Sunday, July 14, 2024

"O heiligste Dreifaltigkeit" (#149)

German text in the Gesangbuch:
1 O heiligste Dreifaltigkeit
voll Majestät und Ehren,
wie kann doch deine Christenheit
dein Lob genug vermehren?
Du bist sehr hoch und wundersam,
ganz unbegrieflich ist dein Nam,
dein Wesen unerforschlich.

2 Wir danken dir, daß deine Gnad,
auch weil wir hie noch leben,
in deinem Worte so viel hat
uns offenbar gegeben,
daß du bist wahrer Gott und heißst:
Gott Vater, Sohn und Heilger Geist,
dreifaltig und doch einig.

3 O Vater, aller Dinge Quell
und Ursprung, sei gepreiset
für alle Wunder klar und hell,
durch deine Macht erweiset;
du Vater hast vor aller Zeit
den eingen Sohn von Ewigkeit,
dein Ebenbild, gezeuget.

4 Du hast gemacht den Erdenkreis
nach deinem Wohlgefallen,
uns Menschen drauf, zu deinem Preis,
daß wir dein Lob erschallen;
auch wird durch deines Mundes Wort
dies alles immer fort und fort
erhalten und regieret.

5 Drum steh, o Vater, ferner bei
uns, deinen armen Kindern,
und alle Schulden uns verzeih,
als bußfertigen Sündern;
aus unsern Nöthen mannigfalt
errette uns und hilf uns bald,
wie du uns hast versprochen.

6 O Jesu Christe, Gottes Sohn,
von Ewigkeit geboren,
uns Menschen auch ins Himmels Thron
zum Mittler auserkoren,
durch dich geschicht, was nur geschicht,
o wahrer Gott, o wahres Licht
vom wahren Gott und Lichte!

7 Du bist des Vaters Ebenbild
und doch vom Himmel kommen;
als eben war die Zeit erfüllt,
hast du Fleisch angenommen,
hast uns erworben Gottes Huld,
bezahlet unsre Sünd und Schuld
durch dein unschuldig Leiden.

8 Nun sitzest du zur rechten Hand
des Vaters, hoch erhoben,
beherrschest alle Leut und Land
und dämpfst der Feinde Toben.
Hilf uns, o wahrer Mensch und Gott,
wir wollen dir für deinen Tod
und alle Wohlthat danken.

9 O Heilger Geist, du werthe Kron,
erleuchte unsre Sinnen,
der du vom Vater und dem Sohn
ausgehest ohn Beginnen;
du bist allmächtig und ohn End,
der Vater und der Sohn dich sendt,
im Glauben uns zu leiten.

10 Herr, du gebierest durch die Tauf
uns wiederum aufs neue,
hernacher auch nimmst du uns auf,
wenn du gibst wahre Reue;
durch dich wird unsre Hoffnung fest,
und wenn uns alle Welt verläßt,
bleibst du bei uns im Herzen.

11 Wir bitten dich demüthiglich,
daß es mag ja durchdringen,
was wir durch Seufzer oft vor dich
in unsern Nöthen bringen;
und wenn die letzte Stund da ist,
so hilf, daß wir auf Jesum Christ
getrost und selig sterben.

12 Gott Vater, Sohn und Heilger Geist,
für alle Gnad und Güte
sei immerbar von uns gepreist
mit freudigem Gemüthe:
des Himmels Heer dein Lob erklingt
und heilig!  heilig!  heilig!  singt.
Das thun wir auch auf Erden.

Dr. Justus Gesenius, +1671.
My prose translation:
1 O most holy Trinity,
Full of majesty and glory,
How yet can Your Christendom
Increase Your praise enough?
You are very high and wondrous,
Quite incomprehensible is Your Name;
Your Being [is] unfathomable.

2 We thank You that Your mercy,
Even because we live here yet,
Has clearly given us
So much in Your Word,
That You are true God and are called:
God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Threefold and yet united.

3 O Father, source and origin
Of all things, be praised
For all wonders clear and bright,
Established by Your might;
You, Father, before all time
Have from eternity
Begotten the only Son, Your image.

4 You have made the earth
According to Your pleasure
[And] us people on it, for Your praise,
So that we ring out Your praise;
Also by the word of Your mouth
[You] maintain and govern
All this forever.

5 Therefore stand, O Father, with
Us, Your poor children,
And forgive us all guilt
As repentant sinners;
Out of our manifold distress
Save us and help us soon,
As You have promised us.

6 O Jesus Christ, Son of God,
From eternity begotten,
Also chosen as the Mediator
On Heaven's throne for us men,
Through You was made all that was made,
O true God, O true Light
From true God and Light!

7 You are the image of the Father
And [are] come from Heaven;
Just when the time was fulfilled,
You have taken on flesh,
Have acquired God's grace for us,
[And] paid for our sin and guilt
By Your innocent suffering.

8 Now You sit at the right hand
Of the Father, lifted up high;
[You] govern all people and lands
And subdue the raving of the foes.
Help us, O true Man and God,
We want to thank You
For Your death and all [Your] good deeds.

9 O Holy Ghost, You worthy Crown,
Enlighten our minds,
You Who from the Father and the Son
Proceed without beginning;
You are omnipotent and without end;
The Father and the Son send You
To lead us in the faith.

10 Lord, You have borne us
Again anew through baptism;
Afterwards You also take us up
When You give true repentance;
Through You, our hope becomes firm,
And when all the world leaves us,
You remain with us in [our] hearts.

11 We humbly ask You
That that which we often bring before You
Through sighs in our distresses
May indeed be passed through;
And when the last hour is there,
So help, that we die confidently and blessedly
In Jesus Christ.

12 God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
For all mercy and goodness
Be always praised by us
With a cheerful heart:
The host of Heaven sounds your praise
And sings, "Holy!  Holy!  Holy!"
We do that also on earth.

Dr. Justus Gesenius, +1671.
I had to shuffle some elements within the many of the verses to get smoother English translations.

"Erdenkreis" in the fourth verse is something like "circle of the earth," but I translated it simply as "earth."

"Ferner" in the fifth verse seems to be present merely to add some syllables to that line, so I left it out of my translation.  It means "moreover," and this seemed unnecessary since "therefore" is already in the line.  Initially, I got confused because it's similar to fern, which means distant (or further as a comparative adjective or adverb), but "stand further with us" doesn't make any sense.

I couldn't find a translation for "geschicht" in the sixth verse.  I ended up translating the whole line ("durch dich geschicht, was nur geschicht") as "Through You was made all that was made" based more on its resemblance to John 1:3 ("All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."), although there's no resemblance here with the text of my German New Testament.

A line in the seventh verse ("als eben war die Zeit erfüllt" "Just when the time was fulfilled") seems to be drawn from part of Galatians 4:4:  "Als aber die Zeit erfüllt war..." "But when the fullness of time had come...."

I translated "ausgehest" in the ninth verse as "proceed," based more on the Nicene Creed's "who proceeds from the Father and the Son" than from any suggestions my dictionary provided.

The "Holy!  Holy!  Holy!" in the twelfth verse comes from either Isaiah 6:3 or Revelation 4:8.

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 "Nun freut euch, lieben Chr[isten g'mein]."  Here's the TLH arrangement:


And here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch: