The glory of God in nature | Heaven praises the glory of Eternity

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715 - 1769)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Die Himmel rühmen des Ewigen Ehre

Language: German (Deutsch)

Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG ENG FRE ITA

Die Himmel rühmen des Ewigen Ehre;
  Ihr Schall pflanzt seinen Namen fort.
Ihn rühmt der Erdkreis, ihn preisen die Meere;
  Vernimm, o Mensch, ihr göttlich Wort!

Wer [trägt]¹ der Himmel unzählbare Sterne?
  Wer führt die Sonn aus ihrem Zelt?
Sie kommt und leuchtet und lacht uns von ferne
  Und läuft den Weg gleich als ein Held.

Vernimm's, und siehe die Wunder der Werke, 
  Die die Natur dir aufgestellt! 
Verkündigt Weisheit und Ordnung und Stärke 
  Dir nicht den Herrn, den Herrn der Welt? 

Kannst du der Wesen unzählbare Heere, 
  Den kleinsten Staub fühllos beschaun? 
Durch wen ist alles? O gib ihm die Ehre! 
  Mir, ruft der Herr, sollst du vertraun. 

Mein ist die Kraft, mein ist Himmel und Erde; 
  An meinen Werken kennst du mich. 
Ich bin's, und werde sein, der ich sein werde, 
  Dein Gott und Vater ewiglich. 

Ich bin dein Schöpfer, bin Weisheit und Güte, 
  Ein Gott der Ordnung und dein Heil; 
Ich bin's! Mich liebe von ganzem Gemüte, 
  Und nimm an meiner Gnade Teil.

C. Bach sets stanzas 1, 4-6
L. Beethoven sets stanzas 1-2
F. Abt sets stanzas 1-2

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Note: Abt's song uses Beethoven's melody.

¹ Abt: "zählt" (possibly an editor's mistake)

Authorship:

by Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715 - 1769), "Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Franz Wilhelm Abt (1819 - 1885), "Die Ehre Gottes von Beethoven", op. 186 (Lieder und Chöre für 3 Frauenstimmen mit Pianoforte), Heft 3 no. 8, published 1863, stanzas 1-2 [ vocal trio of female voices or three-part women's chorus and piano ], Offenbach, André [sung text checked 1 time]
by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714 - 1788), "Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur", Wq 194 no. 18, stanzas 1,4-6 [ voice and harpsichord or piano ], from Geistliche Oden und Lieder mit Melodien: Gellert Oden, no. 18 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur", op. 48 no. 4 (1803), stanzas 1-2, from Sechs Lieder nach Gedichten von Gellert, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

CAT Catalan (Català) (Jordi López Jové) , "La gloria de Déu en la natura", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De roem van God in de natuur", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The glory of God in nature", copyright ©
ENG English [singable] (Allen Shearer) , "God's Glory in Nature", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Angelika Frenzel) , "L'Hommage rendu à Dieu par la Nature", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "La natura canta la gloria di Dio", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-10-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 166

The glory of God in nature

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 Heaven praises the glory of Eternity;
 its roar proclaims his name.
 The earth praises Him, the seas praise Him;
 listen, o man, to their divine words!
 
 Who supports the uncountable stars of heaven?
 Who guides the sun from its canopy?
 It comes and shines, and laughs at us from afar,
 and runs its course like a hero.
 
 Listen and observe the wunders of the works
 that Nature has established for you!
 Do not wisdom, order and fortitude 
 announce to you the Lord, the Lord of the World?
 
 Can you imagine the nature of countless beings,
 the most insignificant dust, without feeling?
 From whom did it all arise? O give him honor!
 The Lord calls, "On me you shall rely."
 
 Mine is the strength, mine is Heaven and Earth;
 you know me by my works.
 I am, and shall be, that which I shall be:
 your God and Father eternal.
 
 I am your Creator; I am wisdom and goodness,
 a god of order and of your salvation.
 I am that! Love me with your entire self,
 and partake of my graciousness.

Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715 - 1769), "Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur"

This text was added to the website: 2003-10-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 181