Fairest Lord Jesus

Christopher Parkening

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.

Words: 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

Music: Cru­sad­er’s Hymn Si­le­sian folk song from Schles­ische Volks­lied­er, 1842;
ar­ranged by Ri­chard S. Will­is, 1850