258. One Living Faith

God’s law demands one living faith,
And not a crowd of lifeless creeds;
Its warrant is a firm “God saith”
Its claim not words but living deeds.

O Lord, forgive thy holy law,
Grows tarnished in our earthly clasp;
Pure in itself, without a flaw,
It dims in our too worldly grasp.

Forgive the sacrilege, and take,
From every soul the unholy stain;
And help us for thy Son’s dear sake,
To keep thy perfect law again.