"Dreifaltig-heilig großer G." (#168)

This is the first hymn in a sub-section of "Of the Word of God and of the Christian Church":  "Bei der Einweihung einer Kirche" ("At the Consecration of a Church").

German text in the Gesangbuch:

1 Dreifaltig-heilig großer Gott,

schau doch von deiner Höhe,

wie hier vor dir, Herr Zebaoth,

dein armes Häuflein stehe;

merk auf das Seufzen und Gebet,

das wir von dieser heilgen Stätt

vor deinen Thron dir bringen.

2 Wir haben dieses Gotteshaus

gebauet deinem Namen,

mit dir ist es gezieret aus,

daß wir samt unserm Samen

die heilge Satzung und dein Wort

an diesem dir geweihten Ort

zur Seelen Heil anhören.

3 Der Grund ist selber Jesus Christ,

Apostel und Propheten,

ihr Wort der Pfeiler Grundvest ist,

darauf in allen Nöthen,

wie hoch die List der Feinde geht,

die Gottesstadt doch lustig steht

mir ihrem Zionsbrunnen.

4 Hier wolln wir unsre Kinderlein

dir in der Taufe schenken,

die Katechismuslehre rein

in ihre Herzen senken,

sie in des wahren Glaubens Frucht,

in deiner Furcht, in Christenzucht

als Himmelspflanzen ziehen.

5 Hier wollen wir in wahrer Reu,

auf tiefgebognen Knieen,

die Sünden berichten ohne Scheu

und hier zum Kreuze fliehen,

abbitten die blutrothe Schuld,

Vergebung suchen, Gnad und Huld

in Christi Blut und Wunden.

6 Beim heilgen Altar werden sich

die müden Seelen laben,

da unser Heiland, Jesus Christ,

uns Sünder will begaben

mit seinem wahren Leib und Blut,

in Tod gegeben uns zu gut

und uns zum Heil vergossen.

7 Hier segnet man den Ehstand ein,

man bittet für die Kranken;

dies Haus wird stets erfüllet sein

mit Loben und mit Danken;

hier wird man den Regierungsstand,

Kirch, Schulen, Häuser, Stadt und Land

dir täglich anempfehlen.

8 Herr, hebe nun zu segnen an

dies Haus, nach dir genennet,

daß es kein Feind zerstören kann,

wie hoch sein Eifer brennet.

Stör alles, was uns stören will,

laß uns in dieser Zionstill

dich sonder Ende loben.

9 Lob, Ehr und Dank und Herrlichkeit

sei dir, o Herr, gesungen,

daß bei der letzbetrübten Zeit

es uns so weit gelungen.

Gib, daß, was wir jetzt fangen an,

nicht eher Ende nehmen kann,

bis Erd und Himmel brechen.

Hans von Assig, +1694.

My prose translation:

1 Great, thrice-holy God,

Look from your height

How here before You, Lord of hosts,

Your poor crowd stands;

Pay attention to the sighing and prayer

That we from this holy place

Bring to You before Your throne.

2 We have built this house of God

For Your Name; with You is it adorned,

So that together with our offspring

We [may] hear the holy statutes and Your word

In this placed dedicated to You,

For the salvation of the soul.

3 The foundation is Jesus Christ Himself;

Apostles and prophets,

Their word is the foundation of the pillars;

On it in all distress,

However high the cunning of the foe goes,

The city of God still stands merrily

With its springs of Zion.

4 Here we want to give our little children

To You in baptism,

To sink the pure doctrine of the catechism

Into their hearts,

To draw them into the fruit of the true faith,

Into the fear of You, into Christian discipline

As plants of Heaven.

5 Here we want, in true repentance,

On deeply bent knees,

To repent our sin without timidity

And here flee to the cross,

To ask pardon for the blood-red guilt,

To seek forgiveness, mercy, and grace

In Christ's blood and wounds.

6 At the holy altar

Will the tired souls be revived,

Where our Savior, Jesus Christ,

Wants us sinners to go,

With His true body and blood,

Given in death for our good

And shed for our salvation.

7 Here one blesses marriage;

One prays for the sick;

This house will always be filled

With praise and with thanks;

Here will one 

Daily commend to You

The government, church, schools, houses, city, and country.

8 Lord, rise now to bless

This house, named after You,

So that no enemy can destroy it,

However high his zeal burns.

Disrupt everything that wants to disturb us;

Let us in this calm of Zion

Praise You without end.

9 Praise, honor, and thanks and splendor

Be sung to You, O Lord,

That in the last, troubled time

It succeeds for us so widely.

Grant that what we now begin

Cannot take a sooner end

Until Earth and Heaven break.

Hans von Assig, +1694.

The line "die Sünden berichten ohne Scheu" in the fifth verse is literally something like "to tell of the sin without timidity," but based on the context, I translated "berichten" as "repent."  I also supplied a possessive adjective in place of the definite article ("our sin" instead of just "the sin").

I shuffled around some elements in the last few lines of the seventh verse to get a smoother English translation.

The verb "stören" appears twice in the eighth verse, but I translated it differently, first as "disrupt" and then as "disturb."  I translated "Zionstill" as "calm of Zion," but I'm not sure this is entirely accurate.  I also translated "sonder" as "without" based more on the context than anything else (although it seems to be a cognate with the Dutch zonder, which means without).  I couldn't find a prepositional use of the word in my dictionary.

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 das Heil uns kommen [her]."  Here's the TLH arrangement:

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

"Christe, du Beistand deiner" (#167)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

1 Christe, du Beistand deiner Kreuzgemeine,

eile, mit Hilf und Rettung uns erscheine;

steure den Feinden, ihre Blutgerichte

mache zu nichte.  :,:

2 Streite doch selber für uns arme Kinder,

wehre dem Teufel, seine Macht verhinder;

alles, was kämpfet wider deine Glieder,

stürze danieder.  :,:

3 Friede bei Kirch und Schulen uns beschere,

Friede zugleich der Polizei gewähre,

Friede dem Herzen, Friede dem Gewissen

gib zu genießen.  :,:

4 Also wird zeitlich deine Güt erhoben,

also wird ewig und ohn Ende loben dich,

o du Wächter deiner armen Heerde,

Himmel und Erde.  :,:

Math. Apelles v. Löwenstern, 1644.

My prose translation:

1 Christ, You assistance of Your congregation of the cross,

Hurry; appear to us with help and rescue;

Drive away the enemies; their court of blood

Bring to nothing.  :,:

2 Fight Yourself for us poor children still;

Defend against the devil; hinder his might;

Everything that wrestles against Your members

Plunge below.  :,:

3 Bless us with peace at church and school;

Grant also peace to the police;

Peace for the heart, peace for the conscience

Give [us] to enjoy.  :,:

4 Thus will Your goodness be uplifted at length;

Thus will You be praised eternally and without end,

O You watchman of Your poor flock,

By Heaven and earth.  :,:

Math. Apelles v. Löwenstern, 1644.

Almost by accident, I translated "Kreuzgemeine" and "Blutgerichte" in the first verse so that they have parallel structures ("congregation of the cross" and "court of blood"), which helps to highlight their opposite natures.

This may be obvious, but I'll note it anyway:  "Yourself" ("selber") in the first line of the second verse is an intensive pronoun, not a reflexive one.

I translated "zeitlich" in the fourth verse as "at length," but I'm not sure this is completely accurate.  In the same verse, I flipt "loben dich... Himmel und Erde" from active to passive voice to accommodate the structure better; instead of "Thus will eternally and without end praise You... Heaven and earth" with its inverted structure and great distance between the verb and the compound subject, I have "Thus will you be praised eternally... By Heaven and earth."

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."

"Ach Gott vom Himmel, sieh" (#166)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

1 Ach Gott vom Himmel, sieh darein

und laß dich des erbarmen:

wie wenig sind der Heilgen dein,

verlassen sind wir Armen.

Dein Wort man nicht läßt haben wahr,

der Glaub ist auch verloschen gar

bei allen Menschenkindern.

2 Sie lehren eitel falsche List,

was eigen Witz erfindet;

ihr Herz nicht eines Sinnes ist,

in Gottes Wort gegründet.

Der wählet dies, der ander das,

sie trennen uns ohn alle Maß

und gleißen schön von außen.

3 Gott wollt ausrotten alle Lahr,

die falschen Schein uns lehren,

darzu ihr Zung stolz offenbar

spricht:  Trotz, wer wills uns wehren?

Wir haben Recht uns Macht allein,

was wir setzen, das gilt gemein;

wer ist, der uns soll meistern?

4 Darum spricht Gott: ich muß auf sein,

die Armen sind verstöret,

ihr Seufzen dringt zu mir herein

ich hab ihr Klag erhöret.

Mein heilsam Wort soll auf den Plan,

getrost und frisch sie griefen an

und sein die Kraft der Armen.

5 Das Silber, durchs Feur siebenmal

bewährt, wird lauter funden;

am Gotteswort man warten soll

desgleichen alle Stunden;

es will durchs Kreuz bewähret sein,

da wird sein Kraft erkannt und Schein

und leucht stark in die Lande.

6 Das wollst du, Gott, bewahren rein

für diesem argen G'schlechte,

und laß uns dir befohlen sein,

daß sichs in uns nicht flechte.

Der gottlos Hauf sich umher findt,

wo diese lose Leute sind

in deinem Volk erhaben.

Ps. 12. Dr. M. Luther, 1524.

My prose translation:

1 O God from Heaven, look in

And let Yourself have mercy:

How few are Your holy ones;

We poor are lost.

One does not let [us] have Your word true;

Faith has also been completely extinguished

With all the children of men.

2 They teach vain, false cunning

That makes up its own joke;

Their heart is not of one mind,

Grounded in God's word.

One chooses this; an-other that;

They divide us without any moderation

And gleam beautifully on the outside.

3 God wants to wipe out all [Lahr]

Who teach us false appearances,

To which their proud tongue plainly

Speaks:  Defiance, who will resist us?

We alone have authority and might;

What we set up really counts;

Who is there who should master us?

4 Therefore God speaks:  I must be up;

The poor are distraught;

Their sighing reaches me here;

I have heard their lament.

My salutary word should [be] on the plain,

Touch them safely and freshly,

And be the strength of the poor.

5 The silver, tested seven times by the fire,

Will be found pure;

On God's word one should

Likewise wait at all hours;

It will be proven through the cross,

Where its power and appearance will be recognized

And shine strongly in the land.

6 God, You want to keep that pure

For this wicked generation,

And let us be commanded by You

So that it is not twisted in us.

The godless swarm finds itself around,

Where these malicious people are

Elevated into Your nation.

Ps. 12. Dr. M. Luther, 1524.

I had some troubles with the third verse.  1) I couldn't find a translation for "Lahr."  I think it may mean something like teacher or doctrine, but I was sufficiently unsure just to leave it in brackets.  2) I don't understand how "Trotz" functions in the clause "Trotz, wer wills uns wehren?"  It can't be a preposition because it's not followed by an object, but it seems strange to have a noun set apart by itself here.  I translated the clause as "Defiance, who will resist us?" but I'm not very confident about it.  I'm not sure I really understood "wer wills uns wehren" either.  3) I'm pretty sure that "stolz" in the line "darzu ihr Zung stolz offenbar / spricht..." could function as either an adverb ("proudly") or a post-positive adjective ("proud").  Since there's already an adverb in the clause ("offenbar," "plainly"), I went with the latter and translated it as "To which their proud tongue plainly / Speaks...."

This hymn appears as "O Lord, Look Down from Heaven, Behold" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#260), but as far as I can tell, it's not in Lutheran Worship or The Lutheran Service Book.  In TLH, and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to "its own tune."  Here's the TLH arrangement:

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

"Ach, bleib bei uns, Herr" (#165)

This is the first hymn in a new section:  "Von dem Worte Gottes und der christlichen Kirche." ("Of the Word of God and of the Christian Church")

German text in the Gesangbuch:

1 Ach, bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ,

weil es nun Abend worden ist,

dein göttlich Wort, das helle Licht,

laß ja bei uns auslöschen nicht.

2 In dieser letztn betrübten Zeit

verleih uns, Herr, Beständigkeit,

daß wir dein Wort und Sacrament

rein b'halten bis an unser End.

3 Herr Jesu, hilf, dein Kirch erhalt,

wir sind gar sicher, faul und kalt;

gib Glück und Heil zu deinem Wort,

damit es schall an allem Ort.

4 Erhalt uns nur bei deinem Wort

und wehr des Teufels Trug und Mord.

Gib deiner Kirchen Gnad und Huld,

Fried, Einigkeit, Muth und Geduld.

5 Ach Gott, es geht gar übel zu,

auf dieser Erd ist keine Ruh,

viel Sekten und viel Schwärmerei

auf einen Haufen kommt herbei.

6 Den stolzen Geistern wehre doch,

die sich mit G'walt erheben hoch

und bringen stets was neues her,

zu fälschen deine rechte Lehr.

7 Die Sach und Ehr, Herr Jesu Christ,

nicht unser, sondern dein ja ist;

darum, so steh du denen bei,

die sich auf dich verlassen frei.

8 Dein Wort is unsers Herzens Trutz

und deiner Kirchen wahrer Schutz;

dabei erhalt uns, lieber Herr,

daß wir nichts anders suchen mehr.

9 Gib, daß wir lebn in deinem Wort

und darauf ferner fahren fort

von hinnen aus dem Jammerthal

zu dir in deinen Himmelssal.

Dr. Nikolaus Selnecker, 1587.

Vers 3-9 späterer Zusatz.

My prose translation:

1 Oh, stay with us, Lord Jesus Christ,

Because it is now become evening;

Your divine word, the bright light,

Let it indeed not be extinguished with us.

2 In this last, troubled time,

Grant us perseverance, Lord,

So that we keep Your Word and Sacrament

Pure until our end.

3 Lord Jesus, help; preserve Your church;

We are, quite surely, rotten and cold;

Give success and well-being to Your word

So that it resounds in every place.

4 Keep us only by Your word

And defend against the deceit and murder of the devil.

Give to Your church mercy and grace,

Peace, unity, courage, and patience.

5 O God, it goes completely to no good;

On this earth is no rest;

Many sects and much fanaticism

For a swarm comes along.

6 Defend still against the proud spirits

Who lift themselves high with violence

And constantly bring something new here

To falsify Your true doctrine.

7 The matters and glory, Lord Jesus Christ,

Are not ours but indeed Yours;

Therefore, You stand with those

Who freely rely on You.

8 Your word is the defense of our heart

And the true protection of Your church;

With it, preserve us, dear Lord,

So that we no longer seek anything else.

9 Grant that we live in Your word

And continuously go further in it

From here out of the vale of tears

To You in Your hall of Heaven.

Dr. Nikolaus Selnecker, 1587.

Verses 3-9 later addition.

Alphabetically (in German), this is the first hymn in the Gesangbuch.

This hymn appears as "Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#292) and The Lutheran Service Book (#585) and as "Lord Jesus Christ, Will You Not Stay" in Lutheran Worship (#344).  The versions in LW and LSB are abbreviated; I think both are verses 1-4, 6, and 8 of the above.

In all three hymnals, and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to "its own tune."  Here's the arrangement from TLH:

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