1 Lord, a vessel Thou hast fashioned,
Not to serve the world we see,
Where the snares of futile passion
Seek to re-envelop me,
But to move in righteous freedom,
In the world of my first birth,
By advancing in Thy kingdom
For Thy use upon the earth.
2 Wealth and pleasure gild the marriage
Of hell’s words to vanity—
Binding all the cursed that perish;
Lost in dust eternally.
Prune in me that which is empty
All that withers as a flower.
Grow in me of heaven’s plenty
Giving increase by Thy power.
3 Thou hast freed us like a sparrow
Reaching toward an upward goal
Of Thy calling, near yet narrow,
From hell’s chains to heaven’s fold;
Lift my heart to know the voices
Of Thy praise in heaven sung,
And below to count the choicest
Earthly treasures as but dung.
4 We have died in Thee now risen
To the Father’s throne above
Where our life is firmly hidden
In Thy fellowship of love.
Help my hands be true and holy
And my feet steadfast and sure,
That my works at Thy appearing
Will as gold and jewels endure.