Scripture Verse

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. Deuteronomy 6:5–7

Introduction

Words: Nor­man E. Ri­chard­son (1878–1945) and Flo­rence I. Jud­son-Brad­ley (1869–1944).

Music: Hes­per­us Hen­ry Bak­er, 1854. First pub­lished in A Hym­nal for Use in the Eng­lish Church, by John Grey, 1866 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Jud­son-Brad­ley or Bak­er (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els), or a better one of Ri­chard­son

portrait
Norman E. Richardson (1878–1945)

Lyrics

My Lord, I do not ask to stand
As king or prince of high de­gree;
I on­ly pray that hand in hand
A child and I may come to Thee.

To teach a ten­der voice to pray,
Two child­ish eyes Thy face to see—
Two feet to guide in Thy straight way;
This fer­vent­ly I ask of Thee.

O grant Thy pa­tience to im­part
Thy ho­ly law, Thy words of truth;
Give, Lord, Thy grace, that my whole heart
May ov­er­flow with love for youth.

As step by step we tread the way,
Trusting, and con­fi­dent, and free
A child and I shall, day by day,
Find sweet com­pan­ion­ship with Thee.