Scripture Verse

He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:10

Introduction

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Mary G. Brainard
1837–1905

Words: Mary G. Brain­ard, in The Con­gre­ga­tion­al­ist, 1869. Ar­ranged by Phi­lip Bliss in Gos­pel Hymns No. 3, cir­ca 1876.

Music: Phi­lip P. Bliss (🔊 pdf nwc).

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Philip P. Bliss
1838–1876

Origin of the Hymn

Mr. Bliss lost his life in the ter­r­ible wreck at Ash­ta­bu­la, Ohio. His trunk, how­ev­er, reached Chi­ca­go safe­ly, as it had gone be­fore by an­oth­er train. In his trunk was dis­covered this hymn. Mr. Bliss had re­ar­ranged the words of the poem to some ex­tent, and had com­posed the tune. Sen­tence by sen­tence, the words are full of pa­the­tic in­ter­est in con­nec­tion with the au­thor’s sud­den death so soon af­ter­ward.

Sankey, p. 165

Lyrics

I know not what awaits me,
God kindly veils mine eyes,
And o’er each step of my onward way
He makes new scenes to rise;
And ev’ry joy He sends me, comes
A sweet and glad surprise.

Refrain

Where He may lead me I’ll follow,
My trust in Him repose
And ev’ry hour in perfect peace
I’ll sing, He knows, He knows;
And ev’ry hour in perfect peace
I’ll sing, He knows, He knows.

One step I see before me,
’Tis all I need to see,
The light of Heav’n more brightly shines,
When earth’s illusions flee;
And sweetly through the silence, came
His loving Follow Me.

Refrain

O blissful lack of wisdom,
’Tis blessèd not to know;
He holds me with His own right hand,
And will not let me go,
And lulls my troubled soul to rest
In Him who loves me so.

Refrain

So on I go not knowing,
I would not if I might;
I’d rather walk in the dark with God
Than go alone in the light;
I’d rather walk in faith with Him
Than go alone by sight.

Refrain

He knows, He knows, He knows.