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Our words…the hushed silence of a library whisper

…lest God might hear our prayer?

No alleluia breaks the silence, 

no footstep on the stair.

1 A bloodied child foreshadowed by a cross,
both share their taste of evil and of loss,
and when will people ever live and learn
that hurt and harm is all that war can earn?

2 We hold our breath in horror as we view
this scene forever old, forever new;
amid the dust and rubble strewn around
a child cries out and parents can’t be found.

3 How long, O Lord we cry, each hollow word,
our pleas of peace increasingly absurd?
Good God, forgive us when inaction’s voice
speaks loudly of our violent, hurtful choice.

Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
© 2016 Stainer & Bell Ltd.
10 10 10 10
Created by HymnQuest.com

1 Swirling winds and raging oceans
add to hazards we know well,
jagged rocks and crashing breakers,
currents swinging with the swell,
into such a tortured maelstrom
boats are launched and lives are saved,
human beings loved and treasured
where the waters heaved and raved.

2 Broken buildings, flooded rivers
add a challenge to be met,
nature compounds human carnage,
sights we never will forget;
here where homes had offered comfort
devastation meets our eyes
while the thunder of the waters
drowns the sound of human cries.

3 God, we cry, as lives are wasted,
hold us in this living hell,
where the floods and rising waters
bring destruction, hold us well.
Lift us out of dereliction,
help us reach to those in need,
love them till all fear has foundered,
till they know they’re safe and freed.

Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2017 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please
include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider
and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd
Metre: 8 7 8 7 D Tune: HYFRYDOL