O God, look down from heaven and see

O God, look down from heaven and see

Author: Martin Luther
Tune: LUTHER'S HYMN
Published in 3 hymnals

Representative Text

1 O God! look down from heav'n and see
A sight that well may move Thee!
Thy saints, how few! How wretchedly
Forsaken we who love Thee!
Thy Word no more shall have its right:
And faith itself is vanished quite
From all this generation.

2 Fictions the teach with cunning art,
And lies of man's invention;
Not 'stablished in God's Word, their heart
Is full of strange dissension;
One chooses this, another that,
And while divisions they create,
They can't of love union.

3 May God root out all heresy
And of false teachers rid us,
Who proudly say: "And who is he
That shall our speech forbid us?
We have the might and right alone,
And what we say must stand; we own
None as our lord and master."

4 Wherefore, saith God, I will arise!
My poor they are oppressing;
I hear their crying and their sighs,
Their wrongs shall have redressing;
My Word, endued with saving might,
Shall suddenly the wicked smite,
And be my poor ones' comfort.

5 As silver sev'n times furnace-tried,
Is found for it the purer,
So ditch the Word, whate're betide,
But prove itself the surer;
The cross reveals its worth aright,
'Tis then we see its strength and light
Shine far in earth's dar places.

6 O God, keep Thou it pure and free
From this vile generation,
And let us too be kept by Thee
From their abomination;
The wicked walk about in ease,
When loose, ungodly men like these
Are in the land exalted.

Source: Evangelical Lutheran hymnal: with music #147

Author: Martin Luther

Luther, Martin, born at Eisleben, Nov. 10, 1483; entered the University of Erfurt, 1501 (B.A. 1502, M.A.. 1503); became an Augustinian monk, 1505; ordained priest, 1507; appointed Professor at the University of Wittenberg, 1508, and in 1512 D.D.; published his 95 Theses, 1517; and burnt the Papal Bull which had condemned them, 1520; attended the Diet of Worms, 1521; translated the Bible into German, 1521-34; and died at Eisleben, Feb. 18, 1546. The details of his life and of his work as a reformer are accessible to English readers in a great variety of forms. Luther had a huge influence on German hymnody. i. Hymn Books. 1. Ellich cristlich lider Lobgesang un Psalm. Wittenberg, 1524. [Hamburg Library.] This contains 8 German h… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: O God, look down from heaven and see
German Title: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein
Author: Martin Luther
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

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Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal #147

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Evangelical Lutheran hymnal #147

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Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal. 9th ed. #a147

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