O Source Divine, and Life of All

O Source divine, and life of all,
The Fount of being’s wondrous sea!
Thy depth would every heart appall
That saw not love supreme in Thee.

We shrink before Thy vast abyss,
Where worlds on worlds eternal brood:
We know Thee truly but in this—
That Thou bestowest all our good.

And so, ’mid boundless time and space,
O grant us still in Thee to dwell,
And through the ceaseless web to trace
Thy presence working all things well.

Nor let Thou life’s delightful play
Thy truth’s transcendent vision hide;
Nor strength and gladness lead astray
From Thee, our nature’s only Guide.

Bestow on every joyous thrill
Thy deeper tones of reverent awe:
Make pure Thy children’s erring will,
And teach their hearts to love Thy law.

Author: John Sterling

Year: 1839

The hymn is taken from Sterling's 1839 collection 'Poems' (sometimes dated 1840 in hymnals). It is occasionally misattributed to other 19th-century Unitarian or transcendentalist writers, but Sterling is the accepted author.