Christian Hymns ‎#77

77. How helpless guilty nature lies

1 How helpless guilty nature lies,
Unconscious of its load!
The heart, unchanged, can never rise
To happiness and God.

2 Can aught beneath a power divine
The stubborn will subdue?
’Tis Thine, O Holy Spirit, Thine
To form the heart anew.

3 ’Tis Thine the passions to recall,
And upwards bid them rise,
To make the scales of error fall
From reason’s darkened eyes;

4 To chase the shades of death away,
And bid the sinner live;
A beam of heaven, a vital ray,
’Tis Thine alone to give.

5 O change these wretched hearts of ours,
And give them life divine!
Then shall our passions and our powers,
Almighty Lord, be Thine.

Text Information

• First Line: How helpless guilty nature lies
• Meter: C. M.
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1898
• Topic: Natural Depravity; Holy Ghost: Works Regeneration; Regeneration
• Notes: Anne Steele, 1780.

Tune Information

• Name: LANCASTER
• Composer: Dr. S. Howard (1750)
• Meter: C. M.
• Key: A♭ Major