Jesus Christ.

Would I accept the merit
Of my baptismal grace
And with my faith and spirit
The Savior's cross embrace,
How great would be my blame
Should I abide in evil
And not renounce the devil
In Christ my Savior's name.

It can bestow no treasure
On me that Christ arose.
If I will not with pleasure
The power of death oppose,
And with my heart embrace
The Savior, who is risen
And has from error's prison
Redeemed me by His grace.

Lord Jesus, help me ever
To fight "the old man" so
That he shall not deliver
Me to eternal woe,
But that I here may die
From sin and all offences
And, by the blood that cleanses,
Attain my home on high.

Thus, the permanent value of Kingo's hymns rests not only on their rugged
and expressive poetry but on the earnest and warm-hearted Christian
spirit that breathes through them. In the perennial freshness of this
spirit succeeding generations have experienced their kinship with the
poet and found expression for their own hope and faith. The following
ageless prayer expresses not only the spirit of the poet but that of
earnest Christians everywhere and of every age.

Print Thine image pure and holy[4]
On my heart, O Lord of Grace;
So that nothing high nor lowly
Thy blest likeness can efface.
Let the clear inscription be:
Jesus, crucified for me,
And the Lord of all creation,
Is my refuge and salvation.

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[3]Another translation: "He that believes and is baptized" by G. T. Rygh
in "Hymnal for Church and Home".

[4]Another translation: "On my heart imprint thine image" by P. O.
Stromme in "Hymnal for Church and Home".

Chapter Seven
Kingo's Later Years

Kingo's work with the hymnal had brought him much disappointment and some
loss of popularity. He felt not without justification that he had been
ill treated. He did not sulk in his tent, however, but pursued his work
with unabated zeal. His diocese was large, comprising not only Fyn but a
large number of smaller islands besides. The work of making periodical
visits to all parishes within such a far-flung charge was, considering
the then available means of transportation, not only strenuous but
hazardous. Roads were bad and vessels weak and slow. Hardships and danger
beset his a