There Is a Path that Leads to God

Representative Text

1 There is a path that leads to God
All others go astray;
Though narrow, pleasant is the road,
And Christians love the way.

2 It leads us through this world of sin,
And dangers must be passed;
But those who boldly walk therein
Will come to Heaven at last.

3 How shall an infant pilgrim dare
This dangerous path to tread?
Do I not need a shepherd’s care
To be securely led?

4 While the broad road, where thousands go,
Lies near and opens fair;
And many turn aside, I know,
To walk with sinners there.

5 Be Thou, O Lord, my guard, my guide,
Nor let me from Thee stray;
Uphold my footsteps, lest I slide
Or wander from Thy way.

6 Then I may go without alarm
And trust His Word of old
"The lambs, He’ll gather with His arm,
And lead them to the fold."

7 Thus I may safely venture through
Beneath my shepherd’s care;
And keep the gate of Heaven in view,
Till I shall enter there.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #12337

Author: Jane Taylor

Taylor, Jane, the younger of two sisters, was born at London, Sept. 23, 1783. Her gift in writing verse displayed itself at an early age. Her first piece was printed in the Minor's Pocket Book for 1804. Her publications included Display, a tale, 1815; Essays in Rhymes, 1816; and the posthumous work edited by her brother, entitled The Contributions of Q. Q., 1824, being pieces in prose and verse from the Youth's Magazine, to which she had contributed under the signature of "Q. Q." She died at Ongar, Essex, April 13, 1824. Her Memoir and Poetical Remains, were published by her father in 1825. The joint productions of the two sisters, Ann Taylor Gilbert & Jane Taylor, were:-- (1) Original Poems, 1805; (2) Hymns for the Nursery, 1806; (3) Hym… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: There is a path that leads to God (Taylor)
Title: There Is a Path that Leads to God
Author: Jane Taylor
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

There is a path that leads to God. Jane Taylor. [A Child Pilgrim.] First published in the Hymns for Infant Minds, by A. and J. Taylor, 1810, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled “The Little Pilgrim." It is one of the best examples of the writer's clear, simple, nervous style, and exceeds in popular use all of her other compositions. It is found in numerous collections for children in Great Britain and America, but often in an abbreviated form. Original text in the Hymnal Companion.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

ST. MARK (Gauntlett)


DALEHURST


MARTYRDOM (Wilson)

MARTYRDOM was originally an eighteenth-century Scottish folk melody used for the ballad "Helen of Kirkconnel." Hugh Wilson (b. Fenwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, c. 1766; d. Duntocher, Scotland, 1824) adapted MARTYRDOM into a hymn tune in duple meter around 1800. A triple-meter version of the tune was fir…

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The Cyber Hymnal #12337
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The Cyber Hymnal #12337

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