Much of the first verse paraphrases Ezekiel 33:11: " Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?"
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to the tune "Vater unser im Himmelr[eich]." Here's the arrangement from TLH (transposed up a whole step):
And here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
That does not disappear through the death of Christ,
Who became our brother.
9 Who in all the world is so very
Swollen with pride
Whom Christ's humility does not cut down
When he considers himself before it?
The might of death is not so great;
It is broken by the bitter death on the cross
That God's Son suffered.
10 Yes, if one should lay Christ's mercy and grace
And the sin of all men
On the same scale,
It would be
Such a great difference,
As between day- and nighttime,
As between hell and Heaven.
11 Therefore, O You God rich in love,
Not to establish on mercy,
Through th eblood and death of Your Son
Forgive me my sins.
Through His innocence let my guilt
And through [His] patience my impatience
Become completely erased.
12 Give His humility to me as protection
As that which protects from pride.
May the gentleness erase my defiance
When He rages with enmity;
May He be to me everything that I must
So no judgement will be so sharp
That may condemn me.
Johann Heermann, 1630.
The translations that I found for "ablehnen" in the third verse were words like reject and refuse, which didn't seem to fit this context. I went with divert.
In the ninth verse, I switched one line from active voice to passive voice in order to accommodate better the following relative clause: "It is broken by the bitter death on the cross / That God's Son suffered" rather than "The bitter death on the cross breaks it...."
I'm not at all confident in my translation of the line "des Gnade nicht zu gründen" in the eleventh verse as "Not to establish on mercy," and I'm not sure I really understood the end of the twelfth verse.
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to the tune "Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich." Here's the TLH arrangement:
And here are two arrangements from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
The Gesangbuch provides no authorial data for this text.
I couldn't find a translation for "entbrich dich" in the first verse. The suggestions I did find varied wildly, and I wasn't sure what fit here.
I translated "ich schrei dich an" in the second verse as "I call to You," but anschreien is a bit more intense than that. It's more like shout or yell, but I felt these were too aggressive in this context.
I had to rearrange a number of elements in the fifth verse to get a smoother English translation.
I flipt the last two lines of the eighth verse in order to keep the line "With which I am burdened" closer to the noun it modifies.
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to the tune "Ach Gott und Herr." Here's an arrangement from TLH:
And here are two arrangements from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to the tune "Wenn wir in höchsten N[öten]." Here's the arrangement from TLH:
And here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
(German translation of the hymn: Aufer immensam, Deus.)
I had to shuffle a few elements in the middle of the second verse to accommodate the German syntax. I also added a semi colon to break up the text and make better sense of it. The last line bears some resemblance to Psalm 130:3: "Wenn du, HERR, Sünden anrechnen willst - Herr, wer wird bestehen?" "If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?"
I'm not sure if "for fresh actions" is the best (or even an accurate) translation for "auf frischer That" in the third verse, but it's the best I could come up with. Note that there's a subject-verb disagreement at the end of the verse: "sei" has a plural subject ("Zorn und Grimm") but is singular in order to rhyme with "bei" from the previous line.
The first two lines of the fourth verse may refer to the first part of Psalm 22:6: "But I am a worm and not a man." It's 22:7 in the German Psalter: "Ich aber bin ein Wurm und kein Mensch." "Muck" is a rather tame translation of "Koth"; it could be more intense.
I translated "Stündelein" in the seventh verse rather literally as "a little hour," but I think there's a connotation of one's last hour.
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to the tune "Vater unser im Himmelr[eich]." Here's the arrangement from TLH (transposed up a whole step):
And here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
The third verse (extending a bit into the fourth) is based on the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7). I'm not sure I completely understood the fifth line, though.
The line "noch sind die Gnadenstunden" at the end of the fourth verse is literally something like "yet are the hours of mercy," but I translated it as "while it's still the time of mercy."
Perhaps just coincidentally, the imagery at the end of the fifth verse resembles that in Psalm 25:15: "My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net."
I didn't really understand the first two lines of the sixth verse, particularly "webe" and "gewichen." I'm not at all confident in my translation.
I don't know if "apply" is the best translation for "bewerben" in the seventh verse, but it's the best I could come up with.
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to the tune "Kommt her zu mir, spricht." Here's the TLH arrangement (transposed from F minor to G minor):
And here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to the tune "O Gott, du frommer Gott."
ist hier völlig aufgethan: Jesus nimmt die Sünder an.
3 Wenn ein Schaf verloren ist,
suchet es ein treuer Hirte;
Jesus, der uns nie vergißt,
suchet treulich das Verirrte,
daß es nicht verderben kann: Jesus nimmt die Sünder an.
4 Kommet alle, kommet her,
kommet, ihr betrübten Sünder,
Jesus rufet euch und er
macht aus Sündern Gottes Kindern.
Glaubets doch und denket dran:
Jesus nimmt die Sünder an.
5 Ich Betrübter komme hier
und bekenne meine Sünden.
Laß, mein Heiland, mich bei dir
Gnade zur Vergebung finden,
daß dies Wort mich trösten kann:
Jesus nimmt die Sünder an.
6 Ich bin ganz getrostes Muths.
Ob die Sünden blutroth wären,
müßten sie kraft deines Bluts
dennoch sich in Schneeweiß kehren,
da ich gläubig sprechen kann:
Jesus nimmt die Sünder an.
7 Mein Gewissen beißt mich nicht,
Moses darf mich nicht verklagen.
Der mich frei und ledig spricht,
hat die Schulden abgetragen,
daß mich nichts verdammen kann:
Jesus nimmt die Sünder an.
8 Jesus nimmt die Sünder an,
mich hat er auch angenommen
und den Himmel aufgethan,
daß ich selig zu ihm kommen
und auf den Trost sterben kann:
Jesus nimmt die Sünder an.
Erdmann Neumeister, 1719.
My prose translation:
1 "Jesus accepts sinners," Surely says this word of comfort to all
Who from the right path
Have fallen onto the twisting way.
Here is what can save them:
"Jesus accepts sinners."
2 We are worthy of no mercy,
Yet He in His sworn Word
Declared it Himself.
Just look: the gate of mercy
Is completely opened here:
Jesus accepts sinner.
3 When a sheep is lost,
A faithful shepherd seeks it;
Jesus, Who never forget us,
Searches faithfully for the lost one
So that he cannot perish:
Jesus accepts sinner.
4 Come all; come here;
Come, you troubled sinners;
Jesus calls you, and He
Makes God's children out of sinners.
Just believe it, and think of it:
Jesus accepts sinners.
5 I, a distressed man, come here
And confess my sins.
My Savior, let me with You
Find mercy for forgiveness
So that this saying can comfort me:
Jesus accepts sinners.
6 I am completely of a comforted courage.
If the sins were blood-red,
Nevertheless by the power of Your blood
They would have to turn snow-white
Since I can faithfully say:
Jesus accepts sinners.
7 My conscience does not bite me;
Moses may not accuse me.
He Who pronounces me free and clear
Has taken the guilt away
So that nothing can condemn me:
Jesus accepts sinners.
8 Jesus accepts sinners;
He has even accepted me
And opened Heaven
So that I, blessed, can come to Him
And die in comfort:
Jesus accepts sinners.
Erdmann Neumeister, 1719.
The third verse combines elements from Luke 15:3-7 (the Parable of the Lost Sheep) and the first part of John 10 (the Good Shepherd).
The imagery in the seventh verse (blood-red sins becoming snow-white) seems to be adapted from part of Isaiah 1:18: "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
This hymn appears as "Jesus Sinners Doth Receive" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#324) and The Lutheran Service Book (#609) and as "Jesus Sinners Will Receive" in Lutheran Worship (#229). Only the TLH version is complete. The LSB version omits verse four of the above, and the LW version omits verses five through seven. In all of these hymnals, and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to the tune "Meinen Jesum laß ich n[icht]." Here's the TLH arrangement:
I had to shuffle a few lines in the first verse to get a smoother English translation.
Part of the second verse seems to be based on the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:3-7.
I couldn't find a translation for "Tichten" in the third verse.
Part of the fourth verse comes from Romans 7:18-19: "18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh... 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." "18 Denn ich weiß, daß in mir, das heißt in meinem Fleisch, nichts Gutes wohnt... 19 Denn das Gute, das ich will, das tue ich nicht; sondern das Böse, das ich nicht will, das tue ich."
There are a couple oddities in the fifth verse. "Sein" in the line "Wie viel meiner Fehler sein" ("How many my errors are") isn't conjugated, apparently so that it rhymes with "Pein" two lines later. "Die Missethat" could be singular or plural, and while the verb that goes with it ("hat") is singular, I translated it as a plural ("the misdeeds / That have angered You") because obviously, there are more than just one sin.
I added a pleonastic "they" at the end of the eighth verse, partially to make it clear that the following "comfort" is indicative, not imperative, and partially to heighten the resemblance to the similar construction in the last part of Psalm 23:4: "your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
The last two lines of the ninth verse allude to Matthew 25:41.
I took a couple liberties with the second half of the tenth verse. I flipt "das dein theures Blut besprenget" from active to passive voice and dropt the relative pronoun, so it's "Sprinkled by Your precious blood" instead of "which Your precious blood sprinkled." This fits better with the preceding and following lines.
The first line of the twelfth verse ("Herr, ich glaube, hilf mir Schwachen" "Lord, I believe; help me, a weak man") bears some resemblance to part of Mark 9:24: "Ich glaube; hilf meinem Unglauben!" "I believe; help my unbelief!"). There's a subject-verb disagreement in the line "wenn mich Sünd und Tod anficht" (literally: "when me sin and death challenges"), apparently just to rhyme with "nicht" from two lines previous.
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to "its own tune." Here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
Louise Henriette, Churfürstin von Brandenburg, 1653.
My prose translation:
1 I want to turn from my misdeeds
To the Lord.
You Yourself want to give me
Help and advice for this, O God,
And out of mercy grant me
The power of Your good Spirit,
Who creates new hearts in us.
2 Of course, a man cannot
Regard his misery himself
[For] he is without the light of Your Spirit,
Blind, deaf, and dead in sin;
Will, mind, and action are turned;
Come now, O Father,
To release me from the great despair.
3 Approach me through understanding
And lead me well to contemplate
What evil I have done before You;
You can win my heart
So that out of worry and trouble,
I let many hot tears
Fall over my cheeks.
4 How You have yet directed towards me
The richness of Your mercy!
I thank Your hand that my life
Is overladen
With rest, health, honor, and bread;
You make it so that so far
No distress can harm me.
5 You have also chosen me in Christ,
Deep out of the floods of hell,
So that in no way
Have I ever lackt a good thing
And so that indeed I may be Your own;
You have also, out of great faithfulness,
Beaten me with Your fatherly rod.
6 Who gives to children
What You have given me to enjoy?
But do I give obedience to You?
This shows my conscience,
My heart, in which there is nothing healthy,
The thousand worms of sin, raw
Until having bitten death.
7 The foolishness of my young years
And all despicable things
Accuse me too blatantly;
What should I, a poor man, do?
You, Lord, place before my face
Your unbearable judgement of wrath
And open vengeance of hell.
8 Oh, I am always ashamed
To confess my horror;
It has neither measure nor number;
I barely know what to call it,
And yet no part of it is so small
For whose sake alone
I did not have to burn.
9 Until now, in security have I
Slept unworried,
Said, "It is yet a long time;
"God will not be soon to punish;
"He does not continually deal with our guilt
"So severely; He has the patience
"Of a shepherd with his sheep."
10 This all now awakens simultaneously;
My heart wants to break;
I see the might of Your thunder;
Your fire urges me;
You move against me simultaneously
The kingdom of Satan and of hell,
Which want to devour me.
11 It pursues me; the great distress
Goes quickly without bridle or rein.
Where do I flee? You dawn,
Grant me your wings;
Hide me, you distant ocean;
Fall, yes, fall upon me,
You cliffs, mountains, and hills.
12 Oh! only vanity, and could I even
Go up unto Heaven
Or again bend down to hide myself
In the belly of hell;
Your eye pierces through everything;
You will show the bright sun
To me and my shame there.
13 Lord Jesus, take me in to You;
I flee into Your wounds,
Which You, O Savior, because of me,
Felt on the cross,
As You, O You Lamb of God,
Were bound to bear here
All the trouble of our sin.
14 Wash me by Your sweat of death
And purple-red suffering
And let me be clean and white
By the silk of Your innocence.
For the sake of the burden of Your cross
Revive what You have crushed
With the joy of Your comfort.
15 Thus harmed, I want
To hurry before Your Father;
I know He directs His mind
And creates advice for me, a weak one;
He knows what sort of nets
The desire of the flesh and the world and Satan place for us,
Which watch us fall.
16 How will I my lifelong
Avoid such plague?
Through the compulsion of Your good Spirit,
Which You want to grant me
So that it would eternally help me
Be free from all the cunning of sin
And that which is contrary to You.
Louise Henriette, Electress of Brandenburg, 1653.
I had to re-arrange much of the first verse and the last two lines of the second and third verses to get smooth English translations. The line "der neue Herzen in uns schafft" ("Who creates new hearts in us") seems to be drawn from Psalm 51:10: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." In my German Psalter, it's verse 12: "Schaffe in mir, Gott, ein reines Herz, und gib mir einen neuen, beständigen Geist."
There are sections in the fourth and fifth verses that I translated according to the general meaning more than to the specific phrases, which I found a bit convoluted (specifically: "I thank Your hand that my life / Is overladen / With rest, health, honor, and bread" and "So that in no way / Have I ever lackt a good thing").
The only translations I could find for "verklagen" in the seventh verse are "sue" and "take to court." These didn't seem to fit the context, so I translated it as "accuse."
I'm not sure I really understood the last few lines of the eighth verse, but I tried to make sense of it. I also rearranged some elements of the first two lines to get a better English translation.
Much of the eleventh and twelfth verses is adapted from Psalm 139:7-12, although there's also a reference to Hosea 10:8 (later quoted in Luke 23:30 and echoed in Revelation 6:16). I shuffled a few elements in the twelfth verse to get a smoother English translation.
I didn't completely understand the last few lines of the thirteenth verse, but I think I have the right general sense.
I also shuffled a few elements in the penultimate two lines of the fifteenth verse to get a smoother English translation. I think there may be a mistake there: "die uns zu stürzen machen" ("which make us fall") seems to make more sense than "die uns zu stürzen wachen") ("which watch us fall"). I went with what's printed, though.
Unless I'm mistaken, it's ambiguous whether "den" and "er" in the sixteenth verse refer to "deines guten Geistes" ("Your good Spirit") or "Zwang" ("complusion"), so it could be either "Whom You want to grant me / So that He would..." or "Which You want to grant me / So that it would...." I went with the latter. Again, I also shuffled some elements to get a smoother English translation.
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to the tune "Es ist gewißlich an der Zeit." Here's the arrangement from TLH:
And here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
The lines "für deine Treu, / die täglich neu" ("For Your faithfulness, / Which [is] daily new") in the third verse seem to be drawn from Lamentations 3:22-23: "22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
I'm not sure I really understood the middle lines of the eighth verse ("Kein Höllenpein / so groß mag sein, / ich habe sie verschuldet").
I shuffled a couple lines in the tenth verse to get a smoother English translation.
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to the tune "Durch Adams Fall ist ganz."
Here are two arrangements from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
I think "steh hier vor Gottes Angesicht" ("stand here before God's face") makes more sense than "steh hier für Gottes Angesicht" ("stand here for God's face") in the first verse, but I translated it as it is.
I translated the line "Ich lasse dir nicht eher Ruh" in the fifth verse as "I leave You not before rest," but I'm not sure I really understood it.
The first two lines of the sixth verse seem to be based on Psalm 103:10: "Er handelt nicht mit uns nach unsern Sünden und vergilt uns nicht nach unsrer Missetat." "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities."
The quotation in the seventh verse is an expansion of part of John 8:11: "geh hin und sündige hinfort nicht mehr" "'Go, and from now on sin no more.'"
As far as I can tell, this hymn isn't in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, or The Lutheran Service Book. According to the Gesangbuch, the text is sung to the tune "Wer nur den lieben Gott." Here's an arrangement from TLH:
And here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch: