O Lord, Who in Thy Love Divine

O Lord

who in Thy love di­vine

Didst leave in Heav’n the nine­ty-nine

With pi­ty for a world un­done

And gav’st Thy life to save the one

And didst it on Thy shoul­ders bear

In joy to Heav’n; O hear our pray­er.

Thou who the night in pray­er didst spend

And then didst Thine apos­tles send

And bidd’st us pray the har­vest’s Lord

To send forth sow­ers of Thy Word

Hear and Thy chos­en serv­ants bless

With sev’n­fold gifts of ho­li­ness.

Look down

with gra­cious eye behold

With watch­ful care pro­tect Thy fold;

Secure from hire­ling shep­herds keep

Which feed them­selves

and not the sheep

And when the prowl­ing wolf is nigh

Forsake the flock in fear and fly.

O Thou

who didst at Pen­te­cost

Send down from Heav’n the Ho­ly Ghost

That He might with Thy Church abide

For ever

to de­fend and guide;

Illuminate Thy serv­ants

Lord

The preach­ers of Thy ho­ly Word.

Oh

may Thy pas­tors faith­ful be

Not la­bor­ing for them­selves

but Thee;

Give grace to feed with whole­some food

Whom Thou hast pur­chased by Thy blood

The sheep and lambs; and thus to prove

How dear­ly they the Shepherd love.

That which the holy Scrip­tures teach

That

and that on­ly

may they preach;

May they the true foun­da­tion lay

Build gold there­on

not wood or hay;

And meek­ly preach

in days of strife

The ser­mon of a ho­ly life.

As ev­er in Thy ho­ly eyes

And stew­ards of Thy mys­ter­ies

May they the peo­ple teach to see

Not

Lord

Thy min­is­ters

but Thee;

To see a lov­ing Sav­ior’s face

Revealed in all Thy means of grace.

May they Thy Word with bold­ness speak

And bear with ten­der­ness the weak;

Not seek­ing their own things as best

But what may ed­ify the rest;

With wis­dom and sim­pli­ci­ty

And

most of all

with cla­ri­ty.

Oh

may Thy peo­ple lov­ing be

And in Thy pas­tors hon­or Thee

And with them work

and for them pray

And glad­ly Thee in them ob­ey

Receive the pro­phet of the Lord

And gain the pro­phet’s own re­ward.

So may we

when our work is done

Together stand be­fore Thy throne;

And joy­ful hearts and voic­es raise

In one unit­ed song of praise

With all the bright ce­les­ti­al host

To Fa­ther

Son

and Ho­ly Ghost.