Scripture Verse

The Lord…heareth the prayer of the righteous. Proverbs 15:29

Introduction

portrait
Henry Timrod
1829–1867

Words: Hen­ry Tim­rod, 1864. This hymn was writ­ten dur­ing the Am­er­i­can ci­vil war, giv­ing spe­cial poign­an­cy to the last verse’s plea for peace.

Music: Bet­tev­er’s Chant Ben­ja­min H. Ev­er­ett, The Sceptre, 1871 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Ev­er­ett (head-and-shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els), would you ?

Lyrics

Faint falls the gentle voice of prayer,
In the wild sounds that fill the air,
Yet, Lord, we know that voice is heard,
Not less than if Thy throne it stirred.

Thine ear, Thou tender One, is caught,
If we but bend the knee in thought;
No choral song that shakes the sky
Floats farther than the Christian’s sigh.

Not all the darkness of the land
Can hide the lifted eye and hand;
Nor need the clanging conflict cease,
To make Thee hear our cries for peace.