The Lot, the Fatal Lot

Verse 1
The Lot, the Fatal Lot,
Into the Lap is cast!
But God, whose Mercy changeth not,
Shall order all at last;
His Wisdom shall dispose
The Intricate Event,
His glaring Providence disclose
The Thing his Goodness meant.

Verse 2
Th’ Imaginary Power
Of Chance let Others fear,
We know, the GOD our Hearts adore,
A GOD for ever near,
Who suffers Impious Fools
His Footsteps to blaspheme,
But kindly all th’Affairs orerules
Of Those that trust in Him!

Verse 3
Great GOD of Truth and Love,
We trust in Thee alone,
Led by the Wisdom from above
In Paths we have not known:
Blind helpless Children, we
Would all thy Steps pursue,
But till Thou giv’st us Eyes to see,
We know not what to do.

Verse 4
Yet, O Almighty Lord,
Thy Power is on our Side,
Thy tender Love, and faithful Word,
In which we still confide;
Thou wilt for Us appear,
Before thy Servants go,
And make the hidden Counsel clear,
And make the Mountains flow.

Verse 5
Thine Arm Thou soon shalt bare,
Descending from above,
Our Work assign, our Way prepare,
And every Bar remove;
Thy Love’s resistless Might
Shall burst the brazen Gate,
And turn the Darkness into Light,
The Crooked into Strait.

Verse 6
Of this we rest secure,
Thy Counsel must take place,
Thy Promise stands entire and sure
To all the Faithful Race:
And we with Joy receive
Whate’er thy love decree,
Who never wilt forsake or leave
The Souls that look to Thee.

Hymnal/Album: This hymn appears in a letter that Charles Wesley wrote to Sarah Gwynne, Jr., on December 29-30, 1748. This letter is part of the collection of the Methodist Archive and Research Centre in The John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester (accession number DDCW 5/15). Accessed through the website of The Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition, Duke Divinity School. Published in S.T. Kimbrough Jr. and Oliver A. Beckerlegge, eds., The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, vol. 1 (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1988), pages 236-37.
Publishing: Public Domain