Jesus, Priceless Treasure – LSB 743
Lent 4 (Laetare; 1 year) AND Proper 10 (B)
Johann Franck’s hymn is a love song from the bride (church) to her Lord Jesus Christ! This is not as easy to see in English as in the original German which includes this line: God’s Lamb, my Bridegroom. Jesus is the priceless Bridegroom, pleasure, friend, and Lamb who has ransomed us, not with gold or silver, but with his precious blood (1 Peter 1:18–19). Jesus defends his bride against all evils of body and soul, especially that accuser Satan. Christians also can also decry fear and death. The world and its treasures hold no sway over those who, in faith, rely on Christ. Faithful Christians, members of the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:22–33), do not fear leaving this evil world, for then they will dwell forever before the face of their Bridegroom, their priceless Treasure, in heaven.
God Loved the World so that He Gave – LSB 571
Lent 4 (3 year) AND Proper 6 (A) & 10 (A)
This hymn is anonymous. God sent Jesus, his only Son, into the world to save the world from its sin by the forgiveness of sins purchased by Christ’s blood upon the cross. By that forgiveness the believers in him also have eternal life. That forgiveness in Christ is the ground of faith, the cornerstone, upon which the Christian life is constructed (Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6-7). That forgiveness is first delivered in the baptismal font. Since Christians will not die eternally, though their bodies will die, they are cheered by the forgiving flood applied to them. Thus, all Christians gladly sing unto the God who saved them — the Father and the + Son and the Holy Spirit.
Rev. Thomas E. Lock serves as Kantor/Assistant Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Denver, Colorado.