Lord Who Throughout These Forty Days

Painting by James Tissot - Courtesy of Wikipedia 

Lord Who Throughout These Forty Days was written by Claudia Frances Hernaman (1838-1898). It was first published in 1873 as part of the collection: The Child's Book of Praise; A Manual of Devotion in Simple Verse. Over her lifetime she composed over 150 hymns, most of them intended for children. It is set to the tune St. Flavian, an adaptation of the music from the first half of Psalm 132 in John Day's English Psalter of 1562. In the Liturgy of the Hours, Lord Who Throughout These Forty Days is used during Lent.



LORD, WHO THROUGHOUT THESE FORTY DAYS by Claudia Hernaman, 1873 (Public Domain)

1. Lord, who throughout these forty days
for us did fast and pray,
Teach us with you to mourn our sins
and close by you to stay.

2. As you with Satan did contend,
and did the victory win,
O give us strength in you to fight,
in you to conquer sin.

3. As you did hunger and did thirst,
So teach us gracious Lord,
To die to self and so to live
By your most holy word.

4. Abide with us, that through this life
Of suff'ring and of pain,
An Easter of unending joy
We may at last attain.