We are singing this hymn at church tomorrow, and when we rehearsed it this morning I almost laughed. The words are so applicable to my life right now when I've been craving Sabbath rest and simplicity. The melody is simple and beautifully fitting to the words...which, although ancient by our assessment are completely applicable to my life. I hope they speak to you as well.
The hymn is an old one, and this is what Wikipedia says about it:
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind is a hymn with words taken from a prayer contained in the poem The Brewing of Soma by Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier.
Here are the lyrics:
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our feverish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow Thee.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
The silence of eternity
Interpreted by love!
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
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