Psalm 130

Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir

translated as
From depths of woe I raise to Thee
Out of the depths I cry to Thee

with AUS TIEFER NOT

I. Contextual Background

Early in his attempts to create materials for worship in the German vernacular (versus the standard Latin at the time), Martin Luther (1483–1546) wrote to his friend and colleague Georg Spalatin (1484–1545) seeking help in creating German metrical psalms, some time in late 1523:

The plan is to follow the example of the prophets and the ancient fathers of the church, and to compose psalms for the people in the vernacular, that is, spiritual songs, so that the Word of God may be among the people also in the form of music. Therefore we are searching everywhere for poets. Since you are truly gifted and rich and elegant in the German language, and you have improved with much experience, I ask you to work with us on this project, and make an attempt at transferring any psalm into a hymn, as you may see in this example. But I would like you to avoid any new words or the language used at court. In order to be understood by the people, only the simplest and the most common words should be used for singing; at the same time, however, they should be pure and apt; and further, the sense should be clear and as close as possible to the psalm. You need a free hand here: maintain the sense, but don’t cling to the words; translate them with other appropriate words. I myself do not have so great a gift that I can do what I would like to see done here. …

You have my Seven Penitential Psalms and the commentaries, from which you can catch the sense of the psalm. If this is satisfactory to you, either the first one can be assigned to you, “Lord, not in thine anger” [Psalm 6], or the seventh, “Hear my prayer, O Lord” [Psalm 143]. To Hans von Dolzig I would assign the second, “Blessed are they” [Psalm 32]. I have done “Out of the depths” [Psalm 130], and “Have mercy on me” [Psalm 51] has already been given to someone else. If these are too difficult, then take these two: “I will bless the Lord at all times,” and “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,” that is, Psalms 33 and 32. Or Psalm 103, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” But let us know what we can expect from you.[1]

From this letter, we know Luther had prepared a German translation of Psalm 130, and his aim was to keep the sense of the Psalm while also using language accessible to the common person. In his commentary on the sixth penitential psalm (1517, rev. 1525), Psalm 130, he gave this introduction to the opening verse:

These are noble, passionate, and very profound words of a truly penitent heart that is most deeply moved in its distress. In fact, this cannot be understood except by those who have felt and experienced it. We are all in deep and great misery, but we do not all feel our condition. Crying is nothing but a strong and earnest longing for God’s grace, which does not arise in a person unless he sees in what depth he is lying.[2]

II. Early Publication History and Development

The hymn was first published in a text-only form in four stanzas, probably first sold on broadsheets, then included in five collections in 1524: Etlich cristlich lider (Wittenberg), two editions of Eyn Enchiridion (Erfurt), and two editions of Teütsch Kirchenampt (Strasbourg). In the Wittenberg collection (often nicknamed “Das Achtliederbuch” | Fig. 1), Luther’s text was printed without music, but it would have fit with the tune for Speratus’ hymn “Es ist das Heil uns kommen her.”

In the edition of Eyn Enchiridion printed by Johannes Loersfeld (Fig. 3), Luther’s text was printed with its own tune, probably written by Luther himself. The melody uses a Phrygian scale, which lends a certain quality of pathos. The opening descent and rise of a fifth is an exercise in text painting, occurring at the word “deep” (“From deep distress I cry to you”). It is in German bar form (AAB), structurally, and it has a range of a minor 7th. Hymnologist Erik Routley called this tune “one of Luther’s most profound inspirations.”[3]

In the edition of Eyn Enchiridion printed by Matthes Maler, Luther’s text was appointed to be sung with the tune for his hymn “Ach Gott von himmel sieh darein” (“Salvum me fac,” Psalm 12 | Fig. 2). Maler’s edition is regarded as being an unauthorized production, possibly made from proof sheets stolen or discarded from Loersfeld.[4] Both editions were apparently rushed to press, in competition with each other, and contain various errors.

Luther’s hymn, in its four-stanza form, was also printed in two editions of Teütsch Kirchenampt (Strasbourg) in 1524 (Fig. 4), distinguished from each other by their size. In this collection, the text was set to a melody generally attributed to Wolfgang Dachstein (1487–1553) and known more broadly in hymnals as HERR, WIE DU WILLST.

The hymn was expanded to five stanzas in Johann Walter’s set of choral arrangements, Geystliche Gesangk Buchleyn (Wittenberg, 1524), with the melody appearing in the tenor partbook (Fig. 5). Both the melody and the five-stanza text would remain unchanged through Luther’s lifetime.

III. Textual Analysis

The original four-stanza text was faithful to Luther’s plan, as explained to Georg Spalatin. Scholar Robin Leaver summarized this initial offering:

First, it is the Word of God in song; second, it uses basic German vocabulary; and third, it is closely based on Psalm 130. Each stanza approximates to two verses of the Psalm, but with some overlap of content: stanza 1 is based on verses 1-3; stanza 2, on verses 3-5; stanza 3, on verses 5-7; and stanza 4, on verses 7-8. Although it is closely based on the Psalm, Luther nevertheless expands the content, making explicit what he saw as implicit in it: in stanza 2, forgiveness is in the declarative Word of God; in stanza 3, “Israel” is the creation of God’s Spirit; and in stanza 4, the Good Shepherd is the one who mediates the grace of God.[5]

In the five-stanza version, Luther expanded his original second stanza into two new stanzas (2 and 3). As for the effect of this expansion, Leaver explained how this version “explored more fully the themes of grace as opposed to works, the Word rather than rewards. … Thus the 1523 Psalm-hymn was transmuted into the 1524 faith-hymn.”[6]

J.R. Watson felt Luther’s approach to the Psalm gave it “a particularly Protestant interpretation, emphasizing the saving love of God rather than any attempt to win salvation through works alone.”[7]

Martin Luther offered his own insight into this hymn in his final hymn collection, Geystliche Lieder (Leipzig: V. Babst, 1545), in the preface:

In the De Profundis, read thus: “Des muss dich fürchten jedermann” [“Everyone must fear thee”]. Either by mistake or of purpose this is printed in most books “Des muss sich fürchten jedermann” [“Everyone must be afraid of thee”]. Ut timearis. [“That he may be feared”] The Hebrew reading is as in Matthew XV: “In vain do they fear me teaching doctrines of men.” See also Psalms XIV and LIII: “They call not on the Lord; there feared they where no fear was.” That is, they may have much show of humiliation and bowing and bending in worship where I will have no worship. Accordingly this is the meaning in this place: Since forgiveness of sins is nowhere else to be found but only with thee, so must they let go all idolatry, and come with a willing heart bowing and bending before thee, creeping up to the cross, and have thee alone in honor, and take refuge in thee, and serve thee, as living by thy grace and not by their own righteousness, etc.[8]

IV. Function and Use

In the Roman liturgy, Psalm 130 was a standard presence in funeral liturgies, and it continued to serve this function under Luther. “Aus tiefer Not” is known to have been sung at the funeral of Duke Frederick the Wise in 1525, and it was sung at Luther’s death in 1546. Luther included it in his collection of funeral hymns, Christliche Geseng, Lateinisch und Deudsch, zum Begrebnis (Wittenberg, J. Klug, 1542). It served other functions in other services and in other places, including as an Introit, or as a hymn before the Gospel reading, or as a hymn suitable for particular Sundays on the church calendar.

The hymn also played an important role as an aid to catechism, related to the fifth section of Luther’s Small Catechism, dealing with confession. In confession, just as in the hymn, a sinner looks to Christ for access to grace, not based on merit, as promised in the Word.

V. English Translation 1: Richard Massie

One enduring translation is by Richard Massie (1800–1887), from Martin Luther’s Spiritual Songs (London: Hatchard & Son, 1854), “From depths of woe I raise to Thee.” It is a complete and faithful translation. In some hymnals, the first line is given as “Out of the depths I cry to Thee,” borrowed from the translation(s) by Catherine Winkworth (see below).

In his preface, Massie provided an explanation of his methodology:

It seems necessary to say a few words upon the plan which I have proposed to myself in executing the translation. My first aim has been to give the meaning of the original with accuracy and fidelity, for if these be essential to every good translation, they seem to be especially so to the translation of hymns like Luther’s, since the slightest mistake, or, in some cases, even the change of a word, might involve the change of a doctrine, and thus destroy the interest which they possess, as a short and plain Epitome of the great Reformer’s views.

My next aim has been to imitate the simple, idiomatic, biblical language of the original, for any attempt at finery or embellishment would mar the simplicity which constitutes their chief charm. I have also endeavoured, so far as I could do so without affectation, to throw an air of archaic dignity over them by using language somewhat older and more quaint than that in common use, feeling that Luther would be as unlike himself in the language of the present day as the portrait of a man of the sixteenth in the costume of the nineteenth century. With the view of preserving still further the peculiarities of the original, I have, with few exceptions, employed the same metres; I must else have sacrificed the rhythm and melody for which the hymns are so remarkable, and rendered them unsuitable for being sung to the fine old Lutheran tunes (pp. ix-x).

VI. English Translation 2: Catherine Winkworth

Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878) made two attempts at translating this hymn, both of which have had greater or lesser degrees of influence. The first was completed for her collection Lyra Germanica, First Series (London: 1855), “Out of the depths I cry to Thee, / Lord God! oh hear my prayer!” In this collection, the hymn was recommended for the Fifth Sunday of Lent. This is a full translation of all five stanzas and it follows Luther’s original meter.

As indicated in her preface, she generally attempted to follow the original form and meter of the originals, with some exceptions. This is one of those exceptions, where she had converted Luther’s meter (8.7.8.7.8.8.7.) into something else (8.6.8.6.8.8.6), because she felt the German double rhymes “become cloying to an English ear when often repeated.” Her purpose behind the collection was not to celebrate German hymnody as much as it was to add to the devotional life of English Christians:

… these hymns have been translated, not so much as specimens of German hymn-writing, as in the hope that these utterances of Christian piety which have comforted and strengthened the hearts of many true Christians in their native country, may speak to the hearts of some among us, to help and cheer those who must strive and suffer, and to make us feel afresh what a deep and true Communion of Saints exists among all the children of God in different Churches and lands (p. xix).

Winkworth produced a second translation for The Chorale Book for England (1863 | 2nd ed. with suppl. shown at Fig. 7), “Out of the depths I cry to Thee; / Lord, hear me, I implore Thee!” printed with Luther’s tune. This version has had more currency than the first. In many ways, the two versions are very similar and share some common lines and phrases. The most notable difference overall is the restoration of Luther’s original meter. In the first stanza, when compared to the 1855 translation, the newer version lost the notion of despair (“verzagen”) originally expressed by Luther, but not expressed in the Psalm. Conversely, the new second stanza picked up Luther’s reference to grace (“gnade”) where it had been missing from her first attempt. In the third stanza, she reclaimed Luther’s admonition against merit (versus “works” in 1855) but lost the original sense of the fourth line, appealing to God’s goodness. “Comfort and trust” in the sixth line is much closer to Luther’s original (“mein trost und treuer hort”) than her 1855 text, “my tower, my rock, my shield.” The fourth stanza contained only minor adjustments. In the fifth stanza, Winkworth reclaimed God’s grace in the second line where it was absent from her original text.

Winkworth’s translation(s) can sometimes be found with Massie’s first line, and the reverse is also true. These translations are thus sometimes combined, based on the preferences of the hymnal editor(s). Other adjustments vary by hymnal as editors attempt be as faithful as possible to Luther’s German text.

British Methodist hymnals, in order to accommodate the altered meter of Winkworth’s first translation, use a tune by J.H. Sheppard, ST. MARTIN, first published in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists, with Tunes (“Wesley’s Hymns”) (1877).

VII. Translation by Grindal

One other translation in common use is the one by Lutheran poet-scholar Gracia Grindal, “Out of the depths I cry to you,” originally prepared for the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978 | Fig. 8). Somehow, only four stanzas out of five were included in the hymnal, but a fifth had been prepared and was left unpublished for 46 years until it was recovered and supplied by Grindal for inclusion in Hymns & Devotions for Daily Worship (2024). The LBW score uses an arrangement from the Choralbuch zum Evangelischen Kirchengesangbuch (1952).

Methodist scholar Carlton R. Young said Grindal’s translation “restores some of Luther’s strong and rugged metaphors that nineteenth-century English writers tended to domesticate.”[9] See also the extended analysis of this version by Madeleine Marshall (1995).

by CHRIS FENNER
for Hymnology Archive
5 November 2019
rev. 30 May 2023

Footnotes:

1. Composite translation, based on Luther’s Works, vol. 49 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1972), pp. 68-70, and D. Martin Luthers Werke, Briefwechsel, vol. 3 (Weimer: Nachfolger, 1933), p. 220.

2. Translated by Arnold Guebert, in Luther’s Works, vol. 14 (Saint Louis: Concordia, 1958), p. 189.

3. Erik Routley, The Music of Christian Hymns (Chicago: GIA, 1981), p. 23.

4. Robin A. Leaver, The Whole Church Sings: Congregational Singing in Luther’s Wittenberg (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017), p. 94, referencing Konrad Ameln, Das Erfurter Enchiridion (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1983), p. 19.

5. Robin A. Leaver, Luther’s Liturgical Music (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), p. 146.

6. Robin A. Leaver, LLM, p. 146.

7. J.R. Watson, “Out of the depths I cry to Thee,” An Annotated Anthology of Hymns (Oxford: University Press, 2002), p. 70.

8. Translated by Leonard Bacon, The Hymns of Martin Luther (NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons), p. xxvii.

9. Carlton R. Young, “Out of the depths I cry to Thee,” Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), pp. 551-552.

Related Resources:

Johannes Zahn, Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder (Gütersloh: C. Bertelsmann, 1890), no. 4437: Archive.org

James Mearns, “Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu dir,” A Dictionary of Hymnology, ed. John Julian (London: J. Murray, 1892), pp. 96-97: Google Books

K.L. Parry & Erik Routley, “Out of the depths I cry to Thee,” Companion to Congregational Praise (London: Independent Press, 1953), pp. 185-186.

Marilyn Kay Stulken, “Out of the depths I cry to you,” Hymnal Companion to the Lutheran Book of Worship (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981), pp. 359-360.

Erik Routley, The Music of Christian Hymns (Chicago: GIA, 1981), p. 23.

Richard Watson & Kenneth Trickett, “Out of the depths I cry to Thee,” Companion to Hymns and Psalms (Peterborough: Methodist Publishing House, 1988), p. 261.

Markus Jenny, Luthers Geistliche Lieder und Kirchengesänge (Cologne, 1985), pp. 68-70, 188-192.

Fred L. Precht, “From depths of woe I cry to you,” Lutheran Worship Hymnal Companion (St. Louis: Concordia, 1992), pp. 244–246.

Carlton R. Young, “Out of the depths I cry to Thee,” Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), pp. 551-552.

Robin A. Leaver, “From deepest woe I cry to Thee,” The Hymnal 1982 Companion, vol. 3A (NY: Church Hymnal Corp., 1994), pp. 303-306.

Madeleine Forell Marshall, “Out of the depths I cry to you,” Common Hymnsense (Chicago: GIA, 1995), pp. 140–145.

J.R. Watson, “Out of the depths I cry to Thee,” An Annotated Anthology of Hymns (Oxford: University Press, 2002), pp. 69-70.

Paul Westermeyer, “Out of the depths I cry to you,” Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2010), pp. 439-440.

J.R. Watson, “Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu dir,” Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology:
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/a/aus-tiefer-noth-schrei-ich-zu-dir

“From depths of woe I raise to Thee” (Massie), Hymnary.org:
https://hymnary.org/text/out_of_the_depths_to_thee_i_raise

“Out of the depths I cry to Thee; Lord, hear me, I implore Thee” (Winkworth), Hymnary.org:
https://hymnary.org/text/out_of_the_depths_i_cry_to_thee_lord_hea

“Out of the depths I cry to you” (Grindal), Hymnary.org:
https://hymnary.org/text/out_of_the_depths_i_cry_to_you_o_lord_no