O Lord around me oft I find
So much to draw my heart from Thee;
The impulse of the fleshly mind
Is earthward, and will ever be.

I may not love the gaudy show,
Nor walk in paths of grosser sin,
But to a thousand things below
I give a lodging place within.

But thou didst know me long before
The year my infant life began;
Thou knewest all I know and more
Of that poor heart Thy love has won.

And realizing this I praise
Thy grace 'mid failure so complete,
The mercy that attends my days,
The love that keeps my wandering feet.

When Thou dost bid me hence to rise,
If shame could then possess my heart,
'T would be when first my wondering eyes,
O Lord, behold Thee as Thou art.

And as the blissful ages roll
Within that light which ne'er grows dim,
He'll fill the vision of a soul
Forever satisfied with Him.