Today’s hymn comes from William Cowper, and is included in the much loved Olney Hymes collection. Cowper wrote this text on December 9, 1769, during the illness of his long-time friend and housekeeper, Mrs. Unwin. In a letter, he voiced his anxieties about her condition and about what might happen to him if she died. Saying that he composed the text “to surrender up to the Lord” all his “dearest comforts,” Cowper added, “her illness has been a sharp trial to me. Oh, that it may have a sanctifying effect!1” I hope you too also have this same desire to walk closer with the Lord; enjoy!
O for a closer walk with God,
a calm and heav’nly frame,
a light to shine upon the road
that leads me to the Lamb!
Where is the blessedness I knew
when first I sought the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view
of Jesus and His Word?
What peaceful hours I then enjoyed!
How sweet their mem’ry still!
But they have left an aching void
the world can never fill.
Return, O holy Dove, return,
sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn,
and drove Thee from my breast.
The dearest idol I have known,
whate’er that idol be,
help me to tear it from Thy throne
and worship only Thee.
So shall my walk be close with God,
calm and serene my frame;
so purer light shall mark the road
that leads me to the Lamb.
1hymnary.org/text/o_for_a_closer_walk_with_god
Hymn of the Day 