The Christian — Guidance and Protection

Dear Saviour, lead my erring steps aright

No. 776
Metre 10s & 4s.
Tune HASTINGS.
Words F. E. Belden.
Music F. E. Belden,
Key G major
Time 4/4
3 stanzas

Words

Dear Saviour, lead my erring steps aright,I'll follow thee;I dare not trust to feeble, mortal sight;I'll follow thee.The night is dark,—lest I should lose my way,I'll follow thee;O lead me till the glorious dawn of day!I'll follow thee.

When night is darkest, and I cannot see,I'll follow thee;I know the cheering voice that speaks to me;I'll follow thee.'T is mine to trust the One who knoweth best;I'll follow thee;And, trusting thus, I leave to him the rest;I'll follow thee.

O'er all my daily thoughts and steps preside;I'll follow thee;Be thou alone my constant Guard and Guide;I'll follow thee.Unworthy of thy watch-care though I be,I'll follow thee;Then with the blest through all eternityI'll follow thee.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: running head «THE CHRISTIAN—GUIDANCE AND PROTECTION.»; hymn number «776» (large, left), tune name «HASTINGS. 10s & 4s.» centred over the music, «F. E. BELDEN,» at the right (capitals and small capitals, ending in a comma where the other headers have a point; the composer field keeps it); in the left margin, printed vertically, «by F. E. Belden.» beside system 1 and «Copyrighted 1886» beside system 2 (= «Copyrighted 1886 by F. E. Belden.»; no point after the year; the last figure read as 6, see `uncertainties.md`). No reference line is printed. Stanza 1 is set between the staves in very condensed type, one text line per system, with «1.» before «Dear»: «Dear Saviour, lead my erring steps aright, I'll follow thee; I dare not trust to feeble, mortal sight; I'll follow thee.» / «The night is dark,—lest I should lose my way, I'll fol low thee; O lead me till the glorious dawn of day! I'll fol-low thee.» («fol low» is printed without a hyphen in its first occurrence on system 2 and «fol-low» with one at the end; both are the word «follow», written whole here). Stanzas 2–3 are printed as text in two columns below the music, eight lines each, the short «I'll follow thee» lines indented; in stanza 3 the third line runs over («Be thou alone my constant Guard and / Guide;») and is written as ONE verse line here. «F. E. Belden.» in italics after stanza 3. The stanza numbers of the text stanzas are printed without a full stop («2 When»); they are numbered «2.» here like stanza 1. The apostrophe of «I'll» stands a hair further from the «I» in stanza 2, lines 4 and 8, but there is no word space (measured, see `uncertainties.md`): «I'll» throughout. The printer's thin space before «;», «:» and «!» («thee ;», «sight ;», «Guide ;», «day !») is closed up here; apostrophes are written straight («I'll», «'T is», «O'er»). «Saviour», «'T is», «knoweth», «watch-care», «Guard» and «Guide» and the dash of «dark,—» are the print's.