James Drummond Borthwick. "Speak, Lord, for Thy Servant Heareth." Friedlander, Joseph, comp. 1917. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse

Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917.

“Speak, Lord, for Thy Servant Heareth”

By James Drummond Borthwick


HUSH’D was the evening hymn,
The temple courts were dark;
The lamp was burning dim
Before the sacred ark:
When suddenly a voice Divine	5
Rang through the silence of the shrine.

The old man, meek and mild,
The priest of Israel slept;
His watch, the temple child,
The little Levite kept.	10
And what from Eli’s sense was seal’d
The Lord to Hannah’s son reveal’d.

Oh! give me Samuel’s ear,
The open ear, O Lord.
Alive and quick to hear	15
Each whisper of Thy word;
Like him to answer at Thy call
And to obey Thee first of all.

Oh! give me Samuel’s heart,
A lovely heart that waits;	20
Where in thy house Thou art,
Or watches at Thy gates.
By day and night, a heart that still
Moves, at the breathing of Thy will.

Oh! give me Samuel’s mind,	25
A sweet unmurmuring faith,
Obedient and resign’d.
To Thee in life and death.
That I may read with child-like eyes,
Truths that are hidden from the wise.	30