"Vater unser im Himmelreich" (#185)

This is the first (and only) hymn in a new section:  "Vom heiligen Vater Unser" "Of the Holy 'Our Father'"

German text in the Gesangbuch:

1 Vater unser im Himmelreich,

der du uns alle heißest gleich

Brüder sein und dich rufen an

und willt das Beten von uns han,

gib, daß nicht bet allein der Mund,

hilf, daß es geh von Herzensgrund.

2 Geheilget werd der Name dein,

dein Wort bei uns hilf halten rein,

daß auch wir leben heiliglich

nach deinem Namen würdiglich.

Herr, behüt uns für falscher Lehr,

das arm verführet Volk bekehr.

3 Es komm dein Reich zu deieser Zeit

und dort hernach in Ewigkeit;

der Heilig Geist uns wohne bei

mit seinen Gaben mancherlei;

des Satans Zorn und groß Gewalt

zerbrich, für ihm dein Kirch erhalt.

4 Dein Will gescheh, Herr Gott, zugleich

auf Erden wie im Himmelreich;

gib uns Geduld in Leidenszeit,

gehorsam sein in Lieb und Leid;

wehr und steur allem Fleisch und Blut,

das wider deinen Willen thut.

5 Gib uns heut unser täglich Brod [sic]

und was man darf zur Leibesnoth;

b'hüt uns, Herr, für Unfried und Streit,

für Seuchen und für theurer Zeit,

daß wir in gutem Frieden stehn,

der Sorg und Geizes müßig gehn.

6 All unser Schuld vergib uns, Herr,

daß sie uns nicht betrüben mehr,

wie wir auch unsern Schuldigen

ihr Schuld und Fehl vergeben gern;

zu dienen mach uns all bereit

in rechter Lieb und Einigkeit.

7 Führ uns, Herr, in Versuchung nicht,

wenn ins der böse Geist ansicht,

zur linken und zur rechten Hand

hilf uns thun starken Widerstand,

im Glauben fest und wohlgerüst

und durch des Heilgen Geistes Trost.

8 Von allem Uebel uns erlös,

es sind die Zeit und Tage bös;

erlös uns vom ewigen Tod

und tröst uns in der letzten Noth;

bescher uns auch ein selig End,

nimm unsre Seel in deine Händ.

9 Amen, das ist, es werde wahr.

Stärk unsern Glauben immerdar,

auf daß wir ja nicht zweifeln dran,

das wir hiemit gebeten han,

auf dein Wort in dem Namen dein,

so sprechen wir das Amen fein.

Dr. M. Luther, 1539.

My prose translation:

1 Our Father in the kingdom of Heaven,

You Who call us all

To be like brothers and to call upon You

And want to have prayers from us,

Grant that it is not the mouth alone that prays;

Help that it goes from the bottom of the heart.

2 May Your Name be hallowed;

Help to keep Your word pure with us

So that we also live holy,

Worthy of Your Name.

Lord, protect us from false teaching;

Convert the poor tempted people.

3 Your kingdom comes at this time

And there hereafter in eternity;

The Holy Ghost dwells with us

With His manifold gifts;

Break the wrath and great violence of Satan;

Preserve Your church from him.

4 May Your will be done, Lord God, the same

On earth as in the kingdom of Heaven;

Give us patience in the time of suffering,

To be obedient in love and sorrow;

Defend against and drive away all flesh and blood

That acts contrary to Your will.

5 Give us to-day our daily bread

And whatever one may for the need of the body;

Protect us, Lord, from discord and dispute,

From plague, and from expensive time,

So that we stand in good peace;

Concern and miserliness go uselessly.

6 Forgive us all our guilt, Lord,

So that it troubles us no more,

As we also gladly forgive

Our debtors their guilt and faults;

Make us all ready to serve

In true love and unity.

7 Do not lead us into temptation, Lord,

When the evil spirit views us;

At the left and at the right hand

Help us make a strong resistance,

Firm in faith and well-prepared

And through the comfort of the Holy Ghost.

8 Redeem us from all evil;

The time and days are evil;

Redeem us from eternal death

And comfort us in the last distress;

Grant us also a blessed end;

Take our souls in Your hands.

9 Amen, that is:  may it be true.

Strengthen our faith always

So that indeed we do not doubt in

That which we have thus prayed

In Your word, in Your Name,

So speak we well the Amen.

Dr. M. Luther, 1539.

The line "und willt das Beten von uns ha[be]n" in the first verse is literally something like "And want to have the praying from us," but I translated "Beten" as a regular noun rather than a gerund, resulting in:  "And want to have prayers from us."

I amended the line "gib, daß nicht bet allein der Mund" to get closer to what I think the actual meaning is ("Grant that it is not the mouth alone that prays").  As it stands, the line means "Grant that the mouth alone doesn't pray," but the verb is not what should be negated here.

In the sixth verse, "Schuld" is treated as a plural ("All unser Schuld... daß sie uns nicht betrüben mehr"), but I translated it as a singular ("all our guilt... so that it troubles us no more").  I also shuffled some elements in the middle two lines to get a smoother English translation.

The line "es sind die Zeit und Tage bös" in the eighth verse ("The time and days are evil") seems to come from part of Ephesians 5:16:  "denn es ist böse Zeit" ("for the days are evil").

This hymn appears as "Our Father, Thou in Heaven Above" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#458) and as "Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" in Lutheran Worship (#431) and The Lutheran Service Book (#766).  In all of these, and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to "its own tune."

Because of some technical issues, my project of recording the tunes from TLH is on hiatus, and I haven't gotten to #458, but here's the same tune paired with an earlier text, played a whole step higher than written (I'm not sure what key it's in):

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