Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 772)
1 Oh, that the Lord would guide my ways
To keep his statutes still!
Oh, that my God would grant me grace
To know and do his will!
2 Order my footsteps by your Word
And make my heart sincere;
Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
But keep my conscience clear.
3 Assist my soul, too apt to stray,
A stricter watch to keep;
And should I e’er forget your way,
Restore your wand’ring sheep.
4 Make me to walk in your commands,
‘Tis a delightful road;
Nor let my head or heart or hands
Offend against my God.
Text: Isaac Watts; Music: William H. Havergal; Public Domain
Devotion
Isaac Watts, Congregationalist minister in 17th and 18th century England, and prolific hymn writer of some 750 hymns, in this famous hymn seems to walk through the lessons of this week’s readings. In verse one he prays that God will guide each one of us to keep God’s statutes and grant the grace to know and do God’s will. Verse two continues the prayer that God would order my footsteps and make my heart sincere so that I remain unstained from sin’s power to destroy. Verse three notes that only the Lord can rescue me from my tendency to wander from the path, and finally pleads the Lord’s grace to stay on the path and delight in God’s road. When it comes to God’s way, you see, it is really very personal and singular; it is all about what God can make of you and me, and in the case of the church the singular us!
Prayer
Holy triune God, you have created the singular; you have redeemed the singular; you have made the singular holy. Oh, that the lord would guide my ways! Amen.