14 Let hope in thee, O Lord, prevail
My drooping soul to cheer;
Let no new doubts that hope assail,
Nor aggravate my fear.
15 My hopes resounded to thy flock,
Shall courage give to all,
Who building high on thee their rock,
Shall dread no future fall.
16 From all the depths of sin and fear
Repentant I ascend;
By strong-wing'd faith, and through this tear,
My God to thee I tend.
17 Among men David bears the mark
Of a most Godlike mind;
A mind inspir'd, and yet so dark !
So wise, and yet so blind!
18 O Son of Jesse, great and good!
To passion what a thrall!
How sunk in lust, in fraud, in blood!
From God how great a fall!
19 Who slew the poor man's single lamb,
When he had sheep in store;
Himself and visitor to cram ?-
David did this, and more.
20 Tho' he had hundreds of his own,
Debauch'd Uriah's wife;
Husband of that one wife alone,
And took Uriah's life.
21 By pleasure fell, by trouble rose,
His only way to rise.
We fools, who lawless pleasure chose,
By trouble may grow wise.
22 Presume not man, for David fell,
Caught in Satanic snare;
But rose again from sin and hell,
That no man may despair.*
23 Who teaches me myself to know,
My thread of life to span;
So short, so weak, so coarse, so low?
Thou, David, art the man.
This thought is borrowed from bishop Hall.
24 Thro' gloomy guilt, to cheerful hope,
What safe conductor can
Teach me the narrow path to grope?
Thou, David, art the man.
25 We shudder at Uriah's wife
No less than at his blood,
And tremble at the mortal strife,
That reign'd among thy brood.
26 Both baneful fruits and wholesome weeds, In life's impartial field,
Can propagate alike their seeds,
Alike their produce yield.
27 The man who thinks he stands upright On firm and level ground,
Should not depend on his own might
In David feeble found.
28 For his too strong and deadly foe,
Within him or without,
His resolution may o'erthrow,
His confidence may rout.
29 Therefore let him to God alone
Look up for strength to stand;
He won't securely trust his own,
If he his own hath scann'd.
30 From depths profound, where now I lie Beneath thy wrathful rod,
O see my anguish, hear my cry,
My Saviour and my God.
31 To whelm my soul, deep calls on deep, Which o'er my guilty head
In unresisted surges sweep
Of sin, remorse, and dread.
32 Far better deeps those fears dismiss,
Which on my spirits prey;
Thy blood of mercy that abyss,.
Shall sweep my fears away.
33 Here, all in raptures will I dive,
"Till faith shall pardon find;
Here will I die, and here revive
In a regenerate mind.
34 Purg'd in this laver, Lord, I claim
Thy mercy and thy peace;
From Jesus now I take my name,
And my new life of grace.
35 If I am sav'd, who can be lost?
Who's wicked, if I'm good?
Yet sav'd I am at the high cost
Of thy atoning blood.
36 For my poor wand'ring soul, thus found, Loud hallelujahs rise,.
And in the song of angels sound
Thy praises and their joys.
37 Peace on remorse, that thorny tree,
Like wholesome fruit is hung;
Happy the man by this set free,
Tho' not by this unstrung.
38 Deep in my soul it's point I feel,
By conscience driven in ;
Keener yet better far than steel,
It wounds to let out sin.
39 From me of vice remove the stench,
My God, in whom I trust;
In me the fire sulphureous quench;
Of pride, of wrath, of lust,
40 Of riches, and vain glory, Lord,
Those springs of guilt and shame,
To virtue kindled by thy word
Shall dart a purer flame.
41 My virtues shall thy glory raise,
Who sow'd in me their seeds;
My vices too shall speak thy praise,
My bad, but pardon'd deeds.
42 By sin, thy mercies, Lord, are known,
(How greatly both abound!)
And still the greater that is grown,
The greater these is found.
43 Illumin'd, Lord, let me convey
To souls benighted here,
Of thy own light and love a ray,
This clouded sphere to cheer.
44 Father of peace, of love, of light,
Diffus'd around so far,
Let me but twinkle thro' this night,
A secondary star.
45 Wash me, O Jesus, in thy blood,
From every stain of sin,
And in thy goodness shew me good,
All vile as I have been.
46 Touch me, O thou eternal dove,
And fan me with thy wing;
So shall I glow with heavenly love,
And like a seraph sing.
47 Accept this lay, tho' not as part
Of the celestial strain;
Yet as it's echo from the heart,
That sings-but sings with pain.
48 Yes, pain I feel, even while I sing,
And tremble on each note;
The dread of sin's returning sting
Gives hoarseness to my throat.
49 Yet if I cannot music make,
I'll make a joyful noise :
For music, God this noise will take,
Express'd in grateful joys.
1 My spirits sink, there is no way,
No way at least that I can find,
Forth from this darkness and dismay,
A darkness felt throughout my mind.
2 Why tremble, O my soul, why shrink,
Why shiver at approaching night;
Which but presents the balmy brink
Of rest nor terror to thy sight?
3 Ah, night! and rest! is this not death,
Which chills my refluent tide of blood,
Suspends the spring of life, my breath,
And hides from me all view of good.
4 'Tis death-one worm already hangs
Upon my flesh; another brings
To my poor soul his dreadful fangs,
His tail envenom'd, and his stings.
5 Ha! are not these the dragon's claws?
And, tell me, is not this his home?
Methinks I hear him grind his jaws!
Methinks I see him churn his foam!
6 Thy shield and spear, O Christ impart,
And let me clearly see my foe;
Add courage to my dastard heart,
Add thy own vigour to my blow.
7 Why prey on me thou conscious beast?
Art thou not glutted with that tide,
Which made for thee a drunkard's feast
In Jesu's wounded limbs and side?
8 Avaunt, thou worm, my debt is paid,
My very conscience now stands clear:
O death, of thee I'm not afraid;
What then is left that I should fear?
9 Altho' thy gloomy vale I tread,
The lamp of God my path shall shew;
Supported by his staff, I dread
No gulf nor precipice below.
10 Fed with immortal food, and arm'd
With sword and helmet, I proceed;
Arous'd with zeal, with courage warm'd,
I find my war-word in my creed.
11 Serpents may hiss, and lions roar,
And all the fiends of hell combine;
I fear their fury now no more,
Almighty King, thy strength is mine.
12 Two-edged sword, I brandish thee,
Thou weapon high and sharp in fight;
The powers of hell before thee flee,
And testify their fears by flight.
13 They run, th' infernal dragon runs,
And with a loud and hideous yell,
Thy two-edg'd blade aghast he shuns,
And seeks for shelter in his hell.
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