Most hymns are written to praise God. Likewise, this hymn, “Savior of the Nations, Come”, is used as praise to God for sending his son into the world to serve as our sacrifice. This hymn’s theme centers on the immenseness of God’s love for us shown through Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection. Christ lovingly chose to be humbled by becoming a human and dieing for us. This great act of mercy and love drives Luther to write this hymn of praise.
Luther uses diction to emphasize this theme. For example, in the first stanza he states, “the Lord chose such a birth”. He uses the word “chose” to help emphasize that Jesus was not forced to become human rather it was his choice to come and save us out of love. In the second stanza, Luther describes Christ as “pure and fresh” to help focus on Christ’s holiness to show how undeserving he was of his earthly suffering. Luther then writes, “Boundless shall Thy kingdom be”. He specifically chose the word ‘boundless” to show how large and powerful God’s kingdom will be because of Christ’s loving sacrifice. Therefore, God’s love shines throughout the text because of Luther’s use of diction.
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