”Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24)
The work is Thine, O Christ, our Lord,
The cause for which we stand;
And being Thine, ’twill overcome
Its foes on every hand.
Yet grains of wheat, before they grow,
Are buried in the earth below;
All that is old doth perish there,
To form a life both new and fair;
So too are we
From self and sin made free.
Thro’ suffering Thou, O Christ, did go
Unto Thy throne above;
And leadest now the self same way
Those true in faith and love;
So lead us, then, tho’ sufferings wait,
To share Thy kingdom’s heav’nly state,
Thy death has broken Satan’s might,
And leads the faithful to the light;
Eternal light,
From darkness into light.
Thou hast, O Savior, led the way
Thro’ agony and death;
O give, we pray, yet more and more
Thy Spirit’s living breath;
Send messengers o’er land and sea
To bring Thy children all to Thee;
Thy name can save, Thy name makes free;
We consecrate ourselves to Thee
As servants true,
As servants strong and true.
Samuel Preiswerk, 1799–1871
