THE CHILD OF THE LORD.

Joseph John Gurney.

From Gurney, Priscilla. Hymns Selected from Various Authors, For the Use of Young Persons. Sixth Edition. London: Harvey and Darton, 1825, pages 157-158.

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How bless'd is the child of the Lord,
  When taught of the father to run,
When led by the light of his word,
  And cheer'd by the beams of his son.

He listens with fear and delight,
  To hear what the master shall say;
He sleeps in his bosom all night,
  And walks in his love all the day.

Though terrours may compass him round,
  And wildly the tempests may blow;
He fears not, the rock he has found,
  that rock he will never forego.

'T is true that his pilgrimage here
  Is checquer'd with sorrows and fears;
'T is true that the cross he must bear,
  And weep in this valley of tears;

But patience, submission, and love,
  Can sweeten the bitterest hours;
And hope, from the heav'n above,
  Still shines, when the hurricane low'rs.

Temptation, 't is true, will assail,
  And trials without and within;
And deeply his soul must bewail
  For inward corruption and sin.

But the rags he once counted his own,
  Are consumed in celestial flame,
And a mantle is over him thrown,
  Wash'd white in the blood of the Lamb.