O Thou who makest souls to shine

O Thou Who makest souls to shine. John Armstrong* (1813-1856). First published in Armstrong’s The Pastor in his Closet: or, A help to the devotions of the clergy (Oxford, 1847) in three 8-line stanzas. It was included in the Appendix (1868) to the First Edition of A&M in six 4-line stanzas, set to a tune by Leighton George Hayne*, ST LAURENCE, with which it has normally been associated since that time. It is a hymn for Ember Days (days of prayer and fasting), with a pointed reference to the ordination of the clergy, as in stanza 3. It can also be used for teachers and their pupils: O Thou Who makest souls to shine With light from lighter worlds above,And droppest glist’ning dew divine...