Scripture Verse

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:6

Introduction

portrait
William H. Burleigh (1812–1871)

Words: Will­iam H. Bur­leigh, 1868.

Music: Lan­gran James Lan­gran, 1861. First pub­lished in a leaf­let, then in Psalms and Hymns Adapt­ed to the Ser­vic­es of the Church of Eng­land, by John Fos­ter, 1863 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Lan­gran (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Lead us, O Fa­ther, in the paths of peace:
Without Thy guid­ing hand we go as­tray,
And doubts ap­pall, and sor­rows still in­crease;
Lead us through Christ, the true and liv­ing Way.

Lead us, O Fa­ther, in the paths of truth:
Unhelped by Thee, in er­ror’s name we grope,
While pas­sion stains, and fol­ly dims our youth,
And age comes on, un­cheered by faith or hope.

Lead us, O Fa­ther, in the paths of right:
Blindly we stum­ble when we walk alone,
Involved in sha­dows of a dark­some night;
Only with Thee we jour­ney safe­ly on.

Lead us, O Fa­ther, to Thy hea­ven­ly rest,
However rough and steep the path may be,
Through joy or sor­row, as Thou deem­est best,
Until our lives are per­fect­ed in Thee.