Draw Thou my soul, O Christ

297 St. Edmund 6. 4. 6. 4. 6. 6. 6. 4.

1 Draw Thou my soul, O Christ,
   Closer to Thine;
   Breathe into every wish
   Thy will divine;
   Raise my low self above,
   Won by Thy deathless love;
   Ever, O Christ, thro' mine
   Let Thy life shine.

2 Lead forth my soul, O Christ,
   One with Thine own,
   Joyful to follow Thee
   Thro' paths unknown;
   In Thee my strength renew;
   Give me Thy work to do;
   Thro' me Thy truth be shown,
   Thy love made known.

3 Not for myself alone
   May my prayer be;
   Lift Thou Thy world, O Christ,
   Closer to Thee;
   Cleanse it from guilt and wrong;
   Teach it salvation's song,
   Till earth, as heav'n, fulfill
   God's holy will.
                         Lucy Larcom
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Not a very common hymn, occurring in only 76 hymnals. She wrote several other hymns, but none of them are as common even as this one. Interesting tidbit: She went to Wheaton College and later taught there.
</idle musing>