euch mit großem Schalle,
    Daß er uns so hoch geacht't,
    Sich mit uns befreund't gemacht.

    Freude, Freude über Freude!
    Christus wehret allem Leide.
    Wonne, Wonne über Wonne!
    Er ist die Genadensonne.

    Siehe, siehe, meine Seele,
    Wie dein Heiland kommt zu dir,
    Brennt in Liebe für und für,
    Daß er in der Krippe Höhle
    Harte lieget dir zugut,
    Dich zu lösen durch sein Blut.

    Freude, Freude …

    Jesu, wie soll ich dir danken?
    Ich bekenne, daß von dir
    Meine Seligkeit herrühr'.
    O laß mich von dir nicht wanken,
    Nimm mich dir zu eigen hin,
    So empfindet Herz und Sinn

    Freude, Freude …

    Jesu, nimm dich deiner Glieder
    Ferner in Genaden an!
    Schenke, was man bitten kann,
    Zu erquicken deine Brüder;
    Gib der ganzen Christenschar
    Frieden und ein sel'ges Jahr.

    Freude, Freude …

    Allelujah!

    Alleluia!

    Rejoice, all Christians,
    Rejoice, whoever is able,
    God has done great things for us.
    Rejoice with mighty voice
    that he loved us so dearly
    as to have become our friend.

    Joy, joy upon joy!
    Christ defends us from all suffering.
    Delight, delight upon delight!
    He is the Sun of Grace.

    Behold, my soul,
    how your Savior comes to you,
    Forever burning with love,
    so that in the manger
    he lies on a hard bed for your benefit,
    to redeem you through his blood.

    Joy, joy upon joy!...

    Jesus, how shall I thank you?
    I confess that my salvation
    comes only from you.
    May I never waver from you.
    Take me for your own,
    thus my heart and mind will feel

    Joy, joy upon joy!...

    Jesus, lead your followers
    deeper and deeper into grace.
    Grant, we pray you,
    renewal to your brothers:
    give to all Christ’s people
    peace and a blessed year.

    Joy, joy upon joy!...

    Alleluia!

    You have ${x} free ${w} remaining. This is your last free article this month. We hope you've enjoyed your free articles. This article is reserved for subscribers.

      Already a subscriber? Sign in

    Try 3 months of unlimited access. Start your FREE TRIAL today. Cancel anytime.

    Start free trial now