2 Great source of light to all below!
Teach us thy holy will to know:
Teach us to read thy word aright,
And make it our supreme delight;
That, purged from vain desires, our mind
In thee its only good may find.
3 Maker, instructer, judge of all,
O hear us when on thee we call!
To us, all-bounteous Lord, dispense
Thy grace, and guiding influence!
Preserve us in thy holy ways,
And teach our hearts to speak thy praise!
For Divine Light and Support.
1 0 THOU whose power o'er moving worlds presides,
Whose voice created, and whose wisdom guides! On darkling man in pure effulgence shine, And cheer the clouded mind with light divine! 2 'Tis thine alone to calm the pious breast With silent confidence, and holy rest;
From thee, great God! we spring, to thee we tend,
Path, motive, guide, original, and end.
For Divine Guidance and Sustenance.
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!
Feed me till I want no more.
2 Open now the crystal fountains
Whence the living waters flow;
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar
Lead me all the journey through.
Strong Deliverer!
Be thou still my strength and shield.
3 Feed me with the heavenly manna
In this barren wilderness;
Be my sword, and shield and banner;
Be the Lord my righteousness.
Strong Deliverer!
Be thou still my strength and shield.
4 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Bear me through the swelling current,
Land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs of praises
I will ever give to thee.
For Guidance to the Promised Land.
1 THUS far on life's perplexing path,
Thus far thou, Lord, our steps hast led,
Snatched from the world's pursuing wrath,
Unharmed though floods o'erhung our head:
Like ransomed Israel on the shore,
Here then we pause, look back, adore.
2 Strangers and pilgrims here below.
Like all our fathers in their day,
We to the land of promise go,
Lord, by thine own appointed way:
Still guide, illumine, cheer our flight,
In cloud by day, in fire by night.
3 Protect us through the wilderness,
From every peril, plague, and foe;
With bread from heaven thy people bless,
And living streams where'er we go;
Nor let our rebel hearts repine,
Or follow any voice but thine.
4 Thy holy law to us proclaim,
But not from Sinai's top alone;
Hid in the rock-cleft be thy name,
Thy power, and all thy goodness, shown;
And may we never bow the knee,
Or worship any God but thee.
5 When we have numbered all our years,
And stand, at length, on Jordan's brink,
Though the flesh fail with mortal fears,
O let not then the spirit sink;
But, strong in faith, and hope, and love,
Plunge through the stream, to rise above!
1 WHEN darkness long has veiled my mind, And smiling day once more appears, Then, my Creator! then I find
The folly of my doubts and fears.
2 Straight I upbraid my wandering heart,
And blush that I should ever be
Thus prone to act so base a part,
Or harbor one hard thought of thee.
3 O! let me then at length be taught,
What I am still so slow to learn,-
That God is love, and changes not,
Nor knows the shadow of a turn.
4 Sweet truth, and easy to repeat! But when my faith is sharply tried, I find myself a learner yet,
Unskilful, weak, and apt to slide.
5 But, O my God! one look from thee
Subdues the disobedient will,
Drives doubt and discontent away,
And thy rebellious child is still.
6 Thou art as ready to forgive
As I am ready to repine;
Thou, therefore, all the praise receive;
Be shame and self-abhorrence mine.
Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom.
1 ALMIGHTY God! in humble
To thee our souls we lift;
Do thou our waiting minds prepare
For thy most needful gift.
2 We ask not golden streams of wealth
Along our path to flow;
We ask not undecaying health,
Nor length of years below.
3 We ask not honors, which an hour
May bring and take away;
We ask not pleasure, pomp,
Lest we should go astray.
4 We ask for wisdom; - Lord, impart
The knowledge how to live;
A wise and understanding heart
To all before thee give.
5 The young remember thee in youth,
Before the evil days!
The old be guided by thy truth
In wisdom's pleasant ways!
1 THUS Agur breathed his warm desire— 'My God, two favors I require; In neither my request deny,
Vouchsafe them both before I die :
2Far from my heart and tents exclude
Those enemies to all that's good,
Folly, whose pleasures end in death,
And Falsehood's pestilential breath.
3 'Be neither wealth nor want my lot;
Below the dome, above the cot,
Let me my life unanxious lead,
And know not luxury nor need.'
4 Those wishes, Lord, we make our own; O, shed in moderation down
Thy bounties, till this mortal breath,
Expiring, tunes thy praise in death!
5 But, shouldst thou large possessions give,
May we with thankfulness receive
Th' abundance-still our God adore,
And bless the needy from our store!
6 Or, should we feel the pains of want,-
Submission, resignation, grant;
Till thou shalt send the wished supply,
Or call us to the bliss on high.
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