Thy Way, not Mine, O Lord

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Thy way, not mine, O Lord

Author: Horatius Bonar (1857)
Published in 402 hymnals

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Representative Text

1 Thy way, not mine, O Lord,
however dark it be;
lead me by thine own hand,
choose out the path for me.

2 Smooth let it be or rough,
it will be still the best;
winding or straight, it leads
right onward to thy rest.

3 I dare not choose my lot;
I would not if I might:
choose thou for me, my God,
so shall I walk aright.

4 The Kingdom that I seek
is thine; so let the way
that leads to it be thine,
else I must surely stray.

5 Take thou my cup, and it
with joy or sorrow fill,
as best to thee may seem;
choose thou my good and ill.

6 Choose thou for me my friends,
my sickness or my health;
choose thou my cares for me,
my poverty or wealth.

7 Not mine, not mine, the choice
in things or great or small;
be thou my guide, my strength,
my wisdom, and my all.

Source: CPWI Hymnal #480

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Author: Horatius Bonar

Horatius Bonar was born at Edinburgh, in 1808. His education was obtained at the High School, and the University of his native city. He was ordained to the ministry, in 1837, and since then has been pastor at Kelso. In 1843, he joined the Free Church of Scotland. His reputation as a religious writer was first gained on the publication of the "Kelso Tracts," of which he was the author. He has also written many other prose works, some of which have had a very large circulation. Nor is he less favorably known as a religious poet and hymn-writer. The three series of "Hymns of Faith and Hope," have passed through several editions. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872… Go to person page >

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First Line:	Thy way, not mine, O Lord
Title:	Thy Way, not Mine, O Lord
Author:	Horatius Bonar (1857)
Meter:	6.6.6.6 D
Language:	English
Notes:	German translations: "Dein weg, nicht meiner, Herr", by G. Weiler
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Thy way, not mine [ours] O Lord. H. Bonar. [Resignation.] Appeared in his Hymns of Faith and Hope, 1st Series, 1857, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. It is sometimes given as, "Thy way, not ours, O Lord"; and as Father, Thy way, not mine." There is also an adaptation in three stanzas, beginning, "My portion, Thou! my cup," in the American Church Pastorals, 1864. The original is in extensive use in most English-speaking countries.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)