However dark it be;
Lead me by thine own hand,
Choose out the path for me.
Smooth let it be or rough,
It will be still the best;
Winding or straight, it leads
Right onward to thy rest.
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.
Horatius Bonar (1808-89), 1846.
Horatius Bonar had a passionate heart for revival. He had taken an active part in the Great Disruption of the established Church of Scotland in 1843, when one third of all the ministers left the General Assembly to form the Free Church of Scotland. He was a well-known writer of hymns, probably the best known of which was; 'I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto me and rest...."' In this particular verse he emphasises God's choice in determining our destiny, and our needed Guide, Strength and Wisdom in achieving it.
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