O Lord, we come this morning
Knee-bowed and body-bent
Before thy throne of grace.
O Lord — this morning —
Bow our hearts beneath our knees,
And our knees in some lonesome valley.
We come this morning —
Like empty pitchers to a full fountain,
With no merits of our own.
O Lord — open up a window of heaven,
And lean out far over the battlements of glory,
And listen this morning.
Image above (and on front-page mastheads) by Aaron Douglas in God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse: Electronic Edition.
Words above: by James Weldon Johnson in God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse: Electronic Edition.
© This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text.