O Master, let me walk with Thee
Before the taunting Pharisee;
Help me to bear the sting of spite,
The hate of men who hide thy light,
The sore distrust of souls sincere
Who cannot read thy judgments clear,
The dullness of the multitude
Who dimly guess that thou art good.
Washington Gladden, distinguished Congregational minister and author, was reared on a farm near Oswego, N. Y., attending country school and Oswego Academy and later entering Williams College, from which he graduated in 1859. He was licensed to preach in 1860; then held pastorates in Congregational churches in New York and Massachusetts, and finally in 1882 began his widely known and influential work as pastor of the First Congregational Church in Columbus, Ohio, which was to last for 28 years. His lectures and writings on social questions were prophetic messages of the time. After 50 years in the ministry, he wrote: “If the church would dare to preach and practice the things which Jesus Christ has commanded, she would soon regain her lost power.” He is the author of thirty or more volumes but is remembered best by this poem which has come into such wide use in the worship services of all the churches.
MUSIC. MARYTON was written for the words, “Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear,” in Church Hymns and Tunes, 1874; but it has become inseparably associated with Gladden’s hymn. Permission to use this hymn was granted by the author only on condition that it be used with this tune.