PAUL GERHARDT'S SPIRITUAL SONGS
LONDON:
PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
PAUL GERHARDT'S SPIRITUAL SONGS
TRANSLATED BY JOHN KELLY
ALEXANDER STRAHAN, PUBLISHER
56, LUDGATE HILL, LONDON
1867
CONTENTS.
PAGE [Preface] vii [Biographical Sketch] xi [Index of First Lines] xliii [Of the Holy Trinity] 1 [Advent] 5 [Birth of Christ—Christmas] 14 [Circumcision of Christ—New Year] 43 [The Sufferings of Christ—Good Friday] 49 [Resurrection of Christ—Easter] 71 [Whitsuntide] 78 [Repentance] 83 [Prayer and the Christian Life] 97 [Songs of the Cross and Consolation] 143 [Songs of Praise and Thanksgiving] 238 [Morning and Evening Songs] 270 [Miscellaneous] 289 [Of Death, the Last Day, and Eternal Life] 312
PREFACE.
This volume contains a large selection from Paul Gerhardt's “Spiritual Songs.” Every piece included is given in full, and is rendered into the metre of the original. A few of the following translations have appeared at various times during the last three years in different periodicals. They have been revised for this volume. Several of the hymns have been beautifully translated by others; and had the Translator been compiling a volume composed of selections from various authors, this might have formed a strong reason for not doing them again, but to have omitted them from a volume like the present would have been to give a selection from Gerhardt without some of his most celebrated productions; besides, in the other collections where they appear they are not all given in full, nor are they always rendered into the metre of the original, save in those published with the music attached. As far as the Translator is aware, the greater number of the following songs have never appeared in an English dress before.
Every one who has reflected on the subject, or attempted metrical translation, knows that literality is rarely attainable, that a certain measure of freedom must be used. The Translator has, however, striven to maintain fidelity to the sense of the original, and has occasionally somewhat sacrificed euphony to fidelity.
It is not to be expected that the people's poet of one nation and of a former age will become, through translation, the people's poet of another nation in a later generation. Individual translations may win for themselves a place side by side with the favourite songs of native growth. Instances of this will occur to every one familiar with our hymnology; but this can hardly happen in many cases. The translations on the principle of this volume may neither be uninteresting nor unedifying on that account, and it may be permitted to the Translator to trust that Paul Gerhardt in his present dress may be found stimulating and refreshing to many. Gerhardt was peculiarly a son of consolation. The Translator has found him so in the hour of trial, and he will feel repaid if he should become the cup-bearer of the rich wine of consolation contained in the hymns of the staunch old German Lutheran to any English Christian readers “who may be in any wise afflicted.”
The work of translation has been a labour of love. It has been the recreation of leisure hours from graver duties, and occasionally the occupation of days of unwilling, but unavoidable, total or partial freedom from professional engagements.
The edition used in this translation was Wackernagel's “Paulus Gerhardt's Geistliche Lieder getreu nach der bei seinen Lebzeiten erschienenen Ausgabe wiederabgedrückt. Neue Auflage, in Taschenformat.”—Stuttgart, Verlag von Samuel Gottlieb Liesching, 1855. This edition has been followed in the classification and titles both of the sections and hymns.
The principal sources whence the materials for the biographical sketch have been drawn are “Paul Gerhardt's Geistliche Andachten, &c., mit Anmerkungen, einer Geschichtlichen Einleitung und Urkunden herausgegaben, von Otto Schultze.”—Berlin, 1842. “Paul Gerhardt, nach seinem Leben und Wirken, aus zum Theile ungedrückten Nachrichten dargestellt,” von E. G. Roth, Pastor Primarius zu Luebben in der Niederlausitz.—Leipzig, 1829.
Feustking, Langbecker, Herzog, and others were also read, or more or less consulted.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
Paul Gerhardt was born in Graefenhainichen in Electoral Saxony, where his father, Christian Gerhardt, was Burgomaster. There is some doubt as to the precise year of his birth, owing to the destruction of the church books when the place was burnt by the Swedes on the 16th of April, 1637. According to some, the event took place in the year 1606; according to others, in 1607. The probability is in favour of the former date, for General Superintendent Goltlob Stolze, of Lübben,[1] says that he died, in the 70th year of his age, in the year 1676.
There is no information concerning his youth and education. He was still very young when the Thirty Years' War broke out, and his preparation for his profession and entrance on it took place in those troublous times, which may account for his late settlement in a ministerial sphere. In the year 1651, when in his forty-fifth year, we find him still only a candidate[2] of theology, and resident as a tutor in the family of Andreas Bertholdt, Chancery Advocate in Berlin, whose daughter he subsequently married. In that year a vacancy occurred in the ministry at Mittenwald, by the death of Probst Caspar Göde. The magistracy of that place applied to the clergy of Berlin to recommend a suitable man to them for the office. Paul Gerhardt was their unanimous choice. They recommended him as an honourable, estimable, and learned man, whose diligence and erudition were known, of good parts and incorrupt doctrine, of a peace-loving disposition and blameless Christian life, which qualities had procured for him the love of all classes, high and low, in Berlin. They furthermore added that he had frequently, at their friendly invitation, exercised the excellent gifts with which God had endowed him for the edification of the church, and had thereby deserved well of the people, and endeared himself to them. The clergy met together for consultation, and sent this recommendation to Mittenwald without the knowledge of Gerhardt; no higher testimony, therefore, could have been given to his character, learning, and abilities. He was accordingly appointed and set apart to his office in St. Nicholas' Church, Berlin, on the 18th of November, 1651, and entered before the close of the year on his duties. The church book which he kept from Jan. 1, 1652, till Dec. 31, 1656, bears testimony to his fidelity and conscientiousness in the discharge of this part of the duties of his office.
On February 11th, 1655, he was married to Anna Maria, daughter of the Chancery Advocate Bertholdt, in whose family he had been tutor. Before he left Mittenwald, his first child, a daughter, was born and died. There is a slab to her memory still standing in the church. Several circumstances in his position at Mittenwald conspired to make Gerhardt desire a change, and welcome a translation to Berlin when an opportunity offered. The relation between his colleague, Deacon Allborn, and himself was not friendly: Allborn had been passed over by the magistrates in favour of Gerhardt. The want of cordiality which prevailed in consequence must have been very trying to a man of Gerhardt's disposition. The income of the office was also small, and his circumstances consequently straitened. His ties and associations in Berlin would also be strong inducements of themselves to the acceptance of an appointment there.
The welcome relief came when the magistrates appointed him to the third Diaconate of St. Nicholas' Church, vacant by the death of Probst Peter Vher, and the consequent promotion of the other ministers. The spirit in which he received and accepted the invitation is shown in his letter to the magistrates on accepting their offer. He humbly and gratefully recognized the hand of God in the matter; and, owning his own weakness, earnestly solicited the prayers of the faithful. His letter is dated June 4, 1657, and in the register of St. Nicholas there is an entry of a baptism made by him on the 22nd of July. Consequently he must have entered on his duties soon after. Gerhardt, doubtless, joyfully returned to Berlin, anticipating a happy ministry there; but it was there his greatest trials awaited him. These trials arose out of the measures taken by Frederick William,[3] at that time Elector of Brandenburg, to allay the animosity prevailing between the adherents of the Lutheran and Reformed Confessions respectively. The feud was of long standing, and the efforts made to heal it had been hitherto in vain.
With the laudable desire of pacifying party strife, the Elector appointed a conference to be held between the Lutheran and Reformed clergy of Berlin and Cöln-on-the-Spree, under the direction of the Lord President, Baron Otto von Schwerin, on the Reformed side, and Chancellor Lorenz Christian von Somnitz, of Pomerania, and others, on the Lutheran side. The Lutheran clergy of the three chief churches in Berlin and Cöln, and the Reformed court preachers, Bartholomew Stosch and Johann Kunschius, the rector of the Joachimsthal Gymnasium, and the philologue Joh. Vorstius, constituted the membership of the conference. Kunschius, being soon after summoned to accompany the Elector to Königsberg, took no part in the conferences, and his place was filled by Gerson Vechner, of the Joachimsthal Gymnasium.
The object of the Conference, according to the Electoral Rescript, was to consider the following points:—
I. Whether in the Reformed Confessions, particularly in those named in the last Electoral Edict (January 2nd, 1662), viz.:—The Confessio Sigismundi, the Colloquium Lipsiacum, the Declaratio Thoruniensis,—anything is taught or affirmed, in teaching, believing, or affirming which any one is, judicio divino, accursed.
II. Whether anything is denied or passed over in silence, without acknowledging or practising which no one could be saved.
The Berlin clergy were reluctant to enter on the conference. They thought that as it concerned the Church of the Mark generally it should not be limited to Berlin and Cöln, and that it was a subject requiring mature consideration. At length, however, having protested in vain, they consented, but manifestly determined to concede nothing.
The conference met at various times during the years 1662-63. Gerhardt took no public part. The speaking devolved first on Probst Lilius, but soon afterwards, and for the remainder of the meetings, on Archdeacon Reinhardt. Gerhardt wrote a judgment unfavourable to the conferences, because he thought nothing but syncretism would come out of it—i.e., the confusion of the two confessions, into which the Rinteln theologians had permitted themselves to be seduced. By his votes he evinced his interest in all its proceedings.[4]
As might be surmised, from the state of party feeling, the conference was not only fruitless, but left matters in a worse condition than they were when it first met. Furthermore, at the last sitting but one, on the 22nd of May, 1663, the Berlin clergy incurred the high displeasure of the Elector, by defending and approving the conduct of their speaker Reinhardt on an occasion when he had given great offence to his Highness. It is thought, that at this time Gerhardt wrote his heart-stirring and beautiful hymn,—Ist Gott für mich, so trete? ([Is God for me, t'oppose me?]) The Elector, in consequence of the result of the conferences, issued an edict on the 16th of September, 1664, in substance the same but more stringent than the previous one. All were required to pledge themselves to obedience to this edict, whereas subscription to the former one had been required only from candidates at ordination. The edict required the clergy of both confessions, on pain of dismissal from office and other penalties, to refrain from vituperating each other, from deducing absurd and impious doctrines from each other's dogmas, and imputing them to their opponents. The edict also commanded that the ordinance of baptism should be administered without exorcism, when the parents desired it. The edict produced the most profound consternation. It was regarded as endangering religious liberty and the freedom of conscience. The Lutheran preachers felt themselves hampered by it in the discharge of their duties. Regarding, as they did, their symbolical books and ecclesiastical customs as sacred things, using their authorized formularies in the instruction of the people, and introducing the element of controversy largely into their ministrations, they felt themselves quite crippled in the discharge of their functions. It seemed to them that if they gave up their liberty in the pulpit, they would be necessitated to give up their customs also, and so violate their solemn obligations. They thought that compliance would imperil the Lutheran Church, the welfare of their congregations, and the peace of their own souls. Such was the view taken of the matter by many strict and conscientious men. We cannot help thinking that their view was mistaken and exaggerated, that these things were not endangered, that it was perfectly possible for them to have been loyal to their church, to have instructed their people faithfully in all the peculiar doctrines of their system, and yet have rendered obedience to the Electoral edict.
Many were actually conducting themselves both according to its letter and spirit, and yet were filled with those alarms which we must call groundless, at the very thought of binding themselves by a pledge to act as they were doing. While we hold them to have been mistaken, we cannot but respect their fidelity to their honest convictions, and their fortitude in accepting the sad consequences,—the severing of the ties that bound them to beloved flocks, the loss of office and emolument, and expatriation. The principles of toleration were not rightly understood, either by the Church or State at the time.
As we read the painful annals of the time, the thought often arises in the mind, how much better had it been if the evil which it was the laudable intention of the Elector to correct, had been permitted to work its own cure. There were doubtless many, who had given too much cause for complaint by the licence they allowed themselves in the pulpit in attacking their theological adversaries, but those who suffered most would probably be those, who, like Gerhardt, were not open to reproach, yet felt themselves constrained by conscience to refuse obedience to the Elector's command. Hundreds signed the edict. Some who had scruples yielded on account of their wives and children. There was a witticism current at the time which was put into the mouths of the pastors' wives:—
“Schreibt, Schreibt,
Lieber Herre, auf dass ihr bei der Pfarre bleibt.”
Which may be freely and roughly rendered,—
“Subscribe, subscribe, dear husband, do!
Lest you must from the parish go.”
Very many, however, were thrown into the greatest distress of mind, and could not obey and preserve a good conscience. The Berlin ministers sought the opinion of various theological faculties and churches on the crisis.
The Elector, ignorant of the trouble given to the consciences of many worthy men, viewed this conduct on their part as self-willed, and an unwarrantable opposition to what appeared to him a needful regulation. He ordered Lilius and Reinhardt to be removed from office, if they delayed to subscribe, and gave the others time for consideration. The two former, failing to obey, were deposed.
Gerhardt, with the three others who were threatened, turned to the magistracy, and solicited their good offices in intercession with the Elector. The magistrates represented to the Elector that the Berlin clergy had observed the edict, but that they objected to subscription; they begged the Elector not to enforce subscription on those already in office, as it would tend to compromise them with the people and foreign churches; they furthermore stated, that obedience rests not so much in subscription and in the letter, as in the mind and in deed. They begged him to reinstate Lilius and Reinhardt in office.
The Berlin clergy presented a petition, substantially to the same effect, at the same time. They stated, in addition, that the Reformed clergy had not been compelled to sign. The only result of this petition was, that the Reformed were forthwith commanded to subscribe the edict.
The ministers, in another document, set forth their scruples at large, but thereby only incurred the further displeasure of the Elector. The deposition of Lilius and Reinhardt, however, caused such an uproar, that the Elector issued a declaration on May 4, 1665, setting forth the seasons of his procedure. Further efforts were made, and the result was, that time was allowed to Lilius to reconsider his refusal, and in the beginning of the following year he subscribed. On account of his compliance, he became the object of the most bitter and galling attacks, and did not long survive. The last days of the old man were embittered by the treatment he received at the hands of zealous, but uncharitable Lutherans, and death was doubtless a welcome event to him. In the case of Reinhardt, the result was only a more severe sentence. He was banished from the town, forbidden to maintain any correspondence with it, and the magistrates were ordered to fill up the vacancy caused by his removal. He removed to Leipzig, where he was chosen to the pastorate of St. Nicholas' Church, and was subsequently made Professor of Theology, which office he held till his death, in 1669.
Paul Gerhardt was the next minister who was called on to subscribe the edict. The Elector was convinced that, next to Reinhardt, he was the most vehement opponent of peace between the Lutheran and Reformed. When Reinhardt was reproached in the Consistory with inciting his colleagues to resistance, Gerhardt said, with some warmth, that it was not so, that he had encouraged Reinhardt when he showed a disposition to yield; he was older in years, and had been longer in office, and he should be sorry to follow others. It was also said, that during an illness which befell him, he sent for his colleagues, and earnestly warned them not to subscribe the bond pledging them to observance of the edict. These things were, at least, carried to the Elector, and prejudiced him against Gerhardt. On the same day that Lilius was reinstated in office, Gerhardt was cited to appear before the Consistory (Feb. 6th, 1666), and called upon to sign. Eight days were allowed him for consideration, and in the first instance he accepted the delay, but before the rising of the same session, he declared that he had had ample time for consideration, and that he could not change his mind, whereupon he was deposed from office, in the name of the Elector.
Great as was the agitation produced in the public mind by the deposition of Lilius and Reinhardt, the sensation occasioned by Gerhardt's was much more profound. He was the most beloved, as well as most celebrated, of all the ministers. Measures were immediately taken by the community in his favour. The citizens and the guilds of the cloth-makers, bakers, butchers, tailors, and pewterers, united to petition the magistrates in favour of exemption for Gerhardt. They said that every one knew that he had never spoken against the faith and the co-religionists of the Elector, much less vituperated them, but that he had sought to lead every one to true Christianity, and had never attacked any one in word or deed.
The magistrates, on presenting this representation to the Elector, on the 13th of February, added:—“He has not thought of the Reformed, much less insulted them; he has maintained a blameless walk, giving offence to no one, so much so, that his Highness, without any suspicion, had admitted his songs into the hymn-book for the Mark, in 1658. Should a man so pious, so intellectual, so celebrated in many lands, leave the town, it was to be feared that grave thoughts would be excited in the minds of foreigners, and that God would visit them for it. If he refused subscription, it would not be imputed to disobedience, but to scruples of conscience, seeing that before the publication of the edict he had fulfilled its object by his modest behaviour.” The Prince, in reply, stated that he had sufficient grounds for enforcing the provisions of the edict, and that Gerhardt must comply with them, or bear the penalty.
A second petition was got up in his favour, in which, in addition to the above guilds, the carpenters, cutlers, armourers, and coppersmiths joined. As this petition also was unfavourably received, the States of the Mark took up the cause of the deposed. “The dismissal of Gerhardt,” they informed the Elector, on the 27th of July, 1666, “excited great fear in the country for religion, for this man is recognized by the adherents of both confessions as a pious, exemplary, and, without doubt, a peace-loving theologian, against whom no charge can be brought save his refusal to subscribe the edicts.”
The Elector yielded at length. After his return from Cleve, he summoned the magistrates to appear before him, on January 9th, 1667, at three o'clock in the afternoon; and through the Lord President, Otto von Schwerin, in presence of several privy councillors, made the desired, but hardly expected announcement, that as there was no complaint against Paul Gerhardt, save that he refused to subscribe the edicts, his Electoral Highness must believe that he has misunderstood the purport of them; he, therefore, restored him to his office, and absolved him from the necessity of subscription.
Immediately after the audience, the Elector sent a private secretary to Gerhardt, to convey the intelligence to him, and to say at the same time that his Highness cherished the confident expectation that he would act conformably to the edicts, without subscription, and continue to manifest his known moderation. Next day the magistrates, delighted with the grace of the Prince, hastened to inform Gerhardt of his unconditional restoration to office, and on the 12th of January, the joyous event was announced in the Sunday Mercury, a weekly paper very much read in Berlin at that time. But the private message from the Elector threw Gerhardt into fresh distress of mind. He felt hampered by the condition still attached to his restoration to office, and he applied to the magistrates to aid him in discovering the exact terms of his restoration. In his letter to the magistrates, he expressed his earnest desire to spend the remainder of his life among his flock, if he could do so with a good conscience, saying how wretched a thing it was to hold office with an uneasy conscience. He knew the anxieties incident to the faithful discharge of the pastoral office, and said, that he would be the most wretched man on earth if to them were added the reproaches of a guilty conscience. His desire was not in the very least to appear to depart from his previous mode of teaching, and from the customs of his church, which, as a Lutheran clergyman, he had sworn to maintain. Referring to the moderation which had been so commended in him, he said, “I have never understood it, and never can understand it otherwise, than that I shall be permitted to remain faithful to my Lutheran confessions of faith, and especially to the ‘Formula Concordiae,' and that I am not required to regard any of them, or permit others to regard any one of them, as a dishonourable, injurious, or blasphemous book.”
The magistrates sent him a copy of the decree reinstating him in office, hoping thereby to remove his scruples. He made a further representation to the magistrates on the 26th of January, 1667. In this he pointed out how the decree ascribed his refusal to a misunderstanding of the edicts, and that, though absolved from subscription, he was bound by them still; that he could only understand the edicts literally; that he could not re-enter his office with any other conscience than he had first entered it with; he could not inflict on himself the wound on re-entrance into office which he had, in the strength of the Holy Ghost, patiently and silently endured a year's suspension to avoid; that if his conscience permitted him to yield obedience he would subscribe the edicts, “for,” said he, “what I can do with a good conscience, I can easily consent and promise to do.” He begged them to intercede for him with the Prince, that he might be absolved from obedience to the edicts on resuming office. In everything else he promised all possible hearty and humble obedience. He begged that he might be permitted to adhere to his Lutheran Confessions and “Formula Concordiae;” that he might so instruct his flock, and pledge himself to no other moderation than was rooted in these confessions. Only on these terms, he said, could he consent to preach. Gerhardt also wrote to the Elector to the same effect.
The magistrates resolved once more to apply to the Elector. They briefly stated the case, and begged his Highness to relieve Gerhardt's scruples. The Elector, on the very same day, returned their statement to the magistrates, with these words written on the margin:—“If the preacher, Paul Gerhardt, will not resume the office so graciously vouchsafed to him again, by his Serene Electoral Highness, for which he will have to answer to the Most High God, let the magistrates of Berlin, at their earliest convenience, invite some other able and peace-loving persons to preach as candidates; but let them not call any one until they have first humbly made known his qualifications to his Serene Highness.—Cöhl-on-the-Spree, Feb. 4th, 1667.—(Signed) Friederich Wilhelm.”
Gerhardt resigned his office, and so ended his ministry in Berlin. So great was the love his former flock bore to him that they still continued to contribute to his support.
It is commonly believed, that after his deposition in Berlin, he was invited to Saxe-Merseberg by Duke Christian, and that, on refusing the offer, the Duke granted him a pension. Otto Schultze, one of his biographers, and seemingly the most careful and thorough of them, says that he was unable to find any certain testimony to either of these facts. It seems strange that he should refuse to go to Saxe-Merseberg, when, a short time after, he unhesitatingly accepted an invitation from the magistrates of Lübben, which was in the territories of Duke Christian; and in his correspondence with the magistrates of Lübben there is no reference to such an invitation from the Duke. The fact of his refusal, in the first instance, and his ready acceptance in the second, might be accounted for, however, by the death of his wife, which took place in March, 1668, whereby one very strong tie that bound him to Berlin was severed.
A story is told about this period of his life, and was for a long time received as an undoubted fact, which is so romantic that we could almost wish it were true. It is said, that having no certain dwelling-place, he set out with his wife and family to return to his fatherland, Electoral Saxony; that one evening his wife was sitting in the hotel where they were staying for the night, bemoaning her hard lot. Gerhardt in vain endeavoured to console her, and quoted Psalm xxxvii. 5, to her. Touched by the words himself, he went and sat down on a garden seat and wrote the song,
“[Commit whatever grieves thee],” &c.,
and came and read it to his wife, who was immediately comforted. Later in the evening the Duke of Saxe-Merseberg's messengers arrived, bearing a letter to Gerhardt, offering him a pension, till he was otherwise provided for. They were glad when they found out who Gerhardt was, and handed him the letter, which he in turn handed to his wife, saying, “Did I not tell you to commit your ways unto the Lord?” Unfortunately for this story, the hymn in question had been published in 1666, and the story is otherwise inconsistent with the known facts of his history.[5] The story is equally groundless, that this hymn was the means of procuring him an invitation from the Elector to return to Berlin.
The magistrates of Lübben, hearing of him, invited him to preach there, as a candidate for the vacant archdiaconate. He went thither and preached before them on October 14th, 1668. The next day he was informed as to the income, inspected the official residence, expressed his willingness to accept the appointment, and was assured that it would be offered to him. He then returned to Berlin. He did not take up his residence in Lübben until June in the following year, owing partly to domestic affliction, and partly to the vexatious delay in preparing his official house for his reception, arising from the dilatoriness and indifference of the magistrates in the matter. He had expressed hope, when he saw the house, which was unfit for any minister to live in, and not large enough for his family, that a more convenient one might be provided. He was assured that a deacon's house adjoining wonld be added to it. A friend visited Lübben some time after his appointment, and the work was not begun, nor even at a later period, when he himself went over. No sympathy was manifested towards him. He was asked if he wished to recede from his promise, and whether he wished a house pro dignitate; and was told that they did not know he had so large a household, and that what had been good enough before might be good enough still. All this must have been exceedingly annoying and humiliating to Gerhardt. Other points were raised with reference to the details of his ministerial duties; but leaving them for friendly settlement after his entrance on his office, he simply claimed that a house, not pro dignitate, but pro necessitate, should be prepared. A full statement of the case, addressed by him to the Government President, Alex. von Hoymb, at length produced the desired effect.
He took the oath of religion before the Consistory on the 6th of June, and entered on the duties of his office on the third Sunday in Trinity. Gerhardt, in these transactions, appears to great advantage, in the reasonableness of his demands, and the manner he dealt with the ungenerous imputations made upon his motives and character. He would have removed to Lübben sooner had there been a suitable house to be got; but there was none. He laid stress, in his correspondence, on the want of a study in the Archdeacon's house, and insisted on the necessity of having a place for meditation and prayer, if he was to discharge his duties aright.
There are no written records concerning his work in Lübben. Dim tradition says, that he was often melancholy, that in these moods he would betake himself to the church, and kneeling before the crucifix, seek strength in fervent prayer. Feustking (who was almost his contemporary), General Superintendent in Anhalt-Zerbst, says, in the preface to his edition of his songs,—“Along with his piety Gerhardt had the devil, the false world, and the enemies of religion continually on his neck, with which he had to contend on the right and on the left, day and night. He also prayed very diligently, as earnestly as one pleads with his father. At the close of his life he had pious Arndt's ‘Prayer and Paradise Garden' continually before him, and so highly did he esteem it, that he wrote several hymns on its contents.”
Many of Gerhardt's songs appeared in the first instance in various hymn-hooks. The first complete edition was published by J. E. Ebeling, Director of Music in the chief church in Berlin, in ten folio parts, each containing twelve songs, in 1666-67. It seems that Gerhardt never derived any pecuniary advantage from their publication. Tradition says, that after a warm conflict with the enemy he wrote the hymn “[Wach auf mein Herz und Singe],” in proof of which the second verse is quoted. But he wrote no song after leaving Berlin. Schultze mentions that there is no song bearing his name that had not been printed in 1667.
His will, and the rules of life, written before his death, for his son Paul Friedrich, are worthy of quotation, revealing as they do the piety, simplicity, purity, integrity, and also the narrowness of his character.[6] After expressing his gratitude to God for all the goodness and truth shown him from his mother's womb till that hour (he had then reached his seventieth year), his hope of speedy deliverance from this life and entrance into a better, and praying God when his time came to take his soul into His Fatherly hands and grant his body quiet rest till the last day, when he should be reunited with those gone before as well as those left behind, and behold Jesus face to face, in whom he had believed though he had not seen Him, he goes on to say:—
“To my only son I leave few earthly possessions, but an honourable name, of which he will have no special reason to be ashamed.
“My son knows, that from tender infancy I gave him to the Lord my God as His own, that he should be a servant and preacher of His Holy Word. Let it be so, and let him not turn aside because he may have few good days therein, for God knows how to compensate for outward trial by inward gladness of heart and joy in the Holy Ghost. Study sacred theology in pure schools and incorrupt universities, and beware of Syncretists, for they seek the things of time, and are faithful neither to God nor man. In thine ordinary life, follow not bad company, but the will and commandment of thy God. In particular
“1. Do nothing evil in the hope that it will remain secret,
‘For nothing can so small be spun
That it comes not to the sun.'
“2. Never grow angry out of thine office and calling.
“If thou findest that anger hath inflamed thee, be perfectly silent, and do not utter a word until thou hast first repeated to thyself the Ten Commandments and the Christian Creed.
“3. Be ashamed of sinful, fleshly lusts; and when thou comest to years that thou canst marry, do so seeking direction from God, and the good counsel of pious, faithful, and judicious persons.
“4. Do people good whether they can requite you or not, for what men cannot requite the Creator of Heaven and earth has long ago requited, in that He created thee, hath given thee His dear Son, and in holy baptism hath received and adopted thee as His son and heir.
“5. Flee covetousness like hell. Be content with what thou hast acquired with honour and a good conscience, though it may not be too much. Should God grant thee more, pray Him to preserve thee from any hurtful misuse of temporal possessions.
Summa; pray diligently, study something honourable, live peacefully, serve honestly, and remain steadfastly in thy faith and confession. So wilt thou one day die and leave this world willingly, gladly, blessedly! Amen.”
He died on the 7th of June, 1676, as the Lübben church-book testifies, after he had been seven years in Lübben and twenty-five in the ministry.
It is said, that he died with the words of one of his own hymns on his lips. “Death can never kill us even,” from verse 8th of the Christian Song of Joy.
“[Why should sorrow ever grieve me?]”
He is buried in the chief church, probably near the altar, though the precise spot cannot be determined. A portrait in oil, hung up in the church, testifies to the estimation in which he was held by the congregation, for besides his, there are only the portraits of a few General Superintendents, and none of any of his predecessors in office.
Towards the side, at the foot of the picture are the words:—
“Theologus in cribro Satanae versatus.”[7]
And under that again, the following epigram written by J. Wernsdorf:—
“Sculpta quidem Pauli, viva est atque imago Gerhardti,
Cujus in ore, fides, spes, amor usque fuit.
Hic docuit nostris Assaph redivivus in oris
Et cecinit laudes, Christe benigne, tuas.
Spiritus aethereis veniet tibi sedibus hospes,
Haec ubi saepe canes Carmina Sacra Deo.”[8]
It is not known what became of his son, and nothing is known of his posterity.
The editor of the Selection of Gerhardt's Songs—Bremen, 1817—states in his preface: “There is at present living in Bremen a great-granddaughter of Gerhardt's, eighty-one years of age, a simple Christian soul. Her father was, as she says, an advocate in Oldenburg; of her ancestor the poet she has neither written nor oral information.”
There are three of Gerhardt's sermons extant in the library of the gymnasium of the Grey Cloister in Berlin; and the titles and texts of three more are known. They are all funeral sermons. We would close this notice of the life of Gerhardt with a few extracts from Wackernagel's preface to his edition of Gerhardt's Spiritual Songs.
“Paul Gerhardt,” he says, “may be viewed in a one-sided manner, from two quite opposite points of view, in relation to the spiritual contents of his songs. His poems appear to mirror the transition character of his age, when the personal life of the feelings, the subjective tendency, began to assert itself beside the Christian consciousness of the congregation. He may therefore be regarded as the last and the most perfect of those poets who were grounded in the ecclesiastico-confessional faith, and with him the line of the strict ecclesiastical poets closes. He may also be regarded as beginning the line of those in whose songs, praise and adoration of the revealed God recede before the expression of the feelings that master the soul in contemplating its relation to God revealing Himself to it as its salvation. The true view is, that Gerhardt stood in the fore front of his age and united in himself in the most lively manner both tendencies. Though he did not write so expressly for the congregation, so immediately in the interest of the church, as Luther, but from personal necessity, in personal temptations, yet the pulsation of his inner life was the common ecclesiastical confession; and his experiences, however personal they might be, were only waves of the flood of baptism and life which every other member of the church breathed and shared. His sorrow, and God's love, the soul's questions, and God's answers in him and in his songs, become one—so one as can only be when the experience is not only true for the individual, but also for the people and the church.
“For this reason Paul Gerhardt's are people's songs. They remind us sometimes of Friedrich Spee; above all, the glorious song,
‘[Go forth, my heart, and seek delight.]'
But how much richer and more many-sided is the Evangelical than the Catholic poet, and at the same time better known and more familiar to the people! The Catholic congregations know nothing now of Friedrich Spee; but where is the Evangelical congregation that does not know Paul Gerhardt; in what churches are not his holy songs heard? What the pious Catherine Zell of Strasburg says of beautiful spiritual songs in her hymn-book is true of him:—‘The journeyman mechanic at his work, the servant-maid washing her dishes, the ploughman and vine-dresser in the fields, the mother by her weeping infant in the cradle, sing them.' High and low, poor and rich alike, find them equally consoling, equally edifying; in all stations, among young and old, there are examples to be found where some song of Gerhardt at particular periods in the history of the inner life was engraven for ever on the soul, and subsequently became the centre point of the dearest reminiscences. Winckleman's favourite song, even in Italy, after he had passed over to the Catholic Church, was,
‘[I sing to thee with heart and mouth.]'
And once when he ordered a song-book from Germany, he was vexed, yea, exasperated, when he found that it did not contain this song.
“Schiller's mother nurtured the young mind of her son with the songs of our poet, with whom the song
‘[Now spread are evening shadows]'
was a favourite,—the same song concerning which Johann Falk narrates that a beggar boy was preserved amid many temptations by singing to himself the stanza commencing
“Books devoted to the exposition of spiritual songs, or to facts concerning pious persons, relate how many of Gerhardt's hymns have quickened many hearts in heavy affliction and anxiety, and have quietly composed their minds in the hour of death, and led them to peace....
“Above all, it was the mothers who fostered the domestic spiritual song, and handed down the old songs to the new generation. The noble picture of such a mother, even of his own, is sketched by T. F. Hippel, and the words in which she described the peculiarity of the poet to her son serve to portray herself as well as Gerhardt:—
“‘After Luther, I must confess, I know no better hymn-poet than Gerhardt. He, Rist, and Dach form a trefoil, but the chosen instrument, Luther, was the root. Gerhardt wrote during the ringing of the church bells, so to speak. A certain impressiveness, a certain sorrowfulness, a certain fervour, were peculiar to him; he was a guest on earth, and everywhere in his one hundred and twenty-three songs sunflowers are sown. This flower ever turns to the sun, so does Gerhardt to a blessed eternity.'
“The love with which the contemporaries of Gerhardt, as far as the bell of an evangelical church was heard, turned to his song, has only one precedent—the veneration, the devotion, with which Luther's songs were regarded. The songs of no other poet, either before or since, have ever produced so mighty an effect or obtained so speedy and so wide a circulation.”
[1]Wetzlar's “Analecta Hymnica.”
[2]One qualified and authorized to preach, but not ordained, ordination taking place only when the candidate is placed over a congregation as a pastor.
[3]The Elector Sigismund had gone over to the Reformed Confession in 1613, and the position of the Lutherans and Reformed in the Mark in relation to the court had since been reversed.
[4]Wackernagel says, that it was his official duty to sketch the writings in attack and defence, that they display great tact and acuteness, and furnish a new proof that critical acumen may be combined with a poetical temperament.
[5]Since writing this sketch, the writer observes that currency has been given to this apocryphal story in a recent work, “Our Hymns: their Authors and their Origin. By the Rev. Josiah Miller.”
[6]In the reference to the Syncretists.
[7]A Theologian experienced in the sieve of Satan.
A graven, indeed, yet living image of Paul Gerhardt,
In whose mouth, faith, hope, love have ever been.
Here Asaph returned to life, taught in our coasts, and sang thy praises, O Gracious Saviour!
The Spirit will come to thee as a guest, from the heavenly seats wherever thou shalt sing these Sacred Songs to God.
INDEX OF FIRST LINES.
PAGE [A Lamb bears all its guilt away] 49 [A rest here have I never] 316 [After clouds we see the sun] 261 [Ah! faithful God, compass'nate heart] 169 [Ah! lovely innocence, how evil art thou deem'd] 160 [Awake, my heart! be singing] 276 [Be glad, my heart! now fear no more] 329 [Be joyful all, both far and near] 75 [Be thou contented! aye relying] 202 [Behold! behold! what wonder's here!] 14 [Bless'd is he the Lord who loveth] 132 [Bless'd is he who never taketh] 130 [By John was seen a wondrous sight] 347 [Come, and Christ the Lord be praising] 24 [Commit whatever grieves thee] 225 [Creator, Father, Prince of might!] 109 [Father of mercies! God most high] 175 [For Thee, Lord, pants my longing heart] 88 [Full of wonder, full of art] 302 [Full often as I meditate] 143 [Go forth, my heart, and seek delight] 289 [How can it be, my highest Light!] 259 [How heavy is the burden made] 246 [How long, Lord, in forgetfulness] 235 [I have deserv'd it, cease to oppose] 165 [I into God's own heart and mind] 219 [Immanuel! to Thee we sing] 37 [In grateful songs your voices raise] 238 [In prayer your voices raise ye] 45 [Is God for me? t'oppose me] 208 [Jesus! Thou, my dearest Brother] 112 [Let not such a thought e'er pain thee] 83 [Look up to thy God again] 195 [Lord God! Thou art for evermore] 312 [Lord, lend a gracious ear] 92 [Lord, Thou my heart dost search and try] 138 [Lord! to Thee alone I raise] 135 [Mine art Thou still, and mine shalt be] 333 [My face, why shouldst thou troubled be] 322 [My God! my works and all I do] 102 [My heart! the seven words hear now] 63 [Now at the manger here I stand] 32 [Now gone is all the rain] 298 [Now spread are evening's shadows] 285 [Now with joy my heart is bounding] 18 [O Father! send Thy Spirit down] 78 [O God! from Thee doth wisdom flow] 97 [O God, my Father! thanks to Thee] 117 [O God! who dost Heaven's sceptre wield] 294 [O Jesus Christ! my fairest Light] 122 [O Lord! I sing with mouth and heart] 255 [O my soul, why dost thou grieve] 155 [Oh! bleeding head, and wounded] 59 [Oh, Jesus Christ! how bright and fair] 307 [On thy bier how calm thou'rt sleeping] 338 [Praise God! for forth hath sounded] 251 [Praise ye Jehovah] 279 [Say with what salutations] 10 [Scarce tongue can speak, ne'er human ken] 1 [See, world! thy Life assailèd] 54 [Shall I not my God be praising] 240 [The daylight disappeareth] 282 [The golden morning, joy her adorning] 270 [The Lord, the earth who ruleth] 266 [The time is very near] 341 [Thou art but man, to thee 'tis known] 148 [Thou must not altogether be] 230 [Thy manger is my paradise] 26 ['Tis patience must support you] 184 [Twofold, Father! is my pray'r] 107 [Up! up! my heart with gladness] 71 [What pleaseth God, my faithful child] 189 [Why should sorrow ever grieve me] 214 [Why should they such pain e'er give Thee] 43 [Why without, then, art Thou staying] 5
SPIRITUAL SONGS
Of the Holy Trinity.
Scarce tongue can speak, ne'er human ken
The myst'ry could discover,
That God, from His high throne to men
Makes known the world all over:
That He alone is King above
All other gods whatever,
Great, mighty, faithful, full of love,
His saints doth aye deliver,
One substance but three persons!
God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
The name thrice holy given,
On earth by all the ransom'd host,
And by the hosts of heaven.
He's Abraham's and Isaac's God,
And Jacob's whom He knoweth,
The Lord of Hosts, who every good
Both night and day bestoweth,
Who only doeth wonders!
His Son, from all eternity
Begotten hath the Father,
Who came as man, when God's decree
Had fix'd, His sheep to gather.
The Holy Ghost eternally,
While all Their glory sharing,
Their honour, pow'r, and majesty,
A crown all equal wearing,
Proceeds from Son and Father!
Be glad, my heart! thy portion see,
Thy rich unequall'd treasure,
He is thy Friend, supply will He
Thy needs with bounteous measure.
Who made thee in His image fair
Thy load of guilt removeth,
Gives thee His chosen's faith to share,
Thy Joy in sorrow proveth,
Through His own word most holy.
Bestir thyself, with all thy heart
Thy God to know endeavour:
Sweet rest such knowledge will impart,
Thy soul with pure love ever
Will cause to glow, and nourish thee
For life and joy in heaven;
Things heard of only here, shall be
To open sight there given,
By God to His dear children.
Woe! woe! to the besotted crew
In wilful blindness living,
Rejecting God, the honour due
To Him, to creatures giving.
The time will come when close shall He
'Gainst them the door of heaven;
Who God drive from them here, shall be
By Him hereafter driven,
From His high throne most holy!
O Prince of might! Thy mercy show,
Thou God of earth and heaven,
To every sinner here below
May saving grace be given!
Bring back Thy sheep who go astray,
And blinded eyes enlighten,
And turn Thou every thing away
That wickedly might frighten
Thine own, whose faith is feeble.
Grant this, that we Thy people may
All reach the heav'nly portals,
And in Thy kingdom sing for aye,
'Mid all the bless'd immortals:
That Thou above art King alone
All other gods high over,
The Father, Son, and Spirit, One,
Thy people's Shield and Cover,
One substance but three persons!
Advent.
WHY WITHOUT, THEN, ART THOU STAYING?
Why without, then, art Thou staying,
Blessed of the Lord from far?
Enter now, no more delaying,
Let it please Thee—Thou, my Star!
Thou, my Jesus, Friend indeed,
Helper in the hour of need!
Saviour! ease the wounds that pain me,
Let Thy comforts rich sustain me.
Lord, my wounds are pain and sorrow,
That the hammer of the law
With its terrors, night and morrow,
Causeth, filling me with awe.
Oh! the dreadful thunder peals
When His anger God reveals,
All my blood to tingle making,
And my heart's foundation shaking!
Then with wiles the great deceiver
Would to me all grace deny,
Saying, in the hell for ever
That torments him, I must be.
But I suffer sorer pangs,
For with poison'd serpent fangs
Doth my conscience gnawing, tearing,
Stir remorse beyond all bearing.
Do I seek my woe to soften,
And to lessen pain desire,
With the world commingling often,
Sink I quite into the mire.
There is comfort that deceives,
Joy that by my mischance lives,
Helpers there who only grieve me,
Friends who only mock and leave me.
Nothing in the world endureth,
Or the soul's thirst can allay;
Fleeting is the rank that lureth.
Have I riches? What are they
Better than small dust of earth?
Have I pleasure? What's it worth?
What to-day my heart doth gladden,
That to-morrow doth not sadden?
Comfort, joy, in boundless measure,
Stor'd, Lord Jesus, are in Thee,
Pastures of unfading pleasure,
Where we roam and feast so free.
Light of joy! illumine me
Ere my heart quite broken be!
Jesus, let mine eyes behold Thee;
Lord, refresh me and uphold me!
Heart, rejoice, for He doth hear thee,
And He visits thee again;
Now thy Saviour draweth near thee,
Bid Him gladsome welcome then,
And prepare thee for thy guest,
Enter thou into His rest,
While with open heart receiving,
Tell Him all that is thee grieving.
Lo! the things that seem'd to hinder
How they all fall out for good.
Hark! how He in accents tender
Comforts thee in gracious mood.
Ceas'd the dragon has to roar,
Scheming, raging, now no more.
His advantages forsake him,
He must to th' abyss betake him.
Now thy life is calm and even,
All thy heart's desire is thine;
Christ Himself to thee hath given
All He hath—exhaustless mine!
His grace is thy fairest crown,
Thou His seat art and His throne;
With Himself as one He makes thee,
Freely to His bosom takes thee.
God His golden-curtain'd Heaven
Spreadeth to encompass thee!
Lest thou shouldst away be driven
By thy raging enemy.
Angel hosts keep watch and ward
At thy side and are thy guard;
Lest in journeys aught should hurt thee,
By the way their arms support thee.
All the ill thou hast done ever
It is now remitted quite;
God's love thee doth now deliver
From sin's tyrant pow'r and might.
Christ the Prince hath won the day,
Rise against thee what ill may,
He, to purest good converting,
Robbeth of the pow'r of hurting.
All for thine advantage proveth,
E'en what hurtful may appear.
Christ accepteth thee and loveth,
And His thoughts are all sincere.
Thou in turn but faithful be,
Then shall certainly by thee,
With the angel hosts in Heaven,
Thanks and praise for aye be given.
SAY WITH WHAT SALUTATIONS?
Say with what salutations
Shall I Thine advent greet?
Desire of all the nations,
My Joy and Succour meet!
O Jesus! Jesus! lead me
On by Thy blessèd light;
What's Thy delight thus guide me
To understand aright.
With palms doth Zion meet Thee,
Spreads branches in the way;
To raise my soul to greet Thee
Glad psalms I'll sing to-day.
My heart shall blossom ever,
O'erflow with praises new,
And from Thy name shall never
Withhold the honour due.
What hast Thou e'er neglected
For my good here below?
When heart and soul dejected,
Were sunk in deepest woe,
When from Thy presence hidden,
Where peace and pleasure are,
Thou camest, and hast bidden
Me joy again, my Star!
In bitter bondage lying,
Thou com'st and sett'st me free;
'Neath scorn and shame when sighing,
Thou com'st and raisest me.
Thy grace high honour gives me,
Abundance doth bestow,
That wastes not, nor deceives me
As earthly riches do.
No other impulse led Thee
To leave Thy throne above,
Upon Thine errand sped Thee,
But world-embracing love!
A love that deeply feeleth
The wants and woes of men,
No tongue its fulness telleth,
It passeth human ken.
In thy heart be this written,
Thou much afflicted band!
Who evermore art smitten
With griefs on every hand.
Fear not! let nothing grieve thee,
For help is at thy door,
He'll consolation give thee,
Oil in thy wounds will pour.
No care nor effort either
Is needed day and night,
How thou may'st draw Him hither
In thine own strength and might.
He comes, He comes with gladness!
O'erflows with love to thee,
To chase away the sadness
He knows oppresseth thee.
Sin's debt, the mighty burden
Let not thy heart affright;
The Lord will freely pardon,
His grace will cover quite.
He comes! He comes! Salvation
Proclaiming everywhere,
Secures His chosen nation
Their heritage so fair!
Thy foes why should they move thee?
Their wiles and rage are vain,
Thy Saviour, who doth love thee,
Will scatter them again.
He comes! a Conq'ror glorious,
He'll scatter every band
Of foes—His course victorious
Too few they're to withstand.
He comes to judge each nation;
Who curs'd Him, curse shall He;
With grace and consolation,
Who lov'd, receiv'd shall be.
Oh! come, Thou Sun, and lead us
To everlasting light,
Up to Thy mansions guide us
Of glory and delight.
Birth of Christ.—Christmas.
OF THE APPEARANCE OF THE ANGELS.
Behold! behold! what wonder's here!
The gloomy night turns bright and clear,
A brilliant light dispels the shade,
The stars before it pale and fade.
A wondrous light it is, I trow,
And not the ancient sun shines now,
For, contrary to nature, night
Is turned by it to day so bright.
What means He to announce to us,
Who nature's course can alter thus?
A mighty work design'd must be
When such a mighty sign we see.
To us vouchsafèd can it be
The Sun of Righteousness to see,
The Star from Jacob's stem so bright,
The woman's Seed, the Gentiles' Light?
'Tis even so—for from the sky
Heav'n's hosts with joyful tidings hie,
That He is born in Bethl'hem's stall,
Who Saviour is and Lord of all!
Oh blessedness! the goodly throng
Of sainted fathers waited long
To see this day, with hope deferr'd,
As we may learn from God's own word.
Awake, ye sons of men, awake!
Up! up! and now your journey take
With me, let us together go
To where the blessèd angels show.
Behold! there in yon gloomy stall
He lies who ruleth over all;
Where once their food the cattle sought,
The Virgin's child for rest is brought.
Oh, child of Adam! ponder well,
And stumble not at what I tell,
He who appears in this low state
For us is, and aye shall be great.
In mortal flesh we Him behold,
Who all things made and doth uphold,
The Word who was with God is He,
Himself is God whom now we see.
It is God's sole-begotten Son
Through whom we now approach His throne,
The First and Last, the Prince of Peace,
The Conqueror through whom wars cease.
The times predicted are fulfill'd,
God's fiery wrath must now be still'd;
His Son, made man, doth bear our load
Of guilt, our peace buys with His blood.
It is a time of joy to-day,
With mourning and with woe away!
Woe, woe to him who us revil'd!
God's seen in flesh—we're reconcil'd.
The Lord who bears our sin is here,
Who'll bruise the serpent's head is near,
The Death of death—the Woe of hell—
The Lord of Life with us doth dwell.
All foes are put our feet beneath,
For sin and Satan, hell and death,
Are brought to shame and put to flight
Upon this great, this wondrous night.
Oh! happy world, thrice happy they!
Who on this lowly infant stay
Their souls, and with believing eyes
In Him their Saviour recognize.
Now praise the Lord whoe'er can praise,
Who from their low estate to raise
His enemies, from His high throne
Sent down His lov'd, His only Son.
Up! join the angel host and cry,
Now glory be to God most High;
Let peace prevail the world around,
Good-will to men and joy abound.
NOW WITH JOY MY HEART IS BOUNDING.
Now with joy my heart is bounding,
With delight
Angels bright
Praises forth are sounding.
Hark! hark! how the choirs of Heaven,
Through the sky
Raise the cry,
Christ to you is given!
He who's mighty to deliver,
Goes that He
Earth may free
From all woes for ever.
God is man, man to deliver,
His dear Son
Now is one
With our blood for ever.
God in us must now take pleasure,
For He gives
Whom He loves
Far beyond all measure.
To redeem us He hath given
His own Son
From the throne
Of His might in Heaven.
Who Himself and Kingdom ever,
Giveth free,
Oh! could He
Drive us from Him?—never!
Will not God's own Son now bless us?
He who loves
And removes
All things that distress us!
Had our human nature ever
By the Lord
Been abhorr'd,
He had been man never.
Had our Lord delighted ever
In our grief,
He relief
Would have brought us never.
All transgression He assumeth,
That we've done
'Neath the sun,
And our Lamb becometh.
As our Lamb His life is given,
So that we,
From death free,
May have peace and Heaven!
Now He's in the manger lying,
Me and thee
Calleth He,
In sweet accents crying,
“Banish, brethren, what's distressing,
All your ills,
All that falls,
I bring times of blessing.”
Come, and let us now go thither,
Let us all,
Great and small.
Flock in crowds together.
Love Him who with deep love burneth,
See the light
He so bright
Kindly on us turneth.
Ye who sink in deepest anguish,
Look ye here,
Joy is near,
Grieve no more, nor languish.
Cleave to Him and He will bring you
To the place,
By His grace,
Where no pain will wring you.
All ye hearts, oppress'd with sorrow,
Ye who feel
Sin's sore ill
And conviction's arrow,
Courage now! for One is living
Who hath skill
You to heal,
All your pain relieving.
All ye poor ones and distressèd,
Come—come ye
Take—'tis free,
Of His store so blessèd.
Here do all good gifts flow over,
Here is gold
Stores untold!
Here your hearts recover!
Gracious Saviour! deign to hear me,
And let me
Hang on thee,
Undisturb'd stay near Thee.
Of my life Thou art the Giver,
I through Thee
Joyfully
Live contented ever.
Guilt no longer can distress me,
Son of God!
Thou my load
Bearest to release me.
Stain in me Thou findest never,
I am clean,
All my sin
Is remov'd for ever.
For Thy sake I'm clean all over,
Thou dost me
Graciously
With fair raiment cover.
To my heart's throne I will raise thee,
Glory mine!
Flow'r divine!
Let me love and praise Thee.
Diligently I'll preserve Thee,
To the skies
To Thee rise,
Here live for and serve Thee.
With Thee I at last shall wander,
Joyfully,
Endlessly,
And in glory yonder!
A CAROL.
Come, and Christ the Lord be praising,
Heart and mind to Him be raising,
Celebrate His love amazing,
Worthy folk of Christendom!
Sin, death, hell, may all be grieving,
Satan shame feel to him cleaving,
We salvation free receiving,
Cast our every care away.
See what God for us provideth,
Life that in His Son abideth,
And our weary steps He guideth
From earth's woe to heav'nly joy.
His soul deeply for us feeleth,
He His love to us revealeth,
He who in the heavens dwelleth
Came to save us from our foe.
Jacob's star His advent maketh,
Soothes the longing heart that acheth,
And the serpent's head He breaketh,
Scattering the pow'r of hell.
Op'd hath He and freedom gain'd us
From the prison that contain'd us,
Where much grief and sorrow pain'd us,
And our hearts were bow'd with woe.
O bless'd hour when we receivèd
From the foe who us deceivèd
Liberty, when we believèd,
And Thee, gracious Savior, prais'd.
Beauteous Infant in the manger,
O befriend us! beyond danger
Bring us where is turn'd God's anger,
Where with angel hosts we'll praise!
AT THE MANGER.
Thy manger is
My paradise,
O Jesus Christ!
Where feeds my soul delighted.
There 'fore mine eyes
The Word now lies,
Who to our flesh
In person is united.
Whom wind and sea
Obey, e'en He
In servant's form
And place for men's appearing.
God's own Son, Thou
Assumest now
Clay weak and mean,
Such as our own, art wearing!
Thou, highest Good!
Dost raise our blood
Up to Thy throne,
High o'er all heights whatever!
Pow'r endless, Thou
Art brother now
To us who like
The grass and flowers, wither!
What harm can do
Our soul's dread foe
To us at all,
Though full of gall his spirit?
The things that he
Accuseth me
And others of,
From Adam we inherit.
Be silent, fiend!
There sits my Friend,
My flesh and blood,
High in the heav'ns enthronèd:
What Thou dost smite
The Prince of might
From Jacob's stem
With honours high hath ownèd.
His health and light,
Heal and give sight,
And heaven's Joy
All earthly ill undoeth.
Immanuel,
Of joy the Well,
The devil, hell,
And all their pow'r subdueth.
Believing heart,
Whoe'er thou art,
Be of good cheer,
Let nothing e'er depress thee;
Because God's Son
Makes thee God's own,
God must prove true
To thee, and ever bless thee.
Now think and see
How gloriously,
He over all
Distress hath thee uplifted.
He who reigns o'er
The angels, more
Than thou art, is
With blessedness not gifted.
Lo! seest thou
Before thee now,
Thy flesh and blood,
Who air and clouds rules ever.
What can there be
(I ask of thee)
That can arise,
To fear thee to deliver?
Things oft affright
Thy feeble sight
And make thee sigh,
Thy consolations vanish:
Come hither, then,
Behold again
Christ's manger here,
And all misgivings banish.
Though plagued with care,
Yet ne'er despair!
Thy Brother ne'er
Thy misery disdaineth;
His gracious heart
Feels every smart,
Nor when He sees
Our woe, from tears refraineth.
To Him now go,
He'll help bestow
And rest, and thou
Good cause shalt have for blessing.
Full well He knows
What burns and glows,
What on the heart
Of each sick one is pressing.
He therefore bore
The wrath so sore
Of the dread cross
In His flesh, shrinking never,
That through His pain
He might retain
The memory
Of our distresses ever.
The gate is He
That leadeth me
To present joy,
And to eternal blessing.
He soon doth send
A happy end
To all the grief
On pious heart that's pressing.
The world's base pelf
Leave to itself,
And make thou sure,
This treasure thine remaineth.
It firmly keep
Nor let it slip,
It there a crown
For soul and body gaineth!
BESIDE THE MANGER.
Now at the manger here I stand,
My Jesus, Life from Heaven!
I stand, and bring Thee in my hand
What Thou to me hast given.
Take it, it is my mind and wit,
Heart, soul, and all I have, take it,
And deign to let it please Thee!
With Thy great love beyond compare,
My soul Thou fillest ever,
Thy glance so sweet, Thine image fair,
My heart forgetteth never.
How otherwise e'er could it be,
How could I ever banish Thee,
From my heart's throne, O Saviour!
Ere ever I began to be,
Thou hadst for me appearèd,
And as Thine own hadst chosen me
Ere Thee I knew or fearèd.
Before I by Thy hand was made,
Thou hadst the plan in order laid,
How Thou Thyself shouldst give me.
I lay still in death's deepest night,
Till Thou, my Sun, arising,
Didst bring joy, pleasure, life, and light,
My waken'd soul surprising.
O Sun! who dost so graciously
Faith's goodly light to dawn in me
Aye cause; Thy beams how beauteous!
With rapture do I gaze on Thee,
Ne'er can enough adore Thee,
Pow'r more to do is not in me,
I'll praise and bow before Thee.
Oh! that my mind were an abyss,
My soul a sea, wide, bottomless,
That so I might embrace Thee.
Oh! let me kiss that mouth of Thine,
My Jesus, Saviour gracious!
Thy mouth that e'en the sweetest wine,
And milk and honey precious,
In pow'r and virtue doth excel,
Of comfort, strength, and sap 'tis full,
And inwardly refreshes.
When oft my heart within doth cry,
No comfort can discover,
It calls to me, Thy friend am I,
Thine ev'ry sin I cover;
My flesh and bone, why mournest thou?
Let thy heart be of good cheer now,
Thy debt, I have discharg'd it.
Who is the Master, where is he,
Who in perfection sketcheth
The hands this infant dear to me
Now smilingly outstretcheth?
The snow is clear, and milk is white,
But both lose all their value quite
Before these hands so beauteous.
Oh! wisdom fails me utterly
For honouring and praising
The eyes this infant fixedly
To mine is ever raising.
The fall moon, it is clear and fair,
The golden stars most beauteous are,
But these eyes far excel them.
Oh! that a star so passing fair
Should in a crib be holden!
Who mighty nobles' children are
Should lie in cradles golden!
Ah! hay and straw too wretched are,
Silk, velvet, purple better far,
Were for Thee, Child! to lie on.
Remove the straw, remove the hay,
From where the child reposes,
And flow'rs I'll bring that lie He may
On violets and roses.
With tulips, pinks, and rosemary,
From goodly gardens pluck'd by me,
I'll from above bestrew Him.
And snow-white lilies here and there
His side shall be thrown over;
When closed His eyes with slumber are,
Them shall they softly cover.
But Thou mayest love the grass so dry,
My Child! more than the things that I
Have spoken or have thought of.
Not for the world's pride dost Thou care,
Nor joys the flesh doth offer;
In human form Thou liest there,
For us to do and suffer,
Seek'st joy and comfort for my soul,
While waves of trouble o'er Thee roll;
I never will Thee hinder.
One thing I hope Thou'lt grant to me,
My Saviour! ne'er deny me,
That I may evermore have Thee
Within, and on, and by me.
And let my heart Thy cradle be,
Come, come and lie Thou down in me,
With all Thy joys and treasures!
'Tis true, that I should think how poor
And mean my entertaining,
Than dust and ashes I'm no more,
Thou mad'st, art all-sustaining,
Yet Thou'rt a guest belov'd and priz'd,
For never yet hast Thou despis'd
Him who delights to see Thee!
IMMANUEL! TO THEE WE SING.
Immanuel! to Thee we sing,
The Fount of life, of grace the Spring,
Than fairest lily fairer far,
Lord of all Lords, the morning Star!
Hallelujah!
With all Thy people, Lord, we raise
To Thee our heart-felt songs of praise,
That Thou, O long-expected Guest!
Hast brought us our desirèd rest.
Hallelujah!
Since the Creator said—“Light be!”
How many a heart hath watch'd for Thee!
Of Fathers, Prophets, Saints the throng
With ardent hope have waited long.
Hallelujah!
Than others more, the Shepherd King
Belov'd by Thee, and wont to sing
Thy praise on sounding harp, inspir'd
By deeper longing, Thee desir'd.
Hallelujah!
Ah Zion! that thy Lord to thee
Would come and set thy captives free;
Ah! that our help would now arise
And gladden Jacob's waiting eyes.
Hallelujah!
There art Thou now, Thou ever-bless'd!
There dost Thou in the manger rest;
The world Thou deck'st, all things hast made—
Thou'rt naked there, in weakness laid.
Hallelujah!
A stranger art Thou here below,
To whom the Heav'ns allegiance owe;
A mother's milk dost not despise,
Who art the Joy of angels' eyes.
Hallelujah!
The bounds of ocean fix'd hast Thou,
Who art a swaddled infant now;
Thou'rt God—a bed of straw Thou hast.
Thou'rt man—yet art the First and Last.
Hallelujah!
Of every joy Thou art the spring,
Yet sorrow oft Thy heart doth wring.
The Gentiles' Light and Hope Thou art,
Yet findest none to soothe Thy heart.
Hallelujah!
The sweetest Friend of man Thou art,
Though many hate Thee in their heart!
The heart of Herod loathèd Thee,
Yet what art Thou? Salvation free!
Hallelujah!
Thy meanest servant, Lord! am I,
I say it in sincerity;
I love Thee, but not half so well
As I should love,—more love I'd feel.
Hallelujah!
My pow'r is weak, though will be there,
But my poor heart against Thee ne'er
Shall rise t' oppose,—Thou wilt receive
By grace the little I can give.
Hallelujah!
Thou to be weak dost not disdain,
Dost choose the things the world deems vain,
Art poor and needy, and dost come,
By love impell'd, to want's drear home!
Hallelujah!
Thou sleepest on the lap of earth,
The manger where Thou at Thy birth
Wast laid to rest, the hay, the stall
Were mean, were miserable all.
Hallelujah!
And therefore doth my courage rise,
Thy servant wilt Thou not despise;
The gracious mind that dwells in Thee
Fills me with hope and gladdens me.
Hallelujah!
Lord! though I've pass'd in sin my days,
And wandered far from wisdom's ways,
Yet therefore Thou to earth hast come,
To bring the wand'ring sinner home.
Hallelujah!
Had I no debt of sin to face,
How could I ever share Thy grace?
In vain for me Thine advent here,
Had I no wrath of God to fear.
Hallelujah!
Lord, fearlessly I come to Thee,
Thou keep'st my soul from anguish free;
Thou bear'st the wrath, dost death destroy,
And sorrow turnest into joy.
Hallelujah!
My Head Thou art, Thy member I
In turn am, and Thy property;
Lord, I will serve Thee while I live
With all the grace Thou deign'st to give.
Hallelujah!
Loud hallelujahs here I'll sing,
With joy that from my heart doth spring,
And when I reach yon mansions fair
I will repeat them ever there.
Hallelujah!
New Year.
OF THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST.
Why should they such pain e'er give Thee,
Why inflict such cruel smart?
Jesus, why should they so grieve Thee,
Who're uncircumcis'd in heart,
By this rite? Though Thou art free
From the law's yoke utterly,
Yet man's nature art Thou wearing,
But no sin its beauty marring.
For Thyself Thou dost not bear it,
Of the Cov'nant Thou art Head;
'Tis our debts that make Thee share it,
That like grievous load of lead
Lie upon us, and Thy heart
Pierce e'en to the inmost part;
These Thou bearest to deliver
Us, who could have paid them never.
Let your hearts be glad, ye debtors!
Let the world rejoice to-day,
For the Son of God our fetters
Breaks, the price begins to pay.
This day is the Law fulfill'd,
This day is God's anger still'd,
Whom to death law did deliver,
God's Son makes God's heirs for ever.
We this grace enough can never
Own, nor for it grateful be;
Heart and mouth, O Saviour! ever
Shall exalt and honour Thee!
We shall praise with all our pow'r
All Thy goodness, Thee adore,
While in weakness here we wander,
And Thy praise re-echo yonder!
SONG.
In pray'r your voices raise ye
To God, and Him now praise ye,
Who to our life from heaven
All needed strength hath given.
The stream of years is flowing,
And we are onward going,
From old to new surviving,
And by His mercy thriving.
In woe we often languish,
And pass through times of anguish,
When fearful war aboundeth,
That earth itself surroundeth.
As faithful mother keepeth
Guard while her infant sleepeth,
And all its grief assuageth
When angry tempest rageth;
So God His children shieldeth,
Them full protection yieldeth;
When need and woe distress them,
His loving arms caress them.
In vain is all our doing,
The labour we're pursuing
In our hands prospers never,
Unless God watcheth ever.
Our song to Thee ascendeth,
Who every day defendeth
Us, and whose arm averteth
The pain our hearts that hurteth.
O God of mercy! hear us;
Our Father! be Thou near us;
'Mid crosses and in sadness
Be Thou our Spring of gladness.
To me and all be given,
Who from the heart have striven
To gain Thy benediction,
Hearts patient in affliction.
Oh! close the gates of sorrow,
And by a glorious morrow
Of peace, may places sadden'd
By bloodshed dire be gladden'd.
With richest blessings crown us,
In all our ways, Lord! own us;
Give grace, who grace bestowest