By Gentle Powers

By gen­tle Pow­ers faith­ful­ly sur­round­ed

Protected won­drous­ly

con­soled by grace

That’s how I long to live these days to­ge­ther

Close by your side

to start the com­ing year;

Our hearts are tor­tured ev­en now by ev­il days

The bur­dens of the past are hard to bear

Oh Lord

grant our scared souls the sal­va­tion

Therefore You have cre­at­ed us and saved.

And if You pass the hea­vy cup of suf­fer­ing

The bit­ter cha­lice

filled to the high­est brim

Then we will take it

grate­ful with­out trem­bling

Out of Your good and so be­loved hand.

But if You will grant us once more the joy to see

This world

the splen­dor of its beam­ing sun

Then we will sure­ly all the past re­mem­ber

And our whole lives will be Yours alone.

Let warm and bright the can­dles’ flames light up to­day

Which You have brought in our gloomy times

Lead us to­ge­ther back again if that can be!

We know for sure

Your light shines through the night.

When now the si­lence spreads around

help us to hear

And list­en to the full em­brac­ing sound

Of this world

which un­seen around is wid­en­ing

To all Your child­ren’s high­est hymns of praise.

By gen­tle Pow­ers won­der­ful­ly shel­tered

Awaiting fear­less­ly what there will be.

God

He is near at dusk and in the morn­ing

And with us cer­tain­ly on each new day.