The Kine Unguided Went

The kine unguided went
By the directest road;

The kine unguided went
By the directest road;
When the Philistines homeward sent
The ark of Israel’s God.

Lowing they passed along,
And left their calves shut up;
They felt an instinct for their young,
But would not turn or stop.

Shall brutes, devoid of thought,
Their Maker’s will obey;
And we, who by his grace are taught,
More stubborn prove than they?

He shed his precious blood
To make us his alone;
If washed in that atoning flood
We are no more our own.

If he his will reveal,
Let us obey his call;
And think whate’er the flesh may feel,
His love deserves our all.

We should maintain in view
His glory, as our end;
Too much we cannot bear, or do,
For such a matchless friend.

His saints should stand prepared
In duty’s path to run;
Nor count their greatest trials hard,
So that his will be done.

With Jesus for our guide,
The path is safe though rough
The promise says, “I will provide,”
And faith replies, “Enough!”

The milch kine drawing the ark:
Faith’s surrender of all

John Newton