Lord, all I am is known to Thee:
In vain my soul would try
To shun Thy presence, or to flee
The notice of Thine eye.

Thy all surrounding sight surveys
My rising and my rest,
My public walks, my private ways,
The secrets of my breast.

My thoughts lie open to Thee, Lord,
Before they’re formed within;
And ere my lips pronounce the word,
Thou knowest the sense I mean.

O wondrous knowledge! deep and high:
Where can a creature hide?
Within Thy circling arms I lie,
Beset on every side.

So let Thy grace surround me still,
And like a bulwark prove,
To guard my soul from every ill,
Secured by sovereign love.

Lord, Thou hast searched me and dost know
Where’er I rest, where’er I go;
Thou knowest all that I have planned,
And all my ways are in Thy hand.

My words from Thee I cannot hide,
I feel Thy power on every side;
O wondrous knowledge, awful might,
Unfathomed depth, unmeasured height.

Where can I go apart from Thee,
Or whither from Thy presence flee?
In Heav’n? It is Thy dwelling fair;
In death’s abode? Lo, Thou art there.

If I the wings of morning take,
And far away my dwelling make,
The hand that leadeth me is Thine,
And my support Thy power divine.

If deepest darkness cover me,
The darkness hideth not from Thee;
To Thee both night and day are bright,
The darkness shineth as the light.

Thou knowest, Lord, Thou know’st my life’s deep story,
And all the mingled good and ill I do;
Thou seest my shame, my few stray gleams of glory,
Where I am false and where my soul rings true.

Lord, I am glad Thou know’st my inmost being,
Glad Thou dost search the secrets of my heart;
I would not hide one folly from Thy seeing,
Nor shun Thy healing touch to save the smart.

Like warp and woof the good and ill are blended,
Nor do I see the pattern that I weave;
Yet in Thy love the whole is comprehended,
And in Thy hand my future lot I leave.

Only, dear Lord, make plain the path of duty;
Let not my shame and sorrow weigh me down,
Lest in despair I fail to see its beauty,
And weeping vainly, miss the victor’s crown.

O Lord, my inmost heart and thought
Thy searching eye doth see;
Where’er I rest, where’er I go,
My ways are known to Thee.

Each spoken word, each silent thought,
Thou, Lord, dost understand;
Before me and behind art Thou,
Restraining by Thy hand.

If I the wings of morning take
To some remotest land,
Still I shall be upheld by Thee
And guided by Thy hand.

From Thee, O Lord, I cannot hide
Though darkness cover me;
The darkness and the light of day
Are both alike to Thee.

Search me, O God, and know my heart,
Try me, my thoughts to know;
O lead me, if in sin I stray,
In paths of life to go.

With Thy benediction falling on our ear,
Pray we now, Most Holy, be Thou ever near;
Near us ’mid the shadows of the coming night;
Near us when the morning breaks in golden light.

Thou, Lord, by strictest search hast known
My rising up and lying down;
My secret thoughts are known to Thee,
Known long before conceived by me.

Thine eye my bed and path surveys,
My public haunts and private ways,
Thou know’st what ’tis my lips would vent,
My yet unuttered word’s intent.

Surrounded by Thy power I stand,
On every side I find Thy hand;
O skill, for human reach too high!
Too dazzling bright for mortal eye!

Search, try, O God, my thought and heart,
If mischief lurks in any part;
Correct me where I go astray,
And guide me in Thy perfect way.

Try us, O God, and search the ground
Of every sinful heart;
Whate’er of sin in us is found,
O bid it all depart.

If to the right or left we stray,
Leave us not comfortless;
But guide our feet into the way
Of everlasting peace.

Help us to help each other, Lord,
Each other’s cross to bear;
Let each his friendly aid afford,
And feel his brother’s care.

Help us to build each other up,
Our little stock improve;
Increase our faith, confirm our hope,
And perfect us in love.

Up unto Thee, our living Head,
Let us in all things grow,
Till Thou hast made us free indeed,
And spotless here below.

Then, when the mighty work is wrought,
Receive Thy ready bride:
Give us in Heaven a happy lot
With all the sanctified.

In all my vast concerns with Thee,
In vain my soul would try
To shun Thy presence, Lord, or flee
The notice of Thine eye.

Thy all-surrounding sight surveys
My rising and my rest,
My public walks, my private ways,
And secrets of my breast.

My thoughts lie open to the Lord
Before they’re formed within;
And ere my lips pronounce the word
He knows the sense I mean.

O wondrous knowledge, deep and high!
Where can a creature hide?
Within Thy circling arms I lie,
Beset on every side.

So let Thy grace surround me still,
And like a bulwark prove,
To guard my soul from every ill,
Secured by sovereign love.

Lord, where shall guilty souls retire,
Forgotten and unknown?
In hell they meet Thy dreadful fire,
In Heav’n Thy glorious throne.

Should I suppress my vital breath
To ’scape the wrath divine,
Thy voice would break the bars of death,
And make the grave resign.

If winged with beams of morning light
I fly beyond the west,
Thy hand, which must support my flight,
Would soon betray my rest.

If o’er my sins I think to draw
The curtains of the night,
Those flaming eyes that guard Thy law
Would turn the shades to light.

The beams of moon, the midnight hour,
Are both alike to Thee:
O may I ne’er provoke that power
From which I cannot flee.

Lord, Thou hast searched and seen me through,
Thine eye commands with piercing view
My rising and my resting hours,
My heart and flesh with all their powers.

My thoughts, before they are my own,
Are to my God distinctly known;
He knows the words I mean to speak
Ere from my opening lips they break.

Within Thy circling power I stand;
On every side I find Thy hand;
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad,
I am surrounded still with God.

Amazing knowledge, vast and great!
What large extent! what lofty height!
My soul, with all the powers I boast,
Is in the boundless prospect lost.

Could I so false, so faithless prove,
To quit Thy service and Thy love,
Where, Lord, could I Thy presence shun,
Or from Thy dreadful glory run?

If up to Heav’n I take my flight,
’Tis there Thou dwell’st enthroned in light
Or dive to hell, there vengeance reigns,
And Satan groans beneath Thy chains.

If, mounted on a morning ray,
I fly beyond the western sea,
Thy swifter hand would first arrive,
And there arrest Thy fugitive.

Or should I try to shun Thy sight
Beneath the spreading veil of night,
One glance of Thine, one piercing ray,
Would kindle darkness into day.

The veil of night is no disguise,
No screen from Thy all-searching eyes;
Thy hand can seize Thy foes as soon
Through midnight shades as blazing noon.

Midnight and noon in this agree,
Great God, they’re both alike to Thee;
Not death can hide what God will spy,
And hell lies naked to His eye.

O may these thoughts possess my breast,
Where’er I rove, where’er I rest!
Nor let my weaker passions dare
Consent to sin, for God is there.