The year draws quietly to a close,
Now you, too, my heart, become quiet!
In God's faithful hands
I now lay joy and sorrow,
And what this year has encompassed,
What only the Lord God knows,
The tears that flowed,
The burningly hot wounds.

Why is there so much suffering,
Only such short happiness?
Why must we always part
When we have loved so ardently?
Many an eye now closed in death
And many a pair of lips now mute,
That only just spoke lovingly -
You poor heart, why?

So that it may not be forgotten,
What one forgets so gladly:
That this poor earth
Is not our home.
For all of us who are baptized
In His name, the Lord
Has purchased a citizenship
In Zion's golden halls.

We wander here and strew
The seeds of tears in the field,
There we shall rejoice
In the blessed canopy of heaven.
Down here we yearn to be
There in our Father's house
And we know that those who have passed on
Are already resting there.

Oh that gives certainty to our wandering
Through this time on earth:
To look only forward
With blessed joy.
If the mounds of graves
Block our clear gaze,
Lord, give the soul wings
To be able to look beyond them!

Help us through these times
And make our hearts steadfast;
Walk beside us Thyself
And lead us homeward!
And if down here it seems to us
So desolate, so lonely,
Oh let us in Thy peace
Already be happy here.