Lord, shed a beam of heav'nly day
To melt this stubborn stone away;
And thaw, with rays of love divine
This heart, this frozen heart of mine.
To hear the sorrows Thou hast felt,
All but an adamant would melt;
Goodness and wrath in vain combine
To move this stupid heart of mine.
But One can yet perform the deed;
That One in all His grace I need;
Thy Spirit can from dross refine
And melt this stubborn heart of mine.
O Breath of life, breathe on my soul!
On me let streams of mercy roll;
Now thaw with rays of love divine
This heart, this frozen heart of mine.
(This hymn was written by English hymnwriter Joseph Hart. I wonder if he had in mind any play on words: frozen heart/frozen Hart; stupid heart/stupid Hart; stubborn heart/stubborn Hart? Frozen Heart in The Sacred Harp The original consisted of 5 stanzas. Through the years the words have been slightly altered -- e.g., it originally became "Oh! for a Glance of heav'nly Day." The 4th stanza found in The Sacred Harp, 2012 is not part of Hart's original, but was added to it at least by 1826. See The American Seaman's Hymn Book by Noah Davis, 1826.)
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