Hymn
Choosing the Better Part
Beset with snares on every hand,
In life’s uncertain path I stand:
Saviour divine! diffuse Thy light,
To guide my doubtful footsteps right.
Engage this roving treacherous heart
Wisely to choose the better part;
To scorn the trifles of a day,
For joys that none can take away.
Then let the wildest storms arise;
Let tempests mingle earth and skies:
No fatal shipwreck shall I fear,
But all my treasures with me bear.
If Thou, my Jesus, still be nigh,
Cheerful I live, and joyful die:
Secure, when mortal comforts flee,
To find ten thousand worlds in Thee.
Choosing the Better Part — Text from Church Book, 1890. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/choosing-the-better-part
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Questions about this hymn
Who wrote Choosing the Better Part?
The words of Choosing the Better Part were written by Philip Doddridge; the version here was published in 1890. The library holds 55 more hymns by Philip Doddridge, including How Gentle God's Commands and The Resurrection of Christ.
Is Choosing the Better Part public domain?
Yes. The words here are taken from Church Book, published in 1890. Works published before 1931 are out of copyright in the United States, so you can print, project, perform and record this hymn freely. How we source and check every hymn.
What is the metre of Choosing the Better Part?
Choosing the Better Part is in Long Metre (8.8.8.8). Hymns in the same metre can usually be sung to the same tunes — for example, From Heaven Above to Earth I Come, Praise for Protection, Grace and Truth and Thy Kingdom Come.