Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Von Guten Mächten - By Gracious Powers

Von Guten Mächten, By Gracious Powers, is a prayer written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in December 1944, shortly before his execution by the SS on 9 April 1945.

 

His powerful words of faith were put to music, and became a hymn that is still sung in Germany today.

 

As for his executioners and their legacy, ubi sunt, where are they now?

By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered,

and confidently waiting come what may,

we know that God is with us night and morning,

and never fails to greet us each new day.

And when this cup you give is filled to brimming

with bitter suffering, hard to understand,

we take it thankfully and without trembling

out of so good and so beloved a hand.

Yet when again in this same world you give us

the joy we had, the brightness of your sun,

we shall remember all the days we lived through

and our whole life shall then be yours alone.