Heavenly Father, bless me now

304 Seymour. 7. 7. 7. 7.

1 Heavenly Father, bless me now;
   At the cross of Christ I bow;
   Take my guilt and grief away,
   Hear and heal me now, I pray.

2 Now, O Lord, this very hour,
   Send Thy grace and show Thy power;
   While I rest upon Thy word;
   Come, and bless me now, O Lord!

3 Mercy now, O Lord, I plead
   In this hour of utter need;
   Turn me not away unblest,
   Calm my anguish into rest.

4 O Thou loving, blessed One,
   Rising o’er me like the sun,
   Light and life art Thou within;
   Saviour, Thou, from every sin!
                         Alexander Clark
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Take a minute to read the bio linked above. Not everyday that a Christian evangelist has so nice a eulogy given on his behalf by a well-known atheist!

As the bio link says, this hymn was originally six verses, with the Methodist hymnal using verses 1, 2, 5, and 6; here are the other two:

3 Now, Jesus now, for Jesus' sake,
   Lift the clouds, and fetters break;
   While I look, and as I cry,
   Touch and cleanse me ere I die.

4 Never did I so adore
   Jesus Christ, thy Son, before!
   Now the time! and the place!
   Gracious Father, show thy grace.

Good theology in there! He converted from Presbyterianism to Methodism, and reading those verses makes it obvious that is was more than just a change of scenery, but a change of theology.
</idle musing>