Word of God

That Men a godly Life Might Live

Words:
Martin Luther, 1524. Translated by Richard Massie, 1854, alt.
Music:
'Dies sind die heil`gen zehu Gebot' or 'In Gottes Namen fahren wir' circa
Metre:
8 8 8 7 4
  1. 1That man a godly life might live,God did these ten commandments giveBy His true servant Moses, highUpon the mount Sinai.Have mercy, Lord.
  2. 2I am thy God and Lord alone,No other God besides Me own;On My great mercy venture thee,With all thy heart love thou Me.
  3. 3By idle word and speech profane Take not My holy Name in vain;And praise not aught as good and true But what God doth say and do.
  4. 4Hallow the day which God hath blest,That thou and all thy house may rest;Keep hand and heart from labor free,That God may so work in thee.
  5. 5Give to thy parents honor due,Be dutiful and loving too;And help them when their strength decays So shalt thou have length of days.
  6. 6Kill thou not out of evil will,Nor hate, nor render ill for ill;Be patient and of gentle mood,And to thy foe do thou good.
  7. 7Be faithful to thy marriage vows,Thy heart give only to thy spouseKeep thy life pure, and lest thou sinKeep thyself with discipline.
  8. 8Steal not; oppressive acts abhor;Nor wring their life-blood from the poor;But open wide thy loving handTo all the poor in the land.
  9. 9Bear not false witness, nor belieThy neighbor by foul calumny;Defend his innocence from blame,With charity hide his shame.
  10. 10Thy neighbor's wife desire thou not,His house, nor aught that he hath gotBut wish that his such good may beAs thy heart doth wish for thee.
  11. 11God these commandments gave, thereinTo show thee, son of man, thy sin,And make thee also well perceiveHow man for God ought to live.
  12. 12Help us, Lord Jesus Christ, for we A Mediator have in Thee;Without Thy help our works so vain Merit naught but endless pain.

Scripture

Topics

In the hymnals

  • Written in 1524, the words are in 11 hymnals indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →

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.

← Back to today's verse