In Thy keeping, gracious Savior,
O! what rest my spirit knows;
Who can touch me—what can harm me
What can break my heart’s repose?
Though the pestilence sweep o’er me,
Far beyond its reach I rest;
If it seize me at Thy bidding
‘Twill but waft me to Thy breast.
Though the tempest rage around me,
Evil forces ever near,
Hidden safe in Thy pavilion,
Not a breath can reach me here.
Could I leave Thy love’s enclosure,
Could ‘st Thou drop me from Thy hand,
Frail, as leaf beneath the tempest,
Not one moment could I stand.
O! how blessed is the weakness
That finds all its strength in Thee;
While I draw from out Thy fullness,
O! how rich my poverty.
Precious lesson of dependence,
In the desert only known,
Where I learn Thy love’s deep meaning,
While I lean on Thee alone.
What a willful child and wayward,
Gracious Father, I have been;
While Thy heart resolved to lead me
To these pastures rich and green
Where my heart has found its resting
In Thyself for evermore,
And its full, unchanging portion—
To be with Thee and adore.
Not a question now disturbs me,
While with Thee the past I see;
‘Tis a page of blotted history,
But ‘tis all read out to Thee.
And to Thee I’d cleave the closer,
Till the journey shall be o’er,
Then be Thine the praise, Lord Jesus,
And the glory evermore.