Jesus, Thy blood and righteousnessMy beauty are, my glorious dress
‘Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
Nikolaus L. von Zinzendorf, 1739,
trans. by John Wesley, 1740 hymn 241
Dad heard me playing this on the piano today, and he pointed out that it was my Grandfather’s favorite hymn. Dad said, "Well, I don't know if it was his favorite but it was the one he always chose in church when requests were taken." I love the tune, but these words are even more powerful still. Somewhere deep inside where he never showed me, my Grandfather must have understood and cherished his identity in Jesus, because these words speak of a glory that stirs the heart with longing and fills the life with a sense of true nobility.
