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| OH, thou Eternal and Omnipotent! | |
| How shall thy erring children come to Thee | |
| And ask for peace? Although the head be bent, | |
| Even as a bulrush, ’tis but a mockery | |
| If the dark, sin-struck heart still cling to earth; | 5 |
| Still make its idol of the world’s frail clay, | |
| And the pure and glorious forget its birth | |
| Before the glittering bubble of a day. | |
| Or if a spark of hatred linger still | |
| Against a brother, sinful though he be, | 10 |
| Oh! Thou in Heaven, how shall we come to Thee? | |
| Vain are the words that spring with empty sound | |
| While the insensate heart betrays no wound, | |
| And we are slaves unto our stubborn will. | |
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| But if, oh, Thou eternal God of love, | 15 |
| If we perchance, find favor in Thy sight, | |
| Guide us oh, Holy One! from this our night | |
| And grant remission from thy courts above. | |
| Low in the dust we mourn the fatal sin | |
| That hath beguiled our souls from the true path. | 20 |
| Oh, deal not on our heads thy fearful wrath; | |
| Forgive the past and grant us strength to win | |
| The glorious prize of immortality, | |
| The bliss to dwell forevermore with thee. | |
| We are thy children—let our prayers arise | 25 |
| Like the sweet incense of a sacrifice, | |
| And from this day henceforward let us be | |
| Bound by love’s holiest ties, our God, to Thee. | |
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