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7.5.7.6.D.
1 O Word of God incarnate,
O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging,
O Light of our dark sky,
We praise Thee for the radiance
That from the hallowed page,
A lantern to our footsteps
Shines on from age to age.
2 The Church from her dear Master
Received the gift divine,
And still that light she lifteth
o’er all the earth to shine:
It is the golden casket
Where gems of truth are stored;
It is the heaven-drawn picture
Of Christ, the living Word.
3 It floateth like a banner
Before God’s host unfurled
It shineth like a beacon
Above the darkling world:
It is the chart and compass
That o’er life’s surging sea,
‘Mid mists and rocks and quicksands
Still guide, O Christ, to Thee.
4 O make Thy Church, dear Saviour,
A lamp of burnished gold,
To bear before the nations
Thy true light as of old;
O teach Thy wandering pilgrims
By this their path to trace,
Till, clouds and darkness ended,
They see Thee face to face!.
W.W. How