Who does make the woeful heart sing? For anyone whose soul has come to know their worth, the answer is simple; it is “fairest Lord Jesus.” Fairest is not a common way to describe anything these days, and perhaps something is lost in translation from the German Schönster. The word Schön is a superlative that speaks to something fair, fine, excellent, even beautiful. It is a word more often used in German than fair is used in English. We find ourselves groping for words, and each language gives us merely a text to borrow.
Fairest Lord Jesus was written by German Jesuits as Schönster Herr Jesu in the 17th Century. Published in the Münster Gesangbuch, 1677, and translated from German to English by Joseph A. Seiss, 1873. If this hymn has been lost to you, you might enjoy this rendition from Generation Hymns Live.
May your prayer today be led in recognition of the One who created in us the impulse to worship Him who is so Beautiful:
Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.Fair is the sunshine,
Fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heaven can boast.All fairest beauty, heavenly and earthly,
Wondrously, Jesus, is found in Thee;
None can be nearer, fairer or dearer,
Than Thou, my Savior, art to me.Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and forever more be Thine.
Curriculum of the Spiritual Life 