A WORD TO THE PREACHER

O, Elder Friend, when thou dost rise
To speak in Jesus' name
May His good Spirit rest on thee
To make thy tongue a flame!

Lay out for us in words of love
The wonders of His grace
That we by faith may eat His flesh
And view His lovely face.

O tell us more about our Lord
Who is our Chief Delight;
Expound to us His precious word
And tell us of His might.

Proclaim His mercy, large and free,
And make His praise thy theme,
And show to all that His great work
Is not a failing scheme.

O tell us more of His great truth
And guide us in His way:
Let all thy words point us to Him
Who is our Hope and Stay.

O may thy words drop like the dew
And flow into our soul
And may God's truth ring true and clear
And fly from pole to pole.

Show us our sins, though it may chafe,
For we wish not to stray,
And in those things wherein we fail
We would not therein stay.

Preach on, dear brother, thru the storms,
Till death shall still thy tongue,
Portraying visions of that land
Where saints are ever young.

---Elder Ralph Harris