Verse 1:
“Comfort, comfort, now my people; tell of peace!” so says our God.
“Comfort those who sit in darkness mourning under sorrow’s load.
To my people now proclaim that my pardon waits for them!
Tell them that their sins I cover, and their warfare now is over.”
Verse 2:
For the herald’s voice is crying in the desert far and near,
calling us to true repentance, since the reign of God is here.
O, that warning cry obey! Now prepare for God a way.
Let the valleys rise in meeting and the hills bow down in greeting.
Verse 3:
Straight shall be what long was crooked, and the rougher places plain.
Let your hearts be true and humble, as befits God’s holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord now on earth is shed abroad,
and all flesh shall see the token that God’s word is never broken.
Verse 1 x2
Tag:
“Tell them that their sins I cover, and their warfare now is over.
Tell them that their sins I cover, and their warfare now is over.”
credits
from The Hopes & Fears of All the Years,
released November 10, 2023
Text: Johann Orlearius (1671), translated by Catherine Winkworth
Tune: GENEVAN 42
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