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!