The Christian Child

Verse 1

By cool Siloam's shady rill how sweet the lily grows! How sweet the breath beneath the hill of Sharon's dewy rose!

Verse 2

Lo! such the child whose early feet the paths of peace have trod, whose secret heart with influence sweet is upward drawn to God.

Verse 3

By cool Siloam's shady rill the lily must decay, the rose that blooms beneath the hill must shortly fade away;

Verse 4

And soon, too soon, the wintry hour of life's maturer age will shake the soul with sorrow's power and stormy passion's rage.

Verse 5

O thou, whose infant feet were found within thy Father's shrine, whose years, with changeless virtue crowned, were all alike divine,

Verse 6

Dependent on thy bounteous breath we seek thy grace alone, through every stage of life, and death, to keep us still thine own.