Good morning, sweet ladies, I love this wonderful rendition of this beloved hymn; it just keeps building and building. Hoping you can listen to the end, because I know you’ll be blessed.
“BE STILL MY SOUL”
1. Be still, my soul! the Lord is on your side; bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; leave to your God to order and provide; in ev’ry change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul! your best, your heav’nly Friend
Thru’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
2. Be still, my soul! your God does undertake; to guide the future as He has the past; your hope, your 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 lived below.
3. Be still, my soul! when dearest friends depart, and all is darkened in the vale of tears, then shall you better know His love, His heart, Who comes to soothe your sorrow and your fears.
Be still, my soul! your Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.
4. 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 joys restored.
Be still my soul! when change and tears are past, all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
The story behind “Be Still My Soul”
The formation of “Be Still, My Soul” as it appears in hymnals covers three countries – Germany, Scotland, and Finland – and well over 100 years.
Little is known about the author of this hymn, Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel. She was born in 1697. The date of her death is unknown. As her name suggests, she may have come from an aristocratic family. Other than that she was connected with a small court at Köthen, north of Halle, in Germany. Little is known of her life. We know her as the author of “Stille, mein Wille; dein Jesus hilft siegen” published in a collection of spiritual songs in 1752, one of several of her texts included there.
This text appears at the time of German pietism, similar in spirit in many regards to the Wesleyan revival in England of the same era. Philipp Jacob Spener (1635-1705) led the German pietistic movement. Though not a hymn writer himself, he inspired a revival in German hymnody characterized by faithfulness to Scripture, personal experience, and deep emotional expression. Katharina von Schlegel is thought to be the leading female hymn writer of this period.
The hymn comes to us via a translation by Jane L. Borthwick (1813-1897), a member of the Free Church of Scotland. Borthwick was second only to Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878) in bringing the riches of German hymn heritage to the English language. Her translation included five of the original six stanzas, appearing in Hymns from the Land of Luther, second series (1855).
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