"Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu" (#214)

German text in the Gesangbuch:

1 Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu dir,

Herr Gott, erhör mein Rufen;

dein gnädig Ohren kehr zu mir

und meiner Bitt sie öffen.

Denn so du willt das sehen an,

was Sünd und Unrecht ist gethan,

wer kann, Herr, für dir bleiben?

2 Bei dir gilt nichts denn Gnad und Gunst,

die Sünde zu vergeben;

es ist doch unser Thun umsonst

auch in dem besten Leben.

Für dir niemand sich rühmen kann,

des muß dich fürchten jedermann

und deiner Gnaden leben.

3 Darum auf Gott will hoffen ich,

auf mein Verdienst nicht bauen;

auf ihn mein Herz soll lassen sich

und seiner Güte trauen,

die mir zusagt sein werthes Wort,

das ist mein Trost und treuer Hort,

des will ich allzeit harren.

4 Und ob es währt bis in die Nacht

und wieder an den Morgen,

doch soll mein Herz an Gottes Macht

verzweifeln nicht, noch sorgen.

So thu Israel rechter Art,

der aus dem Geist erzeuget ward,

und seines Gotts erharre.

5 Ob bei uns ist der Sünden viel,

bei Gott ist viel mehr Gnaden,

sein Hand zu helfen hat kein Ziel,

wie groß auch sei der Schaden.

Er ist allein der gute Hirt,

der Israel erlösen wird

aus seinen Sünden allen.

Ps. 130.  Dr. M. Luther, 1524.

My prose translation:

1 Out of deep distress I cry to You;

Lord God, hear my call;

Turn Your merciful ears to me,

And open them to my prayer.

For as You will see

What sin and unrighteousness have done,

Who can remain for You, Lord?

2 With You, nothing has worth except mercy and goodwill

To forgive sins;

It is, however, our free actions

Even in the best life.

No one can extol himself for You;

Therefore, everyone must fear You

And live in Your mercy.

3 Therefore in God will I hope,

Not build on my own heart;

In Him, my heart should leave itself

And trust in His goodness,

Which His precious word promised me,

[His word], which is my comfort and faithful treasure;

For it, I will always wait.

4 And if it would last until into the night

And again in the morning,

Yet my heart should not doubt

In God's might, nor worry.

Thus Israel does in a true manner,

[Israel] who was created out of the Spirit

And waits for its God.

5 Although there is much sin with us,

With God, there is much more mercy;

There is no end to His helping hand,

However great the damage is.

He alone is the Good Shepherd,

Who will redeem Israel

Out of all of its sins.

Psalm 130.  Dr. M. Luther, 1524.

I'm not sure I understood the second half of the first verse correctly (there seems to be a subject-verb disagreement in the line "was Sünd und Unrecht ist gethan"), but I was trying to work directly from the hymn text and not the Psalm it's based on.  Likewise most of the second verse.

I took some liberties with the fifth verse.  I gave the first two lines a chiastic structure to highlight the contrast between our sin and God's mercy and (actually by accident) emphasized the abundance of God's mercy through alliteration ("much more mercy").  The line "sein Hand zu helfen hat kein Ziel" is literally something like "His hand to help has no target," but I rendered this as "There is no end to His helping hand," which I think communicates the intended meaning.  "Er ist allein der gute Hirt" ("He alone is the Good Shepherd") refers to John 10.

This hymn appears as "From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#329) and The Lutheran Service Book (#607) and as "From Depths of Woe I Cry to You" in Lutheran Worship (#230).  In all of these, and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to "its own tune."  Here's the TLH arrangement:

And here are two arrangements from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch: