Scripture Verse

Whether we live…or die, we are the Lord’s. Romans 14:8

Introduction

portrait
Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878)

Words: At­trib­ut­ed to Jo­hann Pap­pus, 1598. Trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to En­glish by Ca­the­rine Wink­worth, Ly­ra Ger­ma­ni­ca, sec­ond ser­ies (Lon­don: Long­man, Brown, Green, Long­mans & Ro­berts, 1858), pag­es 210–11. In time of dan­ger­ous du­ty.

Music: Sal­us Mor­ta­li­um, Ge­sang­buch (Er­furt, Ger­ma­ny: 1663) (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

  • Pappus from the Cho­rale Book for Eng­land, ed­it­ed by Will­iam Stern­dale Ben­nett & Ot­to Gold­schmidt (Lon­don: Long­man, Green, Long­man, Ro­berts & Green, 1863), num­ber 127 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Origin of the Hymn

This hymn has fre­quent­ly been as­cribed to Dr. Jo­hann Pap­pus…pro­fess­or of He­brew at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Strass­burg…but this as­crip­tion has not been traced ear­li­er than about 1640, e.g., in the Can­tio­nale sac­rum, Go­tha, pt. iii, 1648, No. 18, and the Kön­igs­berg G. B. [Ge­sang­buch], 1650, p. 530.

Lauxmann, in Koch, viii. 609, thinks that Pap­pus may have ar­ranged the hymn in its pre­sent form. It was prob­ab­ly sug­gest­ed by a song be­gin­ning, Ich hab meine Sach zu Gott ge­stellt, which Wack­er­na­gel, iii. Nos. 1242, 1243, quotes from a Leip­zig broad­sheet of 1555, and oth­er sourc­es.

Julian, p. 671

Lyrics

My cause is God’s, and I am still,
Let Him do with me as He will;
Whether for me the fight is won,
Or scarce be­gun,
I ask no more—His will be done!

My sins are more than I can bear,
Yet not for this will I des­pair,
I know to death and to the grave
The Fa­ther gave
His dear­est Son, that He might save.

In Him my Sav­ior I abide,
I know for all my sins He died,
And ris’n again to work my good,
The burn­ing flood
Hath quenched with His most pre­cious blood.

To Him I live and die alone,
Death can­not part Him from His own;
Living or dy­ing I am His
Who on­ly is
Our com­fort, and our gate of bliss.

This is my so­lace, day by day,
When snares and death be­set my way,
I know that at the morn of doom
From out the tomb
With joy to meet Him I shall come.

Then I shall see God face to face,
I doubt it not, through Je­sus’ grace,
Amid the joys pre­pared for me!
Thanks be to Thee
Who giv­est us the vic­to­ry!

O Je­sus Christ, Thou Son of God,
Who once for me didst bear the rod,
Ah, hide me in Thy wound­ed heart
When I de­part;
My help, my hope, Thou on­ly art!

Amen, dear God! now send us faith,
And at the last a hap­py death;
And grant us all ere long to be
In Heav’n with Thee,
To praise Thee there eter­nal­ly.