#651: Oh, Praise the Gracious Power

[lutheranhymns]

Interesting and effective variation on the Shannon density motif: the first five verses all start with "Oh, praise..." and then go on to describe some force (power, truth, love, faith, grace) that works for unity and against division. Then verse 6 recapitulates them all with "Oh praise the pow'r, the truth, the love, the word, the tide..." but praise Christ most of all! Which gets repeated in verse 7, contrasting "Christ the crucified" with "the living Christ."