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J. C. Jacobi in Psalmodia Germanica, 1722.

I.
Commit thy Ways and Goings,
And all that grieves thy Soul,
To him, whose wisest Doings
Rule all without Controul:
He makes the Times and Seasons
Revolve from Year to Year
And knows Ways, Means, and Reasons
When Help shall best appear.

(Note: In the wording accompanying the musical score the second line reads "And all what grieves thy Soul.")

124

J. Wesley, 1739, in the Schaff-Gilman Library of Religious Poetry.

I.
Commit thou all thy griefs
And ways into his hands,
To his sure truth and tender care,
Who earth and heaven commands.
II.
Who points the clouds their course,
Whom winds and seas obey,
He shall direct thy wandering feet,
He shall prepare thy way.

The cento given in most American hymnals:

Stanza 1. Give to the winds thy fears;
Hope, and be undismayed;
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears;
God shall lift up thy Head.
Stanza 2. Through waves and clouds and storms,
He gently clears thy way;
Wait thou His time, so shall this night
Soon end in joyous day.
Stanza 3. What though thou rulest not,
Yet heaven and earth and hell
Proclaim, God sitteth on the throne,
And ruleth all things well.
Stanza 4. Far, far above thy thought
His counsel shall appear,
When fully He the work hath wrought
That caused thy needless fear.

In the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754 (by Gambold, himself?).

Stanza 1. Commit thou thy each grievance
And Case into his Hands,
To his sure Care and guidance,
Who heav'n and earth commands:
He who's the Clouds Director,
Whom Winds and seas obey,
He'll be thy feet's Protector,
He shall prepare thy Way.

(Note: the orthography of the Moravian Hymn Book has been retained.)

A. T. Russell, in his Psalms and Hymns, 1851.

Stanza 1. Thy way and all thy sorrows,
Give thou into His hand,-- 125
His gracious care unfailing,
Who doth the heavens command.
Their course and path He giveth
To clouds and air and wind:
A way thy feet may follow,
He too for Thee will find.

H. Mills, 1856, in his Horae Germanicae.

Stanza 1. Commit Thy way, confiding,
When trials here arise,
To Him whose hand is guiding
The tumults of the skies:
There, clouds and tempests raging,
Have each its path assign'd,--
Will God for thee engaging,
No way of safety find?

Frances Elizabeth Cox, 1864, in the Schaff-Gilman Library of Religious Poetry.

I.
To God Thy way commending
Trust him whose arm of might,
The heavenly circles bending,
Guides every star aright:
The winds and clouds and lightning
By his sure hand are led;
And he will, dark shades brightening,
Show thee what path to tread.

J. Kelly, 1867, in his Paul Gerhardt's Spiritual Songs.

Stanza 1. Commit whatever grieves thee
At heart, and all thy ways,
To Him who never leaves thee,
On whom creation stays.
Who freest courses maketh
For clouds, and air, and wind,
And care who ever taketh
A path for thee to find.

J. Guthrie, 1869, in his Sacred Lyrics.

Stanza 1. Commit thy way, O weeping
And care-encumbered soul,
To His all-trusty keeping,
Who guides the glowing pole.
No cloud or wind fleets o'er thee
But God directs its flow;
That God will cleave before thee
A path wherein to go.
126

Mrs. Charles, 1858, in Bishop's Ryle's Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1883.

Stanza 1. Commit thy way to God;
The weight which makes thee faint--
Words are to Him no load!
To Him breathe thy complaint.
He who for winds and clouds
Maketh a pathway free,
Through wastes or hostile crowds
Can make a way for thee.
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