Lyrics
Thy way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be;
Lead me by Thine own hand,
Choose out the path for me.
Smooth let it be or rough,
It will be still the best;
Winding or straight, it leads
Right onward to Thy rest.
I dare not choose my lot;
I would not if I might:
Choose Thou for me, my God,
So shall I walk aright.
The Kingdom that I seek
Is Thine; so let the way
That leads to it be Thine,
Else I must surely stray.
Take Thou my cup, and it
With joy or sorrow fill,
As best to Thee may seem;
Choose Thou my good and ill.
Choose Thou for me my friends,
My sickness or my health;
Choose Thou my cares for me,
My poverty or wealth.
Not mine, not mine, the choice
In things or great or small;
Be Thou my guide, my strength,
My wisdom, and my all.
Public domain hymn text (1857). Words by Horatius Bonar.
The Story Behind the Hymn
Horatius Bonar wrote 'Thy Way, Not Mine, O Lord' in 1857, part of an extensive body of hymn writing produced over his long ministry within the Free Church of Scotland, a denomination he had helped establish during the 1843 Disruption from the established Church of Scotland.
The hymn's central request goes beyond simply asking for a good outcome, surrendering instead the entire route itself, 'choose out the path for me,' regardless of whether that path proves 'smooth' or 'rough,' 'winding or straight.'
That distinction, surrendering the journey's specific character rather than only its final destination, reflects a demanding form of trust, asking the singer to accept not just where the path leads but every twist and difficulty encountered along the way as equally, deliberately chosen.
Bonar frequently wrote hymns addressing themes of providence and divine guidance, and this text's insistence that a genuinely difficult path can still be 'the best' one reflects the broader Reformed theological conviction that God's sovereign will governs even life's hardest circumstances.
Its structure moves through seven short verses, each restating the same core surrender from a different angle, friends, sickness and health, cares, poverty and wealth, choices great and small, building repetition rather than extended argument into its statement of trust.
Bonar's hymns were widely translated and used well beyond Scotland and the Presbyterian tradition specifically, and this text found particular use in situations of genuine uncertainty or hardship, where its request was not for comfort but for trust regardless of the path's actual difficulty.
The hymn remained valued for its unusually complete surrender, asking not merely for a favorable result but for peace with the entire process, however that process might actually unfold, smooth or difficult alike.
