A CHILD'S HYMN

by: Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

      EAR 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.

"A Child's Hymn" is reprinted from The Poems and Verse of Charles Dickens. Ed. F.G. Kitton. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1903.

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