O Sweet Will of God!

O! sweet will of God, thou hast girded me round,
Like the deep moving currents that girdle the sea;
With omnipotent love is my poor nature bound,
And this bondage of love sets me perfectly free.

For years my will wrestled with vague discontent
That like a sad angel o’ershadowed my way;
God’s light in my soul oft with darkness was blent,
And my heart ever longed for an unclouded day.

My wild will was captured, yet under the yoke
There was pain and not peace at the press of the load,
Till the glorious burden the last fiber broke;
And I melted like wax in the furnace of God.

And now I have flung myself recklessly out,
Like a chip on the stream of the Infinite Will;
I pass the rough rocks with a smile and a shout,
And I just let my God His dear purpose fulfill.

I care not for self: all my blisses and pains
I gladly yield up to the mandate above;
My crosses and triumphs, my losses and gains,
I bury them all in the vertex of love.

And now my King Jesus has all His own way;
I wait but to catch his low whispering word.
‘Tis my bliss to lie low ‘neath His scepter’s right sway,
For my triumph I see in each step of my Lord.

Forever I choose the good will of my God,
Its holy, deep riches to love and to know;
The serfdom of love doth so sweeten the rod,
That its touch maketh rivers of honey to flow.

Roll on, checkered seasons, bring smiles or bring tears,
My soul sweetly sails on an infinite tide;
I shall soon touch the shore of eternity’s years,
And near the white throne of my Savior abide.