Jehovah, let me now adore Thee

Representative Text

1 Jehovah, let me now adore you,
For where is there a God such, Lord, as you?
With joyful songs I come before you;
Oh, let your Spirit teach my heart anew
To praise you in his name through whom alone
Our songs can praise you, through your blessed Son.

2 O Father, draw me to my Savior
That your dear Son may draw me then to you.
Your Spirit guide my whole behavior
And rule both sense and reason in me, too,
That, Lord, your peace from me may ne'er depart
But wake sweet melodies within my heart.

3 Grant that your Spirit prompt my praises;
Then shall my singing surely please your ear.
Sweet are the sounds my heart then raises;
My prayer in truth and spirit you will hear.
Then shall your Spirit lift my heart in love
To sing these psalms to you, my God above.

4 For he can plead for me with sighings
That are not speakable by lips defiled.
He bids me pray with earnest cryings,
Bears witness that I am your precious child,
Joint heir with Christ, and thus may dare to say:
O heav'nly Father, hear me when I pray!

Source: Christian Worship (1993): a Lutheran hymnal #189

Author: Bartholomäus Crasselius

Crasselius, Bartholomäus, son of Johannes Crasselt, sheepmaster at Wemsdorf near Glauchau, Saxony; was born at Wernsdorf, Feb. 21, 1667. After studying at Halle, under A. H. Francke, he became, in 1701, pastor at Nidda, in Wetteravia, Hesse. In 1708 he was appointed Lutheran pastor at Düsseldorf, where he died Nov. 30, 1724, after a somewhat troubled pastorate, during which he felt called upon to testify strongly and somewhat bitterly against the shortcomings of the place and of the times (Koch, iv. 418-421; Allg. Deutsche Biographie, iv. 566-67; Bode, p. 55; manuscript from Pastor Baltzer, Wernsdorf; the second dating his call to Dusseldorf 1706). Of the 9 hymns by him which Freylinghausen included in his Geistreiches Gesang-Buch, 1704,… Go to person page >

Translator: Catherine Winkworth

Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used i… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Jehovah, let me now adore Thee
German Title: Dir, dir, Jehovah, will ich singen
Author: Bartholomäus Crasselius (1697)
Translator: Catherine Winkworth (1863)
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

DIR DIR JEHOVAH

DIR, DIR, JEHOVA was published anonymously in Georg Wittwe's Musikalisches Handbuch der Geistlichen Melodien (1690). The bar form (AAB) melody was expanded in Johann A. Freylinghausen's Geistreiches Gesangbuch (1704), where it was set to a hymn by Bärtholomaus Crasselius, "Dir, dir, Jehovah, vill i…

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[Jehovah, let me now adore Thee]


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The Cyber Hymnal #3355
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Instances (1 - 4 of 4)
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Christian Worship (1993) #189

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Lutheran Worship #446

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Small Church Music #2991

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The Cyber Hymnal #3355

Include 20 pre-1979 instances
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