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Who seeks in weakness an excuse

Author: Bernard Walther Marperger; Catherine Winkworth Appears in 4 hymnals

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Who seeks in weakness an excuse

Author: Catherine Winkworth; Marperger Hymnal: Lyra Germanica #63 (1861) Meter: 8.7.8.7.6.6.8.6.6.8 Lyrics: Who seeks in weakness an excuse, His sins will vanquish never; Unless he heart and mind renews, He is deceived for ever. The strait and narrow way, That shines to perfect day, He hath not found, hath never trod; Little he knows, I ween, What prayer and conflict mean To one who hath the light of God. In what the world calls weakness lurks The very strength of evil, Full mightily it helps the works Of our great foe the devil. Awake, my soul, awake, Thy refuge quickly take With Him, the Almighty, who can save; One look from Christ thy Lord Can sever every cord That binds thee now, a wretched slave. Know, the first step in Christian lore Is to depart from sin; True faith will leave the world no more A place thy heart within. Thy Saviour's Spirit first The heavy bonds must burst, Wherein Death bound thee in thy need; Then the freed spirit know What strength He gives to those Who with their Lord are risen indeed. And why Thy Spirit, Lord, began Help Thou with inner might! Earth has no better gift for man Than strength and love of right. Oh make Thy followers just Who look to Thee in trust, Thy strength and justice let us know; Our souls through Thee would wear The power of grace, most fair Of all the jewels faith can show. Strong Son of God, break down Thy foes, So shall we conquer ours; Strong in the might from Thee that flows, We mourn not lack of powers, E'er since that from above, The witness of Thy love Thy Spirit cam, and doth abide With us, dispelling fear And falsehood, that we here May fight and conquer on Thy side. Give strength, whene'er our strength must fail; Give strength the flesh to curb; Give strength when craft and sin prevail To weaken and disturb. The world doth lay her snares To catch us unawares, Give strength to sweep them all away; So in our utmost need, And when death comes indeed, Thy strength shall be our perfect stay. Languages: English

Who seeks in weakness an excuse

Author: Marperger; Catherine Winkworth Hymnal: Lyra Germanica #S1-63 (1881) Languages: English

Who seeks in weakness an excuse

Author: Marperger Hymnal: Lyra Germanica #149 (1856) Languages: English

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Catherine Winkworth

1827 - 1878 Translator of "Who seeks in weakness an excuse" Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used in many modern hymnals. Her work was published in two series of Lyra Germanica (1855, 1858) and in The Chorale Book for England (1863), which included the appropriate German tune with each text as provided by Sterndale Bennett and Otto Goldschmidt. Winkworth also translated biographies of German Christians who promoted ministries to the poor and sick and compiled a handbook of biographies of German hymn authors, Christian Singers of Germany (1869). Bert Polman ======================== Winkworth, Catherine, daughter of Henry Winkworth, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, was born in London, Sep. 13, 1829. Most of her early life was spent in the neighbourhood of Manchester. Subsequently she removed with the family to Clifton, near Bristol. She died suddenly of heart disease, at Monnetier, in Savoy, in July, 1878. Miss Winkworth published:— Translations from the German of the Life of Pastor Fliedner, the Founder of the Sisterhood of Protestant Deaconesses at Kaiserworth, 1861; and of the Life of Amelia Sieveking, 1863. Her sympathy with practical efforts for the benefit of women, and with a pure devotional life, as seen in these translations, received from her the most practical illustration possible in the deep and active interest which she took in educational work in connection with the Clifton Association for the Higher Education of Women, and kindred societies there and elsewhere. Our interest, however, is mainly centred in her hymnological work as embodied in her:— (1) Lyra Germanica, 1st Ser., 1855. (2) Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858. (3) The Chorale Book for England (containing translations from the German, together with music), 1863; and (4) her charming biographical work, the Christian Singers of Germany, 1869. In a sympathetic article on Miss Winkworth in the Inquirer of July 20, 1878, Dr. Martineau says:— "The translations contained in these volumes are invariably faithful, and for the most part both terse and delicate; and an admirable art is applied to the management of complex and difficult versification. They have not quite the fire of John Wesley's versions of Moravian hymns, or the wonderful fusion and reproduction of thought which may be found in Coleridge. But if less flowing they are more conscientious than either, and attain a result as poetical as severe exactitude admits, being only a little short of ‘native music'" Dr. Percival, then Principal of Clifton College, also wrote concerning her (in the Bristol Times and Mirror), in July, 1878:— "She was a person of remarkable intellectual and social gifts, and very unusual attainments; but what specially distinguished her was her combination of rare ability and great knowledge with a certain tender and sympathetic refinement which constitutes the special charm of the true womanly character." Dr. Martineau (as above) says her religious life afforded "a happy example of the piety which the Church of England discipline may implant.....The fast hold she retained of her discipleship of Christ was no example of ‘feminine simplicity,' carrying on the childish mind into maturer years, but the clear allegiance of a firm mind, familiar with the pretensions of non-Christian schools, well able to test them, and undiverted by them from her first love." Miss Winkworth, although not the earliest of modern translators from the German into English, is certainly the foremost in rank and popularity. Her translations are the most widely used of any from that language, and have had more to do with the modern revival of the English use of German hymns than the versions of any other writer. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ============================ See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church