DEAR LORD AND FATHER OF MANKIND

[1]
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind:
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.

[2]
In simple trust like theirs who heard,
beside the Syrian sea,
the gracious calling of the Lord,
rise up and follow thee.

[3]
O sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with thee
the silence of eternity,
interpreted by love!

[4]
Drop thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of thy peace.

[5]
Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still small voice of calm.