Forgive, O Lord, the Doubts that Break

Above:  Morning Prayer, 1869

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-pga-05644

Text (1879) by Washington Gladden (1836-1918)

Hymn Source = The Pilgrim Hymnal (1904), National Council of Congregational Churches of the United States

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1.  Forgive, O Lord, the doubts that break

Thy promises to me;

Forgive me that I fail to take

Thy pardon, full and free;

I sought to put my sins away,

I strove to do thy will;

And yet, whene’er I tried to pray,

My heart was doubting still:

2.  I thought that thou with jealous eye

Wast watching me alway,

My deeds to mark, my steps to spy,

Whene’er I went astray:

I hoped that when, by days and years

Of service and of prayer,

I had besought thy grace with tears,

Thy mercy I might share.

3.  Forgive, O Father, this my sin,

This jealous, doubting heart;

For when men seek thy love to win,

And choose the better part,

I know that, swifter than the light

Leaps earthward from the sun,

Thy pardoning love, thy rescuing might

Speed down to every one.