1. O Father may Thy word prevail
Against the gates of hell!.
Behold the vine-yard Thou hast tilled
With thorns and thisties filled.
Tis true Thy plants are there;
But, ah, how weak and rare!
How slight the power and evidence
Of word and sacraments!
2. O Father may Thy word prevail
Come, Jesus come and contemplate
Thy vine-yard’s sad estate:
Baptized are millions in Thy name,
But where is faith’s pure flame?
Of what avail that we
Know of Thine agony
So long as we do not o’er. throw
In faith the wicked foe ?
3. O Father may Thy word prevail
O Holy Ghost, to Three, our light,
We cry by day, by night:
Come, grant Us of the light and power
Our fathers had of yore;
When Thy dear Church did stand
A tree, deep-rooted, grand,
Full-crown’d with blossoms white as snow,
With purple fruits aglow !