Gentle Shepherd, thou hast stilled
At the death of a child:
Gentle Shepherd, thou hast stilled
now thy little lamb's long weeping,
in thy loving arms 'tis sleeping--
Ah! how peaceful, pure and mild!
Now no sigh of helpless anguish
heaves that little bosom more;
ne'er again in pain to languish,
he
has reached the happy shore.
In this world of pain and care,
Lord, thou wouldst no longer leave
him
;
lovingly thou dost receive
him
to thy meadows bright and fair.
Ah, Lord Jesus, bring us thither
where
he
dwells with thee above;
where thy saints rejoice together
reunite us to our love.
At the death of an adult:
God, we thank thee; not in vain
lived our friend on thee believing;
not for
him
can we be grieving:
ours the loss, but
his
the gain.
Ours the vanity of sorrow,
his
the vision from the height;
his
today and ours tomorrow,
change and awe and love and light.
What thou doest, Lord, is good:
though
his
body now sleeping,
lives
his
spirit in thy keeping,
pain and sorrow understood.
Grant
him
rest among the living,
bring him to thy vision clear,
all
his
sin in love forgiving
when as Judge thou dost appear.
Words: J. W. Meinhold (1797-1851);
trans. Catherine Winkworth and others
Music: Jesu meines Glaubens Zier
Meter: 78 87 87 87
Website compiled by
Steve Benner
, 2000-2003.
