Scripture Verse

He will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:14

Introduction

Words: Mar­cus M. Wells, 1858, alt. The words were first pub­lished in the New York Mu­sic­al Pio­neer, ed­it­ed by Is­aac B. Wood­bu­ry: On a Sa­tur­day af­ter­noon in Oc­to­ber, 1858, while at work in my corn­field near Hard­wick, New York, the sen­ti­ment of this hymn came to me. The next day, I fin­ished the hymn and wrote a tune for it and sent it to Pro­fess­or I. B. Wood­bu­ry.

Music: Guide Mar­cus M. Wells, 1858 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Wells (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Holy Spi­rit, faith­ful guide,
Ever near the Chris­tian’s side;
Gently lead us by the hand,
Pilgrims in a des­ert land.
Weary souls for­e’er re­joice,
While they hear that sweet­est voice,
Whispering soft­ly, Wan­der­er, come,
Follow Me, I’ll guide thee home.

Ever pre­sent, tru­est friend,
Ever near Thine aid to lend,
Leave us not to doubt and fear,
Groping on in dark­ness drear.
When the storms are rag­ing sore,
Hearts grow faint and hopes give o’er.
Whispering soft­ly, Wan­der­er, come,
Follow Me, I’ll guide thee home.

When our days of toil­ing cease,
Waiting still for sweet re­lease,
Nothing left but Hea­ven and pray­er,
Wondering if our names are there;
Wading deep the dis­mal flood,
Pleading naught but Je­sus’ blood,
Whispering soft­ly, Wan­der­er, come,
Follow Me, I’ll guide thee home.