O lead my blindness by the hand

O lead my blindness by the hand. William Ewart Gladstone* (1809-1898). This hymn is an extract from a poem by Gladstone in ten stanzas beginning ‘Lord, as Thy temple’s portals close’, written by him as a young man (it is dated May 1836). It was contributed to the religious periodical Good Words by Gladstone’s widow in the year of his death. Verses 3, 4 and 5 of the original were printed in EH, and subsequently in SofP and BBCHB. In the last of these it appears twice, once with a tune for congregation (RYBURN, by Norman Cocker*) and once with a choir...