Firm in Thy strong control,
O Father, hold my soul,
Faithful to Thee!
If e’er I fear to fall,
Then let me hear Thee call,
“I am thy all in all –
Trust thou in Me.”
A revelation new
Of what Thy grace can do,
O God, be mine!
The need is all my own;
The grace is Thine alone –
Grace, deep as need, made known:
Thy grace divine.
A power within reveal:
Thy power to help and heal –
Strong, changeless, free.
O by temptations sore,
By sorrows that He bore,
Who loves me evermore,
Give victory!
A freeman, once a slave,
Freedom to serve I crave –
To serve but Thee.
Blessing and being blest,
Be this my only quest,
How I may serve Thee best,
Till Thee I see.
The unknown author of these words must have been seeking the kind of security we all crave in changing, often turbulent days. As this entry is being written, the world is struggling through the spread of an illness that has reached quickly around the globe. Even as we carefully heed the instructions of wise leaders, how we also need to listen to the Lord’s call: “I am thy all in all – trust thou in Me.”
The Salvation Army Song Book lists the author as anonymous, as does Hymnary.org . Interestingly, that website gives the only instance of the song being used as in the S.A. Song Book, beginning in 1953. It’s a beautiful, prayerful hymn, without any thoughts that would particularly restrict it to Salvation Army use, yet no other hymnals appear to have included it. One might surmise that the author was a Salvationist who lived in the 20th century, but we can only guess! Certainly, the song is a familiar and meaningful one to many.
