God, God
has led me, has led me
into darkness.
He has made for me a yoke
and he has pressed my head, my head
and my jaw.
God has bent his bow,
making me the target
for his arrows.
Though I call and cry,
he stifles, he stifles
my prayer.
When I see where he has brought me
in my wandering life,
this is wormwood and gall.
What will I do
if hope fails within me,
the hope
that comes from the Lord,
that comes from the Lord.
Sit down alone and in silence,
because God has laid it upon you.
Put your mouth in the dust,
there may yet be hope.
Offer your cheek to him who strikes you,
for the Lord does not reject you forever:
even if he afflicts you, he will then be merciful.
For the Lord does not reject you forever,
even if he afflicts you, he will then be merciful,
according to the abundance of his love.

A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell on the road.
The birds came down, they ate it up,
they devoured it,
they devoured it.
A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell on the rock.
A sower went out to sow,
and some of the seed fell on the rock.
The sun came out and dried it up:
it had no soil,
it had no soil.
A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell among thorns.
A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell among thorns.
The seeds grew, the thorns grew,
they stifled it,
they stifled it.
A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell on the soil.
A sower went out to sow
and some of the seed fell on the soil.
It bore fruit, some thirtyfold,
some sixtyfold,
and some a hundred.
He who has ears
and wants to hear,
listen,
listen:
Don’t be the road,
don’t be the road,
don’t be the rock,
don’t be the rock,
don’t be the thorns,
don’t be the thorns,
but be the soil,
the good soil,
where Jesus
may grow,
where Jesus
may grow.

O Lord, help me, O Lord!
O Lord, help me, O Lord,
never to doubt you!
O Lord, help me, O Lord,
never to doubt your love!
The gift of your grace
has left my heart in blossom
with longings for love,
with longings for love;
I can do no more than suffer
and spend my life in sighs.
And in this flame of your love, this dark flame,
in this veil, that wraps my soul and stifles it,
I feel that my heart is displaced,
opening, pouring out,
like water flowing through your garden.
O Lord, help me, O Lord!
O Lord, help me, O Lord,
never to doubt you!
O Lord, help me, O Lord,
never to doubt your love!
And in this flame…