Scripture Verse

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. Psalm 121:8

Introduction

Words: Hart­mann Schenk, 1680 (Nun Gott Lob, es est voll­bracht). Com­po­site trans­la­tion.

Music: Lieb­ster Je­su Jo­hann R. Ahle, 1664 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Schenk or Ahle (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Now, the hour of wor­ship o’er,
Teaching, hear­ing, pray­ing, sing­ing,
Let us glad­ly God adore,
For His Word our praises bring­ing;
For the rich re­past He gave us
Bless the Lord, who deigned to save us.

Now the bless­ing cheers our heart,
By His grace to us ex­tend­ed.
Let us joy­ful­ly depart;
Be our souls to God com­mend­ed.
May His Spir­it ev­er guide us
And with all good gifts pro­vide us!

Bless our go­ing out, we pray,
Bless our en­trance in like mea­sure;
Bless our bread, O Lord, each day,
Bless our toil, our rest, our plea­sure;
Bless us when we reach death’s por­tal,
Bless us then with life im­mor­tal.

illustration
Leaving a Church in Winter
Bartholomeus Van Hove (1790–1880)