With Jesus I'll Begin

Representative Text

1 With Jesus I'll begin.
With Him, I'll make my ending.
What'er that I may do;
Where'er I may be wending,
My goal shall always be
To serve Him faithfully,
And in my heart shall live
My Jesus, constantly.

2 If I have Him alone
What matter earthly treasures?
My Jesus will help me
To ease the worldly pressures.
All burdens turn to joy
Through His extended hand.
I need not look for more;
My Jesus will command.

3 With Jesus I awake
To face the day more surely.
At night, in sweet repose
I fall asleep, securely.
And should life's spark be quenched
Before the sunrise glows;
It bothers not the one
Who, in his heart, Christ knows.

4 So, Jesus, lead me on
While on this earth I'm living.
Let me not guide myself;
You are much more forgiving.
Without Your own sweet help
My soul will go astray,
So take me by Your hand
That I Thine will obey.

5 You will not let the work
Which You alone have started
Be left so incomplete
Ere yet I have departed.
So, like a burr on cloth,
I steadfastly remain.
I'll cling fast unto You
Till heaven's goal I gain.

6 I offer, You on high
My acts; all my commissions,
My heart, my sins, my song,
Good deeds, and my omissions.
Oh, take my offer on.
I pray it pleases You,
Then fix my judgment, Lord;
What You decide is true.

7 With all my pow'r, dear Lord,
I always will endeavor
To prove myself in all,
And be Yours now--forever
Obedient in love,
Amenable in grief,
As long as You shall want
Me here, though it be brief.

8 Should it then be Your will,
My Lord, if it's Your pleasure,
That I too may now come
To gain that cherished treasure;
Cheerfully I'll obey
Your call, I know it's fair.
I stand prepared today
If you should want me there.

Source: The Amana Church Hymnal #135

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Author: Johann Heermann

Johann Heermann's (b. Raudten, Silesia, Austria, 1585; d. Lissa, Posen [now Poland], 1647) own suffering and family tragedy led him to meditate on Christ's undeserved suffering. The only surviving child of a poor furrier and his wife, Heermann fulfilled his mother's vow at his birth that, if he lived, he would become a pastor. Initially a teacher, Heermann became a minister in the Lutheran Church in Koben in 1611 but had to stop preaching in 1634 due to a severe throat infection. He retired in 1638. Much of his ministry took place during the Thirty Years' War. At times he had to flee for his life and on several occasions lost all his possessions. Although Heermann wrote many of his hymns and poems during these devastating times, his persona… Go to person page >

Translator: Glenn H. Wendler

(no biographical information available about Glenn H. Wendler.) Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	With Jesus I'll begin
Title:	With Jesus I'll Begin
Author:	Johann Heermann
Translator:	Glenn H. Wendler
Language:	English
Publication Date:	1992
Copyright:	This text may still be under copyright because it was published in 1992.