Adventist Pioneer Library

The Christian — Faith, Hope, and Charity

Faith is the polar-star

  • No. 689
  • Words Anon.
  • 4 stanzas
  • Words only in the original

Words

⤢ Full screen
1

Faith is the polar-starThat guides the Christian's way,Directs his wanderings from afarTo realms of endless day:

2

Faith is the rain-bow's formHung on the brow of heaven,The glory of the passing storm,The pledge of mercy given:

3

The Faith that works by love,And purifies the heart,A foretaste of the joys aboveTo mortals can impart:

4

It guides us far from strife,Where'er our footsteps roam,And promises eternal lifeWhen we have reached our home.

About this hymn

As printed Words only. As printed: hymn number «689» (large) in the left column of p. 225, under «Anon.» of hymn 688, with the reference line «558, 89, 814.» in italics beside it (= sing to the tune of hymn 558, 89 or 814); stanzas 1–4 in the left column; «Anon.» in italics at the end. The first word «FAITH» is set in a capital and small capitals. The stanza numbers are printed without a full stop («1 FAITH»), numbered «1.»–«4.» here. The print sets a thin space before «:» («day :», «given :», «impart :»); it is closed up here. Stanzas 1–3 end with a colon, as printed (the four stanzas run on as one sentence). «polar-star» and «rain-bow's» are hyphenated in the print; «The Faith» in stanza 3 has a capital F, as printed. The printer's curly apostrophe is written straight («Christian's», «rain-bow's», «Where'er»). Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's. Lines 2 and 4 of each stanza are indented in the print. No meter is printed (the text is S. M., 6.6.8.6, like the three tunes of the reference line).

Source
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1886/1888)
Where
The Christian — Faith, Hope, and Charity · No. 689 · printed page 225
Checked
lyrics verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-10-02