Gladium Press

25/01/2022

At Gladium Press we want to celebrate hymns both young and old. Here is a hymn written by our own Adam Lichtenegger. Credit the author if ever it is used. We appreciate feedback as well. The hymn is one that explores themes of the Word, its use, and preservation of the same in its text. It may be done to any LM tune, but the author envisioned Old Hundredth when writing this hymn.

1 Blest be the Word to us made known
The Word which in the heavens is throned
The Word is perfect yea always
And shall guide us through all our days

2 Blest be the Word which makes us wise
Unto salvation heaven’s prize
It is our heritage to save
And shall endure from age to age

3 The Church received God’s Holy Word
Which it hath held and spread abroad
We thank Thee Lord Thou hast preserved
Thy Truth by Blessèd Saints secured

4 Our King doth speak to Christendom
In every land in varied tongue
On page with words which we may own
In speech we were from parents shown

5 Keep us from heresies that may
Lead us from Thy dear Word astray
Purge those who doubt Thy message sure,
Who claim Thou didst not keep it pure

6 The Word gives doctrine and reproof
It is the very mark of truth
It gives correction and instructs
Us in the way of righteousness

7 The Word is all sufficient for
The man who would in Christ endure
That he may honor God always
Working in love through all his days

8 The Word gives hope and shall remain
God did not promise it in vain
The prophets spoke it shook the earth
It is the source that gives Faith birth

9 The Word shows sacramental Grace
Given by Christ to our weak race
That we may have assurance here
Forgiveness and not endless fear

10 The Word with water makes us His
The Word in bread and wine forgives
The strength to bind and pow’r to loose
It gives to men whom God didst choose

11 The Word is Christ and to Him be
All glory praise and majesty
With Father and with Spirit blest
In heaven the three witnesses

05/12/2021

For the Sunday of Populus Zion:

Introit: Daughter of Zion behold thy salvation cometh. The Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard and ye shall have gladness of heart.
Psalm. Give ear O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

Collect: Stir up our hearts O Lord to make ready the way of Thine Only Begotten Son, so that by His coming we may be enabled to serve Thee with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Gradual: Out of Zion the perfection God hath shined: our God shall come.
Verse. Gather My saints together unto Me: those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
Verse. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
Verse. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah.

Source: Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church
https://hymnary.org/hymnal/LHTC1918?page=0
Publisher: The Lutheran Publication Society / The General Council Publication Board / The Lutheran Board of Publication, Philadelphia / Columbia, S.C., 1917

Image: Second Coming of Christ (Rudolph Meyer, 1650)
Source: Rijksmuseum
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/search/objects?q=Rudolph+meyer&p=1&ps=12&st=Objects&ii=10 #/RP-P-2002-363,10

31/10/2021

23/10/2021

A blessed Festival of St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr!

St. James of Jerusalem (or “James the Just”) is referred to by St. Paul as “the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:19). Some modern theologians believe that James was a son of Joseph and Mary and, therefore, a biological brother of Jesus. But throughout most of the Church (historically, and even today), Paul’s term “brother” is understood as “cousin” or “kinsman,” and James is thought to be the son of a sister of Joseph or Mary who was widowed and had come to live with them. Along with other relatives of our Lord (except His mother), James did not believe in Jesus until after His resurrection (John 7:3-5; 1 Corinthians 15:7). After becoming a Christian, James was elevated to a position of leadership within the earliest Christian community. Especially following St. Peter’s departure from Jerusalem, James was recognized as the bishop of the Church in that holy city (Acts 12:17; 15:12ff.). According to the historian Josephus, James was martyred in AD 62 by being stoned to death by the Sadducees. James authored the Epistle in the New Testament that bears his name. In it, he exhorts his readers to remain steadfast in the one true faith, even in the face of suffering and temptation, and to live by faith the life that is in Christ Jesus. Such a faith, he makes clear, is a busy and active thing, which never ceases to do good, to confess the Gospel by words and actions, and to stake its life, both now and forever, in the cross. (Treasury of Daily Prayer, p.841)

We sing of James, Christ's brother,
Who at Jerusalem
Told how God loved the Gentiles
And, in Christ, welcomed them.
Rejoicing in salvation
May we too, by God's grace,
Extend Christ's invitation
To all the human race.
[LSB #518:27]

07/10/2021

On October 7, the Church remembers God's servant Henry Melchior Muhlenberg.

"Moving from the Old World to the New, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg established the shape of Lutheran parishes for North America during a forty-five-year ministry in Pennsylvania. Born at Einback, Germany, in 1711, he came to the American colonies in 1742. A tireless traveler, Muhlenberg helped to found many Lutheran congregations and was the guiding force behind the first Lutheran synod in North America, the Ministerium of Pennsylvania, founded in 1748. He valued the role of music in Lutheran worship (often serving as his own organist) and was also the guiding force in preparing the first American Lutheran liturgy (also in 1748). Muhlenberg is remembered as a church leader, a journalist, a liturgist, and- above all- a pastor to the congregation in his charge. He died in 1787, leaving behind a large extended family and a lasting heritage: American Lutheranism."

Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd of Your people, we give You thanks for Your servant Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, who was faithful in the care and nurture of the flock entrusted to his care. So they may follow his example and the teaching of his holy life, give strength to pastors today who shepherd Your flock so that, by Your grace, Your people may grow into the fullness of life intended for them in paradise; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

~ Reading: Treasury of Daily Prayer
~ Prayer: Collect of the Day

19/09/2021

Gladium Press is committed to providing free Christian resources that any may use. In the spirit of that we will be posting hymns or versions of hymns that are in the Public Domain, or have been forgotten. Some will be included in the upcoming prayerbook, but they will all be completely free. The first hymn is an English version of Luther’s hymn on the Ten Commandments. OLD HUNDREDTH was the tune used for, “That Men a Godly Life Might Live.” A refrain of, “Kyrie Eleison,” was often used with the hymn.

1 That men a godly life might live,
God did these Ten Commandments give
By His true servant Moses, high
Upon the Mount of Sinai.

2 I am Thy God and Lord alone,
No other God beside me own;
Put thy whole confidence in Me,
And love Me in sincerity.

3 By idle word and speech profane
Take not My holy name in vain;
And praise not aught as good and true
But what God doth both say and do.

4 Hallow the day which God hath blest,
That Thou and all Thy house may rest:
Keep hand and heart from labor free,
That God may have His work in Thee.

5 Give to thy parents honor due,
Be dutiful and loving too;
And help them when their strength decays;
Then God shall give thee length of days.

6 Harbor no hatred, nor ill will,
Lest hate breed anger, and thou kill;
Be patient and of gentle mood,
And to thine enemy do good.

7 Be faithful to thy marriage vows,
Thy heart give only to thy spouse;
Keep pure thy life, and lest thou sin,
Use temperance and discipline.

8 Steal not, oppressive acts abhor,
Nor wring their life-blood from the poor;
But open wide thy loving hand
To all the needy in the land.

9 Bear not false witness, nor belie
Thy neighbor by foul calumny;
Defend his innocence from blame,
And hide with charity his shame.

10 Thy neighbor's wife desire thou not,
His house, not aught that he hath got;
But wish that his such good may be,
As thine own heart doth wish for thee.

11 God these Commandments gave, therein
To show thee, son of man, thy sin,
And make thee also well perceive,
How unto God man ought to live.

12 Help us, Lord Jesus Christ, for we
A Mediator have in Thee;
Without Thy help our works are vain,
And merit only endless pain.

Image: “Moses Receiving the Ten Commandments.” Retrieved from the New York Public Library (“CCO 1.0 Dedication”).
The version of the text seen here was taken from the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal: With Music (1908), p. 243.

14/09/2021

11/09/2021

In August 2002, […] Stephen Starke (b.1955) was approached about writing a hymn in remembrance of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, that could be used by churches as the nation approached the first anniversary of that tragedy. […] Within about a week, he wrote “There Is a Time for Everything.”

Against a backdrop of political and theological dissent, a nation still in shock, and individuals still mourning the loss of loved ones, Starke set out to write a text that would transcend the earthly issues and focus the singers’ attention on what truly mattered: our Lord, who has not changed who was and is present with His people before, during, and after the attacks—a Lord who is faithful, whose promises are sure, and whose love for His people is unconditional.

Starke chose Ecclesiastes 3 as the basis for the text. The entire first two stanzas of the hymn are from the first eight verses of the chapter. One cannot but notice the parallels with the events of the day: stanza 1 starts as did that morning, filled with promise, with “all that life may bring.” Toward the end of the stanza, Starke paraphrases “a time to break down, and a time to build up” as “a time to build where rubble lay”—an unmistakable reference to the destruction in Lower Manhattan. Stanza 2 recalls the hours and days after the attack, as people searched, hoped, and prayed for all those who were in the destroyed World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the field in Pennsylvania, paraphrasing Ecclesiastes 3:6 as “a time to search and then to end.”

Stanza 3 brings our Lord clearly into focus, assuring His people of His care in the midst of such a tragedy, echoing words from Isaiah 55:8; Genesis 50:20; and Romans 8:28. Stanza 4, doxological in nature, recounts that the Lord knew before time began that He would need to send HIs Son (2 Timothy 1:9) “to redeem those who were under the law” (Galatians 4:4-5) and that He would “bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). (“Lutheran Service Book Companion to the Hymns” Volume 1, ©2019 Concordia Publishing House.)

Let’s join together in song and in prayer on this 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

1. There is a time for ev’rything,
A time for all that life may bring:
A time to plant, a time to reap,
A time to laugh, a time to weep,
A time to heal, a time to slay,
A time to build where rubble lay,
A time to die, a time to mourn,
A time for joy and to be born,

2. A time to hold, then be alone,
A time to gather scattered stone,
A time to break, a time to mend,
A time to search and then to end,
A time to keep, then throw away,
A time to speak, then nothing say,
A time for war till hatreds cease,
A time for love, a time for peace.

3. Eternal Lord, Your wisdom sees
And fathoms all life’s tragedies;
You know our grief, You hear our sighs—
In mercy, dry our tear-stained eyes.
From evil times, You bring great good;
Beneath the cross, we’ve safely stood.
Though dimly now life’s path we trace,
One day we shall see face to face.

4. Before all time had yet begun,
You, Father, planned to give Your Son;
Lord Jesus Christ, with timeless grace,
You have redeemed our time-bound race;
O Holy Spirit, Paraclete,
Your timely work in us complete;
Blest Trinity, Your praise we sing—
There is a time for ev’rything!

“There Is a Time for Everything” Lutheran Service Book 762. Text: © 2002 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no.

28/08/2021

On August 28, the Church remembers God's servant Augustine of Hippo.

"The prophet says, "Come out from among them, and touch no unclean thing, "(Isaiah 52:11). I also cry out and say to you, "Come out from among them, and touch not the unclean thing," but with the touch of the heart, not of the body. For what is it to "touch the unclean thing" but to consent to sin? And what is it to "come out from among them" but to rebuke the wicked, as far as can be done, according to each person's grade and condition, with the maintenance of peace? If you are displeased at a man's sin, then you have not "touched the unclean thing." If you have reported, rebuked, admonished him, and have administered, if the case required it, a suitable discipline that does not violate unity, then you have "come out from among them."... How many and vehement rebukes did Jeremiah preach against the sinners and wicked ones of his people. Yet he lived among them, he entered into the same temple with them, celebrated the same mysteries; he lived in that congregation of wicked men, but by his preaching "he came out from among them." This is what it means "to come out from among them"; this is what it means to not "touch the unclean thing." It means not consenting to them in will and not sparing them in word. I say this of Jeremiah, of Isaiah, of Daniel, and Ezekiel, and the rest of the prophets, who did not retire from the wicked people, lest they should desert the good who were mingled with that people."

O Lord God, the light of the minds that know You, the life of the saints that love You, and the strength of the hearts that serve You, give us strength to follow the example of Your servant Augustine of Hippo, so that knowing You we may truly love You and loving You we may fully serve You- for to serve You is perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

~ Reading: Augustine of Hippo
~ Prayer: Collect of the Day
~ Artwork: Philippe de Champagne, between circa 1645 and circa 1650

24/08/2021

On August 24, the Church remembers God's servant St. Bartholomew (Nathanael).

"The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”"

Almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, chose Bartholomew to be an apostle to preach the blessed Gospel. Grant that Your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

~ Reading: John 1: 43-51
~ Prayer: Collect of the Day
~ Artwork: Dosso Dossi, 1527

21/08/2021

19/08/2021

On August 19, the Church remembers God's servant Bernard of Clairvaux.

"There is no glory in having a gift without knowing it. But to know only that you have it, without knowing that it is not of yourself that you have it, means self-glorying, but no true glory in God. And so the apostle says to men in such cases, "What do you have that you did not receive? Now, if you received it, why do you glory as if you had not received it?" (1 Cor. 4:7). He asks, Why do you glory? but goes on, "as if you had not received it," showing that the guilt is not in glorying over a possession but in glorying as though it had not been received. And rightly such glorying is called vain-glory, since it has not the solid foundation of truth. The apostle shows how to discern the true glory from the false when he says, "He that glories, let him glory in the Lord," that is, in the truth, since our Lord is truth (1 Cor. 1:31, John 14:6).

O God, enkindled with the fire of Your love, Your servant Bernard of Clairvaux became a burning and shining light in Your Church. By Your mercy, grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline and may ever walk in Your presence as children of light; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

~ Reading: Bernard of Clairvaux
~ Prayer: Collect of the Day
~ Artwork: Fra Bartolomeo, 1504

19/08/2021

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15/08/2021

On August 15, the Church remembers God's servant Mary, the mother of our Lord.

"Mary confesses that the foremost work God did for her was that He regarded her, which is indeed the greatest of His works, on which all the rest depend and from which they all service. For where it comes to pass that God turns His face toward one to regard him, there is nothing but grace and salvation, and all gifts and works must follow. Thus we read in Genesis 4:4,5 that He had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. Here is the origin of the many prayers in the Psalter- that God would lift up His countenance upon us, that He would not hide His countenance from us, that He would make His face shine upon us, and the like. And that Mary herself regards this as the chief thing, she indicates by saying: 'Behold, since He has regarded me, all generations will call me blessed.'"

Almighty God, You chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of Your only Son. Grant that we, who are redeemed by His blood, may share with her in the glory of Your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

~ Reading: Martin Luther
~ Prayer: Collect of the Day
~ Artwork: Pieta by William Bouguereau

10/08/2021

Today the church remembers the mirthful St. Lawrence. May we all be so bold in our witness!

On August 10, the Church remembers God's servant Lawrence.

"I will here briefly recount these articles of the Christian faith to which everyone is above all things to pay attention and hold fast. The first is the law of God, which is to be preached so that one thereby reveals and teaches how to revoke sin (Rom. 3:20 and 7:7)... For this means a truly spiritual preaching of the law, as Paul says in Rom. 7 :14) , and a right use of the law, as he says in 1 Tim. 1:8. Secondly, when now sin is recognized and the law is so preached that the conscience is alarmed and humbled before God's wrath, we are then to preach the comforting word of the gospel and the forgiveness of sins, so that the conscience again may be comforted and established in the grace of God, etc. Christ himself teaches these two articles in such an order (Luke 24:47). One must preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in his name.
And the Spirit (he says in John 16:8) will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment."

Almighty God, You called Lawrence to be a deacon in Your Church to serve Your saints with deeds of love, and You gave him the crown of martyrdom. Give us the same charity of heart that we may fulfill Your love by defending and supporting the poor, that by loving them we may love You with all our hearts; through Jesus's Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

~ Reading: Martin Luther
~ Prayer: Collect of the Day
~ Artwork: detail from a fresco by Bl. Fra Angelico, c. 1447-50, Pinacoteca Vaticana