O Lord! How Happy Should We Be

O Lord! how hap­py should we be

If we could leave our cares to Thee

If we from self could rest;

And feel at heart that One above

In per­fect wis­dom

per­fect love

Is work­ing for the best.

How far from this our dai­ly life

How oft dis­turbed by anx­ious strife

By sud­den wild alarms;

Oh

could we but relinq­uish all

Our earth­ly props

and simp­ly fall

On Thy al­migh­ty arms

Could we but kneel and cast our care

Upon our God in hum­ble pray­er

With strength­ened souls we rise

Sure that our Fa­ther who is nigh

To hear the rav­ens when they cry

Will hear His child­ren’s cries.

We can­not trust Him as we should;

So chafes weak na­ture’s rest­less mood

To cast its peace away;

But birds and flow­er­ets round us preach

All

all the pre­sent ev­il teach

Sufficient for the day.

Lord

make these faith­less hearts of ours

Such les­sons learn from birds and flow­ers

And learn from self to cease;

Leave all things to a Fa­ther’s will

And taste

be­fore Him ly­ing still

E’en in af­flict­ion

peace!