We have not known thee as we ought

1. We have not known thee as we ought,
Nor learned thy wisdom, grace and power;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing thee.

2. We have not feared thee as we ought,
Nor bowed beneath thy watchful eye;
Nor guarded deed and word and thought
Remembering that God was nigh.
Lord, give us faith to know thee near,
And grant the grace of loving fear.

3. We have not served thee as we ought,
Alas! The duties left undone!
The work with little fervour wrought,
The battles lost, or scarcely won.
Lord, give the zeal, and give the might,
For thee to toil, for Thee to fight.

4. We have not loved thee as we ought,
Nor cared that we are loved by thee;
Thy presence we have coldly sought,
And feebly longed thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart,
To feel and know the love thou art.

The hymn “Seeking God” was written by Thomas Benson Pollock (1839-1896) and is one of two hymns he contributed to the 1889 Supplemental Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern. In this book it appears matched with the tune Westbourne. The meter is 8s., 6 lines. Above the text appears the statement, “I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost; O seek Thy servant,” based on Psalm 119:176. It is often paired with the tune St. Chrysostom by Joseph Barnby.

Thomas Benson Pollock was a British Anglican priest and writer. With his brother James Samuel Pollock (1834-1895), he worked with people in poor areas, forming St. Alban’s Mission in Birmingham. He was a member of the committee for Hymns Ancient and Modern, and served as the chairman in 1895–96.