Christ My Song - 1483
What in the Lord thou doest must succeed - Work in the Lord
(Carl Johann Philipp Spitta/Richard Massie/
Johannes Thomas Rüegg)
Work in the Lord.
1. What in the Lord thou doest must succeed,
the glory his, the blessing shall be thine;
from him alike both will and act proceed,
he sows and gives the increase to the seed,
he prompts and perfects every good design:
hands on thy work, thy heart on God alone,
thus and thus only is a good work done. PDF - Midi
2. Think not that ought is in God's eyes so small,
that he will not the needful succour lend;
his ear is ever open to thy call,
to give thee strength, to bless and prosper all,
and bring thy labours to a happy end:
call on the Lord whate'er thou dost to bless,
and he will crown thy efforts with success.
3. He makes thy heart courageous, firm, and bold,
and should thy labours seem to press too sore,
he suffers not thy courage to grow cold,
smooths on thy care-worn brow the gathering fold,
arms thee with patient industry, nay more,
regards the smallest kindness shown to one
of his disciples, as to him 'twere done.
4. His presence doth not weaken and destroy,
but rather strengthens and collects thy powers,
sheds a bright lustre o'er the day's employ,
turns toil to pleasure, trouble into joy,
and gilds with sunshine e'en thy darkest hours:
for what thy hand hath done with all its might,
the Lord will richly to thy heart requite.
5. How blessed to have the Lord before our eyes,
to speak with him, and listen to his voice,
with him in all our troubles to advise,
to feed upon his holy mysteries,
and in each act of goodness to rejoice!
The world astonished cannot understand
the cheerful promptness of thy heart and hand.
Richard Massie, Lyra Domestica I, 1863, 93-94.
Translated from the German Was in dem Herrn du tust, das wird gelingen - Die Arbeit in dem Herrn
of Carl Johann Philipp Spitta.