'A Child's Hymn'

Published in Household Words vol. XIV (6 December 1856).

Charles, Dickens

Household Words Volume XIV (6 December 1856): p. 21.

Dickens Journals Online, https://www.djo.org.uk/household-words/volume-xiv/page-593.html.

Scanned material from Dickens Journals Online, www.djo.org.uk. Available under CC BY licence.

Dickens, Charles. 'A Child's Hymn' from The Wreck of the Golden Mary (6 December 1856), Household Words, Volume XIV, p. 21. Dickens Search. Eds. Emily Bell and Lydia Craig. Accessed [date]. https://dickenssearch.com/verse/1856-12-06_Household_Words_A_Childs_Hymn.

Hear my prayer, O! Heavenly Father,

Ere I lay me down to sleep;

Bid thy Angels, pure and holy,

Round my bed their vigil keep.

My sins are heavy, but Thy mercy

Far outweighs them every one;

Down before Thy Cross I cast them,

Trusting in Thy help alone.

Keep me through this night of peril

Underneath its boundless shade;

Take me to Thy rest, I pray Thee,

When my pilgrimage is made.

None shall measure out Thy patience

By the span of human thought;

None shall bound the tender mercies

Which Thy Holy Son has bought.

Pardon all my past transgressions,

Give me strength for days to come;

Guide and guard me with Thy blessing

Till Thy Angels bid me home.