O Thou Who dost to man
accord
His highest prize, his
best reward,
Thou Hope of all our
race;
Jesu, to Thee we now draw
near,
Our earnest supplications
hear,
Who humbly seek Thy face.
With self accusing voice
within,
Our conscience tells of
many a sin
In thought, and word, and
deed:
O cleanse that conscience
from all stain,
The penitent restore
again,
From every burthen freed.
If Thou reject us, who
shall give
Our fainting spirits
strength to live?
’Tis Thine alone to
spare;
With cleansèd hearts to
pray aright,
And find acceptance in
Thy sight,
Be this our lowly prayer.
’This Thou has blest
this solemn fast;
So may its days by us be
passed
In self control severe,
That, when our Easter
morn we hail
Its mystic feast we may
not fail
To keep with conscience
clear.
O blessèd Trinity,
bestow
Thy pardoning grace on us
below,
And shield us evermore;
Until, within Thy courts
above,
We see Thy face, and sing
Thy love,
And with Thy saints
adore.
