Do Not Worry Over What to Eat / Leave it in the Hands of the Lord

This song is based on Matthew 6:25-34.   It was written by Sebastian Temple, and included in the 1967 recording, Happy the Man, which is described here.  It was also published in the UK in 1974 in the 20th Century Folk Hymnal, Volume 1.

The original title was "Leave it in the Hands of the Lord" but later use generally refers to is as "Do not Worry".

The un-named tune was also written by Temple.   It has a 4/4 time signature, and was originally published in the key of E.   The first few notes in this key are c B AE Ac B A G.

The song isn't  covered by CCLI licenses. Some books say that copyright is now managed by OCP Publications - but they don't currently have it in print. It is in the currently in-print Celebration Hymnal for Everyone from McCrimmon Publications.

Lead sheet style music is currently available here.

Like many of Temple's works, it has crossed denominational and cultural boundaries:   although it isn't widely used, there are references to it being sung in a Baptist church in 2003, and being used at (presumably Roman Catholic) Mass, and requests received by this website show that it is known in Africa, too.

Downloads

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Sheet music in the Happy the Man songbook

Examples

Sebastian Temple singing the song:

Church choir with piano accompaniment:

Lyrics

The lyrics are copyright so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available on this website.

The song starts with a five-line chorus, and this is repeated after each of the verses, each of which has four lines. A rough outline is:

Chorus:
Do not worry over what to eat,
what to wear or put on your feet.
Trust and pray, go do your best today,
then leave it in the hands of the Lord.
Leave it in the hands of the Lord.

1  The lilies of the field, they do not spin or weave,

2  The Lord will guide you in his hidden way,

3  The Lord knows all your needs before you ask ...

See more ...

• Hymns about trust
• Folk-style hymns

KEEP IN CASE ORIGINAL IS REMOVED, BUT DO NOT DISPLAY
Do not worry over what to eat, what to wear or put on your feet. Trust and pray, go do your best today, then leave it in the hands of the Lord. Leave it in the hands of the Lord. The lilies of the field, they do not spin or weave, Yet Solomon was not arrayed like one of these. The birds of the air, they do not sow or reap, But God tends to them, like a shepherd tends his sheep. The Lord will guide you in his hidden way, Show you what to do and tell you what to say. When you pray for rain, go build a dam to store Ev’ry drop of water you have asked him for. The Lord knows all your needs before you ask. Only trust in God; the Lord will do the task Of bringing in your life whatever you must know, And lead you through the darkness wherever you must go