Psalm 14 For the Overcomer. A Psalm through David

by Martin Luther, in Et­lich christ­lich lid­er (Wittenberg, Germany: 1524) (Es spricht der Un­weis­en Mund wohl); translated from German to English by Richard Massie, Martin Luther’s Spiritual Songs, 1854.

(alternate tune: 8.7.8.7.8.8.7. #1130 Sing Praise to Christ Who lives in us
original tunes are at the end of the song)
mp3 file from hymnal.net

1 The mouth of fools doth God confess,
But while their lips draw nigh Him,
Their heart is full of wickedness,
And all their deeds deny Him.
Corrupt are they, and every one
Abominable works hath done;
There is not one well-doer.

2 The Lord looked from His heavenly throne
On all mankind below Him
To see if there were any one
Who truly sought to know Him,
And all his understanding bent
To search His holy Word, intent
To do His will in earnest.

3 But none there was who walked with God,
For all aside had slidden,
Delusive paths of folly trod,
And followed lusts forbidden;
Not one there was who practiced good,
Though many deemed, in haughty mood,
Their deeds to God were pleasing.

4 “How long, by folly blindly led,
Will they oppress the needy
And My own flock devour like bread?”
So fierce are they and greedy!
In God they put no trust at all,
Nor on His Name in trouble call,
But be their own providers.

5 Therefore their heart is never still,
A constant fear dismays them,
God is with him who doth His will,
Who trusts Him and obeys Him;
6 Ye shame the counsel of the poor
And mock him when he doth assure
That God is e'er his Refuge.

 7 Who shall to Israel's outcast race
From Zion bring salvation?
God will Himself at length show grace
And loose the captive nation;
That will He do by Christ, their King;
Let Jacob then be glad and sing
And Israel be joyful.

I copied this hymn from www.cyberhymnal.org. I like the words, but I haven't yet aquired a taste for the orignial tune, so I substituted a tune from our church's hymnal. The above tune is the only tune in our hymnal to this meter.

Below is the original tune, which I downloaded from cyberhymnal. Cyberhymnal makes all their tunes spooky with a simulated choir going "oooo - oooo" in the background. I removed the spooky stuff from the midi file. (You will need to stop the above tune 1st before starting the tune below. "Stop" is the square button, NOT the 2 vertical bars, which  is "Pause".)

Original Music: Nun Freut Euch, Martin Lu­ther, in Geist­liche Lied­er, by Joseph Klug (Wittenberg, Germany: 1535).

Cyberhymnal also lists an alternate tune below, which I also de-spooked. I haven't aquired a taste yet for this tune either, and it seems much harder to sing than the other. (You will need to stop the above tune 1st before starting the tune below. "Stop" is the square button, NOT the 2 vertical bars, which  is "Pause".)

Al­ter­nate tune: Allein Gott, Deutsch Evan­gel­isch Mess­ze, 1539