1. O heav’nly Wisdom, hear our cry,
The everlasting Son,
Who with the Father, God most high,
Are now and ever one!
2. Before you formed the lower part
Of all the world we see,
Before the heav’ns were made—you are,*
and when they fail, shall be.
3. Before you called mankind your own
And made them your delight,
You sat next to the Father’s throne,
Rejoicing in his sight.
4. You made the waters like a robe
To gird the solid land;
The glitt’ring stars, the circling globe,
Were made by your right hand.
5. Come, heav’nly Wisdom, from on high,
And give us what we need:
Unloose our ears, unseal our eyes,
And make us yours indeed!
6. We wait in faith, we wait in prayer,
Until the happy morn
When you will come, our flesh to share,
And for our sakes be born.
7. To God on high be honor done,
And equal glory due
To the true Wisdom, God the Son,
And Holy Ghost, to you!
Source: Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship #17b
John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly temperament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >
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