Skrøbelig almagt Midi

1. »Hvilken gave er nok til at få
mine højt elskede til at forstå,
fatte min kærlighed til mine små?«
sådan spurgte den høje majestæt.
Da en evigheds planer var lagt,
grænseløs almagt til grænserne strakt,
fremstod hans storværk i mageløs pragt;
til hans elskede børn var det beredt.
Da han var færdig den syvende dag,
måtte han slappe af.
Se med undren den kærlighedskraft:
Den almægtige Gud har været træt!

2. Et guddommeligt værn har han sat
for at beskytte dem dag og nat:
Den, som gør ondt mod min elskede skat,
skal betale sit liv på dommens dag.
Men de glemte, hvad Gud havde gjort;
på hans retfærdige lov så de stort
handlede mod deres medskabning hårdt,
de fortjente at rammes af hans slag.
Retten var hans imod dem, han har skabt,
men han gav dog fortabt:
Se med undren den kærlighedskraft:
Den almægtige Gud har været svag!

3. Han gav afkald på hele sin magt
for at stå fast på sin kærlighedspagt,
for at få hele sit skaberværk bragt
ud af ondskabens pinefulde nød.
Han lod mennesker mishandle ham,
bøjede sig i den dybeste skam,
ofrede sig som et syndofferlam
for at sone, hvad mennesker forbrød.
Gud, den almægtige, han, som er stærk,
knust af sit eget værk!
Se med undren den kærlighedskraft:
Den almægtige Gud har været død.

4. Men hans kærlighed var alt for stor,
mægtig og stærk ud af graven han fór
alle hans kære, som hører hans ord,
er nu friet fra dødens tyranni.
Hvad han ejede, ofrede Gud,
for at få synderens gæld slettet ud,
for at få løskøbt sin elskede brud
ud af ondskabens strenge slaveri.
Hele hans rigdom var slet intet værd,
målt mod hans hjertenskær;
se med undren den kærlighedskraft:
Den almægtige Gud er blevet rig!

JE

Which present

«Which present is big enough
to get my beloved to understand
my love for my children?»
Thus asked the high Majesty.
When an eternity's plans were laid,
omnipotence without limits was taken to the limits,
did his masterwork appear in splendour without equals;
for his beloved children was it prepared.
When he was finished, on the seventh day,
he had to rest.
Behold with awe that power of love:
The almighty God has been tired!

He has set a divine guard
to protect then day and night:
"He, who commits evil against my beloved
must pay his life on the day of judgement".
But the forgot what God had done;
they ignored his just law,
and were brutal against their fellow-creatures
They deserved to be hit by his strike.
He had the right against them he had created,
but he resigned:
Behold with awe that power of love:
The almighty God has been weak!

He gave his whole power away
to fulfill his covenant of love,
to release all of his creation
from the painful grief of the evil.
He let men torture him,
bent down in the profoundest shame,
sacrificed himself as a sin-offering lamb
in atonement for men's iniquities.
God, the almighty, who is strong,
crushed by his own work!
Behold with awe that power of love:
the almighty God has been dead.

But his love was too big:
powerful and strong he raised from the tomb.
All of his dear ones, who hear his word,
are released from the tyranny of death.
God sacrificed what he owned
to delete the dept of the sinner,
to buy his beloved bride free
from the tough slavery of evil.
All his riches were worthless
compared to his darling;
Behold with awe that power of love:
The almighty God has become rich!

JE