We see through a glass, darkly.
1 Corinthians 13:12
Words: Gertrude B. Curtis, in Concordia: A Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, edited by Andreas Bersagel, Vigleik E. Boe & Sven Olsen Sigmond (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1918), number 152.
Music: Niigata Lawrence J. Munson, 1915 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Curtis (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
I cannot always see the way that leads to heights above,
And sometimes I forget He leads me on with hand of love,
But yet I know the path must lead me to Immanuel’s land,
And when I leave life’s summit I shall know and understand.
I cannot always trace the onward course my ship must take,
But, looking backward, I behold afar its shining wake
Illumined with God’s light of love, and so I onward go,
In perfect trust that He who holds the helm the course must know.
I cannot always see the plan on which He builds my life,
For oft the sound of hammers, blow and blow the noise of strife
Confuse me till I quite forget He knows and oversees.
And that in all details, with His good plan my life agrees.
I cannot always know and understand the Master’s rule;
I cannot always do the tasks He gives in life’s hard school;
But I am learning with His help to solve them, one by one.
And when I cannot understand, to say Thy will be done.