Reformation
The Mouth of Fools Doth God Confess
- Words:
- Martin Luther, 1524. Translated by Richard Massie, 1854, alt.
- Music:
- 'Es spricht der Unweisen Mund' from Walter's Geistliche Gesangbüchlein, 1524.
- Setting:
- Michael Praetorius, 1610.
- Metre:
- 8 7 8 7 8 8 7
- 1The mouth of fools doth God confess,But while their lips draw nigh Him,Their heart is full of wickedness,And all their deeds deny Him.Corrupt are they, and every oneAbominable works hath done;There is not one welldoer.
- 2The Lord looked down from his high tow'rOn all mankind below Him,To see if any owned His pow'r,And truly sought to know Him;Who all their understanding bentTo search His holy Word, intentTo do his will in earnest.
- 3But none there was who walked with God,For all aside had slidden,Delusive paths of folly trod,And followed lusts forbidden;Not one there was who practiced good,And yet they deemed, in haughty mood,Their deeds must surely please Him.
- 4How long, by folly blindly led,Will ye oppress the needy,And eat my people up like bread?So fierce are ye, and greedy!In God they put no trust at all,Nor will on Him in trouble call,But be their own providers.
- 5Therefore their heart is never still,A falling leaf dismays them;God is with him who doth His will,Who trusts him and obeys Him;But ye the poor man's hope despise,And laugh at him, e'en when he cries,That God is his sure comfort.
- 6Who shall to Israel's outcast race From Zion bring salvation?God will himself at length show grace, And loose the captive nation;That will he do by Christ their King; Let Jacob then beglad and sing, And Israel be joyful.
Scripture
Topics
In the hymnals
- 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.