Hymns for Ordination and Installation II

To Thee, our Father and our King,
The wise, the gracious, and the just,
Our song of thanks and prayer we bring,
With humble joy and filial trust.


Joy, that while yet the light is shed
On the bowed form and hoary hairs
Of him who here, so long, hath led
Our fathers' and our childhood's prayers,--


Thou hast provided for thy flock
A pastor, in the strength of youth,
To lead them up to Thee, their Rock,
And to the living wells of truth.


And trust, that He, who ne'er hath left,
Will never leave his sheep to stray,
Of shepherd and of shade bereft,
O'er barren wastes, by night or day.


We thank Thee, Lord, in Christ thy Son,
For all his servants, spared or given;
O, may we, when our work is done,
Shine with their light, and share their heaven.