3
Comfort, Comfort You My People
1. Comfort, comfort you my people,
Tell of peace, thus says our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness
Bowed beneath oppression's load.
Speak you to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell them that their sins I cover,
And their warfare now is over.
2. For the herald's voice is calling
In the desert far and near,
Bidding us to make repentance
Since the kingdom now 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.
3. Make you straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain;
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits God's holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
Now o'er earth is shed abroad;
And all flesh shall see the token
That God's word is never broken.
WORDS: Johannes Olearius, 1671
MUSIC: Trans. Catherine Winkworth, 1863; alt.Genevan Psalter, 1551
Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-8
Theme: Advent