26 January 2024

Gott Lob! die Herbstzeit zeiget sich

Here is my translation of the autumn hymn, “Gott Lob! die Herbstzeit zeiget sich” (Johann Olearius, d. 1684), in GGELB #148 with melody assignment “Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag.” It is absent from Fischer’s lexicon. I find it in Olearius’s Singende Betkunst (1671) arranged among the seasonal hymns, with title “Autumn Hymn,” ascribed “D. J. O.” Below it is appended a note: “At this time, the hymns found below concerning mortality, of which the falling leaves remind us, as also the hymns of autumn-month, wine-month, and winter-month [= Sept., Oct., and Dec.].”



PRAISE God! The autumn is at hand,
God pours His blessings on the land;
What brings us sustenance and cheer
God gives us in this season dear.
Hallelujah!

2 God, for Thy graces which abound
Let me be ever grateful found,
And grant me here what cheers my heart,
Hereafter, gladness where Thou art.
Hallelujah!

Translation © 2024 Matthew Carver.

GERMAN
Gott Lob! die Herbstzeit zeiget sich,
Gott segnet das Land mildiglich,
was Nahrung bringt, was uns erfreut,
das schenkt uns Gott zu dieser Zeit.
Halleluja.

2 Mein Gott! laß deine Güt und Gnad
mich dankbar finden früh und spat,
gib mir was hier mein Herz erfreut,
gib mir dort deine Seligkeit.
Hallelua.

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