Flung to the Heedless Winds

Flung to the heedless winds,
Or on the waters cast,
The martyrs’ ashes, watched,
Shall gathered be at last.

And from that scattered dust,
Around us and abroad,
Shall spring a plenteous seed,
Of witnesses for God.

The Father hath received,
Their latest living breath,
And vain is Satan’s boast,
Of victory in their death.

Still, still, though dead, they speak,
And, trumpet tongued, proclaim,
To many a wakening land,
The one availing Name.

Author: Martin Luther

Year: 1523

This is an English translation of Luther's 1523 German hymn 'Ein neues Lied wir heben an' (often called 'A New Song Here Shall Be Begun'), written in memory of the first Lutheran martyrs. The specific English rendering here is by John A. Messenger (or similar 19th-century translators); the original author of the words is Martin Luther.