If you have ever been around someone as they take their last breath this side of heaven, you know it is a humbling experience. Often in the moments (hours, days, weeks) leading up to a Christian’s death, they long to be comforted by the singing of their favorite hymns. Most hymnals organize hymns around the church calendar year (Advent, Easter, etc.), and often there is a section for hymns of comfort and death. When churches forsake the use of a hymnal in weekly worship, Christians can often be at a loss when seeking hymns to help appropriately express their thoughts and emotions in all seasons of life.
The purpose of this post is to point believers to hymns that help them carry the weighty emotions that surround suffering and death. Whether you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, or you are walking through that valley with a loved one, may these hymns bring you comfort in the steadfastness and sovereignty of our great God.
Be Still, My Soul, Katharina von Shlegel (1752)
Be 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 Friend,
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
to 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 know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul; when dearest friends depart,
and all is darkened in the veil 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 repay
from His own fullness all He takes away.
Be still, my soul; the hour is hast’ning on
when we shall be forever with the Lord,
when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot, love’s purest joy restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
God Moves in a Mysterious Way, William Cowper (1774)
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
and rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
of never-failing skill;
He treasures up His bright designs,
and works His sov’reign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
the clouds ye so much dread
are big with mercy and shall break
in blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
but trust Him for His grace;
behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour;
the bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flow’r.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
and scan His work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
and he will make it plain.
Sometimes a Light Surprises, William Cowper, 1779
Sometimes a light surprises
the Christian while he sings;
it is the Lord who rises
with healing in His wings;
when comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again
a season of clear shining,
to cheer it after rain.
In holy contemplation,
we sweetly then pursue
the theme of God’s salvation,
and find it ever new.
Set free from present sorrow,
we cheerfully can say,
“E'en let the unknown morrow
bring with it what it may.”
"It can bring with it nothing,
but He will bear us through;
who gives the lilies clothing
will clothe His people, too;
beneath the spreading heavens
no creature but is fed;
and He who feeds the ravens
will give His children bread."
Though vine nor fig tree neither
their wonted fruit should bear,
though all the field should wither,
nor flocks nor herds be there,
yet God the same abiding,
His praise shall tune my voice;
for while in Him confiding,
I cannot but rejoice.
Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul, Anne Steele (1760)
Dear Refuge of my weary soul,
on Thee, when sorrows rise,
on Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
my fainting hope relies.
But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,
I fear to call Thee mine;
the springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline.
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust;
and still my soul would cleave to Thee,
though prostrate in the dust.
Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face?
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sov’reign grace
be deaf when I complain?
No, still the ear of sov’reign grace
attends the mourner’s prayer;
O may I ever find a place
to breath my sorrows there.
Thy mercy seat is open still,
here let my soul retreat;
with humble hope attend Thy will,
and wait beneath Thy feet.
Dear Refuge of my weary soul,
on Thee, when sorrows rise,
on Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
my fainting hope relies.
What God Ordains is Always Good, Samuel Rodigast, 1675
What God ordains is always good;
His will is just and holy.
As He directs my life for me,
I follow meek and lowly.
My God indeed in ev'ry need
knows well how He will shield me;
to Him, then, I will yield me.
What God ordains is always good;
He never will deceive me.
He leads me in His righteous way,
and never will He leave me.
I take, content, what He has sent;
His hand that sends me sadness
will turn my tears to gladness.
What God ordains is always good;
His loving thought attends me;
no poison can be in the cup
that my Physician sends me.
My God is true; each morning new
I trust His grace unending,
My life to Him commending.
What God ordains is always good;
He is my Friend and Father.
He suffers naught to do me harm
tho' many storms may gather.
Now I may know both joy and woe;
some day I shall see clearly
that He has loved me dearly.
What God ordains is always good;
tho' I the cup am drinking
which savors now of bitterness,
I take it without shrinking.
For after grief God gives relief,
my heart with comfort filling
and all my sorrow stilling.
What God ordains is always good;
this truth remains unshaken.
Tho' sorrow, need, or death be mine,
I shall not be forsaken.
I fear no harm, for with His arm
He shall embrace and shield me;
so to my God I yield me.
Abide with Me, Henry Lyte, 1847
Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around I see.
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
what but Thy grace can foil the tempter's pow'r?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heav'n's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee.
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Kim has been married to her college sweetheart, Jason, for 24 years and they have one son who is a high school senior. Most recently, Kim completed her Ph.D in Church Music and Worship from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She has presented at Evangelical Theological Society and The Society of Christian Scholarship in Music, and her works have appeared in The Hymn, Artistic Theologian, and Baptist History and Heritage Journal.
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