Scripture Verse

The Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? Genesis 4:9

Introduction

Words: Ma­ry A. P. Stans­bu­ry, 1893.

Music: Ala­me­da So­lo­mon W. Straub (1842–1899) (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Straub (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
Mary A. P. Stansbury (1842–1928)

Lyrics

Where is thy bro­ther? O my soul,
What an­swer canst thou make?
What hast thou done for love of him,
Or suf­fered for his sake?

Refrain

O may’st thou an­swer un­afraid,
Nor trem­ble at the word,
In love and ser­vice, I would be
My bro­ther’s keep­er, Lord!

When pressed by weight of care or grief,
He stum­bled by the way;
Didst thou his hea­vy bur­dens share,
And wipe his tears away?

Refrain

And when for his un­wa­ry feet,
The tempt­er’s snare was spread,
Didst thou with firm and gen­tle hand
His err­ing foot­steps lead?

Refrain

illustration
Cain Kills Abel
Gustave Doré (1832–1883)