The Cyber Hymnal ‎#1549

1549. Flung to the Heedless Winds

1. Flung to the heedless winds,
Or on the waters cast,
The martyrs’ ashes, watched,
Shall gathered be at last.

2. And from that scattered dust,
Around us and abroad,
Shall spring a plenteous seed,
Of witnesses for God.

3. The Father hath received,
Their latest living breath,
And vain is Satan’s boast,
Of victory in their death.

4. Still, still, though dead, they speak,
And, trumpet tongued, proclaim,
To many a wakening land,
The one availing name.

Text Information

• First Line: Flung to the heedless winds
• Title: Flung to the Heedless Winds
• German Title: Ein neues Lied wir heben an
• Author: Martin Luther (1523)
• Translator (from German), attributed: John A. Messenger
• Meter: 66.66
• Language: English
• Source: This English version appeared in a translation of D'Aubignés History of the Reformation (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 1843)
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: On June 23, 1523, two young Augustinian monks, Heinrich Voes and Johann Esch, from Antwerp, had been, after examination by the Cologne Inquisitor, Jacob von Hogstraten, and at the instigation of the Louvain professors, condemned to death and burnt at the stake in Brussels. On receipt of the news of this first martyrdom for the Evangelical cause Luther's spirit was fired, and he wrote this spirited narrative, ending with the prophetic words [translated by Richard Massie, 1854]: Summer is even at our door, The winter now hath vanished, The tender flowerets spring once more, And He, who winter banished, Will send a happy Summer. Julian, p. 326

Tune Information

• Name: IBSTONE
• Composer: Maria Tiddeman (1875)
• Meter: 66.66
• Incipit: 13452 35176 76555
• Key: D Major
• Copyright: Public Domain