CHRISTIAN LIFE >> MEDITATION AND PRAYER
SDAH 497
O gracious Father of mankind,
Our spirits’ unseen friend;
High heaven’s Lord, our hearts’ dear guest,
To Thee our prayers ascend.
Text
1
O gracious Father of mankind,
Our spirits’ unseen friend;
High heaven’s Lord, our hearts’ dear guest,
To Thee our prayers ascend.
Thou dost not wait till human speech
Thy gifts divine implore;
Our dreams, our aims, our work, our lives
Are prayers Thou lovest more.
2
Thou hearest these, the good and ill,
Deep buried in each breast;
The secret thought, the hidden plan,
Wrought out our unexpressed.
O cleanse our prayers from human dross,
Attune our lives to Thee,
Until we labor for those gifts
We ask on bended knee.
3
Our best is but Thyself in us,
Our highest thought Thy will;
To hear Thy voice we need but love,
And listen, and be still.
We would not bend Thy will to ours,
But blend our wills to Thine;
Not dreams, our aims, our work, our lives
Are prayers Thou lovest more.
4
Thou seekest us in love and truth
More than our minds seek Thee;
Through open gates Thy power flows in
Like flood tides from the sea.
No more we seek Thee from afar,
Nor ask Thee for a sign,
Content to pray in life and love
And toil, till all are Thine.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(b) Ps 19:12 (c) Ps 46:10
Author
Henry H. Tweedy (1868-1953)
Year Published
1926
Copyright
Music from The Hymnal 1940, copyright by The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission.
Hymn Tune
HALIFAX
Metrical Number
C.M.D.
Composer
George Frederick Handel (1685-1759)
Arranged
Winfred Douglas, 1941 (1867-1944)
Year Composed
1748
Theme
MEDITATION AND PRAYER
Hymn Score
Piano Accompaniment
Recommended Reading
The general idea when it comes to hymns is that there is a close bond between the author and the composer. That the author writes a hymn and the composer invents a tune to suit it, and then provides the harmony to accompany the tune. However, such wasn’t always the case.
Many hymns actually worked vice versa wherein authors would write verses according to existing tunes. Hundreds of hymns are sung from borrowed tunes, such as secular songs, chants, and even classical works. That being said, I went ahead and researched which hymns in the SDA Hymnal were originally classical works.
Notes
Get to know the hymns a little deeper with the SDA Hymnal Companion. Use our song leader’s notes to engage your congregation in singing with understanding. Even better, involve kids in learning this hymn with our homeschooling materials.
Explore more hymns:
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