Ordination (When to Thy sacred Altar led)

When to Thy sacred Altar led,
Bow'd low with bended heart and knee,
The holy hand on every head
Shall separate our lives for Thee.

Breathe on us. Lord! till we receive.
In that dread consecrating hour.
Those glorious gifts which Thou didst leave
To be Thy Church's mystic power.

When by the Font we seal the vow.
And blessings for Thy children claim.
Lay Thine own hand on every brow.
And bless them in Thy Triune Name.

When amid famish'd thousands we
Give what to us Thy bounty gave.
Make Thine own spoken word to be
The mighty power of God to save.

When by the sick, amid the sad.
We with Thy dread commission move.
Help us to make the mourners glad.
And lead the hopeless to Thy Love.

With Faith fill every fearful heart.
With Grace sustain each trembling hand,
That dares to do its awful part
When we before Thine Altars stand.

Lord, we are weak, but Thou art strong!
Faint, but Thine inner life revives.
To Thee the thanksgivings belong.
Not of lips only, but of lives.

Those lives, by Thee redeemed, we lay
Upon Thine Altar, there to be
Our humble off'ring day by day.
To spend, and to be spent for Thee, —

Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Whom angels serve and saints adore.
Life of the dead! and to the lost
Their Saviour God for evermore.