1 Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
o'er the world's tempestuous sea;
guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us,
for we have no help but thee;
yet possessing every blessing,
if our God our Father be.
2 Saviour, breathe forgiveness o'er us:
all our weakness thou dost know;
thou didst tread this earth before us,
thou didst feel its keenest woe;
lone and dreary, faint and weary,
through the desert thou didst go.
3 Spirit of our God, descending,
fill our hearts with heavenly joy,
love with every passion blending,
pleasure that can never cloy:
thus provided, pardoned, guided,
nothing can our peace destroy.
Source: Ancient and Modern: hymns and songs for refreshing worship #702
First Line: | Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us, Over the world's tempestuous sea |
Title: | Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us |
Author: | James Edmeston (1821) |
Meter: | 8.7.8.7.8.7 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Lead us, Heavenly Father, lead us. J. Edmeston. [Holy Trinity—Invocation of.] Appeared in his Sacred Lyrics, set two, 1821, in 3 stanzas of 7 lines, and entitled "Hymn, Written for the Children of the London Orphan Asylum (Air Lewes)." In 1858 it was included in the Baptist Psalms & Hymns, No. 564, and from that date it has grown gradually into favour until it has attained to a foremost place amongst modern hymns in all English-speaking countries. It is generally given in a correct and complete form as in Thring’s Collection, 1882. It has been rendered into several languages, including Latin. The Rev. R. Bingham, in his Hymnologia Christiana Latina, 1871, has translated it as "Due nos, Genitor Coelestis."
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)