Verse 1
Giver of nature’s every gift,
To Thee a grateful heart I lift,
Thy benefits confess,
For children rising to my mind,
My God originally kind,
My Father’s God I bless.

Verse 2
Conceiv’d, and wholly born in sin,
The evil principle within
Thy stronger fear restrains:
Ev’n from their birth the Woman’s Seed
Began to bruise the Serpent’s head,
And holds him still in chains.

Verse 3
Thy power the sinful bent controuls,
Thy mercy keeps their tender souls
From every great offence;
And whom thy mercy’s arms receive
They still miraculously live
The life of innocence.

Verse 4
Closer, and closer yet embrace,
Inspire them with the life of grace,
And give them, Lord, to prove
The joy unknown, the mystic peace,
The reigning power of godliness,
The knowledge of thy love.

Verse 5
Before they taste the mortal tree,
Or lose their sweet simplicity,
Jesus, thy purchase claim,
Strangers to vice and Satan’s arts
Seize their young, uncorrupted hearts
And mark them with thy name.

Verse 6
So shall they in thy presence live,
To Thee the souls and bodies give,
Thou didst so dearly buy,
Vessels and instruments of grace
Serve their Redeemer all their days,
And in thy service die.