Songs of sorrow

Farewell, farewell, you beautiful world!
My heart is exhausted and heavy;
Farewell to all of you until we meet again,
Farewell, I can endure no more!
 
[Farewell], you holy land that loved me
And gave me a thousand joys,
Gave me a God and a Heaven,
And sweet pain and sorrow,
 
And placed many a blessed human breast
Against my breast,
And in easy play, in high seriousness,
Unutterably moved me,
 
[You gave me] the hat of freedom on my head,
The staff in my hand,
To reign and [wander over in pilgrimage]1 happily
On sea and land!
 
Farewell, farewell, you holy world,
Which gave me the Saviour,
And reparation into my contrite heart,
And immortality into the grave!
 
He went before me into death,
May He give me His hand! --
The abyss is deep, my path is night
Across into His land!

The pathway that you so often wandered,
That I wandered along with you,
The waves of wheat already conceal it,
And flowers nod above it;
And only by the more lushly burgeoning life
Do I recognize the beloved track;
Otherwise it is harboured within the [broad covering]1
Of the immeasureably rich meadow!
 
Just like the pathway, your life, too,
Was lost in the richest sea of blessings,
And my joyful glances hover
Over it like sunbeams:
How God has blessed your existence
And the sowing of your faithful hands!
With every step I take I encounter
Your quiet deeds of love.
 
Suffused in the Almighty's goodness,
Encircled as by a mother's arms,
How could I in my spirit continue to feel
Abandoned, orphaned, and poor!
No laments arise, no yearnings;
Fulfillment streams about me;
[A light and merciful sanction,]2
As if I too had achieved fulfillment!
 
Should I hope and not see [that which I hope for]?
To see is the very essence of hope,
Even if the fulfillment of [the most hopeful]3 trust,
The full fruition, is still far in the future.
You are with Him, in His presence
I miraculously feel your [nearness].
I am upheld and I look into
The clear depths of love.

    Consign yourself
    To God's purpose,
Let everything else fade away;
    Always go forward
    In this peace,
Then you shall prevail!
 
    Be gentle and quiet,
    Listen to what He wills;
Do not interrupt Him,
    Then your spirit
    Shall become bold and fine,
And battles and feuds shall be no more.
 
    The world so beautiful
    Is destined to decay,
I cannot rebuke it for that!
    Why should [the world] recompense us for
    Our anxieties and toils
And our sorrows?
 
    [The world] also holds
    Enough joys at the ready
To refresh the wanderer;
    You must simply
    Meekly and gently
Also submit to [the world's] thorns!
 
    Adversity
    Keeps us bold and alert,
So as not to miss out on salvation!
    The vain heart,
    Without anxiety and sorrow,
Would easily dream away the [opportunity to gain salvation].
 
    Thus time obediently
    Turns to eternity
For instruction,
    And everything leads,
    As is proper,
To God's praise and glory!