4 O Jesus, thou hast promised
To all who follow thee,
That where thou art in glory
There shall thy servant be;
And, Jesus, I have promised
To serve thee to the end;
O give me grace to follow,
My Master and my Friend!
50 let me see thy footmarks,
And in them plant my own!
My hope to follow duly

Is in thy strength alone.
O guide me, call me, draw me,
Uphold me to the end!

At last in heaven receive me,

My Saviour and my Friend! Amen.

380

B

John E. Bode, 1869

OREATHE on me, Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,

That I may love what thou dost love,
And do what thou wouldst do.

2 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,

Until with thee I will one will,
To do or to endure.

3 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Till I am wholly thine,
Till all this earthly part of me
Glows with thy fire divine.

4 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
So shall I never die;

But live with thee the perfect life
Of thine eternity. Amen.

S.M.

Edwin Hatch, 1878

Also the following

117 He who would valiant be
211 My faith looks up to thee
525 I bind unto myself to-day
535 Go forward, Christian soldier

381

Holy Matrimony

FATHER, all creating,

7.6.7.6 D.

Whose wisdom, love, and power

First bound two lives together
In Eden's primal hour,
To-day to these thy children
Thine earliest gifts renew
A home by thee made happy,
A love by thee kept true.

2 O Saviour, Guest most bounteous
Of old in Galilee,

Vouchsafe to-day thy presence
With these who call on thee;
Their store of earthly gladness
Transform to heavenly wine,
And teach them, in the tasting,
To know the gift is thine.

3 0 Spirit of the Father,

Breathe on them from above,
So mighty in thy pureness,
So tender in thy love;
That, guarded by thy presence,
From sin and strife kept free,

Their lives may own thy guidance,
Their hearts be ruled by thee.

4 Except thou build it, Father,
The house is built in vain;
Except thou, Saviour, bless it,
The joy will turn to pain;
But naught can break the marriage
Of hearts in thee made one,
And love thy Spirit hallows
Is endless love begun. Amen.

382

O

John Ellerton, 1876

11.10.11.10

PERFECT Love, all human thought transcending,

Lowly we kneel in prayer before thy throne,

That theirs may be the love that knows no ending,

Whom thou for evermore dost join in

one.

2 O perfect Life, be thou their full assurance Of tender charity and steadfast faith, Of patient hope, and quiet, brave endurance,

With childlike trust that fears nor pain nor death.

3 Grant them the joy which brightens earthly sorrow;

Grant them the peace which calms all earthly strife,

And to life's day the glorious unknown

morrow

That dawns upon eternal love and life.

Amen.

Dorothy F. Gurney, 1883

383

7.6.7.6

TH

HE voice that breathed o'er Eden. That earliest wedding day The primal marriage blessing, It hath not passed away.

2 Still in the pure espousal

Of Christian man and maid, The holy Three are with us, The threefold grace is said.

3 Be present, aweful Father,
To give away this bride,
As Eve thou gav'st to Adam
Out of his own pierced side:

4 Be present, Son of Mary,
To join their loving hands,
As thou didst bind two natures
In thine eternal bands!

5 Be present, holiest Spirit,

To bless them as they kneel,
As thou, for Christ the Bridegroom,
The heavenly Spouse dost seal!

6 O spread thy pure wing o'er them, Let no ill power find place, When onward to thine altar

Their hallowed path they trace,

7 To cast their crowns before thee In perfect sacrifice,

Till to the home of gladness

With Christ's own Bride they rise. Amen.

John Keble, 1857

384

Visitation

8.4.8.4.8.4

MY God, I thank thee, who hast made

The earth so bright;

So full of splendour and of joy,
Beauty and light;

So many glorious things are here,
Noble and right.

2 I thank thee too that thou hast made
Joy to abound;

So many gentle thoughts and deeds
Circling us round,

That in the darkest spot of earth
Some love is found.

3 I thank thee more that all our joy
Is touched with pain;

That shadows fall on brightest hours;
That thorns remain;

So that earth's bliss may be our guide,
And not our chain.

4 For thou who knowest, Lord, how soon Our weak heart clings,

Hast given us joys, tender and true,
Yet all with wings;

So that we see, gleaming on high
Diviner things.

5 I thank thee, Lord, that thou hast kept The best in store;

We have enough, yet not too much
To long for more:

A yearning for a deeper peace,
Not known before.