O Word of God Incarnate

O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky:
We praise You for the radiance that from the hallowed page,
A Lantern to our footsteps, shines on from age to age.  

The Church from You, our Savior, received the Gift divine,
And still that Light is lifted over all the earth to shine.
It is the sacred Vessel where gems of truth are stored;
It is the heaven drawn Picture of Christ, the living Word.

The Scripture is a banner before God’s host unfurled;
It is a shining Beacon above the darkling world.
It is the Chart and Compass that over life’s surging tide,
Mid mists and rocks and quicksands, to You, O Christ, will guide.

O make your Church, dear Savior, a lamp of purest gold,
To bear before the nations Your true light as of old.
O teach your wandering pilgrims by this their path to trace,
Till, clouds and darkness ended, they see You face to face.

By William W. How 

• Contemporary secular thinkers say that truth is malleable, changing in every new generation. How does the hymnwriter respond to that proposal?
• What is the hallowed page? Why does this writer hallow that page?
• What does this writer find in the Bible?
• When has the Bible been a guide for you, a chart or compass along your way?
• How does the hymnwriter believe the church can teach those who wander? What is the point of teaching wanderers the truth?