You help make Hymnary.org possible. More than 10 million people from 200+ countries found hymns, liturgical resources and encouragement on Hymnary.org in 2025, including you. Every visit affirms the global impact of this ministry.

If Hymnary has been meaningful to you this year, would you take a moment today to help sustain it? A gift of any size—paired with a note of encouragement if you wish—directly supports the server costs, research work and curation that keep this resource freely available to the world.

Give securely online today, or mail a check to:
Hymnary.org
Calvin University
3201 Burton Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Thank you for your partnership, and may the hope of Advent fill your heart.

Afflictions Blessed

Representative Text

1 How tender is thy hand,
O thou most gracious God!
Afflictions come at thy command,
And leave us at thy word.

2 How gentle is the rod
That chastens us for sin!
How soon we find a smiling God
Where deep distress has been!

3 A Father's hand we feel,
A Father's love we know;
'Mid tears of penitence we kneel,
And find his promise true.

4 We tell him all our grief,
We think of Jesus' love;
A sense of pardon brings relief,
And bids our pains remove.

5 Now will we bless the Lord,
And in his strength confide;
Forever be his name adored,
For there is none beside.

Source: The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book: for use in divine worship #89

Author: Thomas Hastings

Hastings, Thomas, MUS. DOC., son of Dr. Seth Hastings, was born at Washington, Lichfield County, Connecticut, October 15, 1784. In 1786, his father moved to Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y. There, amid rough frontier life, his opportunities for education were small; but at an early age he developed a taste for music, and began teaching it in 1806. Seeking a wider field, he went, in 1817, to Troy, then to Albany, and in 1823 to Utica, where he conducted a religious journal, in which he advocated his special views on church music. In 1832 he was called to New York to assume the charge of several Church Choirs, and there his last forty years were spent in great and increasing usefulness and repute. He died at New York, May 15, 1872. His aim was the… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: How tender is Thy hand
Title: Afflictions Blessed
Author: Thomas Hastings
Meter: 6.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

DENNIS (Nägeli)

Lowell Mason (PHH 96) arranged DENNIS and first published it in The Psaltery (1845), a hymnal he compiled with George. Webb (PHH 559). Mason attributed the tune to Johann G. Nageli (b. Wetzikon, near Zurich, Switzerland, 1773; d. Wetzikon, 1836) but included no source reference. Nageli presumably pu…

Go to tune page >


WILSON (Robertshaw)


LOTTIE


Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #9713
  • PDF (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer Score (NWC)

Instances in all hymnals

Instances (1 - 1 of 1)
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #9713

Include 97 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us
It looks like you are using an ad-blocker. Ad revenue helps keep us running. Please consider white-listing Hymnary.org or getting Hymnary Pro to eliminate ads entirely and help support Hymnary.org.