Gracious God, thy children keep;

Gracious God, thy children keep;
Jesus, guide thy silly sheep;
Fix, O fix our fickle souls;
Lord, direct us; we are fools.

Bid us in thy care confide;
Keep us near thy wounded side;
From thee let us never stir,
For thou know'st how soon we err.

Lay us low before thy feet,
Safe from pride and self-conceit;
Be the language of our souls,
"Lord, protect us; we are fools."

O defend thy purchased flock;
See, the insulting Ishmaels mock,
Guard us from a world of sin;
Foes without, and worse within.

Look upon the unequal war;
Saviour, do not go too far;
Crafty is the foe, and strong;
Saviour, do not tarry long.

By thy word we fain would steer,
Fain thy Spirit's dictates hear;
Save us from the rocks and shelves,
Save us chiefly from ourselves.

Never, never may we dare,
What we're not to say we are;
Make us well our vileness know;
Keep us very, very low.