Gracious God, Thy Children Keep
Joseph Hart, 1712-1768
Gracious God, Thy children keep;
Jesus, guide Thy silly sheep.
Fix, O fix, our fickle souls;
Lord, direct us; we are fools.
Bid us in Thy care confide;
Keep us near Thy wounded side.
From Thee let us never stir,
For Thou know'st how soon we err.
Lay us low before Thy feet,
Safe from pride and self-conceit;
Guard us from a world of sin;
Foes without, and worse within.
Look upon the unequal war;
Savior, do not go too far.
Crafty is the foe, and strong;
Savior, do not tarry long.
By Thy Word we fain would steer,
Fain Thy Spirit's dictates hear;
Save us from the rocks and shelves,
Save us chiefly from ourselves.
Never, never may we dare,
What we're not to say we are;
Make us well our vileness know;
Keep us very, very low.
