Psalm
All My Ways Are in Thy Hand
Words: The New Metrical Version of the Psalms, 1909; alt.
Music: Ryan Cornett
Tune: QUAERES ME
Meter: 8.8.8.7. w/ repeat and refrain
Refrain
LORD, Thou hast searched me, and dost know
where'er I rest, where'er I go;
Thou knowest all that I have planned,
All my ways are in Thy hand,
All my ways are in Thy hand.
Stanza 1
My words from Thee I cannot hide,
I feel Thy pow'r on ev'ry side;
O wondrous knowledge, awesome might,
Plumbless depth, unmeasured height!
Plumbless depth, unmeasured height!
Stanza 2
Where can I go apart from Thee,
Or whither from Thy presence flee?
In heav'n? it is Thy dwelling fair;
Death's abode? lo, Thou art there,
Death's abode? lo, Thou art there.
Stanza 3
If I the wings of morning take,
And far away my dwelling make,
The hand that leadeth me is Thine,
My support, Thy pow'r divine,
My support, Thy pow'r divine.
Stanza 4
If darkest night shouldst cover me,
The darkness hideth not from Thee;
To Thee both night and day are bright,
Darkness shineth as the light,
Darkness shineth as the light.
About the song
A metrical treatment of Psalm 139 celebrating God's knowledge, presence, and guiding hand.
This particular paraphrase of Psalm 139 is first found in The New Metrical Version of the Psalms, 1909 (p. 204), with many psalters thereafter including it and rightly so! It is one of my favorite Psalms in meter, so I wanted to give it a memorable, driving tune with a melodic style lacking in much of English hymnody: the sea shanty. I wanted the tune to be fun but reverent, intended to serve well the incredible biblical truths brought forth from the text.
I made very slight changes to the language and to fit the meter of the tune as it materialized.
Themes
Scripture references
Psalm 139:1-12