Cross and Comfort

Be Still My Soul

Words:
Katharina A. von Schlegel, 1752. Translated by Jane L. Borthwick, 1855.
Music:
'Finlandia' Jean Sibelius, 1899.
Setting:
from Jean Sibelius, 1900.
Metre:
10 10 10 10 10 10
  1. 1Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.Leave to thy God to order and provide;In every change, He faithful will remain.Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav'nly FriendThrough thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
  2. 2Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertakeTo guide the future, as He has the past.Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;All now mysterious shall be bright at last.Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still knowHis voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.
  3. 3Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,And all is darkened in the vale of tears,Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repayFrom His own fullness all He takes away.
  4. 4Be still, my soul: the hour is hast'ning onWhen we shall be forever with the Lord.When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.Be still, my soul: when change and tears are pastAll safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.
  5. 5Be still, my soul: begin the song of praiseOn earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divineThrough passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

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In the hymnals

Words, music and setting are in the public domain. The score is from the Open Hymnal Project (Brian J. Dumont), which places its own work in the public domain. Further sheet music is from PDHymns.com. The piano is the FluidR3 General MIDI sound font (MIT licence). How many hymnals print a hymn, and when it was written, is from Hymnary.org.

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