Oratory.

On the vastly different life and death of the ungodly and the godly.

Johann Daniel Pucklitz (1747)

Part one

Sinfonia (Allegro, Andante, Presto)

Chorale [1st stanza of the song Ich bin ja, Herr, in deiner Macht by Heinrich Albert].

Here I am, Lord, in your power,

Thou hast brought me to the light,

You also sustain my life.

You know my number of months,

you also know when this paddock of tears

I must say good night again.

Where, how and when I am to die,

You know, O Father, better than well.

[Dictum]

Bass: This is the eternal law: man, you must die! [Syr 14:17].

Recital

Tenor: Yes, indeed an eternal law.

The first couple that God's hand created,

to which He gave His image,

announced his lips,

that the honour of the purest obedience

is due to Him for His graciousness.

He showed her the fruits of disobedience,

a state of misery and poverty.

Meanwhile

it has destroyed its own prosperity

and chose death for herself and for us.

Therefore, it cannot be otherwise:

Soprano, alto, tenor, bass: We children must inherit it

and all die.

Aria

Alt: No one is free from dying,

everyone must rave

accept payment,

which disobedience brings.

Also the greats of this world,

whose power oppresses everything,

have to find out,

that the truth is one:

No one is free from dying.

Chorale

No one will acquit themselves here,

no one can overturn a judgment,

nobody here, whoever they are,

nothing to say:

Or majesty, wealth, splendour,

good and power

cannot take revenge for death?

No, the whole world must want

submit to these rules,

No one can, when they like,

say goodbye to life.

You may or may not want it,

this necessity

can harness the will.

Recital

Bass: Just like the big ones in this people

is characterised by similarity,

so great is the difference in courage,

which they display in the face of death.

Alt: Some people can't

refrain from sadness,

when talking about dying.

Bass: And many are pushing

Anxiety to sigh and wail.

They can be heard saying:

Arioso tutti

Ah! what a harsh end,

When body and spirit must part.

Aria

Bass: Many do not die willingly.

Apprehension and fear permeate the members,

courage and hope are waning.

When a person remembers,

who offers his heart to joy,

which experiences continued prosperity,

it does not die willingly.

Recital

Tenor: To allay this anxiety,

they shall choose

a comfortable life for themselves;

their will to remain here is permanent,

do what is pleasing to their hearts,

and are subjects of the world

hated vanity.

They never think

Of the One who can alleviate their fears.

They talk amongst themselves:

Aria tutti

Let us live freely and cheerfully

and let everyone know,

what a joyful time we had!

        Who misses an opportunity

        and still contemplates his death,

        this one will be laughed at by us.                Da capo

Chorale [the first two stanzas of the song O! wie mögen wir doch unser Leben by Heinrich Albert].

O! how we can our lives,

which is subject to the world and its pleasures,

with themselves separate

from the peace of the pious and a thousand joys?

Don't we, too, after the fleeting years of

heading towards the dead to the grave?

And it will happen then,

That everyone will see their payoff.

Recital

Bass: Who can't see and understand,

that these people

forever

are they preparing the greatest misfortune for themselves?

Soprano: Separate themselves from God's face

and it is this that intensifies

at the end of their time of horror:

It succeeds

their spirit in fear and trembling

To hell, to a place of torment.

Aria

Soprano: O mortals, of your senses

do not sacrifice too much joy.

        Go, rush, refuge from here;

        The world does not have to be a flat for you.                Da capo

Chorale [3rd stanza of the song Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende by Ämilia Juliana von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt].

Alt: Lord, teach me to always remember my end,

and if I ever have to die,

teach me to immerse my soul in the wounds of Jesus

and spare not my penance.

Tutti: My God, please through the blood of Christ,

take care of my end.

Recital

Bass: Anguish, fear and agony,

in which damned souls suffer,

will be continuous.

Soprano: The enormity of the sorrow cannot be described.

Tenor: The slave who lies bound,

he hopes to be free at last;

It is therefore based on

all work and toil.

Meanwhile, for ever

the punishment of the condemned must continue,

no matter how much they expect

and yearned for a time of freedom.

Aria tutti

Get down, mountains, get down,

cover us, choke the spirit!

        O! more than monstrous pains,

        How you torment and oppress our hearts!

        O! infinitely hot flames,

Who will pull us out of this heat?                        Da capo

Chorale [11th stanza of the song O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort by Johann Rist].

As long as God exists in heaven

and hovers over all worlds,

these torments will last.

They will be plagued by cold and sweltering temperatures,

fear, hunger, terror, fire and lightning,

and yet they will never absorb them.

There will, however, be an end to the ordeal,

When God is no longer eternal.

Part two

Chorale [13th and 14th stanza of the song Meinen Jesum lass ich nicht, meine Seel' by Johann Friedrich Mayer].

Don't leave me, my Jesus,

as my end draws near,

When my sense and heart breaks,

Jesus, take your hands

my spirit, the light of my life.

I will not abandon my Jesus.

I am sure of that too,

because my Jesus promised it to me,

that from the darkness of death

will snatch me away with his strong hand.

Therefore, says my soul:

Amen, I will not abandon Jesus.

Recital

Tenor: Very clearly death

believer is different from that one.

He is calm and joyful

and sees it as something,

Which can bring him more joy than temporality.

Keeps in faith

Saviour, who death of all power

with his strength deprived.

He will not allow Himself to be taken away:

This will free him from all poverty.

Aria duetto

Soprano and alto: Admirable strength of faith!

which gives us both comfort and peace,

when we leave temporality.

        When more than one spirit is frightened,

        a true Christian rejoices.

        He knows his Salvation, he can calm down.                Da capo

Chorale [1st stanza of the song O Tod, was willst du schrecken? by Johann Quirsfeld].

About death, who do you want to scare?

My Jesus wants to shield me,

when you lay me down in the womb of the earth;

I am supposed to be alive,

when the spirit is raised in the Lord.

Recital

Bass: The courage of a Christian

further intensifies this,

that only for a short time

it will be covered in gunpowder.

He has, once he has rested,

beamed out of his grave;

therefore usually with joy

talks about his death:

Aria

Bass: Lay my body in the grave.

Do you think to see me scared?

This will never happen.

Even when the body tent is destroyed,

it will not weaken my courage.

After all, I will

off the ground

dead

arise,

when the voice of the Most High comes.

Therefore, lay the body in the grave.

Chorale [4th stanza of the song Jesus, meine Zuversicht attributed to Luise Henriette von Oranien].

I am the body and therefore I must

also turn to dust one day.

I know this, after all He

will raise me from the ground,

so that in glory

could be with him continually.

Recital

Tenor: How right it is to want to die,

which moves the believer.

Alt: He knows bliss,

To which God's grace leads him.

Bass: It costs satisfaction,

which rejoices the redeemed spirit.

Tenor: He is aware,

that it looks over the kingdom,

where you see nothing but peace and quiet,

as just a delight;

Where there is no life limited by poverty,

where the heavenly hosts try

in the new song

to praise the goodness of the Most High.

+

Chorale [4th stanza of the song Alle Menschen müssen sterben by Johann Georg Albinus or Johann Rosenmüller].

Soprano: There will be a life of joy,

there are already many thousands of souls

surrounded by heavenly splendour,

standing before God's throne.

There the seraphs shine

and intone an arch-song:

Tutti: Holy, holy, holy is

God the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

Aria

Soprano: O eternal delight! Tenor: O heavenly life!

Alt: O joy unbroken by any sorrow!

Bass: Who can duly praise the grace of the Most High,

that refreshes the citizens of Heaven?

Soprano: Who can fathom it?

Tenor: Who can penetrate it?

Bass: This is impossible here:

Alt: The language is too weak.

Tutti: There we will be able to describe it more clearly.

O eternal bliss! O heavenly life!

Chorale [6th and 7th stanza of the song Alle Menschen müssen sterben by Johann Georg Albinus or Johann Rosenmüller].

Bass: Ah! Jerusalem, how beautiful you are,

ah! how brightly you shine!

Ah! how pleasantly laudatory

there in the midst of blissful tranquillity!

O! of great joy and delight

Here rises the sun,

here the day begins,

which cannot end.

Tutti: Ah! I have already seen

this great magnificence.

Now I am beautifully adorned

a white heavenly robe;

and with a golden crown of glory

I stand there before God's throne,

I watch these joys,

which cannot end.

Recital

Tenor: Out of this bliss,

which rejoices the believers there,

it draws

the most obvious evidence,

How passionately God loves people.

And this love makes,

That he scoffs at futility.

Soprano: It is ready,

Supreme word and will

fulfil with all your might.

He perceives the joy of the world,

which has fettered many a spirit,

as something,

Which cannot last.

It feeds pure lust in its soul;

briefly: body and spirit are consecrated to God.

Aria

Soprano: Down, fleeting joy of this world!

You can, admittedly, worry me,

but nothing will truly make me happy.

I choose what is pleasing to God.

I want to continually stand by him;

nothing can silence my fervent desire

like what His graciousness provides for me.

Down, fleeting joy of this world!

Chorale [5th stanza of the song Warum willst du draußen stehen by Paul Gerhardt].

In the world, everything is trivial,

there is nothing that is not powerless.

If I have power, it is fleeting,

if I have wealth, what is more

than a piece of barren land?

If I experience contentment, what is it worth?

What is it that rejoices me today,

and what will I not regret tomorrow?

Recital

Alt: Christian wishes

in holy desire

embrace Tego,

who is the source of all love;

to go as quickly as possible in peace to the multitude of

the redeemed righteous.

Arioso

Where no weakness will be a ghost anymore

detach from God and his love.

Aria

Tenor: The longed-for hours of death!

Hurry, take me to this land,

Where my Love rules,

where peace and quiet reside.

O! untie the knot,

which fetters body and spirit.

The longed-for hours of death!

take me to this land.

Chorale [18th and 19th stanzas of the song Den die Engel droben mit Gesange loben by Caspar Ziegler and Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen].

Give me with mortality

finally say goodbye.

Here is my undoing:

my wish is to die.

I wish to live,

Lord, at your throne,

so that I can close up

view divinity and humanity.

Recital

Tenor: However, he gives up

always the will of the Most High,

when His wisdom is not pleasing

the fulfilment of what he desires.

And as the time of dying approaches,

leaves as a hero of faith

out of this world

towards that great glory.

Aria

Bass: There he celebrates grace, there he praises faithfulness,

With joyful singing and cheerful shouting.

Tutti: Oh, let's all join in

with cheerful tones

to songs perfected in faith!

They live in joy,

do not suffer.

They celebrate grace, praise faithfulness

With joyful singing and cheerful shouting.

Chorale [3rd stanza of the song Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme by Philippa Nicolai].

Bass: Gloria be sung to you:

Tutti: in human and angelic languages,

on harps and dulcimer.

Bass: About twelve pearls are the gates

Tutti: Your city. And we are companions

angels high at your throne.

Bass: No eye could see,

Tutti and bass: no ear heard

Tutti: such joy.

That is why we rejoice:

yo, yo!

for ever in sweet merriment.

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