Fairest Lord Jesus
A beautiful classic hymn with a confusing history. Was this sung during the crusades? Was it sung by a group of haymakers in Glaz? Nobody is sure – but we are sure of this: “Fairest Lord Jesus” is a beautiful hymn of praise.
Welcome to another Friday Classic Hymn. I'm going to look at an old hymn today that I didn't really know at all until today when I learnt it. I have seen the title before when I've seen lists of hymns or these hymn books that I use for my research - Fairest Lord Jesus. It sounded intriguing and I looked it up, and it's a beautiful hymn with an interesting backstory.
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The Story Behind "Fairest Lord Jesus"
This is a complicated one because nobody really knows where it came from. The first time the song ever appeared was in the 1660s in a Catholic hymnal. Nobody knows who the author was or who wrote the tune, but there are some interesting theories. Some people think that this was sung by the Crusaders when they would go and conquer the lands as they went around. Of course, in the early days Christianity viewed this as a triumph. Nowadays we seem to think of it more as a blight on Christian history - using violence to conquer instead of love. But something suggests it was born out of the Crusades.
There's another account of Christian believers in the 1600s being driven out of Bohemia and settling in Silesia, which is now Poland, and that it was those believers who wrote and sang the song. Wherever it comes from, it was in the 1840s that a German man, Heinrich Hoffman von Fallersleben - a poet and scholar who published a bunch of folk songs - took this German text and paired it with another tune that he had heard people sing it to. Apparently some rural people in the Prussian region of Glatz were singing this tune, so he published it in the 1840s and called it Schönster Herr Jesu, which refers to the region of the first Crusades' final battle. Maybe this is what makes people think that it was a Crusader thing.
It was in the 1850s that the song made its way to America when a composer, Richard Storrs Willis - who by the way also wrote the music for "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" - published the song in a collection of hymns. Now he titled the tune "Crusaders' Hymn." Again, he must have seen what the German composer had written and what he titled the tune, and figured out - or thought at least - that this was linked to the Crusades. He published a three-verse version of the German text and next to it included an English translation, "Fairest Lord Jesus," which he seems to have translated.
But the English translation that is most commonly used today is attributed to Joseph Augustus Seiss. He was a Lutheran minister in the 1870s in Virginia and Maryland, and he wrote a version of this called "Beautiful Saviour." Different hymnals will use different versions - some prefer Willis's words, some prefer Seiss's words. It depends on what publication you're looking at, I guess.
Now, adding to this whole legend of the Crusaders using this is the famous composer Franz Liszt using this tune - or sort of tweaking it - in a section of his oratorio "The Legend of St Elizabeth." There's a section called "The Crusaders' March" which uses some of this tune. Now, because of the distasteful nature of the Crusades in most modern Christian thinking, a lot of people, although they still use that tune, have changed the name of the tune. They don't want to call it "Crusaders' Hymn" anymore, which is what it eventually became known as. So now some hymnals will call it "St Elizabeth" or "Fairest Lord Jesus" or whatever else.
It's a strange thing because it's such a beautiful and pretty song. The words are very gentle in fact, so to link it with this image of Christians going in and violently capturing lands is a little bit odd to me. Even the melody itself is quite a gentle and pretty melody. I suppose it depends on how you arrange it and what instruments you use, but it talks about the beauty of Jesus. So let's take a look at the words and let it lead us to worship today.
What Do the Lyrics of "Fairest Lord Jesus" Mean?
Verse 1
Fairest Lord Jesus
The word "fair" isn't really used to call something beautiful anymore. It used to be that "fair" was a synonym for beauty, but in modern English we don't really use it that way - it more has to do with justice. But "Fairest Lord Jesus" means most beautiful, most captivating Lord Jesus!
Ruler of all nature
"Ruler" is a bit of a powerful term - He has power over nature, as He proved when He was here on Earth.
O Thou of God and man the Son
That's a lovely way of putting it - He's the Son of God and the Son of Man. Those were two of the great titles of Jesus we see in the New Testament. He's the Son of God, the only begotten Son - not a created Son, but one with God, the Trinity from the beginning. He's the Son of Man - that seems to be Jesus' favourite title for Himself. Throughout the Gospels He would refer to Himself as the Son of Man. Some people think He's humbly referring to Himself as the son of the people, just a human. But really this title was an Old Testament title. Daniel referred to the one like the Son of Man who would come and enter into the presence of the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7). Jesus referring to Himself in this way essentially is calling Himself that figure. The Jews would have immediately known that by calling Himself the Son of Man, He was pretty much exalting Himself onto the level of God. There's the blasphemy that they killed Him for, but that's who He is. He's the Son of Man - He's the one prophesied about in Daniel - and He is the Son of God.
Thee will I cherish
I love that! Do you cherish Jesus more than anything else?
Thee will I honour
Let's live lives that honour Him.
Thou my soul's glory, joy and crown.
That's beautiful. Jesus is not just somebody who can do something for you, but He should be - if you understand who He is - your soul's glory and joy and the crown of your life. Nothing else can crown you like being one who knows Jesus. It is your greatest joy, and your greatest thing to cherish is knowing Him. What a beautiful verse.
Verse 2
Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring
Beautiful creation.
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
who makes the woeful heart to sing
No matter how beautiful creation is - and oh boy it is, it's absolutely beautiful - Christ is fairer and purer, and He can make your heart sing even more than the beauty of nature. Of course we see Him in nature, but is it Him that we're seeing and celebrating as the one who is most fair, most beautiful, most wonderful? I hope so. He'll make your heart sing if you know Him in that way.
Verse 3
Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
No matter how bright and light the things of creation are, the light of Christ is greater! Of course, He said that He is the light of the world. This is our wonderful privilege as believers - we get to know His light shines into our lives and we in turn reflect His light into the world. At least that's what we're called to do. His light is brighter and it's purer. Light is pure, but Jesus is purer still.
Purer than all the angels heaven can boast
All the angels together aren't even as pure and bright as Christ.
Verse 4
All fairest beauty, heavenly and earthly,
wondrously Jesus is found in Thee
All the beauty and wonder of Heaven and Earth are found in Christ.
None can be nearer, fairer or dearer
than Thou My Saviour art to me
Nothing is as dear and as close and as wonderful to us than Jesus. This song is making us consider: is Jesus the most beautiful thing to me? Is He above all in my life, in my love, in my thinking, in my heart? Is everything subject to Jesus? That's what He demanded in His teachings. He said if anybody wants to follow Him, they have to consider even their own family less than Him. Some people find that a bit too extreme, but Jesus is saying even the most beautiful gifts like family and like creation don't even compare to the beauty and the wonder and the joy of knowing Him.
Notice the song is not saying that the creation is rubbish and it's useless and it's pointless, but it's saying that it is so beautiful - and yet Jesus is more beautiful. Same thing as family, you know - your family is not, you're not supposed to count your family as rubbish, but compared to Jesus they're certainly not as wonderful. As wonderful and beautiful and incredible as that gift is - and it is, it's a wonderful gift from God - Jesus must be higher on your priorities, even though you see Jesus in them and them in Jesus.
Verse 5
Beautiful Saviour! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Now we're not just seeing Him as the Ruler of nature but as the Lord of all the nations, the Son of God and the Son of Man, as we've already seen.
Glory and honour, praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be Thine
In the end we're worshipping Him with all praise and adoration.
Conclusion
Lovely stuff. What words have jumped out at you? Did God speak to you in some of these words today? For me, I just felt this need to cherish Jesus as the most beautiful and the most wonderful thing in my life - my soul's glory, joy and crown. Beautiful.
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References
Osbeck, K.W. 1985. 101 Hymn Stories. Kregal Publications: Grand Rapids
