quote · Legacy record
The praise I make will then be sweet indeed, If Thou the Spirit give by which I pray: My unassisted heart is barren clay, That of its native self can nothing feed; Of good and pious works Thou art the seed That quickens only where Thou sayest it may; Unless Thou show to us Thy own true way, No man can find it. Father! Thou must lead: Do Thou then breathe these thoughts into my mind By which such virtue may in me be bred, That in Thy holy footsteps I may tread: The fetters of my tongue do Thou unbind, That I may have the power to sing to Thee; And sound Thy praises everlastingly.
The praise I make will then be sweet indeed, If Thou the Spirit give by which I pray: My unassisted heart is barren clay, That of its native self can nothing feed; Of good and pious works Thou art the seed That quickens only where Thou sayest it may; Unless Thou show to us Thy own true way, No man can find it. Father! Thou must lead: Do Thou then breathe these thoughts into my mind By which such virtue may in me be bred, That in Thy holy footsteps I may tread: The fetters of my tongue do Thou unbind, That I may have the power to sing to Thee; And sound Thy praises everlastingly.
Approximate author period: c. 1810 AD · industrial
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- William Wordsworth
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1810 AD · industrial
author lifetime midpoint (1770–1850)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 454 · printed citation: Wordsworth · subject: PRAISE
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.