Sunday, December 4, 2022

"Mit Fried und Freud ich" (#65)

German text in the Gesangbuch:
Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin
in Gottes Willen,
getrost ist mir mein Herz und Sinn,
sanft und stille,
wie Gott mir verheißen hat;
der Tod ist mein Schlaf worden.

Das macht Christus, wahr Gottessohn,
der treue Heiland,
den du mich, Herr, hast sehen lahn,
und machst bekannt,
daß er sei das Leben und Heil
in Noth und Sterben.

Den hast du allen fürgestellt
mit großen Gnaden,
zu seinem Reich die ganze Welt
heißen laden
durch dein theuer heilsam Wort,
an allem Ort erschollen

Er ist das Heil und selig Licht
für die Heiden,
zu 'rleuchten, die dich kennen nicht,
und zu weiden.
Er ist deins Volks Israel
der Preis, Ehr, Freud und Wonne.

Dr. M. Luther, 1525.
My prose translation:
With peace and joy I go
In God's will;
My heart and mind are comforted,
Gentle and quiet,
As God has promised me;
Death is become my sleep.

Christ, true Son of God does that,
The faithful Savior,
Whom You, Lord, have let (?) me see
And make known
So that He would be life and salvation
In distress and death.

Whom You have put forth (?) for all
With great mercy
To call [and] invite the whole world
To His kingdom
Through Your dear, salutary Word,
Echoed in every place.

He is the salvation and blessed light
For the nations,
To enlighten those who do not know You
And to revel in.
He is the prize, honor, joy, and delight
Of Your people Israel.

Dr. M. Luther, 1525.
I couldn't find a translation for "lahn" in the second verse.  I translated it as "let" based only on the context.  Same for "fürgestellt" in the third verse, which I translated as "put forth."

I had to shuffle some of the lines around in the third verse and the end of the fourth verse (the last two lines) to get a smoother English translation.

This hymn appears as "In Peace and Joy I Now Depart" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#137), Lutheran Worship (#185), and The Lutheran Service Book (#938).  In each hymnal and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to "its own melody."  Here's the arrangement from TLH: