Hymnal: New Christian Hymn and Tune Book
Date: 1882
Compiler: Fillmore Brothers
Publisher/Printer: Fillmore Brothers
First Line: Father of spirits nature's God
Topic: God/Omnipresence
Writer: John Bowring
Composer: W Monk
Meter: LM
Tune: Hursley
Hymn Number: 170
Page Number: 059, click to see hymnal pages
LyicsFATHER of spirits, nature's God,
Our inmost thoughts are known to thee;
Thou, Lord, canst hear each idle word,
And every private action see.
Could we on morning's swiftest wings,
Pursue our flight through trackless air,
Or dive beneath deep ocean's springs,
Thy presence still would meet us there.
In vain may guilt attempt to fly,
Concealed beneath the pall of night;
One glance from thy all-piercing eye
Can kindle darkness into light.
Search thou our hearts, and there destroy
Each evil thought, each secret sin,
And fit us for those realms of joy,
Where naught impure shall enter in.