number of hymns for the enrichment of
other parts of the church service. Few hymns thus strike a more
appropriate and festive note for the opening service than the short hymn
given below.

Come, Zion, and sing to the Father above;
Angels join with you
And thank Him for Jesus, the gifts of His love.
We sing before God in the highest.

Strike firmly, O Psalmist, the jubilant chord;
Golden be your harp
In praise of Christ Jesus, our Savior and Lord.
We sing before God in the highest.

Then hear we with rapture the tongues as of fire,
The Spirit draws nigh,
Whose counsels with comforts our spirits inspire,
We sing before God in the highest.

Equally fine is his free rendering of the 84th psalm.

Fair beyond telling,
Lord, is Thy dwelling,
Filled with Thy peace.
Oh how I languish
And, in my anguish,
Wait for release
That I may enter Thy temple, O Lord,
With Thee communing in deepest accord.

With Thy compassion,
Lord of Salvation,
Naught can compare.
Even the sparrow
Safe from the arrow
Rests in Thy care.
And as Thou shieldest the bird in its nest,
So let my heart in Thy temple find rest.

Years full of splendors,
Which to offenders
Earth may afford,
Never can measure
One day of pleasure
Found with Thee, Lord,
When on the wings of Thy quickening word
Souls are uplifted and Thou art adored.

Quicken in spirit,
Grow in Thy merit
Shall now Thy friends.
Blessings in showers
Filled with Thy powers
On them descends
Until at home in the city of gold
All shall in wonder Thy presence behold.

Grundtvig's hymns are for the most part church hymns, presenting the
objective rather than the subjective phase of Christian faith. He wrote
for the congregation and held that a hymn for congregational singing
should express the common faith and hope of the worshippers, rather than
the personal feelings and experiences of the individual. Because of this
his hymns are frequently criticized for their lack of personal sentiment.
The personal note is not wholly lacking in his work, however, as
witnessed by the following hymn.

Suffer and languish,
Tremble in anguish
Must every soul that awakes to its guilt.
Sternly from yonder,
Sinai doth thunder:
Die or achieve what