Gott rufet noch. Sollt ich nicht endlich hören

Gott rufet noch. Sollt ich nicht endlich hören. Gerhard Tersteegen* (1697-1769). First published in Tersteegen’s Geistliches Blumen-Gärtlein, Drittes Büchlein (Book III) (1735), in eight 4-line stanzas, with the first phrase spelt ‘Gott rüffet noch’. It was entitled ‘Heute, weil ihr seine Stimme höret!’ (‘Today if ye will hear his voice’). It is found in EG in the ‘Umkehr und Nachfolge’, (‘turning and following’) section, at EG 392, with all eight stanzas, the first four beginning ‘Gott rufet noch’ (‘God is still calling… should I not hear/come at last’, etc.). It develops into an intensely dramatic hymn, with a striking use of repetition. It was translated by Sarah Laurie Findlater* as...