1. 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.
2. 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.
3. O 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.
4. O give me Samuel’s heart, A lowly heart, that waits, Wherein thy house thou art Or watches at thy gates, By day and night, a heart that still Moves at the breathing of thy will!
5. O 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!