"" (Show us, Lord, your might and goodness) is a Christian

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

penitence Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a par ...

. The lyrics were written in the early 1980s by Raymund Weber. They were combined with a melody from the 1708 hymnal by Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen. The song in three stanzas appeared in the 2013 Catholic hymnal ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speaki ...

'' as GL 272 in the section for

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

History

The lyrics were written, beginning around 1980, by Raymund Weber, a Germanist and theologian who was inspired by the changes of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

. He began by translating a Swedish song by , but ended writing his own wording for the Swedish melody. When his song was considered to be included in the Catholic hymnal ''

'', the Swedish melody was dropped in favour of a Baroque melody from the 1708 hymnal by Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen. It appeared in the ''Gotteslob'' in the second edition in 2013 as GL 272, in the section for

, the time of penitence and fasting before Easter (''Österliche Bußzeit – Fastenzeit''). It was also included in the songbook ''Das Liederbuch / Lieder zwischen Himmel und Erde''.

Text

Weber wrote three stanzas of six lines each, rhyming ababcc. The first stanza is a prayer, for the ability to experience God's might and goodness, and to receive the fire of the Holy Spirit to turn away the anxiety in us. In the second stanza, the singers realize themselves as tools of God's promise (''Werkzeuge deiner Verheißung''), and request to be able to act motivated by faith and love. They begin the third stanza: "Call us to turning whenever we fail" (''Ruf uns zur Umkehr, sooft wir versagen''). They address God as the answer to desperate questions (''Antwort bist du in verzweifelten Fragen''), and request to be taught forgiveness, trust and patience. Finally the sacrifice of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

is mentioned as a model in both words and deeds.

Melody

The Baroque melody from the 1708 hymnal is unusual for a hymn, in

triple time Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 ( compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , , ...

and with several melismata. It is a

bar form Bar form (German: ''die Barform'' or ''der Bar'') is a musical form of the pattern AAB. Original use The term comes from the rigorous terminology of the Meistersinger guilds of the 15th to 18th century who used it to refer to their songs and the ...

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

, beginning with an expressive cruciform melody (E D G F) of narrow intervals and a leap. \relative c' The conclusion (''Abgesang'') contains the beginning in reverse (''Umkehrung''), a musical image for ''Umkehr'' or repentance. Never touching the ground key on a line's end, the melody softens only towards the end. \relative c''

References

Cited sources

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External links

Sing, bet und geh auf Gottes Wegen ... / 40 neue und bekannte geistliche Lieder erschlossen
(in German) Herder * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeige Uns Herr Deine Allmacht Und Gute Catholic hymns in German 1982 compositions