Many with indifference gather
At His gift of boundless worth.
This is followed by another hymn of praise.
Lift up your voice once more
The Savior to adore.
Let all unite in spirit
And praise the grace and merit
Of Jesus Christ, the Holy,
Our joy and glory solely.
And then comes “The Fairest of Roses”, which a distinguished critic calls “one of the most perfect lyrics in the Danish language”. This hymn is inspired by a text from the Song of Songs “I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley”. It is written as an allegory, a somewhat subdued form of expression that in this case serves admirably to convey an impression of restrained fire. Its style is reminiscent of the folk songs, with the first stanza introducing the general theme of the song, the appearance of the rose, that is, of the Savior in a lost and indifferent world. The remainder of the verses are naturally divided into three parts: a description of the dying world in which God causes the rose to appear, a lament over the world’s indifference to the gift which it should have received with joy and gratitude, and a glowing declaration of what the rose means to the poet himself.