Juvenile Evening Hymn
By Eliza R. Snow
Our heavenly Father we will sing
To Thee a hymn of praise:
Accept our evening offering,
And hear our childish lays.
If, in the day that’s past and gone,
We did Thy spirit grieve;
We, in the name of Thy dear Son,
Do pray Thou wilt forgive.
We thank Thee for the tender care
That watched life’s infant thread;
Else, w had now been sleeping where
The tombstone marks the dead.
We thank Thee for the food we eat
and for the clothes we wear:
We thank Thee that our pulses beat
In this pure mountain air.
And when we lay us down to rest,
We pray Thee, safely keep;
And through this night may we be blest
With sweet, refreshing sleep.
And when the morn salutes the skies,
with life and vigor blest,
May we, with gratitude arise,
And thank Thee for our rest.
We praise Thy name that we were born
In days when prophets live,
And pray that we may never scorn
The counsels they shall give.
Prolong our lives, in righteousness
the path of life to tread,
And in Thy kingdom, work to bless
The living and the dead.
(1866)
This is lovely.
I have a bedroom full of books, but one of my true treasures is “Eliza R. Snow: the Complete Poetry”, where I’m discovering that I’ve already put a sticky tab at this hymn! I keep this volume on the same shelf as my hymnal collection. Thank you for the reminder of the wonderful words she had for the children to recite and sing! For a woman who claimed she didn’t associate well with children, she left an amazing legacy for our children.