SWEET Saviour, bless us ere we go;
Thy word into our minds instill;
And make our lukewarm hearts to glow
With lowly love and fervent will.
Through life's long day and death's dark night,
O gentle Jesus, be our Light,
2 The day is gone, its hours have run,
And Thou hast taken count of all,
The scanty triumphs grace hath won,
The broken vow, the frequent fall.
3 Grant us, dear Lord, from evil ways
True absolution and release;
And bless us, more than in past days,
With purity and inward peace.
4 Do more than pardon; give us joy,
Sweet fear, and sober liberty,
And simple hearts without alloy
That only long to be like Thee.
5 Labor is sweet, for Thou hast toiled;
And care is light, for Thou hast cared;
Ah! never let our works be soiled
With strife, or by deceit ensnared.
6 For all we love, the poor, the sad,
The sinful, unto Thee we call;
O, let Thy mercy make us glad:
Thou art our Jesus, and our all.
Through life's long day and death's dark night,
O gentle Jesus, be our Light.
Frederic William Faber 1849
I love the vol-ume of Thy word: What light and joy those leaves afford To souls benight-ed and distressed:
THE heavens declare Thy glory, Lord;
In every star Thy wisdom shines;
But when our eyes behold Thy word
We read Thy name in fairer lines.
2 The rolling sun, the changing light,
And nights and days, Thy power confess;
But the blest volume Thou hast writ,
Reveals Thy justice and Thy grace
3 Sun, moon, and stars, convey Thy praise Round the whole earth, and never stand: So when Thy truth began its race,
It touched and glanced on every land.
4 Nor shall Thy spreading gospel rest,
Till through the world Thy truth has run:
Till Christ has all the nations blessed
That see the light, or feel the sun.
LAMP of our feet, whereby we trace
Our path when wont to stray;
Stream from the fount of heavenly grace,
Brook by the traveller's way;
2 Bread of our souls, whereon we feed, True manna from on high;
Our guide and chart, wherein we read
Of realms beyond the sky;
3 Word of the Everlasting God,
Will of His glorious Son;
Without thee how could earth be trod,
Or heaven itself be won?
4 Lord, grant us all aright to learn
The wisdom it imparts;
And to its heavenly teaching turn,
With simple, child-like hearts.
How precious is the book divine, By inspiration given: Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine, To guide our souls to heaven.
How precious is the book divine,
By inspiration given.
Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine,
To guide our souls to heaven.
2 Its light, descending from above,
Our gloomy world to cheer,
Displays a Saviour's boundless love,
And brings His glories near.
3 It shows to man his wandering ways,
And where his feet have trod;
And brings to view the matchless grace
Of a forgiving God.
4 It sweetly cheers our drooping hearts,
In this dark vale of tears;
Life, light, and joy it still imparts,
And quells our rising fears.
5 This lamp, through all the tedious night
Of life, shall guide our way,
Till we behold the clearer light
Of an eternal day.
THERE is a book, who runs may read, Which heavenly truth imparts, And all the lore its scholars need, Pure eyes and Christian hearts.
2 The works of God, above, below, Within us and around,
Are pages in that book to show
How God Himself is found.
How shall the young secure their hearts,
And guard their lives from sin?
Thy word the choicest rules imparts,
To keep the conscience clean.
2 When once it enters to the mind,
It spreads such light abroad,
The meanest souls instruction find,
And raise their thoughts to God.
3 "Tis like the sun, a heavenly light,
That guides us all the day;
And, through the dangers of the night,
A lamp to lead our way.
4 Thy precepts make me truly wise:
I hate the sinner's road;
I hate my own vain thoughts that rise, But love Thy law, my God.
5 Thy word is everlasting truth;
How pure is every page!
That holy book shall guide our youth,
And well support our age.
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