What shall we do, for the de­sert is lone­ly,
Here have we lin­gered till close of the day;
Father, ’tis night­fall, Thy child­ren are hun­gry,
Lord, we shall faint if Thou send us away;
Rugged and cold are the mount­ains before us,
If we must per­ish, we’ll die at Thy feet;
Thou hast the bread that en­dur­eth for­ev­er,
Savior, dear Sav­ior, O give us to eat.

Grant us a faith that is firm and abid­ing,
Faith that re­lies on Thy pro­mise alone;
Willing to trust Thee and wait for Thy bless­ing,
Pleading no mer­it, no worth of its own;
Where shall we turn for the sun­light of com­fort,
Where but to Thee in this bar­ren retreat?
Still do we hun­ger and thirst in the desert,
Savior, dear Sav­ior, O give us to eat.

Thanks for the dew of Thy soul cheer­ing pre­sence,
Dropping like rain, as we jour­ney along;
Nourished and fed from Thy store­house of mer­cy,
Love be our watch­word, and Je­sus our song;
Only in Thee is our hope of sal­va­tion,
Only in Thee is our rap­ture com­plete;
If but the crumbs that may fall from Thy ta­ble,
Savior, dear Sav­ior, O give us to eat.