Hymns in Translation VII

Concluding our presentation of the many ways in which a Welsh hymn has been rendered into English.. I am indebted to Mr. Geraint Jones of Heath Christian Bookshop for this composite translation, using the best elements of each translation:

In heav'n at God's bright throne of glory

The streams of our joyfulness spring;

For there has ascended the Saviour,

And there intercedeth the King:

The blood which was sprinkled up yonder,

Which full statisfaction did give,

Is there by the throne sweetly pleading

That we, the transgressors, might live.

....

Ere long we'll ascend from the desert

To Paradise, home of the blest,

And there shall our spirits, so weary,

Repose on God's bosom and rest:

There we shall find refuge eternal

From sin, from affliction and pain,

And unto the ages unending

We'll feast on the love of the Lamb.

....

We'll view from the fair hills of Salem

Our path through the wilderness here,

And then all the steps of the journey

In heav'n's perfect light will be clear;

We'll gaze at the tempests and terrors,

The grave, and grim death, now all o'er,

While safe from their reach ever swimming

In God's love and peace evermore.

Hymns in Translation V

Continuing our examination of the ways in which a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Hymn has been rendered into English. The illustration is of the sadly battered and derelict Hount Hermon Wesleyan Chapel, Splott Bridge.

To us from the desert ascending

God giveth in paradise rest;

Our soul after weary contending

Shall peacefully lean on his breast:

There we shall escape from affliction,

From sin with its shame and its pain;

Enjoying the full benediction,

The love of the Lamb that was slain.

....

From the hills of the Beautiful City

The way of the desert is clear;

What joy will there be in reviewing

The journey's meanderings here!

To look on the storms as they gather,

On terrible death and the grave;

While we shall be safe with the Father,

In peace on love's shadowless wave.

Translation unknown

Hymns in Translation IV

Continuing a series presenting English translations of the same Welsh hymn by David Charles.

1. Caught up from the wilds of the desert

To Paradise, home of the blest,

Our souls, all the weariness over,

In peace on God's bosom shall rest;

And we, in that refuge eternal,

From sin, tribulation, and pain,

Shall cherish for ever and ever

The love of the Lamb that was slain.

....

2. From Salem's far heights we shall witness

Our course in the wilderness here,

Each phase of our life shall be present,

Our spirits to gladden and cheer,

Tho' tempests and fears come before us,

The grave from its troubling shall cease,

For we shall be safe from all danger,

At large in the ocean of peace.

Translator unknown.

Hymns In Translation: III

In this feature, I am presenting varying translations of the same Welsh hymn, to show how one language realises the piety as well as the poetry of another:

1.The source of my joy and my rapture

Has sprung from the bright throne above;

For there my Lord Jesus ascended;

And there intercedes through His love;

The blood that stern justice demanded,

Was shed upon God's throne on high,

A pledge of divine grace and mercy,

That we, the condemned, shall not die.

....

2. Away from the earth's wild valley

To paradise we shall ascend;

Our faint, weary soul in God's bosom

Shall sweetly repose in the end.

While safe in our refuge eternal

From sin and from sorrow and pain,

We'll feast upon love without ending,

The love of the Lamb that was slain.

....

3. One day from the fair hills of Salem

The long desert way we shall view;

The trials and turns of the journey

Sweet memories there will renew;

We'll gaze upon terror and tempest,

On death and the grave, from above,

While safe from their reach we are soaring

Enraptured with peace and with love.

David Charles; Trans. Miss Jane Owen

Hymns in Translation: Two

Last Monday, I presented a translation of a Welsh Hymn that was sung at the funeral of Dr. Lloyd-Jones. Today, I reproduce another translation of the same hymn:

1. The River of Joys Everlasting

Proceeds from the glorious white throne

Where Jesus our Lord has ascended,

Who there intercedes for His Own:

The Blood on that Throne that was sprinkled

For us satisfaction did give;

And there through the ages it speaketh

That we, the transgressors, should live.

....

2. Ere long we'll ascend from the desert

And reach the fair land of the blest,

And there shall our spirits, so weary,

Repose on God's spirit and rest:

Salvation from sin and from sorrow

Will e'er be experienced above,

And all will be feasting for ever

On Jesus' unspeakable love.

....

3.We'll view from the mountains of Canaan,

Our path through the wilderness here;

And then all the steps of the journey

In heaven's perfect light will be clear:

We'll think of the tempests and terros,

Of death and the Grave, now all o'er,

And we from all harm ever resting

In God's perfect peace evermore.

David Charles, Tr. W. Edwards.

Hymns in Translation One

A few weeks ago, I posted a translation of the Welsh Hymn 'Mae Ffrydiau 'Ngorfoledd yn Tarddu,' which had been sung at the end of the Sunday Service and had touched me deeply. Little did I know that this hymn had been translated more than once. As anyone who has ever tried translating anything knows, translation is not a simple matter of rendering the words in another language, especially with poetry. Mr. Geraint Jones, of Heath Christain Bookshop pointed this out, and has supplied me with a number of alternative translations. I intend to present these. The first is the Lewis Edwards translation, with the first verse translated by Edward T Owen. This was, I believe, used at the funeral of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

1. In heav'n at God's bright throne of glory

The streams of our joyfulness spring

For there has ascended the Saviour,

And there intercedeth the King;

The blood which was spinkled up yonder,

Which full satisfaction did give,

Is there by the throne sweetly pleading

That poor guilty sinners may live.

2. And we, from the wilds of the desert,

Shall flee to the land of the blest;

Life's tears shall be changed to rejoicing,

Its labours and toil into rest.

There we shall find refuge eternal,

From sin, from affliction from pain,

And in the sweet love of the Saviour

A joy without end shall attain.

3. From heavenly Jerusalem's towers,

The path through the desert they trace;

And every affliction they suffered

Redounds to the glory of grace;

Their look they cast back on the tempests,

On fears, on grim death and the grave,

Rejoicing that now they're in safety,

Through Him that is mighty to save.