O Lord How Happy Should We Be

O Lord How Happy Should We Be Lyrics

Author: Joseph Anstice (1836)

1 O Lord, how happy should we be
If we could cast our care on Thee,
If we from self could rest,
And feel at heart that One above,
In perfect wisdom, perfect love,
Is working for the best!

2 How far from this our daily life,
Ever disturbed by anxious strife,
By sudden, wild alarms!
O could, we but relinquish all
Our earthly props, and simply fall
On Thy almighty arms!

3 Could we but kneel and cast our load,
E’en while we pray, upon our God,
Then rise with lightened cheer,
Sure that the Father, who is nigh
To still the famished raven’s cry,
Will hear in that we fear!

4 Lord, make these faithless hearts of ours
Such lesson learns from birds and flowers;
Make them from self to cease,
Leave all things to a Father’s will,
And taste, before Him lying still,
E’en in affliction, peace.

O Lord How Happy Should We Be Hymn Story

ThIs hymn, “O Lord how happy should we be”, is one of the few songs that Joseph Anstice dictated to his wife on his dying bed. Another song that he dictated was “Lord of the harvest, once again“.

Joseph Anstice was one of the most brilliant people of his age. He graduated with honors and at the early age of 22 became professor of Classical Literature at King’s College, London.

Unfortunately, he only served as professor for less than ten years as he died six year later.

Listening to his hymns you can sense the pathos, the urgency in the message they deliver. There is no vanishing of the message in the songs. He tells it like it is. They are a call for us to cease all childishness and follow our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

The songs are an urgent call to the Lord to change our hearts, “make them from self to cease”.

Below are more hymns’ stories and lyrics: –

O Lord of Heaven and Earth and Sea

Not Now but in The Coming Years

My God My Father While I Stray

My Days are Gliding Swiftly By

O Leave We All for Jesus

O Lord How Happy Should We be Hymn Video

O Lord How happy should be video

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