Words: , May 1836. In 1898, Glad­stone’s wife con­trib­ut­ed a 10-stan­za po­em, be­gin­ning “Lord, as Thy tem­ple’s por­tals close,” to Good Words (page 483). The text be­low, a cen­to of vers­es 3, 4 & 5 from the orig­in­al, ap­peared in The Eng­lish Hymn­al (Lon­don: Ox­ford Un­i­ver­si­ty Press, 1906), num­ber 322.

Music: Lam­beth (Ake­royd), S. Ake­royd, in the Di­vine Com­pan­ion, 1722. Alternate tunes:

If you know S. Ake­royd’s full name, or where to get a pic­ture of him

O lead my blindness by the hand,
Lead me to Thy familiar feast,
Not here or now to understand,
Yet even here and now to taste,
How the eternal Word of Heav’n
On earth in broken bread is giv’n.

We, who this holy precinct round
In one adoring circle kneel,
May we in one intent be bound,
And one serene devotion feel;
And grow around Thy sacred shrine
Like tendrils of the deathless Vine.

We, who with one blest food are fed,
Into one body may we grow,
And one pure life from Thee, the Head,
Informing all the members flow;
One pulse be felt in every vein,
One law of pleasure and of pain.