EMBER DAYS
POUR out thy Spirit from on high;
Lord, thine assembled servants bless;
Graces and gifts to each supply,
And clothe thy priests with righteousness.
2 Within the temple when they stand,
To teach the truth, as taught by thee,
Saviour, like stars in thy right hand
May all thy Church's pastors be.
3 Wisdom, and zeal, and faith impart,
Firmness with meekness, from above
To bear thy people in their heart,
And love the souls whom thou dost love:
4 To watch, and pray, and never faint,
By day and night, strict guard to keep,
To warn the sinner, cheer the saint,
Nourish thy lambs, and feed thy sheep.
5. Then, when their work is finished here,
May they in hope their charge resign;
When the Chief Shepherd shall appear,
O God, may they and we be thine.
THE earth, O Lord, is one great field
Of all thy chosen seed;
The crop prepared its fruit to yield;
The labourers few indeed.
2 We therefore come before thee now
By fasting and by prayer,
Beseeching of thy love that thou
Wouldst send more labourers there.
3 Not for our land alone we pray,
Though that above the rest;
The realms and islands far away,
O let them all be blest.
4 Endue the bishops of thy flock
With wisdom and with grace,
Against false doctrine, like a rock,
To set the heart and face:
5 To all thy priests thy truth reveal,
And make thy judgements clear;
Make thou thy deacons full of zeal
And humble and sincere:
6. And give their flocks a lowly mind
To hear and not in vain;
That each and all may mercy find
When thou shalt come again.
241
