Cântăre Contentment

Father, I know that all my life

Is portioned out for me;

And the changes that are sure to come

I do not fear to see;

I ask Thee for a present mind,

Intent on pleasing Thee.



I ask Thee for a thoughtful love,

Through constant watching wise,

To meet the glad and joyful smiles,

And wipe the weeping eyes,

And a heart, at leisure from itself,

To soothe and sympathize.



I would not have the restless will

That hurries to and fro,

E’er seeking some great thing to do,

Or secret thing to know;

I would be treated as a child,

And guided where I go.



Wherever in this world I am,

In whatsoe’er estate,

I have a fellowship with hearts

To keep and cultivate,

And a work of lowly love to do

For the Lord on whom I wait.



So I ask Thee for daily strength—

To none that ask denied—

And a mind to blend with outward life,

While keeping at Thy side;

Content to fill a little space,

If Thou be glorified.



There are briers besetting every path,

Which call for constant care;

There is a cross in every lot,

And an earnest need for prayer;

But a lowly heart that leans on Thee,

Is happy everywhere.



In a service which Thy love appoints

There are no bonds for me,

For my inmost heart has learned the truth

Which makes Thy children free,

And a life of self-renouncing love

Is a life of liberty.