O God of heaven whose gentle ray

1 O God of heaven, whose gentle ray,
Illumes the worlds of light,
Thy wisdom rules the realms of day,
And leads the host of night.

2 Behold thy waiting servants stand,
And claim with feeble cries,
Some skilful guide with gentle hand
To lead us to the skies.

3 While absent from thy temple, Lord
Like wandering flocks we stray
We lose the memory of thy word
And waste the sacred day.

4 And when, within these walls of thine
We find our wonted place;
How faint our feeble voices join
To seek thy pardoning grace.

5 Almighty Saviour, hear our prayer,
Some chosen servant raise,
For us the bread of life to share
And help our lips to praise.

6 Then in thy house, with joy unknown
We'll raise a nobler song,
Till we shall meet around thy throne,
And join the heavenly throng.

Source: Doctor Watts's Imitation of the Psalms of David: to which is added a collection of hymns; the whole applied to the state of the Christian church in general (4th ed.) #LXVI