The Will of God

Representative Text

1 Thou sweet beloved will of God,
my anchor ground, my fortress hill,
my spirit’s silent fair abode,
in thee I hide me and am still.

2 O will, that willest good alone,
lead Thou the way, Thou guidest best;
a little child, I follow on,
and trusting, lean upon Thy breast.

3 God’s will doth make the bitter sweet,
and all is well when it is done;
unless His will doth hallow it,
the glory of all joy is gone.

4 Self, sense, and reason, they may scorn
that hidden way that leads on high-
still be my deepest will uptorn,
and so the pow'r of nature die.

5 And if in gloom I see Thee now,
I lean upon Thy love unknown-
in me Thy blessed will is wrought,
if I will nothing of my own.

6 O spirit of a little child,
of will bereft, untroubled, pure,
I seek Thy glory undefiled;
Lord, take my will, Thy love is sure.

7 O will of God, my soul’s desire,
my bread of life in want and pain;
O will of God, my guiding fire,
unite my will to Thine again.

8 O will, in me Thy work be done,
for time, and for eternity-
give joy or sorrow, all are one
to that blest soul that loveth Thee.

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #409

Author: Gerhard Tersteegen

Tersteegen, Gerhard, a pious and useful mystic of the eighteenth century, was born at Mörs, Germany, November 25, 1697. He was carefully educated in his childhood, and then apprenticed (1715) to his older brother, a shopkeeper. He was religiously inclined from his youth, and upon coming of age he secured a humble cottage near Mühlheim, where he led a life of seclusion and self-denial for many years. At about thirty years of age he began to exhort and preach in private and public gatherings. His influence became very great, such was his reputation for piety and his success in talking, preaching, and writing concerning spiritual religion. He wrote one hundred and eleven hymns, most of which appeared in his Spiritual Flower Garden (1731). He… Go to person page >

Translator: Frances Bevan

Bevan, Emma Frances, née Shuttleworth, daughter of the Rev. Philip Nicholas Shuttleworth, Warden of New Coll., Oxford, afterwards Bishop of Chichester, was born at Oxford, Sept. 25, 1827, and was married to Mr. R. C. L. Bevan, of the Lombard Street banking firm, in 1856. Mrs. Bevan published in 1858 a series of translations from the German as Songs of Eternal Life (Lond., Hamilton, Adams, & Co.), in a volume which, from its unusual size and comparative costliness, has received less attention than it deserves, for the trs. are decidedly above the average in merit. A number have come into common use, but almost always without her name, the best known being those noted under “O Gott, O Geist, O Licht dea Lebens," and "Jedes Herz will etwas… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Thou sweet, beloved will of God
Title: The Will of God
German Title: Liebwerther, süsser Gottes-Wille
Author: Gerhard Tersteegen
Translator: Frances Bevan (1899)
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

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The Cyber Hymnal #6672
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The Cyber Hymnal #6672

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Hymns to the Living God #322

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Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #409

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