A Hymn for Sunday

Several months ago I found the hymn "He Leadeth Me" while paging through my hymnbook looking for something to play for church. Since then, it has became one of my favorite hymns to play when I wanted to sit down and play the piano.
One of the reasons I have been drawn to this hymn is beacause I can look back on the past ten or eleven years and can see how the Lord has led and directed my footsteps. Yet, I also see how far I have to go; Verse Three is especially convicting...... "content, whatever lot I see"...... oh how often I complain or groan inwardly about the hard things in life; how often I let my circumstances dictate my responses; how far I have to go..... but, "...by His hand He Leadeth Me".

He leadeth me! O blessed thought!

O words with heav'nly comfort fraught!

What e'er I do, where'er I be,

Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me!

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,

By His own hand He leadeth me:

His faithful foll'wer I would be,

For by His hand He leadeth me.

Sometines 'mid scenes of deepest gloom,

Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,

By waters still o'er troubled sea,

Still 'tis His hand that leadeth me!

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,

By His own hand He leadeth me:

His faithful foll'wer I would be,

For by His hand He leadeth me.

Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine,

Nor ever murmur nor repine,

Content, whatever lot I see,

Since 'tis Thy hand that leadeth me!

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,

By His own hand He leadeth me:

His faithful foll'wer I would be,

For by His hand He leadeth me.

And when my task on earth is done,

When, by Thy grace, the vict'ry's won,

E'en death's cold wave I will not flee,

Since God thru Jordan leadeth me!

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,

By His own hand He leadeth me:

His faithful foll'wer I would be,

For by His hand He leadeth me.

Words: Joseph H. Gilmore 1834-1918
Music:William Bradbury 1816-1868