Thy Way, Not Mine

Horatius Bonar (1808-1889) was among the disciples of Thomas Chalmers that laid foundations of reformation and restoration in the nineteenth century Scottish Free Church. He was, like so many of his peers, multi-faceted and multi-talented. Besides being a brilliant teacher, preacher, historian, theologian, and missionary, he was a fine poet and musician. He was a voluminous hymn writer, many of which became known all over the English-speaking world, gracing hymnbooks to this day. Some of his best works were published in two volumes, Hymns of Faith and Hope and My Old Letters.

Among my favorites is this remarkable call to obedience and submission, written in 1857:

Thy way, not mine, O 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 be still 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 I shall 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.

The kingdom that I seek
Is Thine: so let the way
That leads to it be Thine,
Else I must surely stray.

Not mine, not mine the choice
In things or great or small;
Be Thou my Guide, my Strength
My Wisdom, and my All.