Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book

The Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book was the English hymnal of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, published in 1912. It was published in text only and text and music editions. In its liturgical texts, Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book was very similar to The Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church. Since Common Service Book was published in 1917 and 1918, five or six years later, ELHB displays an older version of the Common Service and other texts. CSB seems to have undergone a revision and expansion of personal prayers, propers, and other rites. In 1941, The Lutheran Hymnal mostly retained the older forms in ELHB rather than use the updated texts in CSB.

The services in Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book included “The Order of Morning Service, or the Communion,” and “The Order of Evening Service, or Vespers.” The text only edition also contained “The Order of Early Service, or Matins.”

The Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book used Scripture texts from the King James Version of the Bible, used the British spelling of Saviour, and capitalized pronouns referring to the Deity, including Who/Whom.

For this electronic edition, different editions were consulted, so the files below may not be exactly the same as any one print edition. These files were made by modifying and correcting the texts that were generated by the pdf files of the original books and putting them into a usable format. Headings and rubrics were put in red, even though they were printed black in the original books.

The updated liturgical material combined elements from Common Service Book, Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, and other resources. Rubrics are simplified. More updated liturgical material can be seen and downloaded at our Common Service Book page.  

To properly display the docx files, you will need the fonts Old English Text MT and Liturgy. Updated contemporary versions also use the Liturgikon symbol font (embedded in the docx documents).   

Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, Electronic Resourceselhb

  1. Morning and Evening Prayers [pdf] [docx] 
  2. The Order of Morning Service, or The Communion (text only) [pdf] [docx] [Graphic pdf with music*]
    • Updated version in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
  3. The Order of Evening Service, or Vespers (text only) [pdf] [docx] [Graphic pdf with music*]
    • Updated version in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
  4. The Order of Early Service, or Matins (text only) [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated version in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
  5. Introits, Collects, Epistles, Graduals and Gospels (From Common Service Book. Material identical to ELHB)  [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated versions of the introits, collects and graduals and lessons (ESV), prepared for the LCMS Lutheran Service Book areavailable at www.sanctus.org.
  6. Invitatories, Antiphons and Responsories (From Common Service Book. Material identical to ELHB) [pdf] [docx]
  7. Collects and Prayers [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated version (from Common Service Book) in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
  8. General Prayers (Litany, Suffrages and General Prayers) [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated version of The Litany in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated version of The Suffrages in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
    • Updated version of The Bidding Prayer in contemporary English [pdf] [docx]
Liturgy and Agenda, 1916 was an accompanying book to Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, and contained The Order of Morning Service and The Order of Evening Service, along with an alternative form for Morning Service with chant tunes for the minister [Available at Google Books]
 
Lutheran Service Book, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal

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* With cooperation of the Lutheran Public Domain Liturgy Project, we present scanned pdfs of the noted liturgies from Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book.
 
Christian Prayer, Banner

For Trust in You

O Lord my God,
do not be far from me.
My God, have regard to help me.
I have many thoughts and great fears afflicting my soul.
How will I pass through unhurt?
How will I break them to pieces?
This is my hope, my one only consolation,
to flee to you in every tribulation,
to trust in you,
to call on you from my inmost heart,
and to wait patiently for your consolation.

Source: Thomas à Kempis
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

For Love of God and His Laws

O most gracious God,
every good and perfect gift comes from you.
Work in us both to will and to act according to your will.
Enlighten our minds that we may know you,
and let us not be unfruitful in that knowledge.
Lord, work in our hearts a true faith,
a purifying hope, and an unfeigned love towards you.
Give us a full trust in you, zeal for you,
reverence of all things that relate to you.
Make us fearful of offending you,
thankful for your mercies,
humble under your corrections,
devout in your service,
and sorrowful for our sins.
Grant that in all things
we may behave ourselves so as befits a creature to his Creator,
a servant to his Lord.
Make us diligent in all our duties,
watchful against all temptations,
pure and temperate and moderate in your most lawful enjoyments,
that they may never become a snare to us.
Help us, O Lord,
to act towards our neighbor
that we may never transgress your royal law
of loving him as ourselves.
Finally, O Lord,
sanctify us throughout,
that our whole spirit, soul and body,
may be preserved blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ;
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be all honor and glory forever. 

Source: Thomas à Kempis
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

For the Holy Spirit

Strengthen me, O God,
by the grace of your Holy Spirit.
Strengthen my inner man,
and empty my heart of all useless care and anguish.
O Lord, grant me heavenly wisdom,
that I may learn to seek and to find you above all things,
to relish and to love you above all things,
and to think of all other things
as being at the disposal of your wisdom. 

Source: Thomas à Kempis
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

For Consecration

Almighty God,
you have made all things for humanity,
and humanity for your glory.
Sanctify our body and soul,
our thoughts and our intentions,
our words and actions,
that whatever we will think, or speak or do,
may be directed to the glory of your name,
and by your blessing,
it may be successful in the work of God,
as much as possible.
Lord, turn needs into virtues,
the works of nature into the works of grace,
by making them orderly, regular and temperate,
subordinate and profitable to ends beyond what they can do.
Let no pride or self-seeking,
no impure motive or unworthy purpose,
no little ends or low imagination
stain our spirit and unhallow
any of our words and actions.
Let our body be a servant to our spirit,
and both body and spirit be servants of Jesus Christ,
that doing all things for your glory here,
we may partake of your glory hereafter;
through Jesus Christ.

Source: Thomas à Kempis
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

For Friends

Almighty and eternal God,
have mercy on your servants, our friends.
Keep them continually under your protection,
and direct them according to your gracious favor
in the way of eternal salvation.
May they desire whatever pleases you,
and with all their strength strive to do it.
As they trust in your mercy, O Lord,
graciously assist them with your heavenly help,
that they may always diligently serve you,
and be separated from you by no temptations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Source: Thomas à Kempis
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

For Love of Jesus

Ah! sweet Jesus,
pierce the marrow of my soul
with the healthful arrows of your love,
that it may truly burn, and melt, and languish,
with the desire for you alone;
that it may desire to be dissolved, and to be with you;
let it hunger alone for the bread of life;
let it thirst after you,
the spring and fountain of eternal light,
the stream of true pleasure;
let it always desire you, seek you, and find you,
and sweetly rest in you. Amen.

Source: Bonaventura, d. 1274
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

The God We Love

Now, whoever wants to hold on to God,
loves all things in the One which is One and all;
and the One in all, because all is in the One;
and whoever loves something else,
other than in the One,
and not for the sake of the One,
does not love God;
for whoever loves something else that is not God,
loves it more than God.
But whoever loves something else more than God,
or equally with God,
does not love God;
for God must be and will be loved alone,
and in truth nothing ought to be loved but God alone.
And when the true Light
and the true divine Love
dwell in a person,
that person loves nothing else but God alone.
For he loves God as the Good,
and for the sake of the Good,
and all Goods as One,
and One as all.
For truly,
all is One and One is all in God. 

Source: Theologia Germanica
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.

To Do Your Will

O Lord, my God,
to me you are everything good.
Remember me because I am nothing,
I have nothing, and I can do nothing.
You alone are good, just, and holy.
You can do all things,
you accomplish all things,
you fill all things.
Remember your mercies,
and fill my heart with your grace.
You do not want your works to be done in vain.
Do not turn your face away from me.
Do not withdraw your consolation,
lest my soul become as a thirsty land to you.
Teach me, O Lord, to do your will.
Teach me to live worthily and humbly in your sight. 

Source: Thomas à Kempis
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.