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Thy Way, not Mine, O Lord

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

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 >

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)

Notes

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)

Timeline

Media

The Book of Common Praise: being the hymn book of The Church of England in Canada (revised 1938) #546b
The Cyber Hymnal #6992
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book: for the service of song in the house of the Lord #265e

Instances

Instances (301 - 400 of 402)
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The English Hymnal #505

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The English Hymnal #505

The English Hymnal #505

The Evangelical Hymn and Tune Book #d755

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The Evangelical Hymnal with Tunes #324

The Faithist Hymnal #d110

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The Golden Hymn Book #176

The Good Old Songs #728

The Gospel Praise Book #d461

The Haverford School Hymnal #d331

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The Haverford School Hymnal #261

The Hill School Hymnal and Service Book #d266

The Hymnal #d487

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The Hymnal #507a

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The Hymnal #507b

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The Hymnal of Praise #261

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The Hymnal of The Evangelical United Brethren Church #268

The Hymnal of the Reformed Church in the United States #d669

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The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892 #632a

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The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892 #632b

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The Hymnal #394

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The Hymnal #529

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The Hymnal #507

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The Hymnal #632

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The Hymnal #254

The Hymnary of the United Church of Canada #425

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The Hymnary with Tunes #17a

The Hymnary #425

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The Lutheran Hymnal #532

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The Manual of Praise for Sabbath and Social Worship #368

The Mennonite Hymnal #341

The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes #515

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The Methodist Hymnal (Text only edition) #527

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The Methodist Hymnal #527

The Middlesex Hymn Book #d89

The Middlesex Hymn Book #d95

The Mission Hymnal #d157

The National Baptist Hymn Book #d545

The National Baptist Hymn Book #ad545

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The National Baptist Hymnal #441

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The National Hymn Book of the American Churches #165

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The New Alleluia #102

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The New Baptist Praise Book #262

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The New Baptist Praise Book #262

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The New Cokesbury Hymnal #234

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The New Hymnary #17a

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The New Laudes Domini #941

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The People's Hymn Book #378

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The People's Hymn Book #228

The People's Praise Book or Carmina Sanctorum #d650

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The Pilgrim Hymnal #226

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The Pilgrim Hymnal #313

The Plymouth Hymnal #d556

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The Presbyterian Book of Praise #287a

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The Presbyterian Book of Praise #287b

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The Presbyterian Book of Praise #287a

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The Presbyterian Book of Praise #287b

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The Presbyterian Hymnal #38

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The Presbyterian Hymnal #313

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The Presbyterian Hymnal #313

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The Public School Hymnal #217

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The Reformed Church Hymnal #588

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The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book #265e

The Sabbath Hymn Book. Baptist ed. #d1102

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The Sanctuary Hymnal, published by Order of the General Conference of the United Brethren in Christ #334

The Sarum Hymnal #262

The School Hymn and Tune Book #d196

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The Scottish Hymnal #222a

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The Scottish Hymnal #222b

The Service of Song for Baptist Churches #d911

The Service of Praise #d330

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The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book #741

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The Shining Light #129

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The Smaller Hymnal #356

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #608

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The Song Companion to the Scriptures #311a

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The Song Companion to the Scriptures #311b

The St. Alban Hymnal #d461

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The Standard Church Hymnal #470

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The Standard Hymnal #51

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The University Hymn Book #212

The Vestry Hymn and Tune Book #d484

The Voice of Praise, a new collection #d137

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The Wesleyan Methodist Hymnal #501

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The Westminster Abbey Hymn-Book #357

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The Woman's Hymnal #87

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Trinity Hymnal #573

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Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #686

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Triumphant Songs No.5 #278

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Twenty Hymns #6

Unitarian Service Book, and Hymns for Church and Home. Abridged ed. #d457

University Hymn Book for use in the Chapel of Harvard University #d253

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Victorian Hymns #159

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Worship in Song #469

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Worship Song #363

Pages

Exclude 390 pre-1979 instances
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