O Lord, how shall I meet You? - Paul Gerhardt,
Christoph Runge, Catherine Winkworth (trans.)

Translated into ASL by David Bar-Tzur

Created 29 March 2006, links updated monthly with the help of LinkAlarm.

EXPLANATION OF THE GLOSSING SYSTEM
(to understand how I describe the signs in this translation).

1. LORD, ME LOOK-FORWARD MEET YOU. WANT WELCOME YOU RIGHT WAY.
YOUR PEOPLE REALLY-WANT GREET YOU. GO-TOWARDS-GOAL, MY HEART FEEL INSPIRED.
MAKE MY SOUL BECOME LAMP, BURN FOR YOU, MY LORD.
ME DO WITH SPIRIT HUMBLE, EVERYTHING YOU ASK.

2. BEFORE, JERUSALEM YOU ARRIVE, GREEN BRANCHES PEOPLE LAY-DOWN-PALMS"mime".
AND ME SAME REALLY-WANT WORSHIP YOU.
MUSIC CELEBRATE'slow'. MY HEART WILLING BLOOM, PRAISE-God FOREVER NEW.
NEVER STOP HONOR YOU, NAME~SHINY ME ANNOUNCE.

3. NO-MATTER ENEMY WANT WAR, IGNORE THEIR-lf PLAN MEAN.
YOUR LORD FIGHT FOR (2h)YOU CAN. ENEMY SCARED ESCAPE"each" WILL.
HE-lf COME KING NAME~SHINY, AND ALL HIS ENEMY "WHAT"?
TRY, TRY OPPOSE HIM-lf, BUT FAIL EVERY TIME.


Notes: ME - Underlined words are honorific indices ("indexes"), using the FT of the upturned palm to indicate who is being honored.

REALLY-WANT - WANT but shaken back and forth to show intensity.

GREET - Hands alt. salute from forehead, but hands are more diagonal than a military salute.

GO-TOWARDS-GOAL - like the sign GOAL but the DH moves in a vertical circle while going towards the goal to show a constant process.

JERUSALEM - [B with thumbs flush with other fingers but not folded into palm], touches mouth and then pronates.

BRANCHES - (2h)[1], POs down, FOs away, are held along side one another and touching. The DH moves away and branches out to the DS inseveral different directions to show the plural, while the NDH does not move.

WORSHIP - NDH is clasped over DH [S] and hands circle perpendicular to the chest. For an animated gif of this sign, see Animated dictionary of religious signs - Deaf Missions: Worship.

BLOOM - (2h)[A] are held together but the hands are twisted like the beginning of CHANGE. Hands twist back while opening to (2h)[5:] with the hands still held together.

NAME~SHINY - starts like the sign NAME, the NDH - left in place while the DH touches it with the [open 8] (as in the sign FEEL), then moves upwards while twisting the wrist.

OPPOSE - AGAINST.

Lyrics:

1. O Lord, how shall I meet You, how welcome you aright?
Your people long to greet You, my Hope, my heartŐs Delight!
O kindle, Lord most holy, a lamp within my breast,
To do in spirit lowly all that may please You best.

2. Love caused Your incarnation, love brought You down to me;
Your thirst for my salvation procured my liberty.
O love beyond all telling, that led you to embrace
In love all loves excelling our lost and fallen race.

3. A glorious crown You gave me, a treasure safe on high,
That will not fail nor leave me as earthly riches fly.
My heart shall bloom forever for You with praises new,
And from Your Name shall never withhold the honor due.

treble clef as a symbol for musicTo hear the music (without words), go to O Lord, how shall I meet You?

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