Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

William Williams was born in Wales a little over 300 years ago. Young William was determined to become a doctor but his life would take him down a different path. While he was still a medical student, William heard the preaching of Howell Harris, a wildly popular Methodist preacher. It is said that 20,000 people attended Harris’s funeral when he died.

After hearing him preach, William dedicated himself to Christ and decided to become a Methodist preacher as well. Methodist ministers were not assigned to any one church. Rather, they would travel and preach at churches and gatherings along the way.

This constant journeying took William over 100,000 miles during his lifetime. As he endured the hardships of a life of travel, he imagined Moses leading the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. He pictured the column of smoke from the tabernacle which the people followed, the dry wilderness of the desert and the springs of water which God provided for His people.

Some time around 1745, William composed a hymn which expressed these thoughts by comparing the hardships of his own life with the journey of Moses and the Israelites.

His lyrics speak to all of us as we see our own lives pictured in his words. William’s journey tells the stories of our own journeys in a way that brings us all the closer to God and His promise of a new home.

The Welch preacher’s beloved hymn is called “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.” Centuries later it would be sung at the funeral of Princess Di of Wales and then at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Here are the lyrics to William’s great piece:

1-Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land.

I am weak, but Thou art mighty;

Hold me with Thy powerful hand.

Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,

Feed me till I want no more;

Feed me till I want no more.

2-Open now the crystal fountain,

Whence the healing stream doth flow;

Let the fire and cloudy pillar

Lead me all my journey through.

Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,

Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;

Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.

3-Musing on my habitation,

Musing on my heav’nly home,

Fills my soul with holy longings:

Come, my Jesus, quickly come;

Vanity is all I see;

Lord, I long to be with Thee!

Lord, I long to be with Thee!