1 Awhile in spirit, Lord, to Thee
Into the desert would we flee;
Awhile upon the barren steep
Our fast with Thee in spirit keep:
2 Awhile from Thy temptation learn
False Satan's wileful lures to spurn,
And in our hearts to feel and own
"Man liveth not by bread alone."
3 O Thou once tempted like as we,
Thou knowest our infirmity;
Be Thou our helper in the strife,
Be Thou our true, our inward life.
4 And while at Thy command we pray
"Give us our bread from day to day,"
May we with Thee, O Christ, be fed,
Thou Word of God, Thou living Bread.
Amen.
The Hymnal: revised and enlarged as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892
First Line: | Awhile in spirit, Lord, to Thee |
Title: | Awhile in Spirit, Lord, to Thee |
Author: | Joseph Francis Thrupp |
Meter: | 8.8.8.8 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Awhile in spirit, Lord, to Thee. J. F. Thrupp. [Lent.] One of the best known and most popular of Mr. Thrupp's hymns. It was written for and first published in his Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship, 1853, No. 64, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. In 1861 the Rev. F. Pott included it in his Hymns, &c, No. 72, with stanzas iii. and iv. transposed, some minor alterations, and a doxology from the Latin. This form was repeated in Church Hymns, 1871, No. 103. Original text in Thring's Collection, 1882, No. 154, with stanza i., 1. 2, "Into the desert would we flee," for “Would we unto the desert flee,” an alteration from the Rev. F. Pott as above. The text of Hymns & Songs of Praise: N. Y., 1874, is that of the Rev. F. Pott with a slight alteration, and the omission of the doxology.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)