Ach Gott vom Himmel, sieh darein

Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein. Martin Luther* (1483-1546). Written probably in 1523, and one of four hymns by Luther published in Etlich christlich lider Lobgesang un[d] Psalm (the ‘Achtliederbuch’, Nuremberg/ Wittenberg, 1524). This is a free version of Psalm 12, entitled ‘Salvum me fac’ (‘Help, Lord’). It had six 7-line stanzas. A further stanza, ‘Eer [Ehr] sey Gott vatter alle zeyt’, was added in Eyn Enchiridion oder Handbuchlein (Erfurt, 1524), but it is not thought to be by Luther. The Evangelisches Gesangbuch, which includes it, notes it as ‘Straßburg, 1545’. Wackernagel notes two versions of this stanza (Das Deutsche Kirchenlied, III. 6). The verse omitted from EG is the original...