Hushed was the evening hymn,
The temple courts were dark;
The lamp was burning dim
Before the sacred ark;
When suddenly a voice divine
Rang through the silence of the shrine.

The old man, meek and mild,
The priest of Israel, slept;
His watch the temple-child,
The little Levite, kept;
And what from Eli’s sense was sealed,
The Lord to Hannah’s son revealed.

Oh! give me Samuel’s ear!
The open ear, O Lord;
Alive and quick to hear
Each whisper of thy word:
Like him, to answer at thy call,
And to obey Thee first of all.

Oh! give me Samuel’s heart!
A lowly heart, that waits
Where in thy house Thou art,
Or watches at thy gates:
By day and by night, a heart that still
Moves at the breathing of thy will.

Oh! give me Samuel’s mind!
A. sweet, unmurmuring faith,
Obedient and resigned
To Thee in life and death;
That I may read, with childlike eyes,
Truths that are hidden from the wise.
(Anonymous)