Father, We Come Not as of Old

Father

we come not as of old

Distrustful of Thy law

Hoping to find Thy seam­less robe

Marred by some sud­den flaw—

Some rent to let Thy glo­ry through

And make our dark­ness shine

If hap­ly thus our souls may know

What pow­er and grace are Thine.

Thy seam­less robe con­ceals Thee not

From ear­nest hearts and true;

The glo­ry of Thy per­fect­ness

Shines all its tex­ture through;

And on its trail­ing hem we read

As Thou dost lin­ger near

The mes­sage of a love more deep

Than any depth of fear.

And so no more our hearts shall plead

For mi­ra­cle and sign;

Thy or­der and Thy faith­ful­ness

Are all in all di­vine;

These are Thy re­ve­la­tions vast

From ear­li­est days of yore;

These are our con­fi­dence and peace;

We can­not wish for more.