Forth in Thy Name, O Lord
Forth in Thy Name, O Lord is a Methodist hymn by Charles Wesley . The central theme is faith in God in all of our works.
It was first in 1749 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems, Volume I in the category Hymns for Believers under the heading Before Work ( Before work published).
Originally the song consisted of six stanzas. Stanzas three and five were omitted by John Wesley from his A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists from 1780 and from the United Methodist Hymnal from 1989.
Carlton Young, editor of The United Methodist Hymnal , called it "an expression of Protestant work ethic".
In the liturgy , the song is sung at the end of the service or morning prayer . It is also used in the appointment or installation of Anglican clergy.
The song is sung to different melodies: Song 34 by Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625), ( taken from Robert Schumann's Nachtstück Op. 23/4) and , which is attributed to John Warrington Hatton (1710–1793).
text
Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go,
my daily labor to pursue;
thee, only thee, resolved to know,
in all I think or speak or do.
The task thy wisdom hath assigned
O let me cheerfully fulfil;
in all my works thy presence find,
and prove thy good and perfect will.
Preserve me from my calling's snare,
and hide my simple heart above,
above the thorns of choking care,
the gilded baits of worldly love.
Thee may I set at my right hand,
whose eyes my inmost substance see,
and labor on at thy command,
and offer all my works to thee.
Give me to bear thy easy yoke,
and every moment watch and pray,
and still to things eternal look,
and hasten to thy glorious day;
For thee delightfully employ
whate'er thy bounteous grace hath given,
and run my course with even joy,
and closely walk with thee to heaven.