Give to the Winds Thy Fears

Paul Gerhardt, 1607-1676, hymnwriter

Give to the Winds Thy Fears 

Give to the winds thy fears,
Hope and be undismayed.
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears,
God will lift up thy head.

Leave to His sovereign sway
To choose and to command;
Then shalt thou, wandering, own His way,
How wise, how strong His hand.

Far, far above thy thought,
His counsel shall appear
When fully He the work hath wrought
That caused thy needless fear.

Through waves and clouds and storms,
He gently clears the way;
Wait thou His time; so shall this night
Soon end in joyous day. 

Lutheran pastor Paul Gerhardt led a difficult life. Beginning when he was just a boy, The Thirty Year's War caused such suffering and disruption that he did not receive his first pastorate until he was in his mid-40's. After marrying a few years later, several happy years passed, but he ended up losing his wife and four of his five children, and also dealt with difficult church situations. The fruit of this suffering is a collection of hymns that is still blessing the church today. He's the fellow who translated Bernard of Clairvaux's words into German which became the beloved O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, plus some 130 or so hymns of his own. I've listened to several tunes for the above lyrics, and none seem to do it justice, but the words stand on their own.