Gott der Vater steh uns bei

Gott der Vater steh uns bei. Martin Luther* (1483-1546). This is an adaptation by Luther of a common medieval form, a German Litany for God or the saints to ‘be with us’. See Jenny, Luthers geistliche Lieder, no. 23, pp. 236-7. The first line was originally ‘won [‘wohn’, dwell] uns bei’. The Litany repeats the 14-line verse three times, changing the first line only: Gott der vatter won uns bey Jhesus Christus won uns bey, &c Heylig geyst der won uns bey, &c In Wackernagel, Das Deutsche Kirchenlied III. 16, it is printed from the Geystliche gesangk Buchlein (Wittenberg, 1524). The first line as above is from the Evangelisches Gesangbuch, where it opens the ‘Trinitatis’ section: the...