GOd siet neder uyt zijn Hemel,,
The Divine Gaze and Judgment
God observes the actions of humanity and pronounces judgment upon the wicked while inviting the faithful into His kingdom.
God looks down from his heaven on everything people do here; but like chaff and light bran, the wicked must scatter and fly away. When God pronounces just judgment on this wicked, deceitful brood, he will deliberately reject them without any gain for them.✦✦1 You who have done wrong are cursed—yet come all the same into my eternal kingdom, you who have sought me.2
The Vanity of the World and the Stability of God's Law
The fleeting nature of worldly life is contrasted with the enduring stability of God's commandments, which offer true fulfillment to the obedient.
Mortal! Just think how unstable everything in the world is. Life is short and fleeting; there is nothing that does not pass away!✦ While only God's laws will always stand firm; if a person would take them to heart, it would go better for him.3 You would receive, O mortal, your wish—if only you would obey the good God and conduct yourself well according to His holy commandment.
Read the original Latin
GOd siet neder uyt zijn Hemel,, wat de mensch hier alles doet; Maer als kaf, en lichte semel,, 't boose volck vervliegen moet; Als God spreken sal recht oordeel, Aen dit boos en loos gedrocht; En haer sonder eenig voordeel, Sal verwerpen wel bedocht. Vermaledijt ghy syt, die onrecht hebt gewrocht Doch kom'al-gelyck, In myn eeuwig ryck, die my hebben gesocht.
Mensche! denckt toch eens hoe wanck'lyck Alle ding ter Werelt staet. Kort ist leven, en verganck'lyck; Niet en isser of't vergaet! Als alleene Godes wetten Sullen altyt blyven staen; Woud' de mensche daer op letten, 't Soude hem te beter gaen. Ghy kreegt, o mensch! U wensch, Woud ghy de goede God Toch gehoorsaem syn En u dragen fyn Naer syn heylig gebod.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.14.2 — The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of man, to see if there is anyone who understands, who seeks after God.
- ↩Ps.1.4 — Not so the wicked; but they are like chaff that the wind drives away.
- ↩1John.2.17 — And the world is passing away, and its desire; but the one who does the will of God remains forever.
Notes
- 1 ↩Dutch 'semel' is bran (fine husks); paired with 'kaf' (chaff) as the biblical image of what the wind carries off. 'Gedrocht' is a harsh pejorative for a monstrous/false company; rendered as 'brood' to keep the collective sense of 'boose volck'.
- 2 ↩'Vermaledijt ghy syt' is a solemn judicial curse (accursed), not mere scolding; kept as 'Cursed are you' for gravity without archaism. 'kom'al-gelyck' read as 'come all the same / nonetheless' inviting the seekers, contrasted with the cursed wrongdoers.
- 3 ↩Dutch 'Als' here taken as contrastive 'while/whereas' after the claim that everything passes: only God's laws endure.
Nederlandtsche Gedenck-clanck (Netherlands Memorial Songs) companion
Never lose the rhythm again
Chosen Portion delivers your morning, midday and night office to your phone — the Hours, without the bells.
Chosen Portion is a modern Book of Hours: it turns the fixed-hour structure this collection preserves into scheduled, tappable daily prayer on your phone.
- Three daily prayer moments scheduled around your real calendar, not a monastery's
- Psalms and historic prayers sequenced for you — no page-flipping or decision fatigue
- A visible streak of completed offices, so the rhythm compounds instead of collapsing