1 Friend of the home: as when in Galilee
The mothers bro't their little ones to Thee,
So we, dear Lord, would now the children bring,
And seek for them the shelter of Thy wing.
2 Thine are they, by Thy love’s eternal claim,
Thine we baptize them in the threefold Name;
Yet not the sign we trust, Lord, but the grace
That in Thy fold prepared the lambs a place.
3 Lord, may Thy Church, as with a mother’s care,
For Thee the lambs within her bosom bear;
And grant, as morning grows to noon, that they
Still in her love and holy service stay.
4 Draw thro' the child the parents nearer Thee,
Endue their home with growing sanctity;
And gather all, by earthly homes made one,
In heav'n, O Christ, when earthly days are done.
Source: Tabernacle Hymns: Number Four: a choice collection of hymns and songs for every religious use #308