Gott rufet noch, sollt ich nicht endlich hören

Author: Gerhard Tersteegen

Gott rufet noch, sollt ich nicht endlich hören. G. Tersteegen. [Advent .] A beautiful hymn on God's gracious call to turn to Him; and what our answer should be. Founded on Psalm xcv. 7. First published in the 2nd edition, 1735, of his Geistliches Blumengärtlein, Book iii., No. 52, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines, entitled, "Today if ye will hear His voice." Included as No. 629 in the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, edition 1863. Translated as:—
God calling yet!—and shall I never hearken! A good translation by Mrs. Findlater, omitting stanzas vii., viii., in the 2nd Ser., 1855, of the Hymns from the Land of Luther. p. 58 (1884, p. 116); and repeated as No. 553 in Holy Song, 1869. In America it has been somewhat widely used in the form given to it in the Andover Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858, No. 556. Here the translation of stanza v. was omitted and the rest reduced to L.M., beginning, "God calling yet!—shall I not hear." The text of 1858 has been adopted in full in the Dutch Reformed Hymns of the Church , 1869 ; Baptist Hymn Book, 1871; Presbyterian Hymns, 1874; Hymns & Songs of Praise, N. Y., 1874; Methodist Episcopal Collection, 1878; and others. Omitting stanza iv. it appears in Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872; Oberlin Manual, 1880; Church Praise Book, 1882, &c. In the Pennsylvania Lutheran Church Book, 1868, the full text of 1858 is included, with the addition of a recast of stanza v. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Page Scans

Deutsches Gesangbuch: eine auswahl geistlicher Lieder aus allen Zeiten der Christlichen Kirche für kirchliche und häusliche Gebrauch (Neue, verb. und verm. Aufl) (1893), p.522