Luther's Hymns
VIII. That Man a Godly Life Might Live
One of Luther's Catechism Chorales teaches about the Ten Commandments. This hymn, "That Man a Godly Life Might Live," is a folk song and should be sung in a lively manner. Luther kept the "Have mercy, Lord" at the end of each stanza in the manner of a medieval folk song. The repeated "G's" in the first line are the shaking finger, "Thou shalt not."
In the Klavieruebung, Part III, by J. S. Bach, the repeated "G's" are made into a fugue subject. This fugue subject occurs ten times, and then the fugue abruptly ends.
—Pastor Gordon Waterman
1. That man a godly life might live,
God did these Ten Commandments give
By His true servant Moses, high
Upon the Mount Sinai. Have mercy, Lord!
2. I am thy God and Lord alone,
No other God beside Me own;
Put thy whole confidence in Me
And love Me e'er cordially. Have mercy, Lord!
3. By idle word and speech profane
Take not My holy name in vain
And praise but that as good and true
Which I Myself say and do. Have mercy, Lord!
4. Hallow the day which God hath Blest
That thou and all thy house may rest;
Keep hand and heart from labor free
That God may so work in thee. Have mercy, Lord!
5. Give to thy parents honor due,
Be dutiful, and loving, too,
And help them when their strength decays;
So shalt thou have length of days. Have mercy, Lord!
6. In sinful wrath thou shalt not kill
Nor hate nor render ill for ill;
Be patient and of gentle mood.
And to thy for do thou good. Have mercy, Lord!
7. Be faithful to thy marriage vows,
Thy heart give only to thy spouse;
Thy life keep pure, and lest thou sin,
Use temperance and discipline. Have mercy, Lord!
8. Steal no; all usury abhor
Nor wring their life-blood from the poor,
But open wide thy loving hand
To all the poor in the land. Have mercy, Lord!
9. Bear not false witness nor belie
Thy neighbor by foul calumny.
Defend his innocence from blame;
With charity hide his shame. Have mercy, Lord!
9. Thy neighbor's house desire thou not,
His wife, nor aught that he hath got,
But wish that his such good may be
As thy heart doth with for thee. Have mercy, Lord!
9. God these commandments gave therein
To show thee, child of man, thy sin
And make thee also well perceive
How man unto God should live. Have mercy, Lord!
9. Help us, Lord Jesus Christ, for we
A Mediator have in Thee.
Our woeks cannot salvation gain;
They merit but endless pain. Have mercy, Lord!
By Martin Luther, 1524
Based on Exodus 20:1-17