Great hymns of the faith: Thy Way, Not Mine, Oh Lord

Covid-19 continues to impact people across our country and around the world. By faith, we continue in community development and both individual and corporate worship. We love sharing love across boundaries, and hours pass with phone calls and other forms of communication. Music fills our home all day. Many times, a hymn sounds out in our living room that is rarely sung today in churches. Horace Bonar,* a well-known musician, wrote this hymn in 1871. His words speak powerfully at a time when we seem powerless to control events.

Thy way, not mine, oh Lord,

However dark it be;

Lead me by Thine own hand,

Choose out the path for me.

Smooth let it be, or rough,

It will still be the best;

Winding or straight it leads

Right onward to Thy rest.

I dare not choose my lot;

I would not if I might:

Choose Thou for me, my God,

So shall I walk aright.

Take Thou my cup, and it

With joy or sorrow fill,

As best to Thee may seem:

Choose Thou my good and ill.

Choose Thou for me my friends,

My sickness or my health:

Choose Thou my cares for me,

My poverty or wealth.

Not mine, not mine the choice,

In things or great or small:

Be Thou my guide, my strength,

My wisdom and my all.

*Six other great hymns by Horace Bonar (1808-1889): All Glory be to God the Father, Blessing and Honor and Glory, I lay my sin on Jesus, Not what these hands have done, I heard the voice of Jesus say, Here, O my Lord, I see you.