O God, unblessing and unblest

C320 E419 K320
1
O God, unblessing and unblest,
A withered plant, but not at rest,
A useless cumberer I’m found
Upon Thy field, Thy purchased ground;
And yet I pray—“Do not forsake me,
But in Thy hand, O Savior, take me.
2
As women take unbroken flax,
As molders take unshapen wax,
As smith, the iron, rough and cold,
A useful instrument to mold,
So in Thy skillful hands, O take me,
And never let Thy love forsake me.
3
Like rock uncrushed, the stubborn will,
Though bearing gold is barren still;
Like marble in the quarry rough,
The natural heart is useless stuff;
And so, I pray—“Do not forsake me,
But with Thy hand, O Savior, break me.
4
As mortars crush the hardest rock,
As hammers break the stony block,
As millstones bruise the finest wheat,
As nuts are broken for their meat,
So with Thy mighty hand, O break me,
And never let Thy love forsake me.
5
Though crushed and broken, yet I’m nought
But fragments to the furnace brought;
Though bruised, I have no worth to feed
The multitudes that die in need;
And so, I pray—“Do not forsake me,
But meet for service, Savior, make me.
6
As into useful forms the ore
From molten scraps the molders’ pour;
As fire doth make the bruised wheat,
When mixed and molded, fit to eat;
So, fit for use by fire, O make me,
And never let Thy love forsake me.”