Gaza hymn
(How long, O God, must shells rain down)
Jude Levermore, the Methodist Church’s Head of Mission, is a friend and asked me if I could write something to mark the one year anniversary of the Gaza conflict. It was tough because the war is not my reality but I wrote three verses. Jude sent them to people actually trapped in Gaza and, with their feedback, three verses became four and much more reflective of their situation. It makes the piece a much more coherent response to people’s pain thanks to those caught in the conflict.
Suggested tunes: Before the throne of God above. One alternative tune is ‘St Patrick (Stanford)
How long, O God, must shells rain down
and violence scar divided lands?
How long must children know the fear
that hatred breeds and death demands?
Your people cry for lasting peace
and pray for rescue from above.
'How long, O Lord', is all our prayer.
We need the overwhelm of love.
As each day dawns we look to heaven
and cry ‘how long? How long, O Lord!’
Breathe grace into our troubled souls,
speak gently to our shattered world.
God in the rubble, hear our cry,
don’t let us be abandoned here.
Have you forsaken those you love?
Why must your children know this fear?
Our homes, our families are gone,
the dreams we had are shattered glass.
Must we endure this living hell
and never know a peace that lasts?
You see each sparrow as she falls,
and count the loss and grieve the pain.
Yet as we wait with tear-stained hearts
we ask ‘will flowers bloom again?’
We lift our eyes to Calvary
where Jesus carried evil’s curse,
when hope refused to yield to hate
and grace redeemed the universe.
Yet as we ask, ‘how long, O Lord?
How long must evil have its way?’
we cling to heaven’s unfettered love
but ache for colour through the grey.
Gareth Hill.Copyright 2024 © Gareth Hill Publishing/Song Solutions CopyCare, 14 Horsted Square, Uckfield, TN22 1QG www.songsolutions.org
Lyrics and Longings 