1 In ancient days men feared the Lord,
And by their faith received his word,
Then God bestowed upon the meek
The priesthood of Melchizedek.
2 By help of this their faith increased,
Till they with God spoke face to face;
An Enoch, he would walk with God,
A Noah ride safe o'er the flood.
3 Abr'ham obtained great promises,
And Isaac he was also blest,
A Jacob could prevail with God,
The sea divide at Moses' rod.
4 The lions' mouth a Daniel closed,
The fire ne'er scorched his brethren's clothes,
But time would fail to mention all
The men of faith, I'll just name Paul.
5 Who did to the third heavens arise,
And view the wonders of the skies;
He saw and heard mysterious things,
Yet all by faith, and not by wings.
6 Such blessings to the human race
Once more are tendered by God's grace;
The priesthood is again restored,
For this let God be long adored.
7 Now we by faith, like Paul and John,
May see the Father and the Son,
And view eternal things above,
And taste the sweets of boundless love.
8 And if, like them, we hated be,
Deprived sometimes of liberty,
We will, like them, this faith defend,
Whate'er our fate, unto the end.
9 O Lord, assist thy feeble worms
This resolution to perform,
And we thy sacred name will praise
Throughout the remnant of our days.
Next Hymn