With what fervor of devotion

Representative Text

I. With what Fervour of Devotion
Shall I praise the Lord of Hosts?
Put my Heart and Tongue in Motion,
Acted by the Holy Ghost:
For my Thoughts in full Extension
Cannot reach thy Love's Dimension.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

II. Lord, inflame my Soul and Spirit
To revere thy wond'rous Might:
JESUS,let thy boundless Merit
Be exalted Day and Night.
Blessings now in my Possession
Prove thy Grace beyond Expression.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

III. When I make a deep Reflection
On my former Course of Sin,
Shame might run me to Distraction,
So ungrateful I have been!
Great thy Patience, my Redeemer,
To so wretched a Blasphemer.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

IV. When my serious Thoughts consider
With what Love and Tenderness,
Thou hast still pursu'd me hither
All this precious Time of Grace,
I proclaim with full Confession
Thy Long-suff'ring and Compassion.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

V. All my Steps thou hast been watching,
Still to save me from the fire:
When at worldly Lucre catching,
I was sinking in the Mire,
Thou didst bid me seek the Treasure,
Which affords eternal Pleasure.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

VI. O, with what unwearied Patience
Hast thou drawn my Soul to thee,
That I from the sinful Legions
To those healing wounds might flee,
Which recover'd me thy Creature
From the Curse of fallen Nature.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

VII. Yea, my God, but Truth and Kindness
Ever dwell before thy Face;
Thou revealest to our Blindness
Both thy Judgments and thy Grace,
That we by thine Operations
May discern thy Pow'r and Patience.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

VIII. As in Number, Weight and Measure
All Things in the Universe
Are dispos'd at thy good Pleasure,
None but must thy Pow'r rehearse:
So have I the greatest Reason
To admire Thee ev'ry Season
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

IX. Now with Comfort, then with Suff'ring
Didst thou, Father, come to me,
To prepare a Free-will Off'ring
Of what's wholly due to Thee,
That my Heart's Desire and Treasure
Might depend upon thy Pleasure.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

X. Parents grant, or give Denial,
As their Children's Good requires:
So my heav'nly Father's Tryal
Has prov'd best to my Desires;
For thy Goodness has reliev'd me
When the fiercest Pains have griev'd me.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

XI. Thou on Eagle's Wings hast carried
Me through many dismal Ways,
When on Shore, or when I ferried
Over Rivers,or the Seas:
When Distress and Fear ran highest,
Thy supporting Hand was nighest.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

XII. Thousands on my Left were falling;
On my Right Hand Ten Times more;
Guardian-Angels of thy Calling
Stood behind me and before,
To defend me from the Danger
Of the Plague and th' hellish Range.
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

XIII. Lord, thy Father-like Behaviour
Is beyond my deepest Thought:
With what Price, oh glorious Saviour!
My Salvation hast thou bought?
And thy Grace, O sacred Spirit,
Is above my Thanks and Merit
Thousand, Thousand Thanks to Thee,
Greatest King, for ever be.

XIV. Thousand Hymns of Adoration
Be return'd to Thee, good Lord,
For thy gracious Preservation
And thy saving Love restor'd:
Grant me Grace, whilst Time is wasting,
To secure Life everlasting,
Where thy holy Praise shall sound
In a never-ceasing Round.



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.) #157

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: Ludwig Andreas Gotter

Gotter, Ludwig Andreas, son of Johann Christian Gotter, Court preacher and Superintendent at Gotha, was born at Gotha, May 26, 1661. He was at first privy secretary and then Hofrath at Gotha, where he died Sept. 19, 1735. He was a pious, spiritually-minded man, with tendencies towards Pietism; and one of the best hymnwriters of the period. Of his printed hymns the earliest appeared in the Geistliches Gesang-Buch, Halle, 1697. Of the 23 included in Freylinghausen's Geistleiches Gesang-Buch, 1704, and Neues, 1714, seven have been translated into English, besides his version of J. W. Petersen's "Salve, crux beata, salve (q. v.). J. C. Wetzel, who had become acquainted with him during a visit Gotter made to Römhild in 1733, mentions a complete… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: With what fervor of devotion
German Title: Womit soll ich dich wohl loben
Translator: Johann Christian Jacobi
Author: Ludwig Andreas Gotter
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

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Psalmodia Germanica #157

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