O Lord, Thy Wing Outspread

O Lord, Thy Wing Outspread

written by William John Blew (1806–94)

A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895

Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908)

O LORD, thy wing outspread,

And us thy flock infold;

Thy broad wing spread, that covered

Thy mercy-seat of old:

And o’er our nightly roof,

And round our daily path,

Keep watch and ward, and hold aloof

The devil and his wrath.

For thou dost fence our head,

And shield—yea, thou alone—

The peasant on his pallet-bed,

The prince upon his throne.

Make then our heart thine ark,

Whereon thy Mystic Dove

May brood, and lighten it, when dark,

With beams of peace and love;

That dearer far to thee

Than gold or cedar-shrine

The bodies of thy saints may be,

The souls by thee made thine:

So nevermore be stirr’d

That voice within our heart,

The fearful word that once was heard,—

“Up, let us hence depart!”