Reformation
Look Down, O Lord, From Heaven Behold
- Words:
- Martin Luther, 1524. Translated by Frances Elizabeth Cox, 1864.
- Music:
- 'Ach Gott vom Himmel' from Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524.
- Setting:
- Karl August Haupt, 1869.
- Metre:
- 8 7 8 7 8 8 7
- 1Look down, O Lord, from heav'n behold,And let thy pity waken!How few the flock within thy fold,Neglected and forsaken!Almost thou'lt seek for faith in vain,And those who should thy truth maintainThy Word from us have taken.
- 2With frauds which they themselves inventThy truth they have confounded;Their hearts are not with one consentOn thy pure doctrine grounded;And, whilst they gleam with outward show,They lead thy people to and fro,In error's maze astounded.
- 3God surely will uproot all thoseWith vain deceits who store us,With haughty tongue who God oppose,And say, "Who'll stand before us?By right or might we will prevail;What we determine cannot fail,For who can lord it o'er us?"
- 4For this, saith God, I will arise,These wolves my flock are rending;I've heard my people's bitter sighsTo heav'n my throne ascending:Now will I up, and set at restEach weary soul by fraud opprest,The poor with might defending.
- 5The silver sev'n times tried is pureFrom all adulteration;So, through God's word, shall men endureEach trial and temptation:Its worth gleams brighter through the cross,And, purified from human dross,It shines through every nation.
- 6Thy truth thou wilt preserve, O Lord, From this vile generation;Make us to lean upon thy word, With calm anticipation.The wicked walk on every side When, 'mid thy flock, the vile abide In pow'r and exaltation.
Scripture
Topics
In the hymnals
- Written in 1524, the words are in 1 hymnal indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →
- The tune, Ach Gott vom Himmel, is in 21 hymnals. The tune →
Words, music and setting are in the public domain. The score is from the Open Hymnal Project (Brian J. Dumont), which places its own work in the public domain. The piano is the FluidR3 General MIDI sound font (MIT licence). How many hymnals print a hymn, and when it was written, is from Hymnary.org.