Thou virgin soul! O thou

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Thou virgin soul! O thou

Author: Franz Joachim Burmeister; Translator: Catherine Winkworth (1863)
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

Thou virgin soul! O thou
The crown of woman's story,
Thy Joseph's bliss and glory,
Thy kinswoman thou seekest now,
There thy faith to cheer and stir
Through what God hath wrought for her.

My faith, alas! is weak,
And where it sees not plainly
It strives to grasp but vainly,
And scarcely cares new strength to seek;
Seeing now what God can do,
May my faith grow stronger too!

Thou Pearl of women, here
Hast to His will resign'd thee,
Thou wilt not look behind thee;
Thy tender heart, towards one so dear
To thy friends, doth warmly glow,
Loving service fain would show.
-
God! I lament to Thee,
My will towards good is idle,
And yet I scarce can bridle
Its sinful impulses in me;
May my course hereafter prove
Rich in good works and in love!

At last thou goest forth,
Most loving soul and fairest,
With thee thy Lord thou bearest;
The Father's Word come down to earth.
Happy thou! that He will be
Thus companion unto thee.

The world is such a place,
Where we are pilgrims only,
And we must fear, if lonely
We meet the end that comes apace.
Jesus! let me then by faith
Walk with Thee through life and death!

Source: Chorale Book for England, The #82

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Author: Franz Joachim Burmeister

Burmeister, Franz Joachim, was a native of Lüneburg. He was ordained at Cello, May 4, 1670, and instituted as diaconus of St. Michael's Church, Luneburg, July 10, 1670. This post he held till his death at Luneburg, April 21, 1672. Ho was a friend of Rist, who crowned him as a poet in 1659, and in 1660 received him into his order of Elbe Swans. (Koch, iii. 448-450: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, iii. 628; manuscript from Seminarlehrer Bode, Lüneburg.) His hymns were mostly contributed to the musical works of J. R. Ahle of Muhlhausen, 14 being set to music and published by Ahle in 1662, at Muhlhausen, as Neue yeistliche auff diehohen Festtage durchs gantze Jahr gerichtete Andachten. Those translations into English are:— i. Du keusohe Se… Go to person page >

Translator: Catherine Winkworth

Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used i… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Thou virgin soul! O thou
German Title:	Du keusche Seele du
Author:	Franz Joachim Burmeister
Translator:	Catherine Winkworth (1863)
Language:	English