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When we are under great distress

Representative Text

I. When we are under great Distress,
And ev'ry Thing seems comfortless;
No Creature gives the least Relief,
But all encrease our Weight of Grief.

II. The only Refuge then we have
Is, that we meet, and humbly crave
Thy Helping Hand, O faithful God,
To save us from the wrathful Rod.

III. And lifting up our Eyes and Heart
To thee, with true repenting Smart,
We seek from Sin a full Release,
And seek to make thy Judgments cease.

IV. As thou hast promis'd in thy word,
To All that turn to Thee, O Lord!
And love the Name of JESUS CHRIST,
Our Mediator and High-Priest.

V. We then address our selves to Thee,
In this our great Calamity,
Beseeching thine Almighty Hand
To take this Evil form our Land.

VI. Remember not our num'rous Crimes,
But cleanse us from all Guilt betimes;
Assist us with thy mighty Grace,
And turn on us thy shining Face.

VII. That, for our great Deliv'rance, we
May tender Praise and Love to Thee;
Pay true Obedience to thy Word,
And ever live in Thee, O Lord!

Source: Psalmodia Germanica: or, The German Psalmody: translated from the high Dutch together with their proper tunes and thorough bass (2nd ed., corr. and enl.) #184

Translator: Johann Christian Jacobi

Jacobi, John Christian, a native of Germany, was born in 1670, and appointed Keeper of the Royal German Chapel, St. James's Palace, London, about 1708. He held that post for 42 years, and died Dec. 14, 1750. He was buried in the Church of St. Paul's, Covent Garden. His publications included :— (1) A Collection of Divine Hymns, Translated from the High Dutch. Together with their Proper Tunes and Thorough Bass. London: Printed and Sold by J. Young, in St. Paul’s Churchyard; . . . 1720. This edition contains 15 hymns. Two years later this collection, with a few changes in the text and much enlarged, was republished as (2) Psalmodia Germanica; or a Specimen of Divine Hymns. Translated from the High Dutch. Together with their Proper Tunes… Go to person page >

Author: Paul Eber

Eber, Paul, son of Johannes Eber, master tailor at Kitzingen, Bavaria, was born at Kitzingen, Nov. 8, 1511. He was sent in 1523 to the Gymnasium at Ansbach, but being forced by illness to return home, was on his way thrown from horseback and dragged more than a mile, remaining as a consequence deformed ever after. In 1525 he entered the St. Lorentz school at Nürnberg, under Joachim Camerarius, and in 1532 went to the University of Wittenberg, where he graduated 1536, and thereafter became tutor in the Philosophical Faculty. He was appointed Professor of Latin in 1544, then in 1557 Professor of Hebrew and Castle preacher, and in 1558 Town preacher and General Superintendent of the Electorate, receiving in 1559 the degree D.D. from the Unive… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: When we are under great distress
German Title: Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein
Author: Paul Eber
Translator: Johann Christian Jacobi
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

LES COMANDEMENS DE DIEU

LES COMMANDEMENS (French for "the commandments"), a rich and graceful tune in the Hypo-Ionian mode (major), was used in the Genevan Psalter (1547) for the Decalogue and for Psalm 140, and later in British psalters and in the Lutheran tradition. The first setting in the Psalter Hymnal derives from Cl…

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Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 2 of 2)
Page Scan

A Hymn and Prayer-Book #202

TextAudioPage Scan

Psalmodia Germanica #184

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