Jesaia, dem Propheten das geschah, daß er im Geist den Herren sitzen sah auf einem hohen Thron in hellem Glanz, seines Kleides Saum den Chor füllet ganz. Es stunden zween Seraph bei ihm daran, sechs Flügel sah er einen jeden han; mit zween verbargen sie ihr Antlitz klar, mit zween bedeckten sie die Füße gar und mit den andern zween sie flogen frei, gen ander riefen sie mit großem G'schrei: Heilig ist Gott, der Herre Zebaoth! Heilig ist Gott, der Herre Zebaoth! Heilig ist Gott, der Herre Zebaoth! Sein Ehr die ganze Welt erfüllet hat. Von dem G'schrei zittert Schwell und Balken gar, das Haus auch ganz voll Rauchs und Nebels war.
Dr. M. Luther, 1526.
My prose translation:
It happened to Isaiah the prophet That he, in the Spirit, saw the Lord sitting On a high throne in bright glory, The hem of His clothes completely filled the temple. Two seraphim stood with Him there; He saw [that] each one has six wings; With two they hid their faces clear; With two they completely covered their feet; And with the other two they flew freely; To one an-other they called with a great shout: Holy is God, the Lord of hosts! Holy is God, the Lord of hosts! Holy is God, the Lord of hosts! His glory has filled the whole world. From the shout even the threshold and beams shake; The house also was completely full of smoke and mist.
Dr. M. Luther, 1526.
Above the text in the Gesangbuch, there's the note "Jesaia Kapitel VI," indicating that the text comes from Isaiah 6.
This hymn appears as "Isaiah, Mighty Seer, in Days of Old" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#249), "Isaiah, Mighty Seer, in Spirit Soared" in Lutheran Worship (#214), and "Isaiah, Mighty Seer in Days of Old" in The Lutheran Service Book (#960). In all of these, and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to "its own melody." Here's the TLH arrangement, albeit without the tenor part (because it fell below standard guitar tuning):
3 Halleluja, Gott Heilger Geist, sei ewiglich von uns gepreist, durch den wir neu geboren, der uns mit Glauben ausgeziert, dem Bräutigem uns zugeführt, den Hochzeitstag erkoren. Eia, ei da! da ist Freude, da ist Weide, da ist Manna und ein ewig Hosianna.
4 Halleluja, Lob, Preis und Ehr
sei unserm Gott je mehr und mehr
und seinem großen Namen!
Stimmt an mit aller Himmelsschar
und singet nun und immerdar
mit Freuden: Amen, Amen!
Klinget, singet:
Heilig, heilig,
freilich, freilich,
heilig ist Gott,
unser Gott, der Herr Zebaoth!
Darmstädter Gesangbuch, 1698.
(B. Crasselius. ?)
My prose translation:
1 Hallelujah, praise, honor, and glory
Be to our God more and more
For all His works;
From eternity to eternity
May thanks, wisdom, might, and strength
Be prepared in us all for Him!
Sound, sing:
Holy, holy,
Surely, surely,
Holy is God,
Our God, the Lord of hosts!
2 Hallelujah, praise, glory, and might
Be brought also to the Lamb of God,
In Whom we are chosen,
Who has bought us with His blood,
With which [we are] sprinkled and baptized,
And [He] Himself is united with us.
Holy, blessed
Is the friendship
And community
That we have
And in which we are restored.
3 Hallelujah, God the Holy Gost, Be eternally praised by us, Through Whom we are born again, Who has adorned us with faith, Led us to the Bridgegroom Chosen the wedding day. Eia, ei da! There is joy; There is pasture land; There is manna and an eternal hosanna.
4 Hallelujah, praise, honor, and glory
Be to our God more and more
And to His great Name!
Join your voice to all the company of Heaven
And sing now and always
With joy: Amen, Amen!
Sound, sing:
Holy, holy,
Surely, surely,
Holy is God,
Our God, the Lord of hosts!
Darmstadt Songbook, 1698.
(B. Crasselius. ?)
I had to supply a few words in the second verse for it to make sense.
This hymn appears as "Hallelujah! Let Praises Ring" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#23) and as "Alleluia! Let Praises Ring" in Lutheran Worship (#437) and The Lutheran Service Book (#822). In all of these, and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to the tune "Wie schön leuchtet der M[orgenstern]." Here's the TLH arrangement:
And here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
Altdeutsche Bittfahrt-Litanei aus dem 15ten Jahrhundert.
Durch Dr. M. Luther "gebessert und christlich corrigiert", 1524.
My prose translation:
1 God the Father, stay with us
And let us not perish;
Make us free from all sin
And help us to die blessedly!
Preserve us from the devil;
Keep us in firm faith;
And let us build on You;
Let us trust You from the bottom of our hearts,
Wholly and completely;
With all true Christians
Fleeing the devil's cunning,
Getting by with the weapons of God.
Amen, Amen, may that be true,
So sing we: Hallelujah!
2 Jesus Christ, stay with us
And let us not perish;
Make us free from all sin
And help us to die blessedly!
Preserve us from the devil;
Keep us in firm faith;
And let us build on You;
Let us trust You from the bottom of our hearts,
Wholly and completely;
With all true Christians
Fleeing the devil's cunning,
Getting by with the weapons of God.
Amen, Amen, may that be true,
So sing we: Hallelujah!
3 Holy Ghost, stay with us
And let us not perish;
Make us free from all sin
And help us to die blessedly!
Preserve us from the devil;
Keep us in firm faith;
And let us build on You;
Let us trust You from the bottom of our hearts,
Wholly and completely;
With all true Christians
Fleeing the devil's cunning,
Getting by with the weapons of God.
Amen, Amen, may that be true,
So sing we: Hallelujah!
Old German Petition-Litany from the 15th century.
"Improved and Christianly corrected" by Dr. M. Luther, 1524.
Because the original text has only a series of commas, it's sometimes difficult to distinguish between clauses. At the end of each verse especially, I'm not sure I have everything divided correctly. The line "und auf dich laß uns bauen" (And let us build on You) recalls Matthew 7:24-27, and the "Waffen Gotts" (the weapons of God) may refer to the armor of God in Ephesians 6.
This hymn appears as "God the Father, Be Our Stay" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#247), "Triune God, Oh, Be Our Stay" in Lutheran Worship (#170), and "Triune God, Be Thou Our Stay" in The Lutheran Service Book (#505). In all of these, and as the Gesangbuch notes, it's sung to "its own tune." Here's the TLH arrangement:
And here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
I shuffled some elements around in the first and third verses to get smoother translations.
The lines "der mich erlöset hat / mit seinem theuren Blut" ("Who has redeemed me / With His precious blood") in the second verse seem to be drawn from 1 Peter 1:18-19: "18 denn ihr wißt, daß ihr nicht mit vergänglichen Silber oder Gold erlöst seid von eurem nichtigen Wandel nach der Väter Weise, 19 sondern mit dem teuren Blut Christi als eines unschuldigen und unbefleckten Lammes." (18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.) With this passage in mind, I translated "theuren" as "precious," although I would normally translate it as expensive (which doesn't quite fit this context anyway).
The lines "den alles lobet, was / in allen Lüften schwebet" in the third verse are actually something like "Whom everything praises that / In all airs soars," but I made some changes (principally flipping it from active to passive voice) and rendered this as "Who is praised by everything / That soars in the air."
I'm not sure how the first "Heilig" in the fifth verse functions. I understood it as a substantive and supplied "chorus" after it, but, like the following two "Heilig"s, it could be direct speech, something like "To Whom we now / With joy let sound the 'Holy.'" I felt this wasn't as easy to understand, though.
This hymn appears as "The Lord, My God, Be Praised" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#38), Lutheran Worship (#174), and The Lutheran Service Book (#794), although the LW and LSB versions omit the last verse. In all of these, and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to the tune "Nun danket alle Gott." Here's the TLH arrangement:
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." There are two arrangements of "Der du bist Drey in Einigkeit" in Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch, although there seem to be more notes than there are words in the above text, so I don't know if this is the same tune that the Gesangbuch indicates.
This is the first hymn in a new section: "Lieder am Trinitatisfest oder Lieder von der heiligen Dreieinigkeit" "Songs on Trinity Sunday or Songs of the Holy Trinity"
German text in the Gesangbuch:
1 All Ehr und Lob soll Gottes sein,
er ist und heißt der Höchst allein,
sein Zorn auf Erden hab ein End,
sein Fried und Gnad sich zu uns wend,
den Menschen das gefalle wohl,
dafür man herzlich danken soll.
2 Ach lieber Gott, dich loben wir
und preise dich mit ganzr Begier,
auch knieend wir anbeten dich,
dein Ehr wir rühmen stetiglich,
wir danken dir zu aller Zeit
um deine große Herrlichkeit.
3 Herr Gott, im Himmel Kön'g du bist,
ein Vater, der allmächtig ist.
du Gottes Sohn vom Vater bist,
einig geborn, Herr Jesu Christ.
Herr Gott, du zartes Gotteslamm,
ein Sohn aus Gott des Vaters Stamm.
4 Der du der Welt Sünd trägst allein,
wollst uns gnädig, barmherzig sein;
der du der Welt Sünd trägst allein,
laß dir unsre Bitt g'fällig sein;
der du gleich sitzst dem Vater dein,
wollst uns gnädig, barmherzig sein;
5 Du bist und bleibst heilig allein,
über alles der Herr allein,
der Allerhöchst allein du bist,
du lieber Heiland, Jesu Christ,
samt dem Vater und Heilgen Geist
in göttlich Majestät gleich.
6 Amen, das ist gewißlich wahr,
das bekennt aller Engel Schar,
und alle Welt, so weit und breit
dich lobt und ehret allezeit,
dich rühmt die ganze Christenheit
von Anfang bis in Ewigkeit.
Aus Lutheri Gesangbuch, 1545.
My prose translation:
1 All glory and praise should be God's;
He alone is and is called the Highest;
His rage on earth has an end;
His peace and mercy are directed to us;
They please the people well,
For which one should sincerely thank [Him].
2 Oh, dear God, we praise You
And exalt You with complete eagerness;
Kneeling, we also worship You;
We sing of Your glory constantly;
We thank You at all times
For Your great splendor.
3 Lord God, You are King in Heaven,
A Father Who is almighty.
You, God's Son, are of the Father
Only-begotten, Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord God, You gentle Lamb of God,
A Son from the lineage of God the Father.
4 You Who alone bear the sin of the world
Want to be merciful, compassionate to us;
You Who alone bear the sin of the world,
Let our petition be pleasing to You;
You Who sit equal to Your Father
Want to be merciful, compassionate to us.
5 You alone are and remain holy,
The Lord alone over everything;
You alone are the Most High,
You dear Savior, Jesus Christ,
Together with the Father and [the] Holy Ghost
Equal in divine majesty.
6 Amen, that is certainly true;
The company of all the angels confesses it
And all the world [confesses it], as far and wide
[As it] always praises and honors You;
All Christendom extols You
From beginning into eternity.
From Luther's Songbook, 1545.
"Stamm" in the third verse can mean merely "lineage" or "line" but also "tree trunk," so there may be a hint of Isaiah 11:1: "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit."
This hymn appears as "All Glory Be to God Alone" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#238), Lutheran Worship (#210), and The Lutheran Service Book (#948), although the LSB version omits the last verse. In all of these, and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to "its own tune." Here's the TLH arrangement:
I'm not very confident in my translation of the last few lines of the third verse. I understand the words individually, but I'm not sure how they're supposed to go together.
The structure of the fourth verse obscures this, but I think the antecedent of "whom" is the "property" from two lines before. Put an-other way, it's "My body and my soul are anointed as the Lord's true property, whom God protects."
I had to shuffle a couple lines near the end of the eleventh and twelfth verses to get smoother translations, and I couldn't find a translation for "anerbeut" in the twelfth.
This hymn appears (in an abbreviated form) as "Oh, Enter, Lord, Thy Temple" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#228). As the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to "its own tune."
Constantly to our neighbor with faithfulness of love
And practice it.
No envy,
No argument
Worries You;
Peace and love
Must soar;
Peace and joy You will give.
8 Grant that in pure holiness
We lead our lifetime;
Be the strength of our spirit
That henceforth we would be unconscious
Of vanity, the desire of the flesh,
And its dead works.
Stir,
Lead
Our minds
And beginning
From the earth
That we become heirs of Heaven.
M. Michael Schirmer, 1650.
(Verse 2 by an-other, circa 1660).
I had to shuffle some elements of the third verse to get a smoother English translation. In a previous hymn, I had trouble translating "geußt." Here, I translated it as "pours," although that's based more on the context than anything else.
I couldn't find a translation for "geflissen" in the fourth verse.
This hymn appears as "O Holy Spirit, Enter In" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#235), Lutheran Worship (#160), and The Lutheran Service Book (#913), although the LW and LSB versions are abbreviated (LW has verses 1, 4, and 6; LSB has verses 1, 2, and 6). In all of these, and as the Gesangbuch notes, the text is sung to the tune "Wie schön leuchtet der M[orgenstern]." Here's the TLH arrangement:
And here's an arrangement from Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch:
I had to shuffle some elements in the third verse to get a smoother translation. I understood "rein" as a post-positive adjective modifying "Glauben" ("pure faith") (in the same way that "mein" is a post-positive adjective modifying "Heiland" in the following line), but it could also be an adverb modifying "erkenne" ("purely recognize").
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 had to shuffle some parts of the third verse to get a smoother translation. While the specific German words are different, there's also a bit of an echo of Psalm 1:1 ("Wohl dem, der nicht wandelt im Rat der Gottlosen noch tritt auf den Weg der Sünder noch sitzt, wo die Spötter sitzen" "Blessed in the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers"). In both Psalm 1 and in this hymn text, walking according to wicked counsel is followed by a contrast ("sondern" "but rather").
For "vertritt" (from vertreten) in the fourth verse, my dictionary suggests "defend," "advocate" or "justify" among other words. The "Seufzen" ("sighs") in the same line reminded me of Romans 8:26, so I translated "vertritt" as "intercede" to echo that text. The same two words also appear in Romans 8:26 in my German New Testament: "Desgleichen hilft auch der Geist unserer Schwachheit auf. Denn wir wissen nicht, was wir beten sollen, wie sich's gebührt; sondern der Geist selbst vertritt uns mit unaussprechlichem Seufzen." ("Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.")
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, wie du willst, so." Here's the TLH arrangement:
"Schaff ein reines Herz in mir" in the first verse and "gib mir einen solchen Geist der neu... heißt" in the third are taken from Psalm 51:12 ("schaffe in mir, Gott, ein reines Herz und gib mir einen neuen, beständigen Geist"), although in English ("Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."), this is Psalm 51:10.
"Ungefärbte" in the second verse is literally something like "un-colored." Along with the more metaphorical translations "undistorted, unadulterated," my dictionary suggests "undyed." I translated it as "unstained."
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 "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir." Here's the TLH arrangement:
The only translations I could find for "verklagen" were more legal ("sue" and "take to court"). I translated it as "accuse."
This hymn appears as "We Now Implore God the Holy Ghost" in The Lutheran Hymnal (#231) and as "To God the Holy Spirit Let Us Pray" in Lutheran Worship (#155) and The Lutheran Service Book (#768). LW and LSB shuffle the order of the verses, though; the second verse becomes the fourth, and the third and fourth verses are moved up one. In all the hymnals, 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: