Father, Lord of earth and heaven, spare, or take

Verse 1
Father, Lord of earth and heaven,
Spare, or take what thou hast given;
Sole disposer of thine own,
Let thy sovereign will be done.

Verse 2
When thou didst our Isaac give,
Him we trembled to receive,
Him we call’d not ours, but thine,
Him we promis’d to resign.

Verse 3
Lo! We to our promise stand,
Lo! We answer thy demand,
Will not murmur or complain,
If thou claim thine own again.

Verse 4
Life and death depend on thee,
Just and good is thy decree,
Safe in thy decree we rest,
Sure whatever is, is best.

Verse 5
Meekly we our vow repeat,
Nature shall to grace submit,
Let him on the altar lie,
Let the victim live, or die.

Verse 6
Yet thou know’st, what pangs of love
In a father’s bosom move,
What the agony to part,
Struggling in a mother’s heart.

Verse 7
Sorely tempted and distrest,
Can we make the fond request?
Dare we pray for a reprieve?
Need we ask that he may live?

Verse 8
God we absolutely trust,
Wise, and merciful, and just,
All thy works to thee are known,
All thy blessed will be done.

Verse 9
If his life a snare would prove,
Rob us of thy heavenly love,
Steal our hearts from God away;
Mercy will not let him stay.

Verse 10
If his life would matter raise
Of thine everlasting praise,
More his Saviour glorify;
Mercy will not let him die.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: "A Prayer for a Dying Child." Introduced in Charles Wesley, Funeral Hymns [Second Series] (London: Strahan, 1759).Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 6 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1870), page 251.
Publishing: Public Domain