Darkness reigns, the hum of life's commotion

Author: Meta Heusser

Heusser-Schweizer, Meta, daughter of Diethelm Schweizer, pastor of the Reformed Church at Hirzel near Zurich, was born at Hirzel, April 6, 1797, and was married in 1821, to Johann Jakob Heusser, a physician at Hirzel. Dr. Heusser died at Hirzel in 1859, and his widow continued to reside there till her death on January 2, 1876 (Koch, vii. 377-381; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, xii. 339, 340). She was of a true poetic genius, and may fairly be regarded as the most important of modern German female sacred poets. The Holy Scriptures and the mountain scenery of her lonely home were the chief sources of her poetic inspiration. She was trained in the school of affliction, and her poems breathe the spirit of deep and sincere piety and childlike… Go to person page >

Translator: Jane L. Borthwick

Miss Jane Borthwick, the translator of this hymn and many others, is of Scottish family. Her sister (Mrs. Eric Findlater) and herself edited "Hymns from the Land of Luther" (1854). She also wrote "Thoughts for Thoughtful Hours (1859), and has contributed numerous poetical pieces to the "Family Treasury," under the signature "H.L.L." --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.… Go to person page >