In dieser letztn betrübten Zeit

Here is my translation of the Christian Life / Last Days hymn, “In dieser letztn betrübten Zeit” (Anon., 1815?), from Ev.-Luth. Gsb #505, without ascription. The first line is exactly the same as that of the 2nd stanza of “Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ” (Nicolaus Selnecker, 1572?)—Hence I have used the translation in common usage here. The text does not appear in Fischer, though it is found in hymnals pre-dating his Lexicon: Elsner’s G. Liederschatz (1832ff.), probably borrowed from a Moravian source, such as the 1824 Gsb der ev. Brüdergemeinen, or else Gossner’s Sammlung (1825). The earliest appearance I find is the anonymous Eine Sammlung biblischer Namen und Kennzeichen . . . (Nuremberg: Rau, 1815), p. 158. The context here is a series of Biblical terms for the holy church or all believers, each of which terms is accompanied by one or several poetic stanzas hymnodic or otherwise. These two stanzas follow the text: “As the Wise Virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the Bridegroom. Matthew 25:1–13.” The appointed melody is “Machs mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Güt.”

 

IN these last days of sore distress,
We hear our blessed Savior
Bid us make ready to possess
His glorious joy forever,
When He says oft and earnestly:
“Soon, soon I come, so wakeful be!”

With oilless lamps, oh, be not caught;
Your faith make strong and nourish!
And in your soul, so dearly bought,
Let hope’s foundation flourish:
Christ and His blood—these are the ground
On which He doth salvation found.

Translation © 2023 Matthew Carver.

GERMAN

In dieser letztn betrübten Zeit
heißt uns der Heiland wachen,
und uns zu seiner Herrlichkeit
bereit und fertig machen:
wenn er so oft mit Nachdruck spricht:
"Ich komme bald, drum schlafet nicht!"

2 Erhaltet in den Lampen Öl,
und stärket euren Glauben,
laßt ja der theu'r erkauften Seel
den Hoffnungsgrund nicht rauben.
Der Grund ist Christus und sein Blut,
drauf unsre Seligkeit beruht.