This is the first hymn in a new section: "Lieder am Michaelis-Fest. (Am 29. September.)" "Songs for the Feast of Michael (On 29 September)"
German text in the Gesangbuch:
1 Aus Lieb läßt Gott der Christenheit
viel Gutes widerfahren,
aus Lieb hat er ihr zubereit
viel tausend Engelscharen,
darum man fröhlich singen mag:
Heut ist der lieben Engel Tag,
die uns gar wohl bewahren.
2 Sie lagern sich, wenn kommt die Noth,
in Eil gefaßt sich machen
und reißen die, so fürchten Gott,
aus ihrer Feinde Rachen,
darum man fröhlich singen mag:
Heut ist der lieben Engel Tag,
die immer für uns wachen.
3 Sie führen auf den Straßen wohl
die Großen samt den Kleinen,
daß keiner Schaden leiden soll
an Füßen oder Beinen,
darum man fröhlich singen mag:
Heut ist der lieben Engel Tag,
die uns mit Treuen meinen.
Dr. G. Reimann, +1615.
My prose translation:
1 Out of love, God lets
Much good happen to Christendom;
Out of love He has prepared for it
Many thousand companies of angels;
Therefore one may sing cheerfully:
To-day is the day of the dear angels,
Who protect us very well.
2 They position themselves when distress comes,
Prepare themselves in a hurry
And snatch those who fear God
Out of the revenge of their enemies;
Therefore one may sing cheerfully:
To-day is the day of the dear angels,
Who always keep watch for us.
3 They lead well on the streets
The great along with the small,
So that no one should suffer injury
To foot or leg;
Therefore one may sing cheerfully:
To-day is the day of the dear angels,
Who regard us with faithfulness.
Dr. G. Reimann, +1615.
The lines "daß keiner Schaden leiden soll / an Füßen oder Beinen" ("So that no one should suffer injury / To foot or leg") in the third verse seem to refer to Psalm 91:11-12: "11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone." The phrase "Füßen oder Beinen" contains plurals ("Feet or legs"), but I translated them as singulars.
I translated "meinen" in the same verse as "regard" based more on the context than anything else. In other circumstances, I would translate it as mean or think, but those didn't seem to fit here.
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."
This is the first hymn (actually, the only hymn) in a new section: "Am Fest der Heimsuchung Maria (Am 2. Juli.)" "On the feast of the Visitation of Mary (on 2 July)"
German text in the Gesangbuch:
1 Mein Seel, o Gott, muß loben dich,
du bist mein Heil, des freu ich mich,
daß du nicht fraget nach weltlich Pracht
und hast mich Arme nicht veracht.
2 Und angesehn mein Niedrigkeit,
von jetzt an wird nun weit und breit
mich selig preisen jedermann,
du hast groß Ding an mir gethan.
3 Du bist auch mächtig, lieber Herr,
dein göttlich Macht stirbt nimmermehr,
dein Nam ist aller Ehren werth,
drum man dich billig lobt und ehrt.
4 Du bist barmherzig ingemein,
wer dich von Herzen fürcht allein,
und hilfst dem Armen immerdar,
wenn er muß leiden groß Gefahr.
5 Der Menschen Hoffart muß vergehn,
für deinem Arm kann nichts bestehn;
wer sich verläßt auf seine Pracht,
des hast du bald ein End gemacht.
6 Du machst zunicht der Menschen Rath,
das sind, Herr, deine Wunderthat;
was sie gedenken wider dich,
das gehet alles hinter sich.
7 Wer niedrig ist und klein geacht,
an dem übst du dein göttlich Macht
und machest ihn den Fürchten gleich,
den Reichen arm, den Armen reich.
8 Das thust du, Herr, zu dieser Zeit
und denkest der Barmherzigkeit,
Israel willst du helfen auf,
das ist dein auserwählter Hauf.
9 Wir habens nichts verdient um dich,
du fährest mit uns gnädiglich;
zu unsern Vätern ist geschehn ein Wort,
das hast du angesehn.
10 Ja, Abraham, dem theuren Mann,
dem hast du selbst ein Eid gethan
und ihm geredt das Himmelreich
und seinem Samen ewiglich.
11 Ehr sei jetzund und allezeit
der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit,
Gott Vater, Sohn, Heiligem Geist,
der uns sein Gnad täglich beweist.
12 Der woll uns Sündern gnädig sein,
behüten für der Höllen Pein
und nach dieser Vergänglichkeit
geben die ewge Seligkeit.
Barth. Gesius, 1601.
My prose translation:
1 My soul, O God, must praise You;
You are my Salvation; therefore I rejoice
That You do not ask for worldly splendor
And have not despised poor me.
2 And having seen my lowliness
From now on, far and wide,
Everone will hail me [as] blessed
[For] You have done great things for me.
3 You are also mighty, dear Lord;
Your divine might dies nevermore;
Your Name is worthy of all honor
Therefore one properly praises and honors You.
4 You are compassionate [ingemein]
[To him] who fears You alone from the heart,
And [You] always help the poor
When he must suffer great danger.
5 The pride of humans must pass away;
Nothing can withstand Your arm;
You have soon made an end
Of him who relies on his splendor.
6 You bring to ruin the counsel of humans;
Those are Your miracles, Lord;
What they think against You,
All that deceives them.
7 You practice Your divine might
On him who is humble and little respected
And make him like the [God-]fearing,
The rich [You make] poor; the poor [You make] rich.
8 You do that, Lord, at this time
And think of mercy;
You want to help Israel;
That is Your chosen people.
9 We have not earned it for You;
You go with us mercifully;
To our fathers a word has come;
You have seen that.
10 Yes, to Abraham, the dear man,
Have You Yourself sworn an oath
And promised the kingdom of Heaven to him
And to his offspring eternally.
11 Glory be now and always
To the holy Trinity,
God Father, Son, Holy Ghost,
Who shows us His mercy daily.
12 Who will be merciful to us sinners,
Protect from the anguish of hell,
And after this transience
Give eternal salvation.
Barth. Gesius, 1601.
I couldn't find a translation for "ingemein" (in the fourth verse) that fit this context.
I flipt the last two lines of the fifth verse and the first two lines of the seventh to get smoother English translations.
The last line of the seventh verse ("The rich [You make] poor; the poor [You make] rich") may allude to Luke 1:53: "'he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.'"
In the tenth verse, "geredt" means merely spoken, but that didn't seem to fit this context (especially with "das Himmelreich" as its direct object), so I translated it as "promised." Similarly, I translated "gethan" (done, made) as "sworn" because it fit the context better.
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 "Herr Gott, dich loben alle." Here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
I'm not sure I have the right sense of the third 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 "Herr Jesu Christ, meins." Here's the TLH arrangement (transposed from Bb major to C major):
And here are two arrangements from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
5 The defiance of the foes, the hand of the haters,
Although they have burned equally for wrath,
Want to break us, as man,
Death, and devil can coerce.
6 For this purpose has His heart moved Him,
[His heart] which carries itself with grace and goodness;
He has thought of His covenant,
Made long ago with Abraham.
7 As also on this, what He has
Sworn to him instead of an oath,
To give to those who are
Begotten by him, even the child's child.
8 So that, when we are redeemed
From the devil, death, and the torment of hell,
Everyone [would] serve Him his life long
Without fear and compulsion.
9 Righteous and holy in the world,
According to such kind that pleases Him,
Not as the wit of man conceives it,
With which one hurts himself in vain.
10 You child, you will be called a prophet
Of the Most High, who goes
Before his Lord
And prepares His way for Him.
11 Out of affectionate mercy,
By His strength, the sunrise visits us
Out of the heights in our suffering;
That is the gift and fruit of love.
12 So that those He finds in the darkness
And those who are in the shadow of death
Can be children of the light
Through His bright glow and shine.
13 That their feet stand rightly
And go on the way of peace,
Yes finally altogether at the same time
With joy go into the kingdom of Heaven.
Joh. Heermann, 1630.
I shuffled a few lines within a number of the verses to get smoother English translations.
Part of the third verse seems to come from Luke 1:69 ("and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David"), although the text in my German New Testament isn't very similar ("und hat uns aufgerichtet eine Macht des Heils im Hause seines Dieners David").
"Vor Zeiten" in the fourth verse literally means "before times," but I think it's intended with a meaning something like "long ago."
I'm not sure I really understood the fifth or seventh verses.
The tenth verse paraphrases Luke 1:76: "Und du, Kindlein, wirst ein Prophet des Höchsten heißen. Denn du wirst dem Herrn vorangehen, daß du seinen Weg bereitest." Similarly, the eleventh verse seems to be drawn from Luke 1:78: "durch die herzliche Barmherzigkeit unseres Gottes, durch die uns besuchen wird das aufgehende Licht aus der Höh." This similarity helpt greatly in the translation; I was pretty lost working from just the hymn text alone. Parts of the twelfth and thirteenth verses come from Luke 1:79 ("to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace"), although there isn't much resemblance between the hymn text and my German New Testament ("damit es erscheine denen, die sitzen in Finsternis und Schatten des Todes, und richte unsere Füße auf den Weg des Friedens"). The phrase "des Lichtes Kinder" ("children of the light") in the twelfth verse may come from Ephesians 5:8.
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 "Herr Gott, dich loben all." Here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch: