Hushed was the evening hymn,
The temple courts were dark,
The lamp was burning dim
Before the sacred ark,
When suddenly a voice divine
Rang through the silence of the shrine.

The old man, meek and mild,
The priest of Israel, slept;
His watch the temple-child,
The little Levite, kept;
And what from Eli's sense was sealed,
The Lord to Hannah's son revealed.

O give me Samuel's ear,
The open ear, O Lord,
Alive and quick to hear
Each whisper of thy word!
Like him to answer at thy call,
And to obey thee first of all.

O give me Samuel's heart,
A lowly heart, that waits
Where in thy house thou art,
Or watches at thy gates!
By day and night, a heart that still
Moves at the breathing of thy will.

O give me Samuel's mind,
A sweet, unmurmuring faith,
Obedient and resigned
To thee in life and death!
That I may read with childlike eyes
Truths that are hidden from the wise.

Amen.