Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.
James 1:17
Words: Reginald Heber (1783–1826). Published posthumously in Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Service of the Year (London: J. Murray, 1827), pages 34–35.
Music: Lest We Forget George F. Blanchard, 1898 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Blanchard (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
Oh hand of bounty, largely spread.
By whom our every want is fed,
Whate’er we touch, or taste, or see,
We owe them all, oh Lord! to Thee;
The corn, the oil, the purple wine,
Are all Thy gifts, and only Thine!
The stream Thy word to nectar dyed.
The bread Thy blessing multiplied,
The stormy wind, the whelming flood,
That silent at Thy mandate stood,
How well they knew Thy voice divine,
Whose works they were, and only Thine!
Though now no more on earth we trace
Thy footsteps of celestial grace,
Obedient to Thy word and will
We seek Thy daily mercy still;
Its blessèd beams around us shine.
And Thine we are, and only Thine!