The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #108979   Message #3788895
Posted By: Joe Offer
06-May-16 - 01:40 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Monk's March
Subject: ADD: My Faith It Is an Oaken Staff
Here's "My Faith It Is an Oaken Staff" from the original Cyber Hymnal


MY FAITH IT IS AN OAKEN STAFF

My faith, it is an oaken staff,
The traveler’s well loved aid;
My faith, it is a weapon stout,
The soldier’s trusty blade,
I’ll travel on, and still be stirred,
By silent thought or social word;
By all my perils undeterred,
A soldier pilgrim staid.

I have a Guide, and in His steps
When travelers have trod,
Whether beneath was flinty rock
Or yielding grassy sod,
They cared not, but with force unspent,
Unmoved by pain, they onward went,
Unstayed by pleasures, still they bent
Their zealous course to God.

My faith, it is an oaken staff,
O let me on it lean!
My faith, it is a trusty sword,
May falsehood find it keen!
Thy Spirit, Lord, to me impart,
O make me what Thou ever art,
Of patient and courageous heart,
As all true saints have been.

Lyrics: Thomas T. Lynch, in The Rivulet: A Contribution to Sacred Song (London: Longman, 1855).

Melody: The Staff of Faith, variously described as traditional Swiss melody, or an English folksong

And take note of this Twelfth Night (click) use of the song, and the entry at hymnary.org