Awake, O man, and from thee shake

Representative Text

Awake, O man, and from thee shake
This heavy sleep of sin!
Soon shall the Highest vengeance take,
Soon shall His wrath begin
To smite the wretched sinner home;
In awful terrors He shall come,
To mete to all on earth their due reward,
Only the righteous spares our angry Lord.

Come then, ye sinners, great and small,
Weeping and mourning sore,
Low down before his footstool fall,
And vow to sin no more.
In faith and godliness array
Your souls against that final day,
So shall ye 'scape His wrath, and blessed die,
Heirs of the kingdom with your Lord on high.

Oh lay to heart this wondrous thought,
Through what sore agony
And death was your redemption bought,
And to your Saviour flee
Ere yet to late; the world disown,
And fix your love on Christ alone,
And do His will; for at the final doom,
Those who dishonoured Him shall wrath consume.

Turn Thou us, and we shall be turned,
Thou broughtest back of old
Thy straying people, when they yearned
After their proper fold;
Even so forgive what we have done,
Accept us in Thy blessed Son,
And let Thy Holy Spirit be our guide,
That we may spread Thy praises far and wide!

Source: Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year #26

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: Awake, O man, and from thee shake
German Title: Erwach, o Mensch, erwache
Author: Bartholomäus Crasselius (1697)
Translator: Catherine Winkworth (1855)
Meter: 8.6.8.6.8.8.10.10
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

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Lyra Germanica #61

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Lyra Germanica #26

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Lyra Germanica #S1-26

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