O guard, with prayer, this angel germ;
This bud upon Life’s ocean tossed,
Lest thou shouldst ever see thy child
Numbered among the loved and lost.
O guard, with prayer, this deathless bud!
That lust may never blight its bloom;
And thou shalt see this cherished one
In realms of peace beyond the tomb.
Teach it to fold those little hands,
And bend the knee to Christ in prayer: