"Salvation unto Us has Come"
                      by Paul Speratus, 1484-1551
                                 Text From:
                         THE LUTHERAN HYMNAL
           (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941)



        1. Salvation unto us has come
        By God's free grace and favor;
        Good works cannot avert our doom,
        They help and save us never.
        Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone,
        Who did for all the world atone;
        He is our one Redeemer.

        2. What God did in His Law demand
        And none to Him could render
        Caused wrath and woe on every hand
        For man, the vile offender.
        Our flesh has not those pure desires
        The spirit of the Law requires,
        And lost is our condition.

        3. It was a false, misleading dream
        That God His Law had given
        That sinners should themselves redeem
        And by their works gain heaven.
        The Law is but a mirror bright
        To bring the inbred sin to light
        That lurks within our nature.

        4. From sin our flesh could not abstain,
        Sin held its sway unceasing;
        The task was useless and in vain,
        Our gilt was e'er increasing.
        None can remove sin's poisoned dart
        Or purify our guileful heart,-
        So deep is our corruption.

        5. Yet as the Law must be fulfilled
        Or we must die despairing,
        Christ came and hath God's anger stilled,
        Our human nature sharing.
        He hath for us the Law obeyed
        And thus the Father's vengeance stayed
        Which over us impended.

        6. Since Christ hath full atonement made
        And brought to us salvation,
        Each Christian therefore may be glad
        And build on this foundation.
        Thy grace alone, dear Lord, I plead,
        Thy death is now my life indeed,
        For Thou hast paid my ransom.

        7. Let me not doubt, but trust in Thee,
        Thy Word cannot be broken;
        Thy call rings out, "Come unto Me!"
        No falsehood hast Thou spoken.
        Baptized into Thy precious name,
        My faith cannot be put to shame,
        And I shall never perish.

        8. The Law reveals the guilt of sin
        And makes men conscience-stricken;
        The Gospel then doth enter in
        The sinful soul to quicken.
        Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live;
        The Law no peace can ever give,
        No comfort and no blessing.

        9. Faith clings to Jesus' cross alone
        And rests in Him unceasing;
        And by its fruits true faith is known,
        With love and hope increasing.
        Yet faith alone doth justify,
        Works serve thy neighbor and supply
        The proof that faith is living.

        10. All blessing, honor, thanks, and praise
        To Father, Son, and Spirit,
        The God that saved us by His grace,-
        All glory to His merit!
        O Triune God in heaven above,
        Who hast revealed Thy saving love,
        Thy blessed name be hallowed.

        

        Notes:
        Hymn 377 from _The Lutheran Hymnal_
        Text: Rom. 3: 5
        Author: Paul Speratus, 1523, cento
        Translated by: composite
        Titled: "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her"
        Tune: "Es ist das Heil"
        German melody, c. 1400