If God Had Not Been on Our Side |
Martin Luther, 1524; German text
If God had not been on our side And had not come to aid us, The foes with all their power and pride Would surely have dismayed us; For we, His flock, would have to fear The threat of men both far and near Who rise in might against us. | 2. Their furious wrath, did God permit, Would surely have consumed us And as a deep and yawning pit With life and limb entombed us. Like men o'er whom dark waters roll Their wrath would have engulfed our soul And, like a flood, o'erwhelmed us. |
3. Blest be the Lord, who foiled their threat That they could not devour us; Our souls, like birds, escaped their net, They could not overpower us. The snare is boken-we are free! Our help is ever, Lord, in Thee, Who madest earth and heaven. |