Doctor Martin Luther. 1483-1546. HYMN FOR THE REFORMATION. Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth. Psa. xii. 1. Ye have taken away the key of knowledge. St. Luke, xi. 52. Look down, O Lord, from heaven behold, And let thy pity waken! How few the flock within thy fold, Neglected and forsaken! Almost Thou’lt seek for faith in vain, And those who should thy truth maintain, Thy word from us have taken. With frauds which they themselves invent Thy truth they have confounded: Their hearts are not with one consent On thy pure doctrine grounded; And, whilst they gleam with outward show, They lead thy people to and fro, In error’s maze astounded. God surely will uproot all those With vain deceits who store us, With haughty tongue who God oppose, And say, “Who’ll stand before us? By right or might we will prevail; What we determine cannot fail, For who can lord it o’er us?” For this, saith God, I will arise, These wolves my flock are rending; I’ve heard my people’s bitter sighs To heaven my throne ascending: Now will I up, and set at rest Each weary soul by fraud opprest, The poor with might defending. The silver seven times tried is pure From all adulteration; So, through God’s word, shall men endure Each trial and temptation: Its worth gleams brighter through the cross, And, purified from human dross, It shines through every nation. Thy truth Thou wilt preserve, O Lord, Pure from their artful glozing; Oh! make us lean upon thy word, With hearts unmov’d reposing, Though bad men triumph and their crew Are gather’d round, the faithful few With crafty toils enclosing. SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE AUTHORS. Angelus, Johann—1624-1677—whose real name was Scheffler, native of Breslau, physician in ordinary to the Emperor Ferdinand the Third. In the year 1653 he resigned this post, went over to the Romish Church, and became a priest, having previously, by a singular fancy, assumed the name of Angelus. Arndt, Ernst Moritz—born in Pomerania; in 1806 professor of philosophy at Greifswald, in 1816 professor of history at Bonn. From having been a writer of popular songs, he became a writer of sacred ones. The hymn ‘Geht nun hin und grabt mein Grab,’ here selected, must be reckoned one of the greatest gems of sacred poetry of the century. Brunswick, Anton Ulrich, Duke of—1633-1714—pupil of the learned Schottelius; a learned prince, who was a popular writer of his time. Bürde, Samuel Gottlieb—1763-?—native of Breslau, royal secretary to the board of finances at that place. Dach, Simon—1605-1659—a Prussian, born at Memel, professor of poetry at Königsberg. Denicke, David—1603-1680—a Saxon, native of Zittau, a member of the Consistory at Hanover.