1 Lord, Thy children guide and keep,
As with feeble steps they press
On the pathway rough and steep
Through the weary wilderness.
Holy Jesus, day by day,
Lead us in the narrow way.
2 There are stony ways to tread;
Give the strength we sorely lack.
There are tangled paths to tread;
Light us, lest we miss the track.
Holy Jesus, day by day,
Lead us in the narrow way.
3 There are sandy wastes that lie
Cold and sunless, vast and drear,
Where the feeble faint and die;
Grant us grace to persevere.
Holy Jesus, day by day,
Lead us in the narrow way.
4 There are soft and flowery glades
Decked with golden-fruited trees,
Sunny slopes and scented shades;
Keep us, Lord, from slothful ease.
Holy Jesus, day by day
Lead us in the narrow way.
5 Upward still to purer heights!
Onward yet to scenes more blest,
Calmer regions, clearer lights,
Till we reach the promised rest!
Holy Jesus, day by day,
Lead us in the narrow way.
The Hymnal: revised and enlarged as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892
First Line: | Lord, Thy children guide and keep |
Author: | William Walsham How |
Meter: | 7.7.7.7.7.7 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Lord, Thy children guide and keep. Bishop W. W. How. [The Narrow Way.] First published in Morrell & How's Psalms & Hymns, 1854, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines, and based on the words "Narrow is the way that leadeth unto life." It has become very popular with hymnal compilers, and, in full or in an abridged form, it is found in numerous collections in Great Britain and America. Original text in the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns, 1871.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)