Hushed was the evening hymn;
The temple courts were dark;
The lamp was burning dim,
Before the sacred ark:
When suddenly a voice divine
Rang through the silence of the shrine.
The old man, meek and mild —
The priest of Israel, slept;
His watch the temple-child,
The little Levite, kept;
And what from Eli’s sense was sealed,
The Lord to Hannah’s son revealed.
Oh, give me Samuel’s ear,
The open ear, O Lord,
Alive and quick to hear
Each whisper of Thy Word!
Like him to answer at Thy call,
And to obey Thee first of all.
Oh, give me Samuel’s heart,
A lowly heart, that waits
Where in Thy house Thou art,
Or watches at Thy gates!
By day and night, a heart that still
Moves at the breathing of Thy will.
Oh, give me Samuel’s mind,
A sweet, unmurmuring faith,
Obedient and resigned
To Thee in life and death!
That I may read with childlike eyes
Truths that are hidden from the wise.
J. D. Burns