Father, we lift the suppliant eye,
To where thou reigns’t above;
We feel that thou canst not deny
The children of thy love.
Unshaken faith, unwavering trust,
Are all that we can bring;
We are thy children, though in dust,
To thee we dare to cling.
We know that thou wilt not forsake
The poor and trembling slave;
For him the blessed Saviour spake;
And him he came to save.
We feel the chains that bind us all,
And bend us to man’s will;
But can they hold our souls enthrall’d,
Or bid our voice be still?
No:—for thy power is all supreme,
Thy word shall yet stand firm;
And master and the slave shall e’en
To thee for mercy turn.