Finding Refuge and Purpose on Sacred Ground

Hymn | Proper 16 Year A | Exodus 1: 8 – 2: 10 | Psalm 124 | Romans 12: 1-8 | Matthew 16: 13-20 | 23 August 2026

When rising tides of fear surround

When rising tides of fear surround
And shadows press us low,
Your hand, O Lord, through silent reeds
Still lifts us from the flow.
As once the child in Egypt’s dawn
Was drawn from danger’s wave,
So now You guard Your people’s steps—
The snare is broke; we’re saved.

2.
When foes would sweep like winter floods
Across our trembling ground,
You keep us safe on Kildare’s paths
Where quiet grace is found.
The morning hush, the evening still,
The soft, attentive air—
All tell how You, our shield and guide,
Hold every soul in care.

3.
So take our lives as living gifts
For service calm and true;
Let each one find the work You give,
The task You call us to.
As heather bends in Slieve Bloom winds
In patient, faithful sway,
Form us into a people shaped
By love’s enduring way.

4.
O Christ, the Rock of Peter’s faith,
The truth our hearts confess,
Build up Your Church on Irish soil
In quiet steadfastness.
Through Kildare’s fields and open skies,
Where saints kept watch in prayer,
Let every soul proclaim Your grace
And find Your presence there.

Reflection

This hymn speaks to the quiet, grounding presence of God in times when the world feels overwhelming. By weaving together the story of Moses in the reeds with the gentle landscapes of Kildare and the Slieve Bloom mountains, it reminds us that sacred moments rarely arrive with thunder—they often unfold in stillness.

In our own lives, when fear or uncertainty “presses us low,” we are invited to look for the “silent reeds”—those unexpected places of shelter, grace, and unexpected deliverance. God’s protection does not always remove us from the storm, but like the heather bending in the mountain winds, it gives us the resilience to endure it without breaking.

The hymn ultimately turns our gaze outward, reminding us that being saved and sustained is not the end of the story; it is the beginning of a calling. Rooted in peace, we are formed to serve our communities through quiet steadfastness and daily acts of love.

Hymn information

First line: When rising tides of fear surround
Text: Michael McFarland Campbell
Metre: DCM
Tune: Third Mode Melody or Kingsfold
Theme: Proper 16 Year A.

© Michael McFarland Campbell. 2026. 
Permission granted for local church or parish use with attribution. Not for commercial reproduction.