Du meine Seele singe
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| "Du meine Seele singe" | |
|---|---|
| German hymn by Paul Gerhardt | |
 The title page of the first publication in 1667 | |
| English | You my soul sing |
| Text | by Paul Gerhardt |
| Language | German |
| Based on | Psalm 146 |
| Meter | 7 6 7 6 |
| Melody | by Johann Georg Ebeling |
| Composed | 1666 |
"Du meine Seele singe" (You my soul sing) is a hymn in German by Paul Gerhardt, a paraphrase of Psalm 146. Johann Georg Ebeling wrote the well-known melody in 1666. The song in 10 stanzas was first published in 1667 in the collection Pauli Gerhardi Geistliche-Andachten (Spiritual devotions by Paul Gerhardt) of songs by Gerhardt. It is No. 302 in the current Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch.
Paul Gerhardt wrote the hymn as a paraphrase of Psalm 146, in 1653, five years after the end of the Thirty Years War, when he was a minister in Mittenwalde, south of Berlin.[1] Johann Georg Ebeling, a church musician at the Nikolaikirche,[1] wrote the well-known melody in 1666.[2] The song in 10 stanzas with eight regular lines each was first published in 1667 in the collection Geistliche-Andachten (Spiritual devotions) of songs by Gerhardt.[2] It is, shortened to eight stanzas, No. 302 in the current Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch.[3][4]
The first stanza, expressing the request to the own soul to sing beautifully praising the creator for life, corresponds to verses 1 and 2 of the psalm (Psalms 146:1–2). Stanzas 2 and 3 are not part of the current Protestant hymnal. The fourth stanza, about trust in the God of Jacob as the highest treasure, granting eternal content ("ewig unbetrübt"), corresponds to verses 5 and 6 (Psalms 146:5–6). Stanzas five to seven expand the good things God does, namely protecting those who suffer violence, feeding the hungry and setting prisoners free, corresponding to verse 7 (Psalms 146:7). Stanzas eight and nine mention the light for the blind and comforter of the weak, strangers, orphans and widows as in verses 8 and 9 (Psalms 146:8–9). The last stanza, corresponding to verse 10 (Psalms 146:10), compares the singer to a wilted flower, who will not cease to add to the praise of God.[1][3]
