And birds are with song awaking.

Lord, lend us Thy counsel and speed our days,

The light of Thy grace surround us.

Our grateful thanks to God ascend,

Whose mercy guarded our slumber.

May ever His peace our days attend

And shield us from troubles somber.

Lord, lend us Thy counsel and speed our days,

The light of Thy grace surround us.

Redeem us, Master, from death’s strong hand,

Thy grace from sin us deliver;

Enlighten us till with Thine we stand,

And make us Thy servants ever.

Lord, lend us Thy counsel and speed our days,

The light of Thy grace surround us.

Then shall with praise we seek repose

When day unto night hath yielded,

And safe in Thine arms our eyelids close

To rest by Thy mercy shielded.

Lord, lend us Thy counsel and speed our days,

The light of Thy grace surround us.

Sthen’s hymns all breathe a meek and lowly spirit. They express in the simplest

words the faith, hope and fears of a humble, earnest Christian. The following still beloved hymn thus presents a vivid picture of the meek and prayerful spirit of its author.

O Lord, my heart is turning

To Thee with ceaseless yearning

And praying for Thy grace.

Thou art my sole reliance

Against my foes’ defiance;

Be Thou my stay in every place.

I offer a confession

Of my severe transgression;

In me is nothing good.

But, Lord, Thou wilt not leave me

And, like the world, deceive me;

Thou hast redeemed me with Thy blood.

Blest Lord of Life most holy,

Thou wilt the sinner lowly

Not leave in sin and death;

Thine anger wilt not sever

The child from Thee forever

That pleads with Thee for life and breath.

O Holy Spirit, guide me!

With wisdom true provide me;

Help me my cross to bear.

Uphold me in my calling

And, when the night is falling,

Grant me Thy heavenly home to share.

Most widely known of all Sthen’s hymns is his beloved “Lord Jesus Christ, My

Savior Blest”. In its unabbreviated form this hymn contains eight stanzas of which the initial letters spell the words: “Hans Anno”; and it has become known

therefore as “Sthen’s Name Hymn”. The method of thus affixing one’s name to a