Friday, March 27, 2009

Savoring a Cup of Tea: Whate'er My God Ordains is Right

This is one of my favorite hymns, and I really like the newer tune that's floating around. It's on a CD that my friend Sarah made for me; my daughter and I LOVE listening to it in the car. I have several friends who are currently undergoing some stormy times (two with cancer who are facing the end of treatment options, another whose husband just left for a time in Iraq, leaving her with their young children, etc.). This hymn is comforting in times like these, reminding us that no matter what, God is with us, sustaining us. The hymn is long, but worth reading (this version quoted below has two more verses than the version I usually sing/know).

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
His holy will abideth;
I will be still whate’er He doth;
And follow where He guideth;
He is my God; though dark my road,
He holds me that I shall not fall:
Wherefore to Him I leave it all.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
He never will deceive me;
He leads me by the proper path:
I know He will not leave me.
I take, content, what He hath sent;
His hand can turn my griefs away,
And patiently I wait His day.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
His loving thought attends me;
No poison can be in the cup
That my Physician sends me.
My God is true; each morn anew
I’ll trust His grace unending,
My life to Him commending.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
He is my Friend and Father;
He suffers naught to do me harm,
Though many storms may gather,
Now I may know both joy and woe,
Some day I shall see clearly
That He hath loved me dearly.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Though now this cup, in drinking,
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it, all unshrinking.
My God is true; each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,
And pain and sorrow shall depart.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken.
My Father’s care is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall:
And so to Him I leave it all.

No comments: