"O Jesu, du mein Bräutig." (#206)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

1 O Jesu, du mein Bräutigam,

der du aus Lieb am Kreuzesstamm

für mich den Tod gelitten hast,

genommen weg der Sünden Last.

2 Ich komm zu deinem Abendmahl,

verderbt durch manchen Sündenfall,

ich bin krank, unrein, nackt, und bloß,

blind und arm; ach, mich nicht verstoß!

3 Du bist der Arzt, du bist das Licht,

du bist der Herr, dem nichts gebricht,

du bist der Brunn der Heiligkeit,

du bist das rechte Hochzeitkleid.

4 Drum, o Herr Jesu, bitt ich dich,

in meiner Schwachheit heile mich;

was unrein ist, das mache rein

durch deinen hellen Gnadenschein.

5 Erleuchte mein verfinstert Herz,

zünd an die schöne Glaubensherz;

mein Armuth in Reichtum verkehr,

auch meinem Fleische steur und wehr.

6 Daß ich das rechte Himmelsbrod [sic],

dich, Jesu, wahrer Mensch und Gott,

mit höchster Ehrerbietung eß

und deiner Gnade nicht vergeß.

7 Lösch alle Laster aus in mir,

mein Herz mit Lieb und Glauben zier,

und was sonst ist von Tugend mehr,

das pflanz in mir zu deiner Ehr.

8 Gib, was ist nütz zu Seel und Leib,

was schädlich ist, fern von mir treib;

komm in mein Herz, laß mich mit dir

vereinigt bleiben für und für.

9 Hilf, daß durch dieser Mahlzeit Kraft

das Bös in mir werd abgeschafft,

erlassen alle Sünd und Schuld,

erlangt des Vaters Lieb und Huld.

10 Vertreibe alle meine Feind,

die sichtbar und unsichtbar seind;

den guten Vorsatz, den ich spür,

durch deinen Geist fest mach in mir.

11 Mein Leben, Sitten, Sinn und Pflicht

nach deinem heilgen Willen richt;

ach, laß mich meine Tag in Ruh

und Friede christlich bringen zu.

12 Bis du mich, o du Lebensfürst,

zu dir in Himmel nehmen wirst,

daß ich bei dir dort ewiglich

an deiner Tafel freue mich.

Johann Heermann, 1630.

My prose translation:

1 O Jesus, You my bridegroom,

Who on the tree of the cross, out of love,

Have suffered death for me,

Taken away the burden of sin.

2 I come to Your meal,

Corrupted by many falls into sin;

I am sick, unclean, naked, and bare,

Blind and poor; oh, do not cast me out!

3 You are the physician; You are the light;

You are the Lord, for Whom nothing is lacking;

You are the spring of holiness;

You are the true wedding garment.

4 Therefore, O Lord Jesus, I ask You,

Cure me in my weakness;

Make pure what is unclean

Through Your bright shine of mercy.

5 Enlighten my darkened heart;

Ignite the beautiful heart of faith;

Turn my poverty into wealth;

Also direct and defend my flesh.

6 That I might eat the true bread of Heaven,

You, Jesus, true man and God,

With highest reverence

And would not forget Your mercy.

7 Wipe out all vice in me;

Adorn my heart with love and faith;

And whatever more is from virtue

Plant in me for Your glory.

8 Give what is useful to body and soul;

Drive far from me that which is harmful;

Come into my heart; let me

Remain united with You forever.

9 Help that by the strength of this meal,

The evil in me would be abolished,

All sin and guilt would be removed,

[And] the love and grace of the Father would be gained.

10 Drive away all my enemies,

which are visible and invisible;

By Your Spirit make firm in me

The good intent that I feel.

11 Direct my life, customs, mind, and duty

According to Your holy Will;

Oh, let me spend my days

In Christ-like calm and peace.

12 Until You, O You Prince of life,

Will take me to Yourself in Heaven

So that with You there eternally

I rejoice at Your table.

Johann Heermann, 1630.

The third verse contains allusions to John 8:12 ("'I am the light of the world'") and Matthew 22:11-14 (the man without a wedding garment).

I flipt the last two lines of the tenth verse to get a smoother English translation.  The original German is inverted so that the direct object comes first.

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:

"Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von" (#205)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

1 Jesus Christus, unser Heiland,

der von uns den Gotteszorn wandt,

durch das bitter Leiden sein

half er uns aus der Höllen Pein.

2 Daß wir nimmer des vergessen,

gab er uns sein Leib zu essen,

verborgen im Brod [sic] so klein,

und zu trinken sein Blut im Wein.

3 Wer sich will zu dem Tisch machen,

der hab wohl Acht auf sein Sachen;

wer unwürdig hinzu geht,

für das Leben den Tod empfäht.

4 Du sollt Gott den Vater preisen,

daß er dich so wohl wollt speisen

und für deine Missethat

in den Tod sein Sohn geben hat.

5 Du sollt glauben und nicht wanken,

daß ein Speise sei den Kranken,

den'n ihr Herz von Sünden schwer

und für Angst ist betrübet sehr.

6 Solch groß Gnad und Barmherzigkeit

sucht ein Herz in großer Arbeit.

Ist dir wohl, so bleib davon,

daß du nicht kriegest bösen Lohn.

7 Er spricht selber:  Kommt, ihr Armen,

laßt mich über euch erbarmen,

kein Arzt ist dem Starken noth,

sein Kunst wird an ihm gar ein Spott.

8 Hättst du dir was konnt erwerben,

was dürft ich denn für dich sterben?

Dieser Tisch auch dir nicht gilt,

so du selber dir helfen willt.

9 Glaubst du das von Herzengrunde

und bekennest mit dem Munde,

so bist du recht wohl geschickt

und die Speise dein Seel erquickt.

10 Die Frucht soll auch nicht ausblieben;

deinen Nächsten sollt du lieben,

daß er dein genießen kann,

wie dein Gott an dir hat gethan.

Johann Hußens Lied, verdeutscht und gebessert durch Dr. M. Luther, 1524.

My prose translation:

1 Jesus Christ, our Savior,

Who turned the wrath of God from us,

Through His bitter sufferings,

He helpt us out of the torment of hell.

2 So that we never forget about it,

He gave us His body to eat,

Hidden in the bread so small,

And His blood to drink in the wine.

3 He who wants to go to the table

Had better pay attention to his affairs;

He who goes to it unworthily

Receives death for life.

4 You should praise God the Father,

That He wants to feed you so well

And for your misdeeds

Has given His Son into death.

5 You should believe and not waver

That a food would be for the sick,

Whose heart is heavy from sin

And very troubled by fear.

6 In great labor does a heart search

For such great mercy and compassion.

[If] it is well for you, remain there

So that you do not receive evil in return.

7 He Himself speaks:  "Come, you poor;

"Let Me have mercy upon you;

"The strong man has no need for a doctor;

"His skill becomes nothing but a mockery to him.

8 "Had you been able to acquire something for yourself,

"Then for what could I die for you?

"This table has no worth even for you

"If you want to help yourself.

9 "[If] you believe this from the bottom of your heart

"And confess with your mouth,

"Then you are truly befit,

"And the food [will] revive your soul.

10 "The fruit should also not be absent;

"You should love your neighbor

"So that he can enjoy your [fruit],

"Like God has done for you."

Johann Huß's song, translated to German and improved by Dr. M. Luther, 1524.

I translated "empfäht" at the end of the third verse as "receives," but this is based much more on the context and the verse's resemblance to 1 Corinthians 11:27-30 than the actual form.  I suspect that the word has been altered in order to rhyme with "geht" from the previous line.

I flipt the first two lines of the sixth to get a smoother English translation.  I'm not sure I completely understood the second half or the second half of the seventh verse.

I'm not particularly confident in my translation of the eighth verse, but I do think I have the right general sense.

The first part of the ninth verse is adapted from Romans 10:10:  "Denn wenn man von Herzen glaubt, so wird man gerecht; und wenn man mit dem Munde bekennt, so wird man gerettet."  "For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."  I'm not sure that "befit" is the best translation for "geschickt" in this context, but it's the best I could think of.

This hymn appears as "Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Savior" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#311), Lutheran Worship (spanning two numbers:  #236 and #237), and The Lutheran Service Book (#627).  TLH and LW present abbreviated forms.  In all of these, 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:

 

"Ich will zu aller Stund" (#204)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

1 Ich will zu aller Stund

aus meines Herzens Grund,

Gott, deine Güte preisen,

die du mir thust beweisen;

ich will mein ganzes Leben

zu deinem Lob ergeben.

2 Jesu, mein höchstes Gut,

dein Leib, dein wahres Blut

ist meines Herzens Freude,

mein Trost in allem Leide,

weil diese deine Gaben

mein Leib und Seele laben.

3 Vernunft, Witz und Verstand

wird hier zu Spott und Schand;

der Wahrheit muß man trauen,

auf Gottes Wort fest bauen.

Was Gott spricht, muß bestehen,

sollt alle Welt vergehen.

4 Hier ist das Gotteslamm,

für uns am Kreuzesstamm

aus lauter Lieb gestorben,

dadurch das Heil erworden;

hier kannst du Gnade finden,

Vergebung aller Sünden.

5 Gott Lob für seine Treu,

die ich noch immer neu

in seinem Nachtmahl finde;

weicht, Teufel, Tod und Sünde!

Gott will mir Trost und Leben

hier und dort ewig geben.

Dr. Johann Olearius, +1671.

My prose translation:

1 I want at all times

From the bottom of my heart

To praise Your goodness, God,

Which You show to me;

I want to devote my whole life

To Your praise.

2 Jesus, my highest good,

Your body, Your true blood

Are the joy of my heart,

My comfort in all distress

Because these, Your gifts,

Revive my body and soul.

3 Reason, wit, and understanding

Become scorn and shame here;

One must trust the truth,

[And] build firmly on God's word.

What God speaks must stand,

[Even if] all the world should pass away.

4 Here the Lamb of God died

For us on the tree of the cross,

Out of great love,

Thereby earning salvation;

Here you can find mercy,

Forgiveness of all sins.

5 To God [be] praise for His faithfulness,

Which I always find anew

In His meal;

Retreat, Devil, death, and sin!

God will give me comfort and life

Here and there eternally.

Dr. Johann Olearius, +1671.

The first half of the fifth verse ("To God [be] praise for His faithfulness, / Which I always find anew / In His meal") bears some resemblance to Lamentations 3:22-23:  "22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

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 "Auf meinen lieben Gott."  Here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch: