O Lord, my best desire fulfill
Book 3, Hymn 29 · William Cowper · Public-domain words
O Lord, my best desire fulfill
Book 3, Hymn 29 · William Cowper
The words
- 1
Stanza 1. O Lord, my best desire fulfillAnd help me to resign,Life, health, and comfort to thy will,And make thy pleasure mine.
- 2
Stanza 2. Why should I shrink at thy command,Whose love forbids my fears?Or tremble at the gracious handThat wipes away my tears?
- 3
Stanza 3. No, let me rather freely yieldWhat most I prize to thee;Who never hast a good withheld,Or wilt withhold from me.
- 4
Stanza 4. Thy favor, all my journey through,Thou art engaged to grant;What else I want, or think I do,’Tis better still to want.
- 5
Stanza 5. Wisdom and mercy guide my way,Shall I resist them both?A poor blind creature of a day,And crushed before the moth!
- 6
Stanza 6. But ah! my inward spirit cries,Still bind me to thy sway;Else the next cloud that veils my skies,Drives all these thoughts away.
Olney Hymns (1779), Book 3, Hymn 29. William Cowper. Public domain. CCEL transcription with modernized spelling. www.praylock.com/olney-hymns/3-29
About these words
William Cowper lived from 1731 to 1800. These historical words are public domain.
This hymn belongs to the complete three-book collection first published in 1779.
The CCEL transcription modernizes spelling and some punctuation. Read this hymn at the source. Checked 23 October 2026.
No sheet music or recordings are included. This web collection is separate from the PrayLock iPhone app.
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