O heavenly grace in holy rite descending

1 O heav’nly grace in holy rite descending
To those who kneel for laying on of hands;
Thine be the strength, O Lord, for their defending;
Theirs be the vows renewed at thy demands.

2 Here as they pledge to follow thee as Saviour,
Jesus their Lord, who for the Church hath died;
So may they live with that blest behavior,
Thou hast enjoined, and they have ratified.

3 May they continue thine, O God, for ever,
Daily increasing in the Spirit’s gift,
Until they bring the gift unto the Giver,
Where time is ended, and earth’s shadows lift.


Source: The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America 1940 #188