Verse 1
Father of Love, our Guide and Friend,
O lead us gently on,
Until life’s trial-time shall end,
And heavenly peace be won.
Verse 2
We know not what the path may be
As yet by us untrod;
But we can trust our all to Thee,
Our Father and our God.
Verse 3
If called, like Abraham’s child, to climb
The hill of sacrifice,
Some angel may be there in time;
Deliverance shall arise:
Verse 4
Or, if some darker lot be good,
O teach us to endure
The sorrow, pain, or solitude,
That make the spirit pure.
Verse 5
Christ by no flowery pathway came;
And we, His followers here,
Must do Thy will and praise Thy Name,
In hope, and love, and fear.
Verse 6
And, till in heaven we sinless bow,
And faultless anthems raise,
O Father, Son, and Spirit, now
Accept our feeble praise.
William J. Irons, “Father of Love, Our Guide and Friend”