Osawa Yanase Patawun Lyrics by Unknown Artist

Just as the eagle lifts its young
and sets them upon its wings, so through all the life to come
I will carry you, watching over you, my eye upon you

My heart is filled full with peace,
you have been present through all of this life of mine,
your safekeeping hands are all around me,
and I stand firm, believing steadfastly in you

Placed there between your safe and guarding hands,
in my soul I am like a cradled, comforted infant,
you have carried me a long, long time

Through this journey of life, mingled with joy and with sorrow

This is a hymn of God’s tender, carrying love, and it opens in God’s own voice with one of the most cherished images in the Bible. Speaking as a parent bird, God says, “just as the eagle lifts its young and sets them upon its wings, so through all the life to come I will carry you, watching over you.” This comes straight from Scripture, where God tells Israel he bore them “on eagles’ wings,” and from the song of Moses that describes the eagle stirring its nest and carrying its young. It is a promise of strong, watchful, uplifting care.

The rest of the hymn is the believer’s grateful answer to that promise. “My heart is filled full with peace,” he says, because “you have been present through all of this life of mine,” and “your safekeeping hands are all around me.” Looking back, he can see the carrying was real, and so he “stands firm, believing steadfastly.”

The most tender image is of complete safety and trust: “placed there between your safe and guarding hands, in my soul I am like a cradled, comforted infant.” Held by God, the soul rests like a baby rocked in loving arms, and it knows this is no new thing, “you have carried me a long, long time,” even “through this journey of life, mingled with joy and with sorrow.” What the listener is left with is deep, restful assurance, the picture of a God who lifts us like an eagle lifting its young, and carries us all our days, through every joy and grief, safe as a sleeping child in his hands.