O Lord, We Praise Thee

O Lord, We Praise Thee

LSB #617

v. 1: O Lord, we praise Thee, bless Thee, and adore Thee,
In thanksgiving bow before Thee.
Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish
Our weak souls that they may flourish:

O Lord, have mercy!
May Thy body, Lord, born of Mary,
That our sins and sorrows did carry,
And Thy blood for us plead
In all trial, fear, and need:

O Lord, have mercy!

It seemed appropriate to consider Luther’s Lord Supper hymn for these meditations, and for the first one on the Supper. He begins with three verbs: praise, bless, and adore. All three take place with the receiving of the Lord’s Supper. We praise God as we proclaim His death and all that He has done for us. We bless Him as we thank (Greek: eucharist) Him for this wondrous gift. And we kneel in adoration of His presence here for us, His true Body and Blood nourishing our weak souls that they may not die in weakness but instead flourish with the forgiveness and strength of Christ. This is the very same Body and Blood that was born of Mary and that, as the prophet Isaiah said (chapter 53), bore our sins and sorrows. That holy, precious Blood, once poured out for us on the cross, now pleads for our forgiveness and for all that we need to see us through this world filled with trials, fears, and needs. Lord, have mercy! Give us all that we need! For if You, Lord, did not give it, we would not have it. And in the Supper, Jesus does just that.