Seek Ye The Lord
By Maria Berry
When upon life’s heaving billows
You are tossed from side to side,
Broken-hearted and forsaken
You are drifting with the tide;
Hope no longer is your anchor,
You’ve forgotten how to pray,
You have lost your hold on Jesus,
And, without Him, missed your way.
Raise your voice once more to Heaven,
Ask the Lord to be your guide;
You will find the safest harbor
By His kind and loving side;
He will heal your broken spirit,
Fit you for the storms of life;
Resting all your cares on Jesus
You will never fear the strife.
We could never fight life’s battles,
If we did not seek His aid;
He will bear the weary burdens
That have heavy on us laid;
He will guide our faltering footsteps,
Walking with us hand in hand;
Cheering, helping, He will lead us
Safe into the promised land.
(1913)
Its hard to read this without thinking “Count your blessings” and feeling the rhythms of the hymn.
Kent,
I wondered how I could get in contact with you regarding poetry you posted on Times and Seasons, which I’ve set to music. I messaged you on Facebook. Did you see my message?
I would love to get in touch with you. I’m always on the lookout for poetry to set to music. You and Ardis have become my go-to sources for quality texts of LDS origin.
Thanks,
Jared
jaredbski@gmail.com
I just set it to music. I’m not certain I’ve captured the stormlike elements, but the tune fits. It is certainly different than “Count Your Blessings.”
In my setting, I’ve made the following minor alterations to the lyrics:
When upon life’s heaving billows
You are tossed from side to side,
Broken-hearted and forsaken
You’re left drifting with the tide;
Hope no longer is your anchor,
You’ve forgotten how to pray,
You have lost your hold on Jesus,
And alone have missed your way.
Raise your pleading voice to heaven,
Ask the Lord to be your guide;
You will find the safest harbor
By His kind and loving side;
He will heal your broken spirit,
Fit you for the storms of life;
Rest your ev’ry care on Jesus
Who gives shelter from the strife.
We could never fight life’s battles,
If we did not seek His aid;
He will bear the weary burdens
That feel heavy on us laid;
He will guide our faltering footsteps,
Lead us with sure, patient hand;
Cheering, helping, He will lead us
Safely to the promised land.
I made a few adaptations to go with the music of my new setting of this wonderful text:
When upon life’s heaving billows
You feel tossed from side to side,
Broken hearted and forsaken,
You’re left drifting with the tide;
Hope no longer is your anchor,
You’ve forgotten how to pray;
Now your hold has slipped from Jesus,
Sadly you have missed your way.
Raise your pleading voice to heaven,
Ask the Lord to be your guide;
You will find the safest harbor
By His kind and loving side;
He will heal your broken spirit,
Fit you for the storms of life;
Rest your ev’ry care on Jesus
Who gives shelter from the strife.
We could never fight life’s battles,
If we did not seek His aid;
He will bear the weary burdens
That weigh heavy on us laid;
He will guide our faltering footsteps,
Lead with sure and patient hand;
Cheering, helping He will lead us
Safely to the promised land.
My apologies. I’ve made a few other minor changes to the words since posting last. This time, I won’t submit again since there doesn’t seem to be a way to edit once I’ve posted. Assuming readers here could be interested, I’ll just wait and share when I’ve written down the song.