Mit Ernst, o Menschenkinder

Mit Ernst, o Menschenkinder. Valentin Thilo* (1607-1662). First printed in the first part of the Preussische Fest-lieder (Erster Theil Der Preussischen Fest-Lieder vom Advent an biß Ostern, 1642). It is thought to have been connected with the death from the plague of Thilo’s sister Justina in 1639 (‘With seriousness, O children of people’). Certainly stanza 2, with its Advent reminder to be prepared, and stanza 3, with its description of the lowly heart, are consonant with this theory. The hymn was translated by Catherine Winkworth* in The Chorale Book for England (1863) as ‘Ye sons of men, in earnest’, and by Arthur Tozer Russell* as ‘Ye sons of men, your spirits’. A translation based on...