1 Who knows how near my end may be?
Time speeds away, and death comes on;
How swiftly, ah! how suddenly,
May death be here and life be gone!
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
2 The world that smiled when morn was come
May change for me ere close of eve;
So long as earth is still my home
In peril of my death I live;
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
3 Teach me to ponder oft my end,
And ere the hour of death appears,
To cast my soul on Christ, her Friend,
Nor spare repentant sighs and tears;
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
4 And let me now so order all,
That ever ready I may be
To say with joy, Whate’er befall,
Lord, do Thou as Thou wilt with me;
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
5 Let heaven to me be ever sweet,
And this world bitter let me find,
That I, 'mid all its toil and heat,
May keep eternity in mind;
My God, for Jesus' sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
6 O Father, cover all my sins
With Jesus’ merits, who alone
The pardon that I covet wins
And makes His long-sought rest my own;
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
7 His sorrows and His cross I know
Make death-beds soft, and light the grave,
They comfort in the hour of woe,
They give me all I fain would have;
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
8 From Him can naught my soul divide,
Nor life nor death can part us now;
I thrust my hand into His side,
And say, My Lord and God art Thou!
My God, for Jesus' sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
9 In holy Baptism long ago
I joined me to the living Vine;
Thou lovest me in Him, I know,
In Him Thou dost accept me Thine;
My God, for Jesus' sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
10 And I have eaten His own flesh
And drunk His blood,--nor can I be
Forsaken now, nor doubt afresh,
I am in Him, and He in me.
My God, for Jesus' sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
11 Then death may come, or tarry yet,
I know in Christ I perish not,
He never will His own forget,
He gives me robes without a spot.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
12 And thus I live in God at peace,
And die without a thought of fear,
Content to take what God decrees,
For through His Son my faith is clear,
His grace shall be in death my stay,
And peace shall bless my dying day.
Source: Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-book #544
Emilie Juliane was daughter of Count Albert Friedrich of Barby and Mühlingen (on the Elbe, near its junction with the Saale). During the Thirty Years' war her father and family had to seek refuge in the Heidecksburg, the castle of his uncle, Count Ludwig Günther of Schwarzburg Rudolstadt, and Emilie was born at the Heidecksburg, Aug. 16, 1637. After the death of her father (1641) and mother (1642), she was adopted by her mother's sister (who was her godmother, and had become the wife of Count Ludwig Günther), and was educated at Rudolstadt with her cousins, under the care of Dr. Ahasuerus Fritsch, and other tutors. She became the wife of her cousin, Albert Anton, July 7, 1665, and died at Rudolstadt, Dec. 3, 1706 (Koch, iv. 56-63; Allg.… Go to person page >
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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