If God Himself Be for Me in Tonic Solfa
If God Himself Be for Me in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 15 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (G)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- WOODBIRD
- Words
- Paul Gerhardt, Richard Massie
- Music
- Traditional German
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WOODBIRD (traditional German); words by Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676); translated by Richard Massie (1800–1887). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dIf- | dGod-sHim--mself-dbe- | t,for--d_rme,-s,I- |
| l,may-da-dhost-t,de-- | dfy;-----dFor- |
| dwhen-sI-mpray,-dbe-- | t,fore--d_rme-s,My- |
| l,foes,-dcon--dfound--t,ed,- | dfly.-----mIf- |
| dChrist,-smy-sHeadf_mand- | rMas----rter,-fBe-- |
| mfriend-rme-mfrom-da-- | rbove,-----sWhat- |
| ffoe-mor-rwhat-ddis-- | t,as---d_rter-s,Can- |
| l,drive-dme-dfrom-t,His- | dlove?----- |
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, a line of the hymn at a time, with the words of the first verse under it — easy to copy into your own notes or a WhatsApp message to the choir.
Doh is G · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
If God Himself be for me,
I may a host defy;
For when I pray, before me
My foes, confounded, fly.
If Christ, my Head and Master,
Befriend me from above,
What foe or what disaster
Can drive me from His love?
This I believe, yea, rather,
Of this I make my boast,
That God is my dear Father,
The Friend who loves me most,
And that, whate'er betide me,
My Savior is at hand
Through stormy seas to guide me
And bring me safe to land.
I build on this foundation,
That Jesus and His blood
Alone are my salvation,
The true, eternal good.
Without Him all that pleases
Is valueless on earth;
The gifts I owe to Jesus
Alone my love are worth.
My Jesus is my Splendor,
My Sun, my Light, alone;
Were He not my Defender
Before God's awe—full throne,
I never should find favor
And mercy in His sight,
But be destroyed forever
As darkness by the light.
He canceled my offenses,
Delivered me from death;
He is the Lord who cleanses
My soul from sin through faith.
In Him I can be cheerful,
Bold, and undaunted aye;
In Him I am not fearful
Of God's great Judgment Day.
Naught, naught, can now condemn me Nor set my hope aside;
Now hell no more can claim me, Its fury I deride.
No sentence e'er reproves me, No ill destroys my peace;
For Christ, my Savior, loves me And shields me with His grace.
His Spirit in me dwelleth, And o'er my mind He reigns.
All sorrow He dispelleth And soothes away all pains.
He crowns His work with blessing And helpeth me to cry,
"My Father!" without ceasing, To Him who dwells on high.
And when my soul is lying Weak, trembling, and opprest,
He pleads with groans and sighing That cannot be exprest;
But God's quick eye discerns them, Although they give no sound,
And into language turns them E'en in the heart's deep ground.
To mine His Spirit speaketh Sweet word of holy cheer,
How God to him that seeketh For rest is always near
And how He hath erected A city fair and new,
Where what our faith expected We evermore shall view.
In yonder home doth flourish My heritage, my lot;
Though here I die and perish, My heaven shall fail me not.
Though care my life oft saddens And causeth tears to flow,
The light of Jesus gladdens And sweetens every woe.
Who clings with resolution To Him whom Satan hates
Must look for persecution; For him the burden waits
Of mockery, shame, and losses, Heaped on his blameless head;
A thousand plagues and crosses Will be his daily bread.
From me this is not hidden, Yet I am not afraid;
I leave my cares, as bidden, To whom my vows were paid.
Though life and limb it cost me And everything I won,
Unshaken shall I trust Thee And cleave to Thee alone.
Though earth be rent asunder, Thou'rt mine eternally;
Not fire nor sword nor thunder Shall sever me from Thee;
Not hunger, thirst, nor danger, Not pain nor poverty
Nor mighty princes' anger Shall ever hinder me.
No angel and no gladness, No throne, no pomp, no show,
No love, no hate, no sadness, No pain, no depth of woe,
No scheme of man's contrivance, However small or great,
Shall draw me from Thy guidance Nor from Thee separate.
My heart for joy is springing And can no more be sad,
'Tis full of mirth and singing, Sees naught but sunshine glad.
The Sun that cheers my spirit Is Jesus Christ, my King;
That which I shall inherit Makes me rejoice and sing.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G and sing d r m f s up from it, so the whole choir has the key in their ears before you start.
- Pitch the first note. The tune starts on d (G), on the word “If”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 4/4 means four crotchet beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l t. A comma after a note (s,) is the octave below; an apostrophe (d') is the octave above.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
About the hymn
The words are by Paul Gerhardt, first published in 1656. The English translation is by Richard Massie (1856). The tune, WOODBIRD, is Traditional German. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1656): Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676)
- Translated (1856): Richard Massie (1800–1887)
- Melody (1700): Traditional German
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WOODBIRD (traditional German); words by Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676); translated by Richard Massie (1800–1887). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this hymn as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: O Day of Rest and Gladness.
Questions about If God Himself Be for Me
What is the doh of If God Himself Be for Me?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.
What note does If God Himself Be for Me start on?
It starts on d (G in G major), a pickup on the word “If” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is If God Himself Be for Me in the public domain?
Yes. Paul Gerhardt died in 1676, Richard Massie died in 1887; the words were first published in 1856 and the music in 1700. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in Nigeria, the UK, the EU and the United States. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.