Heart at Home

DEAR LORD AND FATHER

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper rev'rence praise,
in deeper rev'rence praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard
beside the Syrian sea,
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word,
rise up and follow thee,
rise up and follow thee.

O Sabbath rest by Galilee;
O calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with thee
the silence of eternity,
interpreted by love,
interpreted by love.

Drop thy still dews of quietness
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess,
the beauty of thy peace,
the beauty of thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm !
O still small voice of calm !

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 - 1892)

This hymn has enormous meaning to me. It was a hymn Mum and Dad used at their wedding in 1969. Brett and I also chose to use it in our wedding service. When my father died earlier this year we all suggested hymns for Mum to choose from, and this was my suggestion. It makes me think so much of Dad, who dedicated much of his life to the Lord's service, and changed the world in his own quiet way.

When I sing this hymn I am praying its words. Especially the fourth and final stanzas. Quietness and calm are two things I know I lack.